PlayStation 3’s 3.60 Firmware Introduces Plus Subscriptions

It’s not all too often that a PlayStation 3 software update comes along that’s well-worth rushing home for, but the brand-new 3.60 firmware might spawn one such occasion. Arguably the most interesting feature to be implemented in this update is the introduction of “PlayStation Plus”, the paid subscription service we first talked about last month. From what we can tell, all details of the rumor seemed to pan out in the final release.

Last Thursday, Sony posted a FAQ of sorts regarding what PlayStation Plus is, and what it isn’t. In it, features were discussed, and of course, pricing schemes revealed. There will be no such thing as a monthly subscription fee here, as Sony has opted to stick to three-month and one-year packages, priced at $17.99 ($6 per month) and $49.99 ($4.20 per month), respectively. As a bonus, those who purchase the one-year subscription will get three months added on for free ($3.33 per month).

Included in a Plus subscription are occasional store discounts, exclusive offers on demos, betas or early purchases, a full game trial, automatic downloads and more. The “free game” aspect of the rumor from last month caught my attention the most, but now I’m not so sure if I have reason to be excited or not. You see, there is indeed a free game to be had each month, which could revolve around a PSN title, or a PSOne classic, or even a PSP mini. You can download a select title for free, and keep it for free. The catch is that in order to play any of these “free” games, you absolutely must have an active subscription to Plus. If you don’t, the installed games essentially become useless.

That might not matter to some, though, as the Plus subscription price doesn’t seem to be unreasonable, and at the projected $3.33 per month for 15 months, a “free” game every single month sounds pretty good. Even if you consider it a rental, that’s a very cheap rental, and one that lasts for as long as you have a Plus subscription.

Plus isn’t the only new feature to be implemented in the 3.60 firmware, as a proper network-aware photo gallery has also been introduced, along with, even more surprisingly… a video editor. That feature includes the ability to make simple changes to a video, such as adding text and cropping, and then uploading the result to video sharing sites, such as YouTube.

Two other minor features included are rating support and power saving settings. The former will allow you to rate any of your purchases from 1 – 5 stars, while the latter opens up additional power-saving options to configure, rather than default to a 2-hour automatic turn-off.

It should be noted that the PSP also saw a firmware update, to version 6.30, but all it introduces is Plus support along with the ability to sort your games based on format (PSP, PSOne, PSP Minis, PCEngine and Neo Geo). Unfortunately, Sony hasn’t introduced a simple feature I’ve wanted to see for a while… alphabetical sorting. Why is that so difficult?!

Hi everyone, once again we’re adding new features to the PlayStation 3 (PS3) system via firmware update to ensure we’re bringing you the best, most comprehensive entertainment experience possible. PS3 system software update (v3.40) will be available soon, adding the PlayStation Plus subscription, enhancements to the connection between your PlayStation Network and Facebook accounts and more. Additionally, we’ll be launching system software update (v6.30) for the PSP (PlayStation Portable) system simultaneously with PS3 system software update (v3.40), adding PlayStation Plus compatibility as well as other new features.