In a move which is sure to be fan-pleasing, Sony is reaching out to PSN users to ask what games, classics and trials they would like to see become available on PlayStation Plus. The company isn’t promising that suggested titles will eventually make their way onto the service, but they are interested in giving users some more input into what offerings will be available.
The call out on Sony’s European PlayStation blog asks for recommendations of PSN games, PSOne Classics and Minis, as well as which full games users would like to have a free trial to try with the option to purchase. Sony has promised to collect all the suggestions and allow users to vote on the most popular options. At this point, what happens from there remains a mystery.
It’s interesting to see Sony adopt this user-driven content strategy after the launch of PS Plus as opposed to when the service went live. One must wonder then if PS Plus hasn’t caught on quite the way Sony had hoped, and now the company is trying to sweeten the pot to lure in more paying users. If the first month’s offerings were any indication that’s likely a smart strategy, as many potential PS Plus subscribers likely already own or have at least played inFamous (free hour-long demo, then you have to buy) and Super Stardust HD, (free full game) and none of the freebies beyond those two are really worth the price of admission.
So far the response on Sony’s blog has been overwhelming, with 18 pages of comments and suggestions and counting. If this idea doesn’t come to fruition then it definitely won’t be for lack of community feedback.
One thing we don’t know yet is whether this program is going to be exclusive to the European version of PS Plus or if it’ll be worldwide. Obviously we’re hoping for the latter, as it would be a shame for the service to continue to flounder in America even as European PS3 owners get access to tons of great content. At any rate, it seems that PS Plus might turn out to be a worthwhile service after all.
