I used to have a rule for my family when it came to paid online games: we didn’t do them, even if they were offered through a well-known service like Playstation Plus. From my perspective, the games were expensive enough–not to mention the cost of the system–and it just didn’t sit well with me to pay a monthly fee on top of that. But when Sony’s Playstation Network offered a free 30-day subscription to Playstation Plus to appease customers after Playstation Network was hacked, we signed up. Since the trial cost us nothing, I figured this was the perfect opportunity to try it out.

True to the Playstation Network’s promise, our Playstation Plus subscription allowed us to download free games, game minis, Playstation themes, and exclusive  Betas–in our case, the Beta game for Uncharted 3. During our free Playstation Plus trial, new free games and other freebies would turn up on a regular basis–usually on Fridays, but sometimes on other days of the week. Truthfully, there was so much new stuff showing up–and so frequently–that 30 days was up almost before we realized it.

A Word of Caution

Although most of the Playstation Plus free games and themes are, indeed, free to keep forever once you download them, some of the mini games may NOT be yours to keep if you cancel your Plus subscription. The problem stems from the fact that the minis aren’t actually downloaded onto your PS3 when you play them–they’re actually played entirely online, which means you can’t play them once your subscription ends.

Although I haven’t yet subscribed for Playstation Plus, I have to admit that our free  trial did whet my appetite for the service. And after doing some research, I’ve discovered that it’s far better to subscribe by purchasing a prepaid virtual Playstation Plus Card from Amazon.com rather than paying for a subscription directly through the Playstation Network. There are two reasons for this:

1. When you subscribe to Playstation Plus by purchasing and using a prepaid subscription card through Amazon, you  have complete control over whether on not to renew your subscription. So you’ll have no surprise charges on your credit card. (When you sign up for the service directly through the Playstation Network, they’ll automatically renew you.)
2. A 12-month Playstation Plus subscription purchased from Amazon is MUCH CHEAPER compared to the same subscription offered directly through the Playstation Network.

At the time of the writing of this article, a 12-month Playstation Plus subscription purchased through the Playstation Network cost $49.99; the same 12-month subscription purchased via a prepaid virtual card from Amazon.com costs $10–20 percent less!–and it’s an instant download, so you don’t have to wait for anything to arrive in the mail.

Buy a 12-month Playstation Plus subscription or a  3-month Playstation Plus subscription on Amazon.com.