PlayStation Plus reached an important milestone this week, as it was exactly one year ago that Sony transformed the premium service by launching the Instant Game Collection — a long-term rental service that gives Plus subscribers unlimited access to an ever expanding library of digital games.
Originally announced at E3 2012, the first year of the Instant Game Collection has provided PlayStation Plus subscribers with a whopping 64 titles spread across the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita. Not all of the games have blown our socks off, but with titles like inFAMOUS 2, LittleBigPlanet 2, Borderlands, Resident Evil 5, Speck Ops: The Line, Demon’s Souls, The Cave, and Sleeping Dogs (to literally name just a few) all being included in the first year lineup… Well, let’s just say that it is no easy feat to find truly unhappy PS Plus members.
As strong as the first year of the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection has been, Sony seems to be doubling down for the service’s second year. June 2013 has already seen titles like Uncharted 3, Xcom: Enemy Unknown, LittleBigPlanet Karting, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Saints Row: The Third hit the IGC, and Sony is promising that the best is yet to come when Plus expands to the PlayStation 4 later this year.
It is not often that I publicly throw support behind a subscription service, but it is impossible not to fully recommend PlayStation Plus. In addition to the weekly discounts on PSN games, the Instant Game Collection has provided me with access to far more games than I have time to play, and opened my eyes to more than a few titles that I would have never experienced otherwise.
So, Happy Birthday Instant Game Collection! As long as Sony doesn’t screw it up at some point in the future, you have made a life long PlayStation Plus subscriber out of me.