In the weeks and months leading up to E3 2010, speculation was rampant concerning Playstation Plus, Sony’s imminent subscription based premium content service.  The only solace Sony offered it’s userbase was that any subscription based service would not change the core services of the Playstation Network as it was.

Then, even at E3, details concerning PS+ were sparse…pricing was revealed, but nothing was mentioned that would really drive up the value of the PS+ service to the point where the average PS3/PSP user would feel compelled to purchase it.  Bee Tee Dub…one year is $49.99 and three months is $17.99…but if you buy a one year subscription relatively soon, Sony will throw in three free months.

Anywho, the other day every internet connected PS3 was forced to download Firmware update 3.40 which added PS+ to the PS Store and a few other things…video editing and uploading not the least of them, but I digress…

Finally we have details on what a PS+ subscription will get you: A Full Game Trial of inFAMOUS…not really, you get an hour of gametime and if you choose to d/l the rest of the game your stats will carry over, so it’s really like an extended demo…WipeOutHD, Age Of Zombies, Rally Cross, a few avatars, some free Fat Princess and Warhawk DLC and reduced prices on old school games like Mortal Kombat II and the like, as well as free access to episodes of PULSE, QORE and The Tester.

This is all well and good, but please understand when I say, “Sony…you’ve never had to overreach your grasp for my dollars in the past, but there’s no way in FUCK that I’m forking over any of my shale for PS+ as it is.”

Seriously, I know Sony likes to release things a year or two earlier than they should to “Ramp Up” sales, like they did with…the PS3 game library, PS Home, SOCOM: Confrontation, et al…but seriously, Sony needs to start having their shit together when they do a major drop like this.

This is good content, don’t get me wrong, and I’m sure by now there are tens of thousands of hardcore Sony fanboys who’ve already put the year’s subscription on their Stepmother’s credit card, but I need more if I’m going to be paying for it.

I need more demos or free full game trials, I need more (and better) exclusive video content, discounts with Netflix, Steam and/or Hulu would be nice…I just need more content.  I’m not a hardcore guy.  Sure, I game at least one to two hours most nights of the week, but I’m not the 5 to 8 hour a day guy.

Sony needs to realize that their core demographic (male aged 18-35) has more responsible adults than kids.  We don’t give a fuck about PULSE or QORE, we don’t need to play Abe’s Oddworld or Final Fantasy VII on our PS3, and for fuck’s sake feel free to go ahead and not bother offering free DLC to obsolete games that noone plays anymore.

*cough cough*Warhawk Fallen Star Expansion Pack*cough cough*

And not for nothing, but the little bit about how any games, vids or themes you get as part of PS+ would only be playable/usable while your subscription is valid…well, that’s just bullshit and honestly it’s actually a damn good reason for NOT buying PS+.

EXAMPLE:  The Warhawk Fallen Star Expansion is priced right now at $1.99 on the Playstation Store…meaning I could pay $1.99 for it now and have it forever…OR, I could pay $49.99 for PS+…and get the Warhawk Fallen Star Expansion for the next year…but I’ll have to renew my subscription if I want to keep it past that.  That part of it just doesn’t seem to make much sense at all.

Again…Sony needs to start thinking these things through and making sure that when they drop consoles, games, or services that they have the proper support (be it software, hardware or simply features of value) in place to make the product valuable to EVERYONE on the Playstation Network, not just the hardcore guys who game all day and will never touch a Wii or a 360 or a naked woman.

The good thing about PS+ is that it is almost certain to triple its dearth of available content within the next six months.  More options with their new video editor, cross game chat, premium themes and minis are all things that can be included going forward as well as many other services that Sony certainly has coming down the pike.

When the day comes that PS+ offers enough value to justify its purchase, I’m almost certain to get it.  But this is not that day, and I don’t forsee that day coming for a long time.  Good news for me is that I don’t usually use the online capabilities of my PS3 for anything other than gaming online, so this isn’t really any kind of downer for me or anything.

…I just wish it was something I could be excited about.