Yes, it’s one of those posts, you don’t have to read it, but I would appreciate it if you would at least skim through it. This isn’t because someone else posted an article like this just recently, it was something planned when the latest Instant Game Collection was announced, similar views are purely coincidental.

I, along with many others felt that the Xbox 360 was THE gaming system. It had the best games, a better controller and Xbox Live Gold membership seemed that you were part of an elite section of gamers who felt a part of Microsoft. Your loyalty was faultless, you would hiss at the mere mention of a certain Sony rival product, but then the years past and interest in the new Sony George Foreman Grill increased… Then something amazing hit the world of gaming that would change people’s minds and lives forever.
A tweet suddenly popped up on Twitter, many people retweeted it, others were intrigued as to what its nature was. PlayStation Plus had been around for a little while and appeared to offer even less than what Microsoft were providing for £39.99. Tweets were coming out of the Sony/PlayStation camp, teasing hints and suggesting even just trying PS Plus for just a few months… Then, the announcement…

FREE GAMES!

What? Yes! PlayStation Plus subscribers would have access to free stuff every month. Full games, indie games, themes and avatars were included with your subscription, something that was going to cause a whole heap of trouble for Microsoft. What are they offering for your money? The ability to play online and have access to apps. That’s it. When it all comes down to what you’re paying for on the Xbox 360, it’s what you could get free on the PlayStation 3 (rhyme unintended).
The games aren’t some sponsored tripe like Dorito’s Dash or whatever, we’re talking full, proper retail titles like BioShock, inFamous, Borderlands and new arrivals in February such as Sleeping Dogs and F1 Race Stars. There’s no catch, unless you count only having access to the games for as long as you subscribe, but you also get 1 GB of cloud space to upload game saves and access to free Vita titles, too.

Now you’re suddenly asking your dust collecting PS3 where its been all your life, a renewed interest in what’s available for the system you long neglected. You find that apps you used on the Xbox 360 are available on the PS3 such as Netflix (even the actual app is better than the Xbox 360 version) and start to wonder why you ever used the Xbox 360 in the first place.
Oh right, everybody else was getting one, even though you didn’t add most of the friends you’d made online anyway or ever played anything to the extent it would validate the reason you stuck with Xbox Live for so long. So here you are, 3 Xbox 360’s and an updated PlayStation 3 later and you’ve seen the light, you’re questioning the value of what Microsoft give you; online play, access to apps, adverts on the dashboard, ‘exclusive (elitist) offers’, if you’re looking for a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s not there or M$ haven’t announced it yet.
Despite any deals or offers that are in circulation for Xbox Live, I’m afraid I won’t renew my subscription. I might as well carry on paying for something I’m actually getting something out of and that’s PlayStation Plus. I’m getting nothing from Xbox Live and neither are any of you that also fork out up to £39.99 every year and it’s like I read elsewhere, you’re effectively paying a ransom to Microsoft to release features which you don’t need to have a special membership to access on the PlayStation 3.
If you’re still sitting there asking why is PS Plus better than Xbox Live Gold, please accelerate your head towards your nearest wall.