
Here's a factoid that makes us feel incredibly old: PS Plus has just celebrated 15 years since its inception.
We know, it's almost hard to believe, but Sony's PlayStation-based subscription service has been around since 2010. Originally launching on the PS3, PS Plus was a much different beast back then.
For starters, a subscription wasn't mandatory for online play — which was something that only entered the equation during the following PS4 generation. However, 'free' games were still the key incentive, with PS Minis (remember them?) and monthly offerings tempting users to subscribe.
In the beginning, PS Plus was very much an extra expense — something for those who were already invested in the PlayStation ecosystem — but by the time that the PS4 came along, subscription services were starting to pop up across all of entertainment, and digital game purchases were becoming increasingly common.
Naturally, Sony saw fit to expand PS Plus significantly over the years that followed; there was clearly money on the table, and so the controversial decision to place online play behind a paywall was made. But to sweeten the deal, higher profile titles started showing up more and more frequently amongst the monthly offerings.