Announced during the 2010 E3 press conference, PlayStation Plus is a 3-month ($17.99) and 1-year ($49.99) plan that gives members access to early titles, downloads, discounts and betas (View our earlier review of the PlayStation Plus service to get a full understanding of it). Until now, Sony had been quiet about the reception of the service and member count, but with the year finishing out Sony is ready to talk a little how consumers are reacting to the service. Susan Panico, senior director for PlayStation Network, pointed out that a big recent draw to the membership has been due to exclusive beta access to games like Killzone 3, DC Universe Online and Assassins Creed: Brotherhood. She went on to say:

 PS Plus, we haven’t released figures yet, but in the most recent month, it’s been very successful. We’ve listened to the feedback and have tried to offer the content that they want. We are running a business, so we had to look at a way to create reoccurring revenue, and we looked to see what would people be willing to pay for and PS Plus was what we came up with, providing a lot of great content, exclusive discounts and exclusive access to betas, and it enhances the overall experience for fans, but it also has a chance to reach a whole new audience for people who want whole new content. 

Throughout her interview, Panico was clear to point out that they see PSN being free to all users a big reason for their continued growth and success. This is especially true when their “primary user is male 18 to 35” which Panico sees as a “lucrative audience” and they indeed are the audience that advertisers and content providers target the most. This statement should also go a long way towards those rumors that creep up every few months about how PSN is going to eventually be a paid in service like Xbox Live.

Hopefully people are drawn to the open access to the service, because if you’re going to spend $60 on a game, we’re not going to charge you for just playing the game; it doesn’t make sense from the consumer experience. Also, when you’re looking at strong franchises on multiple platforms, it shows that we are a destination for hardcore multiplayer gamers, but we’ve also introduced games like Singstar and LittleBigPlanet where more casual players can socially play online.

Have you tried PlayStation Plus yet? If so, what are your thoughts and if not, what’s holding you back? Let us know in the comments!