Data Backup Digest

PlayStation Plus is undergoing some large changes from February 2019, removing the support for older consoles and increasing the amount of cloud storage offered.

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s long-running service that offers a host of benefits to those who pay for membership. The features include being able to play games online in multiplayer, receiving free games every month (which remain free for as long as you’re a member), exclusive deals and discounts, and more.

Two older Sony consoles, the PS3 and PS Vita, will no longer be getting monthly free games. In February, its last month, PS3 owners will be able to download Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Drivekick. PS Vita owners are treated to Gunhouse and Rogue Aces.

It’s perhaps surprising that Sony has been supporting these consoles for so long. The PS4 came out in November 2013, over five years ago. While its install base remains healthy on the PS3, many have moved to the newer home console. The PS Vita launched in December 2011 and recently became officially discontinued. It was never particularly successful, especially when compared to Nintendo’s DS systems.

Nevertheless, it’s a move that is sure to disappoint some. Receiving free games every month is a great benefit, especially to those who remember the days of free online multiplayer (or who are still used to it on PC).

To satiate those players, and to keep PlayStation Plus enticing to everyone, Sony has boosted the amount of cloud storage it offers. Previously limited to 10GB, this has now been greatly increased to 100GB.

Whether this is really that exciting is debatable. The feature allows players to save their game progress to the cloud so that they can continue exactly where they left off, no matter where they sign in, like at a friend’s house or a second console in the home. It also helps when upgrading or replacing your console, along with any cross-platform games that support it.

For those with large game collections, it’s good news. Games are only growing in size and their save files are increasing with them. Some are suggesting that the increase in cloud storage is preparation for the PS5, which could release late this year or next. Alternatively, Sony could have other plans for the cloud storage to let users store more than just their profiles and game saves.

If you have a PS4 and PlaYStation Plus and you want to activate the auto-upload functionality, go to Settings > Power Saving Settings > Set Features Available in Rest Mode and tick the check box next to ‘Stay Connected to the Internet’.

Next, go to Settings > Application Data Management > Auto-Upload and tick the check box next to ‘Enable Automatic Uploads’.

Bear in mind that this will only work for your primary profiles. It will not work on any profiles which have been temporarily activated on your system – like if you are playing on a friend’s system. In those instances, be sure to always manually upload your save files.