Playstation Plus Coming to PS3 With 3.40 Firmware Update Soon

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When comparing the Playstation 3 with the Xbox 360, one of the main vocal points is the online services. Sure, the Playstation 3 arguably has the edge in terms of hardware with its Cell Processor but when it comes to online experiences, the Xbox 360′s Xbox Live beats the Playstation 3′s Playstation Network hands down. However, despite the obvious edge, the Playstation Network has remained free ever since it was first released with the launch of the PS3 on November 11th, 2o08 while Xbox Live is completely subscription based (except for Xbox Live Silver memberships, but that doesn’t count).

Considering you have to pay for Xbox Live, it’s pretty much expected that the service would be better than one that’s free (a la PSN) but with the PS3′s marketshare going it was only a matter of time before Sony announced something fresh and new.

Prior to E3 there was much speculation over whether or not Sony would come forth to announce a subscription based Playstation Network with several leaked promotional pieces making their rounds on the web.

And finally, during E3 2010 Sony finally unveiled Playstation Plus, the subscription based Playstation Network service that would not replace the free service but instead supplement it. This new Playstation Network will give subscribers things like early access to betas, discounts on PSN titles and even one hour free trials on select PS3 games.

While we heard a decent amount regarding what Playstation Plus will encompass, Sony generally kept the release date under wraps. Luckily, it was announced today that the forthcoming 3.40 firmware update will include Playstation Plus along with a few other features. Nothing major, just a Facebook/YouTube video editor/uploader and integration with both Picasa and Facebook galleries.

Will Playstation Plus be enough for Sony, the Playstation 3 and the Playstation network be enough to overtake Xbox Live? We’ll have to wait and see.