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PlayStation Plus Deals: How to Save Cash on Sony’s Gaming Subscriptions

We break down how PlayStation’s multitiered subscription works and the best ways to get signed up for less.

This year brought some big changes to Sony’s gaming subscriptions. In the past, PlayStation users had two different memberships to choose from — PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. But after an overhaul that took place in June, both of those subscriptions have been rolled into a single service with multiple membership tiers, though it still falls under the PlayStation Plus label. To help you get a handle on how things have changed, and find the right membership tier for you, we’ve broken down the different options below.

We haven’t seen many deals since the service was overhauled, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely nonexistent. Below, you’ll find just about the only PlayStation Plus deal available at the moment, but we’re hoping to see some more deals and offers on the updated PS Plus service start to crop up in the coming weeks and months, so be sure to check back here often for the best prices available. And for even more savings, be sure to check out our roundup of the best bargains on PlayStation gear and accessories.

What’s changed?

Before the revamp, PlayStation offered users two different subscription services. PlayStation Plus was a $10-per-month service similar to Xbox Live Gold that allowed users to play games online and participate in multiplayer matches. PlayStation Now was a $10-per-month cloud gaming service that gave players access to a huge library of classic titles from the PS2, PS3 and PS4. The revamp, which went live in June, has essentially rolled both memberships into a single, multitiered subscription, though it will still technically fall under the PS Plus label. There are three different membership packages available, combining different features and benefits of both previous subscriptions.

PS Plus: Essential

At $10 per month or $60 for the year, PS Plus: Essential is essentially no different than the previous PS Plus subscription. It offers all the same features, including access to online play, two monthly games for free, cloud storage and exclusive discounts at the PlayStation Store. If you had a PS Plus membership before the revamp went live, it was automatically converted to an Essential membership.

PS Plus: Extra

At $15 per month or $100 for the year, a midtier Extra subscription is somewhat similar to the Game Pass Ultimate membership offered to Xbox users. It includes all the benefits and features of an Essential membership, but also gives you access to a catalog of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games. The selection includes plenty of hit titles like God of War, Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima.

PS Plus: Premium

A Premium membership is the highest tier available, and clocks in at either $18 per month or $120 for a full year. In addition to all the benefits of both an Essential and Extra subscription, it gives you access to a massive library of more than 700 games. That includes the recent PS4 and PS5 hits from the Extra subscription, but also a catalog of more than 300 classics from the PS1, PS2 and PS3 eras (similar to the pervious PS Now subscription). It also allows you to stream many of these classic titles, so you don’t have to worry about them eating up your valuable storage space. You also get access to time-limited game trials, so you can try out new games before you commit to a purchase. If you had a subscription to PS Now before the revamp went live, it was automatically converted to a Premium membership.

PS Plus deals

Things were pretty chaotic leading up to the revamp, with people stacking discounted memberships and racking up hundreds in savings before Sony got wise to the loophole. It’s been closed for a while now, and we haven’t seen too many chances to save on a service since. Sony and retailers appear to have pulled any remaining membership codes to the now-discontinued PS Now service, but if you’re only interested in the Essential-tier membership, there are still a few holdover deals on the original PS Plus.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, April 6

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 6.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword has my favorite Australian cartoon as an answer. If you’re a fan of Bingo, Bandit and Chilli, you’ll nail that answer. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Nibble : food :: ___ : drink
Answer: SIP

4A clue: Like a kid doodling in class, maybe
Answer: BORED

6A clue: Popular Disney+ show about a family of Australian cattle dogs
Answer: BLUEY

7A clue: Fill in, as a puzzle
Answer: SOLVE

8A clue: Perceive
Answer: SEE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Some first-chair performances in an orchestra
Answer: SOLOS

2D clue: «Go me!»
Answer: IRULE

3D clue: Loud chewing or talking during a movie, e.g.
Answer: PEEVE

4D clue: Ammo for a Red Ryder rifle
Answer: BBS

5D clue: Part of an Easter egg kit
Answer: DYE

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 6, #665

Find hints and answers for the New York Times’ Connections puzzle for Sunday, April 6.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections puzzle was a challenging one. The yellow and green categories were pretty easy, but I struggled with blue and purple. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: We’re not close.

Green group hint: Pay the bills.

Blue group hint: Don’t get a shock!

Purple group hint: Think 420.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Aloof.

Green group: Utilities.

Blue group: What an electrometer measures.

Purple group: ____ joint.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is aloof. The four answers are cool, distant, remote and removed.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is utilities. The four answers are cable, gas, trash and water.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is what an eletrometer measures. The four answers are charge, current, resistance and voltage.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ joint. The four answers are dovetail, hip, pizza and Spike Lee.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 6, #195

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 195, for Sunday, April 6.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Is it just me, or is Connections: Sports Edition getting tougher each week? Or am I getting dumber? Fight fans, you might do all right today, but there was one compound word in your category (green) that I literally have never heard before. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.  

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Get out of here.

Green group hint: It happens in the octagon.

Blue group hint: They call it football.

Purple group hint: Not on…

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Part ways.

Green group: MMA terms.

Blue group: English soccer clubs.

Purple group: ____ off.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is part ways. The four answers are dismiss, fire, oust and sack.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is MMA terms. The four answers are armbar, choke, clinch and submission.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is English soccer clubs. The four answers are Burnley, Leeds, Stoke and Watford.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ off. The four answers are face, lead, tip and walk.

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