Many PlayStation Fans are angry at Sony for hiking the prices of PlayStation Plus 12-month subscriptions, and rightly so. Sony’s sneak announcement was tucked away at the bottom of a blog post outlining September’s PS Plus games.
And while the PS Plus price hike is certainly not good news for gamers, it seems that it has been good news for Sony Group.
On the day of the price increase announcement (August 30th) Sony Group’s shares were sitting at 82.36 USD per share. The day after the announcement Sony’s shares reached 83.28 USD. Then on September 1st shares peaked (over 5 days) at 85.52 USD per share. After that, they tailed off slightly and the current share price is 84.50 USD.
Sony’s decision to strangle the wallets of loyal PlayStation fans has had the effect of lining the pockets of Sony execs and shareholders. But it is possible that Sony’s decision, which many fans view as just pure greed may backfire.
PS Plus price hike may cost Sony subscribers
Many PlayStation gamers are now cancelling their PlayStation Plus subscriptions, citing the price hike as the reason.
In the UK, the price increase doesn’t actually seem too bad with essentials rising by £10, Extra by £16 and Premium by £20.00. This is for 12-month subscriptions only. The price of monthly or 3-monthly subscriptions is not changing.
The PS Plus price increases will take effect from 6th September.
Current PS Plus 12-month Subscription Prices in the UK
Essential – £49.99
Extra – £83.99
Premium – £99.99
New 12-month PS Plus subscription prices from 6th September in the UK
Essential – £59.99
Extra – £99.99
Premium – £119.99
The UK price increase doesn’t seem all that bad really. However, with the current cost of living crisis, it’s an extra expense that gamers could well do without.
The price increase of 12-month PS Plus subscriptions in the US, however, seems far too steep.
Current PS Plus 12-month subscription prices in the US
Essential – $59.99
Extra – $99.99
Premium – $119.99
New 12-month PS Plus subscription prices from 6th September in the US
Essential – $79.99
Extra – $134.99
Premium – $159.99
For the American prices, there is a stark contrast between the current prices and the new prices which take effect from September 6th. Just reading through one of the many posts on the subject on Reddit paints a clear picture of an angry subscriber base who won’t be subscribers for much longer.
Sony themselves haven’t really said much about the price increase, the original announcement only said that the price adjustment will enable the PlayStation platform holder to continue to bring high-quality games and value-added benefits to PlayStation Plus.
This price adjustment will enable us to continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service.
Whether this price increase will negatively affect the number of people subscribing to PlayStation Plus remains to be seen. But Sony doesn’t look like making a U-turn and back-tracking on the jump in price.
Some fans have also called for a lower-tier subscription, one that has only multiplayer and cloud storage for save backups. The lower-tier, or basic subscription wouldn’t have any free monthly games that the Essential tier has.
The PlayStation Plus price increase has shown fans a few things; Sony is tone-deaf about the current economic situation and will gladly wring fans’ wallets dry. And, perhaps worst of all is that we are seeing a return of the arrogant Sony. The Sony from the PS3 days where, because they are the market leader they think they can get away with anything. PlayStation YouTuber Mystic has a really good video on this.
Price increases for things that you use all the time are never welcome. The price increase may not affect Sony in terms of its bottom line but it might affect its reputation in the eyes of its most loyal fans.
