It’s hard to believe thatPlayStation Plusis about to get yet another price increase, but rumors suggest that’s likely to be the case. In a fireside discussion with Sony execs, plans for future price increases were discussed under the premise that offering better services equates to a more valuable product. I’m not so sure that I agree with this assessment of things, seeing as the services that supposedly add so much value to PS Plus aren’t exactly revolutionary. Simply put, it doesn’t seem like this is going to end well for Sony.
PS Plus isalready relatively pricey,doesn’t offer that many unique benefits, and has a hard time competing with services like Game Pass, and a price hike could end up coming back to haunt Sony in the long term. The service just increased prices in 2023, raising the cost of its most affordable Essential option to $79.99 USD and its most expensive Premium option to $159.99 USD. Asa Premium membermyself, I can’t see myself forking out much more than I already pay for a service that I only benefit from on occasion.
PS Plus Is Rumored To Get A Price Increase
All Signs Point To A Price Hike
While no price increases have been officially confirmed for PlayStation Plus, a fireside chat withSonyexecs suggests that the cost of membership is likely to go up again as long as Sony continues"increasing [the] value [it] brings to the players.“Sony execs argue in roundabout terms that,“through the quality and diversity of content we continue to add,“a price hike would technically be justified, similar to the price increase that happened back in 2023. These intentionally vague and non-specific descriptions make it hard to agree.
Sony execs also discussed additional"player personalization and enhanced content discovery"being added to PS Plus, but I couldn’t for the life of me tell you exactly what specific features they’re referring to. The punchline in this meeting is where the notion of a price increase becomes most obvious:
“The PlayStation Plus service offers great value for our players, and we will continue to add more value andadjust our pricing strategyin a dynamic way tomaximize profitability.”
It’s hard to interpret that any other way, and while gradual price increases for subscription services have become the norm across every medium, the supposed justification for these increases is hard to get behind. While PS Plus has added a few extra features for higher membership tiers, such as exclusive access to certain games or thetry-before-you-buy feature,there isn’t anything especially game-changingthat’s going to keep players invested through another price hike.
PS Plus Is Already Overpriced For What You Get
The Classics Catalog Is Cool, But I’m Not Going To Pay More For It
When compared to Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus isn’t the most compelling deal. While Game Pass might be more expensive depending on your membership tier and deal, the base membership is quite affordable, and it simply has way more options and benefits than anything PS Plus offers. If PS Plus and Sony want to hike up prices for higher membership tiers, it’s going to need to give players more than the ability to stream a few old-school games.Classic catalogs are a great perk, but do they really add that much core value?
“Often, these monthly games are ones that players won’t even play despite being completely free with their membership.”
Certain services that should really be included across all membership tiers, such as the Game Trials feature, areonly included for the most expensive Premium membership. With Sony’s refund policy already not being very player-friendly, trying out games before purchasing them should be an option across the board, especially given the possibility for problematic or buggy games like the recentMindsEyeand/orCyberpunk 2077when it first launched (not to imply these issues were Sony’s fault by any means).
A Higher Price On PS Plus Could Mean More Subscribers Leave
Without Substantial New Features, A Price Increase Is Going To Drive Away Players
While Sony seems to believe a PS Plus price increase is more than justified because it’s continuing to increase the value of the service,I’m doubtful players are going to feel the same way.Most players enjoy the additional benefits of PS Plus to some extent, but I don’t think there’s anything offered on the service that they’d feel they were missing out on if they canceled their subscription altogether or downgraded to a lower tier. If Sony is looking to truly add value to the service, it’s going to need to emulate some of Game Pass’s most excellent features.
PlayStation Plus members who were also current PlayStation Stars members could earn points from purchases on the PS Store, but the service has been discontinued.
Game Pass is a superior service for gamers largely due to itsmulti-platform crossover functionality with both Xbox and PC, with a much more expansive library and Day 1 releases that put PS Plus benefits to shame. Sony needs to seriously step up its game to compete with these services and wants to justify a cost increase. Meanwhile, Sony just got rid of itslackluster “rewards” program, PlayStation Stars, doesn’t offer Day 1 access to Sony original games, and has a relatively underwhelming streaming service that doesn’t allow you to play anywhere.
