Sony has once again increased the price of its PlayStation Plus membership.
In April, Sony announced another price hike for PS Plus subscriptions, which took effect on June 24. Many players received emails notifying them of the new pricing.
This price increase marks a new milestone for PS Plus membership fees. For example, in the Hong Kong region, the annual fee for the three-tier membership has reached 1,000 HKD, while the second-tier membership is now 835 HKD, nearing the 1,000 HKD mark. Compared to the prices after the 2022 revision, all membership tiers have seen price increases exceeding 60%.
Surprisingly, despite the frequent price hikes, PS Plus membership has been performing better than ever.
According to foreign media VGC, Sony recently held an investor meeting where SIE President and CEO Hideaki Nishino stated that more users are opting for the Premium (third-tier) and Extra (second-tier) membership services. The proportion of users choosing mid-to-high tier memberships has been rising year by year, with mid-to-high tier members accounting for about 38% of the total PS Plus user base in fiscal year 2024.
Regarding the price increase, Nishino explained that the hike is due to Sony providing more value to players. The price increase has not slowed the growth of subscribers. Although he did not directly comment on whether prices will continue to rise, he mentioned that Sony will dynamically adjust pricing strategies to maximize profitability.
Recently, GameFile interviewed PlayStation Interactive Entertainment’s Global Services Vice President Maguire, who said, “Engagement with Plus has never been higher.” Specifically, acceptance of mid-to-high tier memberships is increasing, with third-tier membership users growing by about 18% over the past year.
The biggest benefit of the third-tier membership is access to a library of classic games.
Every time Sony announces a price increase, users both domestically and internationally debate whether to renew their subscriptions. The discussion often centers on the rising costs and whether Sony has fulfilled its “promises.”
Sony claims that the price hikes are to provide richer content for users. However, based on the author’s experience of renewing annual subscriptions for three consecutive years, PS Plus membership prices have increased almost every year since the revision, but the game library has not significantly improved. The quality of games available across the three tiers is inconsistent, and the benefits differ notably from other subscription services.
For example, Ubisoft and Xbox subscription members can access new first-party titles immediately, while Sony only occasionally adds third-party titles promptly. First-party and major third-party AAA games often take a long time to appear in the library.
The pattern of “giving away big titles” is unpredictable, somewhat like opening a blind box.
Players have voiced strong opinions, but Sony intends to maintain this approach. Maguire revealed Sony’s strategy for selecting games for the library: choosing four or five games released around the same time and adding them to the library after a year or more to maintain content balance. First-party games will not be added immediately.
Experienced players may also realize that the era of subscription services competing on price is over. For example, Xbox’s subscription service emphasizes “day-one access” as a key selling point, but its pricing strategy has tightened in recent years with periodic price increases.
On the other hand, players have limited choices regarding subscription memberships, as the “big three” console makers tie online functionality to memberships, making subscriptions essential for some online gamers.
If this trend continues, the old notion that “subscribing saves money” will increasingly be questioned.
