Being a gamer is hard right now. I'm not talking about the losers online who bemoan things like the Mixtape, but average joes can actually enjoy the medium without spending all the disposable income they have.
This past generation has seen the cost of consoles and hardware components skyrocket due to a number of factors; they're not limited to sprawling companies buying up stock for their AI data centers while game prices rise right along with them. If Grand Theft Auto 6 is going to cost $100, we're going to pass the true point of no return. And now Sony has increased the price of PlayStation Plus in some areas.
A month of subscription service will now cost $10.99 / €9.99 / £7.99 per month, with the price increasing whether you buy for 3 months or the full 12 months. Overall, access to online multiplayer on PlayStation platforms, along with other benefits available on the service, will now be more expensive.
That means free games, free trials, free content add-ons for select titles, and more to keep you going a little more every month. This will likely carry over to the Premium and Extra tiers as well, meaning the additional costs will add up. As someone who pays for the service but is also not immune to the very privileged position they hold as someone who covers the industry, it's a hard pill to swallow.
We're getting price hikes and only one new classic game is added to the service every month, so it's not even silver.
In a world where consoles are more expensive than ever, and costs need to be spent on more surfaces than just hardware, knowing that we have to constantly invest in games or spend extra just to enjoy them to the fullest really sucks. PlayStation isn't helping its public perception either, as Xbox recently dropped the price of Game Pass to bring back existing users and pave the way for a slew of new ones.
Why is the price of PlayStation Plus increasing?
According to the official Twitter account, the rising prices of PlayStation Plus are simply due to “ongoing market conditions” in the world of video games. With the hardware prices in its consoles, handhelds and peripherals, it was easy to connect the dots and realize that Sony is suffering from rising component prices, as are Xbox and Nintendo – two other platform holders who have raised their prices in recent months. Vital things like RAM, SSDs and more are being bought up in bulk by corporations so consumer products suffer. Instead of being stored, these costs are passed on to consumers like you and me.
I have to imagine that raising PlayStation Plus prices is another way to offset rising costs when console sales aren't experiencing the same trajectory as earlier in the generation. Yes, a lot of people will probably pick up the system if they don't already have it before GTA 6, but if you already have it and aren't going to upgrade to the new, even more expensive PS5 Pro, the price increase will still affect you. It doesn't seem fair to early investors.
It's worth noting that many of the big free-to-play games don't require PlayStation Plus, but I think many of those players probably signed up for the service anyway.
Raising the price of it when you know so many players are already struggling and you really only care about your own bottom line is really bullshit, especially in a non-gaming world that makes it harder and harder for normal people to make ends meet. But I bet Sony is hoping that this increased price won't be a temporary measure that just reflects the currently turbulent market, but that we'll eventually forget until this new higher asking price becomes normal. If a massive company can get more money from you without you noticing, chances are they will. The same mentality can be applied to the dynamic digital pricing we've seen slowly rolled out on the PlayStation Store in recent months.
I've been a PlayStation Plus member since day one and have been paying for it and a few free games a month long before it was required for online multiplayer. I want to call myself a loyal customer, but now for the first time I'm tempted to leave because it's just not worth it anymore. It reminds me of the PS3 generation where PSN excelled because unlike Xbox Live it was completely free but just as capable. Nowadays, I can only imagine things that are more expensive and more inaccessible to normal players.
- Mark
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Sony
- Original release date
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November 12, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$499, €499, £449, ¥49,980 (base) // $399, €399, £359, ¥39,980 (digital),
- Operating system
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OS Orbis
