An observation was recently made on the PS Plus, and it is not the most reassuring. Should we expect any change after the price increase?
The PS Plus has seen many changes during its existence. Last year, Sony pulled out all the stops by unveiling its Extra and Premium packages. It was a way to compete with the growing popularity of Xbox Game Pass. Like the latter, these offers provide access to a library of varied games. One of them even allows access to “retro” titles and, more recently, to stream PS5 games using the Cloud. However, the price increase that took place last month was not to everyone’s taste. And what we have just learned about the subscription is not very reassuring since Sony is being secretive.
Radio silence at Sony when we talk about PS Plus
A small point is necessary on the situation. On September 6, PlayStation applied new prices to its PS Plus, and they hurt the wallet. The PlayStation Plus Essential now costs €71.99, the Extra plan €125.99 and the Premium offer has gone from €119.99 to €151.99. On top of that, there wasn’t much evidence to justify such a surge. The community was therefore not happy, and they quickly wondered what impact it was going to have on the number of subscribers. This is where things get interesting. Usually, Sony regularly communicates the total number of PS Plus users. But this time he didn’t. He keeps it secret.
In truth, the firm is not obliged to provide this statistic. However, this made it possible to observe more or less precisely the variations in arrivals and departures from the subscription. However, society now prefers to remain radio silent. An astonishing maneuver as we are in the middle of the period following the massive increase in the price of PS Plus. For some, the message is clear: a significant number of players have decided to cancel their subscription following Sony’s radical decision, and the company is trying to avoid talking about it.
So yes, the latest financial report from the Japanese giant does mention PS Plus subscribers quickly and without any way of comparing the figures. But two quarters of 2023 are notably absent. Odd.
We know this method, many have already done it. Activision did it for Call of Duty for example when the series was struggling, and Sony had already used the same method with its PS Vita. Some people indeed mention the difficult period that the machine had gone through and where the manufacturer had, once again, hidden its data to avoid talking about the failure of its machine.
Microsoft joins the movement
As for Microsoft, the company’s arch-rival, there has also been a wave of change. Last June, most Game Pass plans increased in price and the trial period was cut in half to 14 days. For its part, Xbox Live Gold has been replaced by Game Pass Core. Such modifications may have scared users of the service, even if they are not as violent as with its direct competitor.
In any case, Eric Lempel, vice president of Sony and head of marketing, defended the company’s choice during an interview with Barron’s. Market conditions have clearly spared no one. “ We want to make PS Plus an exceptional product. With our reboot last year and the introduction of several plans, many consumers recognized that the PS5 had a lot of value. Like almost everything else in the world, we need to review our prices and adapt to market conditions “.