From June 22 in France, Sony will launch its new PlayStation Plus formulas. Old gift cards will give access to new subscriptions, but not all in the same way.
On May 23, 2022, Sony plans to end PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now in the first countries. Instead, the Japanese manufacturer is banking on three new offers (PS Plus Essential, PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium), designed to help it better compete with Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass (even if the concept is not exactly the same). In France, you will have to wait until June 22 to benefit from these new offers.
On its support pages, Sony has updated its policy regarding gift cards. After being too generous for a brief moment (a PlayStation Now gift card gave access to the new PlayStation Plus Premium subscription at half price), the Japanese manufacturer backpedaled and developed a conversation system that was not very easy to understand.
A 12-month gift card valid for 6 months
We feel that this point worries Sony. Throughout the transition period, the manufacturer simply decided to block the use of gift cards. Only new customers can use them today, others must wait until June 22. A fairly rare practice, which Sony justifies by “work behind the scenes”.
Sony’s rules for converting are quite specific. Take the example of gift cards Playstation Pluswhich some buy in several copies during promotions:
1 month card | 3 month card | 12 month card | |
Not a subscriber | 31 days of Essential | 92 days of Essential | 365 days of Essential |
You are on an Essential formula on June 22 | 31 days of Essential | 92 days of Essential | 365 days of Essential |
You are on a Premium plan at 22June | 20 days of Extra | 58 days of Extra | 219 days of Extra |
You are on an Extra plan at 22June | 17 days of Premium | 46 days of Premium | 183 days of Premium |
With the cards Playstation Now, it’s even more complicated. Sony had indicated that it would convert existing subscriptions to PlayStation Plus Premium (its most expensive formula), but it plans to reduce the validity period of gift cards.
1 month card | 3 month card | 12 month card | |
Not a subscriber | 21 days of Premium | 53 days of Premium | 183 days of Premium |
You are on an Essential plan at 22June | 40 days of Essential | 105 days of Essential | 365 days of Essential |
You are on a Premium plan at 22June | 25 days of Extra | 66 days of Extra | 219 days of Extra |
You are on an Extra plan at 22June | 21 days of Premium | 53 days of Premium | 183 days of Premium |
With PlayStation Now, we can be surprised by certain inconsistencies. If a “1 month” card gives access to a boost with the Essential formula (40 days instead of 31), it only allows you to benefit from a normal year with the “12 month” card (365 days). We would have preferred Sony to be more generous in automatically converting its cards to the maximum subscription, while supplies last, but we were probably dreaming.