The world likes to give Xbox a hard time (and rightfully so) for its scummy business practices, but PlayStation hasn’t fared much better lately. It was the first company to pull the trigger on console price hikes before Nintendo, and more recently, Xbox followed suit. Now, the company might be looking to hike prices again.
Not console prices, though. The company has at least spared us on that front. Instead, Sony’s gaming division is reportedly planning another PlayStation Plus price hike. This follows PlayStation’s last PS Plus price hike back in May, which saw newcomers to the service hit by a sizeable hike. South Africa, fortunately, got off free.
PlayStation Plus (may) strike again
We’re not so sure we’ll be quite as lucky this time. Sony teased the hike in a recent investor Q&A, after the company was asked about “the pace and scale of future PS Plus price increases, given its importance as a profitability driver?” As a consumer, even the question is worrisome. PlayStation’s reply, even more so.
“PS Plus offers strong value to players, and we continually balance that value against customer cost. We are using multiple levers to improve profitability, including pricing, tier mix and content acquisition efficiency. Higher tiers now account for 40% of subscribers, which reflects strong demand for the service,” it said.
That isn’t necessarily a death knell for PS Plus subscribers. But as PlayStation Lifestyle points out, the last time Sony used similar verbiage, prices were hiked. It said back then that it intended to cover the costs of servers and network infrastructure solely from PS Plus’ generated revenue. If those prices go up, so does PS Plus.
If Sony sends a hike our way, we’re betting it’ll target those under the Extra and Premium tiers (Deluxe in South Africa). Driving up pricing for the most basic tier — Essential — may just scare off those subscribers for good. The two tiers above, which offer access to a rather vast library of games, are already the most profitable. Upping the price could make them more so. Only time will tell if Sony is headed in that direction.
