Is PlayStation Plus going to get more expensive? Sony speaks frankly about the future of pricing, citing 'value' and the growing popularity of subscriptions
Sony says it will continue to closely monitor and adjust PS Plus prices based on subscription trends and the "value" it believes it provides to players.
Here's What We Know
As part of his presentation of the gaming business, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) CEO Hideaki Nishino spoke about the future of PS Plus and PlayStation's approach to the pricing model.
According to Sony, 38% of PS Plus members subscribe to the more expensive Extra and Premium tiers. That's an 8% increase from fiscal 2022 and a 3% increase from last year. Although this still means that 62% of players remain on the Essential plan, PlayStation claims that the growth in the number of consumers subscribing to higher tiers demonstrates the "value" that the service can offer players.
As for PS Plus pricing, Nishino said it will continue to change to "maximise profitability" as they add more value to the service for players. This means that the more Sony puts into the service, the higher the cost can be.
"PlayStation Plus is highly valued by our players and continues to drive engagement," Nishino said (according to VGC media, which transcribed the text). "We are already seeing a trend towards choosing higher tiers in our service, as evidenced by the player distribution we achieved in fiscal 2024, where approximately 38% of players now subscribe to PlayStation Plus Premium or Extra."
Nishino added that the growth in upgrades is occurring despite recent price increases. This includes a 33% increase in annual plans just two years ago, with further increases in the months that followed.
"These price increases have been partly the result of increasing the value we provide to players through the quality and variety of content we continue to add, as well as investing in features to further enhance the service, such as personalisation for players and improved content discovery," Nishino said during the Fireside Chat. "PlayStation Plus offers great value to our players, and we will continue to add more value and dynamically adjust our pricing strategy to maximise profitability."
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Source: VGC
