Support NeoGAF

[Eimran]

Last year Sony increased the price for their online services with an astronomical 33% across all tiers

$20 increase for essential. $59.99 -> $79.99
$35 increase for extra. $99.99 -> $134.99
$40 increase for premium. $119.99 -> $159.99

Sony's motivation was that this was neccesary to improve their service and expand the library:

“This price adjustment will enable us to continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service.”

What is your opinion? Do you feel that the service improved and the price increase was justified? Did the premium library increase as desired? Did your stance change on changing your subscription?

 

[crackajack]

[x] The service stayed the same and I renewed my membership

No one in their right mind could expect an increase in anything, since everything was already on it. Continue is probably the keyword. Prices increased for them most probably, so not eating that seems somewhat reasonable. Or they just make more profit now. Either way, it is still great value.
But that crunchyroll, core movie whatever thing happened I think. And PS5 streaming. So there was indeed something new, I just don't use, yet.

 

[KiteGr]

Stopped bothering with it.
All I want is online play. The rest of the futures are just a bonus. Steam is giving all those for free.

 

[SidViscous]

I renewed when they had the offer lowering it to the previous price. Would never pay the current price, barely have time for games.

 

[lh032]

dont jinx it : O

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Funny with the timing of this thread since my PS+ Extra sub expires today; waiting for a discount to resubscribe else I probably won't bother.

 

[DJ12]

I remember that after the price increase there was better games appearing as monthly giveaways, but that might be down to them just putting stuff on it I liked more

 

[Danjin44]

I don’t play online games and most free PS+ games either I don't care for or the ones I do care for already bought day one when they first released.

PS+ literally worthless to me.

 

[TexMex]

I had premium, and still do. And that’s not because the service has gotten better, it’s pretty weak. It’s just complacency on my part and not wanting to deactivate/reactivate in the event that they turn it around over $40.

I know that’s a bad way to be and doing the above is probably clicking two buttons, but it is what it is.

 

[Spyxos]

It is now confusing to use this service. Where are which games, what advantages do I have exactly where? Why is Premium so expensive and offers almost nothing? I look at the monthly games, but I'm no longer a customer.

 

[Kupfer]

[X] I didn't renew my membership and I'm not going to

Cancelled mine right after the price increase.

My membership expires in June or July, but I haven't used the Essential features for months, so I won't be renewing.
The only thing I wanted to play before it expired was Alan Wake so I didn't have to open my physical copy, and I did that.
The price increase for, quite literally, essential features is just absurdly high.
Cloud saves and multiplayer should be free anyway, just like on the PC, and I've done without those 'free' games except for the aforementioned Alan Wake and Hell let Loose 2 years ago.
I think this business model is cheeky, as it makes players dependent on something they can't/won't do without.
This dependency is exploited until the player has forgotten that it's perfectly fine not to have a subscription.

After the split into 3 tiers, the price increase with the cheeky statement that this was the only way to provide a higher quality of service was a farce and the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I have now reached the point where I am no longer even neutral towards PS+, as I used to be, but see it as something bad that should not be supported.

 

[[Sigma]]

I dropped PS Premium last November when it ran out. I subscribed to PS Plus Essential when Helldivers 2 came out for 3 months so that's where im at. My subscription literally depends on whether im active on Helldivers 2 and im only on Essential.

 

[Dazraell]

It stayed the same and I'm honestly not happy with PS+ quality. I renewed it, but decreased it to Essential tier, only to be able to play online and have the games I redeemed in the past

 

[ChoosableOne]

While being a PS Plus member, I eagerly added some of the games released every month to my account, thinking I would play them someday. I never got around to playing any of them, and now they just sit there in my purchased games section, frustrating me. When my PS Plus membership expired, I felt worse than Cinderella. I would never consider paying $80 annually just to play online. The higher-tier memberships also seem too expensive. If they improve the service, like day one releases(or at least 6 months?), maybe I'll consider it in the future (if I get convinced for a PS5 Pro or ps6).

 

[Portugeezer]

The shareholders enjoyed the price increase.

 

[Bojji]

I had premium/extra/premium for more than 2 years (normal plus before that for years...) but when my sub expired in December... I didn't give a fuck.

Their prices are now ridiculous and they can go fuck themselves.

 

[FinalBossWithTheMostPower]

I had PS plus for a year (with launch console).

When it ended my life remained unchanged.

 

[Kupfer]

While being a PS Plus member, I eagerly added some of the games released every month to my account, thinking I would play them someday. I never got around to playing any of them, and now they just sit there in my purchased games section, frustrating me. When my PS Plus membership expired, I felt worse than Cinderella. I would never consider paying $80 annually just to play online. The higher-tier memberships also seem too expensive. If they improve the service, like day one releases(or at least 6 months?), maybe I'll consider it in the future (if I get convinced for a PS5 Pro or ps6).

They entice you with the games, which sounds good at first. "Three games every month - wow, good deal."
But like you said, it was similar for me and most of the games were and are never played.
I buy the games I'm really interested in at the time of release, and when they're added to the subscription a few months/years later, they're no good to me either
Sure, there have been a few exceptions, but they don't justify the price.
The worst moment was the PS3 / Vita times, when I had games like Gravity Rush and Uncharted on the Vita via PS Plus, but was struggling financially at the time and couldn't renew PS Plus. Suddenly not being able to play "my" (they were never mine) games annoyed me so much that I've been a physical advocate ever since. I bought a lot of games that I had via PS Plus physically so that I wouldn't have to look so stupid at some point.

 

[xrnzaaas]

2 months left on my sub and not renewing. My decision was made even easier by the fact that only Extra and Premium were getting discounts in recent sales. They're desperate to make you upgrade.

 

[FingerBang]

I have just reverted to Essential because I'm playing Helldivers 2. I was on premium for the last year and a half or so. I am not going to renew at that price. I am not even sure I'll renew game pass (which I have until 2025) in the future.

 

[Johnny Concrete]

I cancelled for some months, but there was a big discount some months ago, so I resubbed. Just in time for Helldivers 2 (which I didn't expect to buy and like).

The free games are fine, I won't play 95% of them.

 

[Nankatsu]

Still on Premium, since I had already renewed my subscription.

Do I use any of the Premium features? Barely.

Will I step down to Extra? Probably. Premium has very little interest to justify that price.

 

[Aion002]

So far this year I played:

Monthly games: Sifu and Immortals.

Extra games: None.

Premium games: None.

So, nope. No improvements at all.

Will I renew it by the end of year? Probably, but I might downgrade it to the cheapest plan.

 

[Xtib81]

And I went from premium to basic. I haven't downloaded a single PS+ game in the last 6 months either.

 

[DeepSpace5D]

The price increase compelled me to drop from premium to essential and I don’t see myself upgrading again considering the classic titles they are adding can always be bought a la carte.

The only thing that might make me consider an upgrade is if a Crunchyroll sub was included.

 

[killatopak]

I miss the $50 days and even lower with discounts like on BF.

 

[Roxkis_ii]

I was on a year of extra, but downgraded to 3 months of essential after my sub ended. I don't see the value, so unless there is a discount for essential, I'm probably not renewing.

 

[violence]

Mine ran out in November. I didn’t renew and I just bought the oddball games that I was still playing on sale.

 

[kruis]

I don’t play online games and most free PS+ games either I don't care for or the ones I do care for already bought day one when they first released.

PS+ literally worthless to me.

Yep. Same here. PS+ is and was a complete waste of money. But I may resubscribe if I'm selling my PS5 in the upcoming months while I can still get a good price for it. I'll be buying a PS5 Pro and PS+Cloud Saves are (AFAIK) the only way to transfer games saves to the new system without access to the old system.

 

[KungFucius]

I bought a year and while I have gotten use out of it, I can't see it being worth it at the new price. I would prefer a higher tier with day1 games like gamepass.

 

[Punished Miku]

There is some real pain in this thread. I think we're 0 - 29 right now.

 

[Kupfer]

I was on a year of extra, but downgraded to 3 months of essential after my sub ended. I don't see the value, so unless there is a discount for essential, I'm probably not renewing.

The funny thing is that essential now costs as much on offer as essential did regularly before the price increase.
This is how you shift the perception of your customers. as soon as it says offer, people buy.

 

[Jaybe]

I got a PS5 on November and haven’t subscribed into any PS Plus tiers yet.

 

[thegame983]

Let it lapse in February after being subbed since the start of the ps4 era.

To be fair I have a decent gaming pc which has surpassed my PS5. I will skip ps5 pro as I did with ps4 pro and reevaluate when the PS6 comes out.

 

[kurisu_1974]

I didn't notice a thing, free games are still all shit just like before. I renew because I want to be able to play online if needed. I have no idea about "the service".

 

[lordarchaon666]

The Quality has decreased but I renewed it anyway. A few different reasons why I still pay for it but yeah, the quality of PS+ games over the last 6 months has been dire and that's my main benefit. I don't do online gaming but my brother does so we split a sub.

 

[Generic]

Nothing improved.

 

[Mr Moose]

Stayed the same. I am pissed they didn't have a discount on the normal PS+, only the two higher tiers.

 

[MALpractice311]

I didn't renew. I haven't fired up any of my monthly PS Plus games in over a year, I'm not currently playing any online games, and I'm neck deep in a single player game backlog, so I just let mine expire. Thus I had no reason to renew at an increased price. That being said, I'll keep an eye out for sales or discounts and probably buy a card or two for when I start a new online game.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Jim Ryan, a scoundrel and a shameless man, before leaving, the coward raised the prices... As well as caring little to the audience.

 

[StereoVsn]

I dropped it (alongside GamePass). Unlike MS though Sony put cloud saves behind the Essential lock. It’s annoying AF.

I hooked up an external HD I had so I can at least do weekly backups.

 

[King Dazzar]

Mine expired a month ago. So far not missing anything. I'm single player focused though. PlayStations price increase lost me.

 

[adamsapple]

Been on Extra for almost 2 years, letting it run out and not renewing it. I don't use enough online on PS5 to even need the Essential one.

 

[splattered]

Forgot I let my premium lapse end of last year, don't even care

 

[Reckheim]

yeh, I just play more on pc, i might renew it in the future if i want to play something from my old ps plus catalog but that's about it.

Sounds like their multiplayer games will be multiplat too so there really is no reason for me to stay subscribed.

 

[Klosshufvud]

All I want is to play GT7 online. I don't want all that other useless trash Sony's forcing down my throat. Just let me play the game I bought fully. I will never support paid online. No matter how much garbage they attach to it. It's wrong on a principal level.

 

[Bond007]

I dont see an option for it being the same ol same ol- but i renew anyway.
Its all dumb though. Everyone celebrated the great "Deal" XBL was- and that led us to this crap which is damn near mandatory.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

I did renew it last year but I’m not renewing it this year - option.

 

[MadchesterManc]

I let my sub expire about 6 months ago with no intention of starting it up again, feels like a lifetime since I first subbed back when Plus launched on PS3 I rarely use the PS5 outside of review duties these days, which is a shame as the console itself is great but the services & games, aside from a few, have been woeful from Sony this gen.

To be fair I don't have the time to play the hundreds of games I already own so subbing to PS+ or GPU for more is a bit daft too

 

[Three]

Other. I'm already stacked until 2025 (using PS now) so it didn’t really affect me, yet. The library quality didn’t really change at all. About the only thing they added was I guess PS5 games/blades and the ability to stream your owned PS5 games.