ZehDon
Member
Oh, I certainly agree. I think Ryan's setting up PlayStation for long-term problems - but right now, he's sitting on PlayStation's most successful console and he knows it.
PlayStation Plus is increasing its pricing globally starting September 6th
- Thread starter Sleepwalker
- Start date
bender
What time is it?
I'm not so sure but I have a hard time divorcing myself from the general audience. They've found a model that works in highly polished blockbuster games that are largely beloved. The GAAS initiative while risky (no one really understand what is going to hit and for every success story there are dozens of failures), is something that can be pivoted from and if they get a hit, oh boy. Xbox is always going to be limited as they have a really hard time generated traction outside of a few key markets and Nintendo is going to do Nintendo things (thankfully). The PC market is the PC market and has some of the same challenges that it has always faced with some newer ones.
Sony did the best it could to fuck up the PS3 generation and were still able to recover from the many mistakes of that leadership. A lot of the initiatives that Jim Ryan is heading are easy to pivot from comparably.
ShadyAcshuns
Member
He's hoping for another Fortnite, and who can blame him? Problem is, most of the fanbase prefers the big AAA sp games Sony is known for. I'm not sure how or if they'll warm up to GaaS titles. Ryan already cut Japanese studios and I hope he doesn't run off the rest of the fanbase in thought of just securing another.
bender
What time is it?
That's what I was alluding too earlier. Fortnite wasn't a success out of the gate, it was a co-op builder/zombie defense game. On a whim they added the PUBG mode and then the popularity skyrocketed. Trying to predict what trend is going to hit seems like a fools errand. Maybe Bungie and their other internal studios have some good ideas though I think Marathon is an extraction shooter so that wouldn't make it a trend setter. If I was a gambling robot, the safe money is to bet against any and all of these titles.
ShadyAcshuns
Member
Well, maybe Foam Stars will be a breakaway hit.
DirtyBast8rd
Member
Good thing I sold my game laptop and am going to built a rtx 4090 pc. Console eco system can fuck off. Pushing a digital only future in their overly expensive store fronts. Yeah I'm out of being mainly a console gamer. Rtx 4090 on my C1 Oled with 7.1.4 surround sound from the couch sounds good to me.
Principal
Member
My biggest issue is that the PS5 is already expensive enough, I could't buy it at first and even now when I want to buy it, I don't feel like paying around a1/4th on top of that just to be able to play the game I already own online. Like Sony is activally pushing me to buy a PC for some reason as their games will come to PC anyway. As long as you don't suffer from FOMO, you legit almost have no reason to own a PS5...
ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
Those who cancelled should tell themselves that the hike is due to "next gen" too. Or inflation. Sony was also able to push through price hike (in selected territories) last year with no reciprocation. Its only natural that the next to hike after the games and console is their PS+ service.
If the players don't want to pay so much, they should have protested Sony from charging online in the first place.
I made a regarding the principle of paying for online back in 2016, and I get to hear from those who paid for it. The general sentiments from those who paid were "online infrastructure is not free", "I saved more money from the free games & discounts", "if you don't like it don't buy it", "its cheaper than a night's out at a pub" etc.
One of the posts as follow
When Sony reduce 6 PS3/4/Vita games output to 3 PS4 games per month with no reduction of the PS Plus price in 2019 and there were hardly any complains, I figure at that moment that perhaps Sony fans really don't mind paying more.
After listening to what they have said and years of thinking, I now understand why Sony feel confident and fine to hike PS+ price, that's why I now fully support Sony for doing so.
What's happening now is a repeat of when Sony increase annual PS Plus price from $50 to $60 back in 2016. same song and dance. Some people will protest for a while, then things go back to normal. It'll repeat 6 to 8 years later.
systemr123
Banned
There is some overlap but the library quality on PS Plus is a lot better I'd argue. Yes it doesn't contain day 1 first party games but then again how many of those do Gamepass have and which of those are actually great games? Gamepass is full of indies otherwise where PS Plus has much more triple aaa titles compared.
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
fortnite is a complete anomaly. It hit everything right, and it did all the perfect marketing memes that would look forced if someone tried to follow. Drake playing with Ninja. All that stuff. All the crossover stuff. Sony could try to handle that but I dont think its possible. GOing for something like Apex is a better comparison i think.
bender
What time is it?
not really, no. After the pivot, sure. But it wasn't intended to be a Battle Royal out of the gate. PUBG was really popular but kind of a miserable experience for more casual audiences. Fortnite is much more approachable in that regard and the building helps it have a high skill ceiling so it can satisfy multiple audiences. It's art style lends itself better for all the goofy cosmetic stuff too. It's kind of a perfect storm but would be almost impossible to replicate.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Sony is going to release a bunch of GAAS games the next few years. Thats their big push in the next few years and by the sounds of it, they'll be on PC too. And probably day one too since it's important to have an many people joining GAAS as fast as possible (ie. no staggered release for PC gamers 3 years later kind of thing).
So just wait to see what the games are play on PC with free online. The games will certainly be cross play too so you wont have to worry about separate online pools of gamers being spread thin across two platforms. It'll be one giant pool of online gamers.
So just wait to see what the games are play on PC with free online. The games will certainly be cross play too so you wont have to worry about separate online pools of gamers being spread thin across two platforms. It'll be one giant pool of online gamers.
KimDongHwan
Member
I know this are the way things are right now, but its super weird getting old and seeing your favorite past-time turned into this mindset of "how can we increase our profits?" take on gaming. Back then there was this dream of "what could be possible in gaming", thoughts about like "oh in the next GTA you will be able to get inside every building" or "you will be able to drive in real streets on Need for Speed", now the most we can expect is for a dev to send out an statement that their next game wont have microtransactions and applaud them for that. Luckily all of the old games are still available and very much playable so you can always go back to your backlog and finish things up.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Just businesses following the money. If gamers stopped buying mtx, companies wouldnt do it. Last mtx/DLC I bought was MW3 map pack in 2011 on 360. I've never bought any cosmetic mtx, dashboard theme, loot crate etc.... So to be fair I contributed to the map pack craze on Xbox 360, but nothing since then.
Sony has realized that first party game sales are big money, but there's only so many copies they can sell each. It taps out at a certain point where the final millions of copies are dumped at $19.99 too. But it still dries up.
But with COD, Fortnite, and even their own Grand Fate Order game (I think has made about $5 billion in revenue since it came out), the big money is in GAAS games where the holy grail is millions of casuals and whales contributing to the pot. Doesn't Fortnite make like $300M per month? I forget but it's some crazy ass number.
Sony execs even said a year or two ago, all they need is one successful one out of the bunch to cover it all. They are rolling the dice hoping 1 or more of those 10 can do it. They already have one in Grand Fate Order. And buying Bungie is another bullet in the chamber for GAAS as their games are purely GAAS all the time.
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StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
What Sony is doing is playing with house money.
The gaming division makes so much profit per year, they got a choice with game making.
Make more SP games that are predictable hits or roll the dice for the jackpot hoping 1 or those 10 GAAS is a fortnite or grand fate order? By the looks of it they are going for GAAS.
ultrazilla
Gold Member
And add another person to the "get bent Sony" list. Just cancelled my Playstation Extra subscription. The price increase is b.s., no added value to justify the raise and honestly, I don't even
play multiplayer on my PS5. Don't play any of the catalog/monthly free games. I mainly played Destiny 2 on the PS5 but I'm done with that game and uninstalled it so
again, no multiplayer.
play multiplayer on my PS5. Don't play any of the catalog/monthly free games. I mainly played Destiny 2 on the PS5 but I'm done with that game and uninstalled it so
again, no multiplayer.
TransTrender
Gold Member
I'm late to the party here but are the monthly rates staying the same but the annual cost is increasing?
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Canadian prices updated. It looks they increased the tiers by about 36% each. Sony didn't disclose the new Canuck prices until today.
mobilesyrup.com
PlayStation Plus just got more expensive in Canada -- here are the new prices
As promised, Sony has increased the price of PS Plus worldwide, and in Canada, the most expensive membership will now cost nearly $200/year.
mobilesyrup.com
- PlayStation Plus Essential 12-month subscription — $94.99 (previously $69.99)
- PlayStation Plus Extra 12-month subscription — $154.99 (previously $114.99)
- PlayStation Plus Premium 12-month subscription — $189.99 (previously $139.99)
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StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
You can still buy 12 months of Xbox Gold at Costco Canada for $60. The same price as during the 360 days. Other places like Best Buy are $70.
And at one time, PS+ was cheaper than Xbox Gold when Sony first started doing MP fees. Now Sony zoomed past them in price. Hilarious. And when Sony first started charging fees, Sony and defenders promoted they needed the cash to make their servers and online infrastructure better. Yet the past 5-6 years when mtx and digital sales really took off, they they make $2-3 billion profit per year just from their gaming division alone. Yet they still hike the prices to the max as if they are dirt poor.
At least this time they didn't PR they need the cash for servers. They simply just kept quiet and gave gamers one weeks notice over Labour Day weekend to adjust.
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StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
They know sub count will drop. But their internal math says it'll be worth doing so do it. But as you said, if tons of people do it making their magic math wrong they might adjust. You never know.
Expectations are sub count will drop since they also announced at the same time their PS+ membership count wont be publicly disclosed anymore. So they dont want to show sub count losses. It has been hovering in that ~45M range for a few years. Even though nobody will know the true sub count anymore going forward, I think it'll probably drop to somewhere between 35-40M.
HerjansEagleFeeder
Member
I was in the middle of moving away from PC toward consoles when this and other shit like it happened the last couple years. I've had enough. I'm keeping my PC, will try to find a way to make GeForce Now viable to me on my TV. I refuse to pay the bullshit prices in closed garden ecosystems. They're increasing prices with no added value at all. I feel like these companies are pissing in their customers faces telling them it's raining and that they like rain. So many people just gobble it up, but I ain't. It's either working like I need it to, or it's not gonna work at all, meaning I'd rather quit the hobby altogether than feel like a total idiot getting robbed by these companies. Also, Windows is spying malware cancer. How did we get to this point?
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
I think it's because console makers know the console space can only get so big (saturation). Even Nintendo has sold "only" 130M Switches. Sounds awesome, but during Wii/DS days they sold something 250M combined units. With a hybvid system youd think there would be enough distinct Nintendo gamers to buy, but it's right back down to not that much more than Wii at 100M. However, PC and mobile gaming have shot up a ton. Thats where the growth is. Not consoles.
So with business models like this, the best way to make more short term money is to jack up rates. No different than cable companies tacking on an extra $10 here or there. They know most people wont leave. And if they do it'll be a slow attrition. Not 50% of people dropping off by next month. So the price boosts applied to all will more than make up for the people drop assuming their elasticity model holds up. And they know there will always be a core of legacy users who will always be there at any price. Put it this way, even if cable rates doubled my parents will always go cable. They arent the type to call me over and help them buy and set up a streaming box.
The long term consequences can be huge though. For a lot of people, they cut cable and go streaming. They arent coming back because the damage is done. So their best bet for keeping the revenue going is hoping for new sign ups, increases prices or hoping their ISP internet division covers their cable TV division losing ground. Gaming can be similar. When you hear gamers going from console to ponying up for a PC rig, it doesn't seem like the type of gamer who will suddenly ditch their rig and go back to PS or Xbox next go around.
Sleepwalker
Member
Looks like im taking my PS5 offline and keeping it that way next year.Canadian prices updated. It looks they increased the tiers by about 36% each. Sony didn't disclose the new Canuck prices until today.
PlayStation Plus just got more expensive in Canada -- here are the new prices
As promised, Sony has increased the price of PS Plus worldwide, and in Canada, the most expensive membership will now cost nearly $200/year.Unfortunately, PS Plus doesn't offer any new perks to offset the higher costs. Sony has said the price increase is necessary to "enable us to continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service." It adds that the new 12-month prices still offer a "discounted rate" compared to the one- and three-month options.
- PlayStation Plus Essential 12-month subscription — $94.99 (previously $69.99)
- PlayStation Plus Extra 12-month subscription — $154.99 (previously $114.99)
- PlayStation Plus Premium 12-month subscription — $189.99 (previously $139.99)
Gamerguy84
Member
Yea i was going to stay out of this thread and it's been entertaining but all the fuck this price raise I'm ordering a 4090 is cracking me up.
I suspect some of it is fake outrage from pc warriors trying to pull more people in. Some is other warriors trying to help their cause and I'm sure some is pissed off PS gamers.
But go ahead and buy/ build that 3 to 4 thousand dollar pc. It's a good thing nvidia don't believe in price raises. Or go a 4080 and knock $800 off that price. Or maybe just wait for the 5xxx series and really future proof. I hear it's a jump so big its not been seen before in gpus.
You could go AMD and get made gun of by the green team but eh who cares right. There's nothing like getting another PS exclusive announced 2 years down the road and being able to say "Can't wait to see this game how it was really meant to be played, it's going to look so much better"
I suspect some of it is fake outrage from pc warriors trying to pull more people in. Some is other warriors trying to help their cause and I'm sure some is pissed off PS gamers.
But go ahead and buy/ build that 3 to 4 thousand dollar pc. It's a good thing nvidia don't believe in price raises. Or go a 4080 and knock $800 off that price. Or maybe just wait for the 5xxx series and really future proof. I hear it's a jump so big its not been seen before in gpus.
You could go AMD and get made gun of by the green team but eh who cares right. There's nothing like getting another PS exclusive announced 2 years down the road and being able to say "Can't wait to see this game how it was really meant to be played, it's going to look so much better"
ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
These players might have been on the fence or is already thinking of switching to PC for other reasons, and this might be the straw to break the camel's back.
Let's not take your frustration out on PC players. Personally I think existing subscribers should stay subscribed to the PS Plus service
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
I'm good till 2025 but I wonder if all this is setting up potential issues for the future. I expected price hikes but I can't imagine a world where its 80 dollars just to play online.
Maybe, Sony introduce a 40 or 60 dollar tier that doesn't include free games? That would be fair for those just playing online.
Maybe, Sony introduce a 40 or 60 dollar tier that doesn't include free games? That would be fair for those just playing online.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
They did Canadians a big favour. /S
At the current exchange rates, $80 US should be about $110 CDN. But they made it $95 CDN. They purposely didn't want to make it hit $100 because psychologically it looks bad for the bottom tier sub plan to break $100. lol. At $95 CDN, that's actually $70 US. You can tell it was something they really aimed to decrease as much sticker shock as possible because they didn't even reveal the new Canadian prices until Sept 6 the day it changed to new pricing whereas the US rate change was told a week in advance. Even cable companies jacking up rates send you a letter in the mail in advance saying the TV package or rental box fee is going up.
Amazingly, annual Xbox Gold has only gone up $10 since the 360 days here. From $60 to $70 CDN at stores. And Costco Canada has left it at $60 the whole time. Thats only about $45 US.
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Dr.brain64
Member
About 8,33 per month where I live. Meh.
GAF machine
Member
Nothing? Bring back Kaz and make the entire PSX/PS2 back catalog available via PS+. Also rehire the goat and let him design the PS3 mini.
PS hardware under Matrix codenames are directly linked to the GOAT's words and deeds. Within SIE he's 'The Oracle', which quite likely means that Project Trinity refers to this 'trinity'. I can't shake the belief that part of PS5 Pro's true purpose is to enable legacy downloads from PS+. Dialing PS5 visuals up a notch is a selling point aimed at players who have no interest in playing the first trio's games.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
The corporate assumption is the big price hike will offset anyone leaving the PS escosystem, as well as offset any potential new sales from gamers who would had joined in for the first time at the old tier prices.
The prices jumped about 33% in the US. Not every region might be exactly 33% (Canada was 36%), but for sake of argument lets say 33% for everyone.
As long as sub plans dont drop by 25% or more, the 33% price hike for gamers paying the new price will be a net gainer in revenue.
What they are doing is purposely squeezing their existing core gamers who they know will stick around and pay any price, while acknowledging there will be losses for the fringe gamers who will bail which will decrease the overall sub count. They know this will happen because they announced they wont be publicly disclosing sub counts anymore going forward.
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Dream-Knife
Banned
Use Arch.
They're doing this because there's not enough growth. Corporations always have to be growing. That's how people get bonuses.
Home consoles haven't really been growing, and when your main competitor couldn't fight out of a wet paper bag, you get things like this.
Trogdor1123
Member
Dude, they will go pc. Not Xbox
NickFire
Member
Do you think their net gain / loss projection take associated lost game sales into account? Games not purchased due to online access cost may or may not be negligible. I'm guessing they did but wouldn't be shocked if they dismissed any domino effects since this feels arrogant as all hell to me for essential in particular. Of course I am biased since this annoys me.
LavitzSlambert
Member
You can really feel it. I know there was the same sentiment in the past when Microsoft decided to get in on the industry with Xbox. But somehow it feels even worse now because we see Google, Apple, Amazon, fucking Netflix hoping to take a piece of that pie. Fact is gaming is a legitimate form of entertainment and one many people are spending money on. Human greed attracts all the wrong crowd to try and monetize gaming more. What's good is when you have an eye for these schemes, you can still enjoy gaming without being majorly impacted by it. Plenty of great games still being released, especially from indie devs, and plenty of excellent new content too. And even if that dries up, there is such a large library of past games that can still be enjoyed today - whether you are replaying, or experiencing them for the first time.
I do think large tech company involvement and consolidation of the industry will drive it towards creatively bankrupt bullshit rehashes like today's movie industry, but I think we have some time before it goes into full gear unless they try to speedrun any % it.
Vol5
Member
Canned my sub a few months back. I have had value out of Plus over the years (like still being able to play the monthly PS3 / PS4 titles on original hardware), but Premium was a huge let-down, I can't justify another subscription when I don't play online all that often anymore and I'm playing on PC more now.
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FearlessBelgian
Member
These price are crazy, Sony is going mad...
Del_X
Member
They're gonna take money like you're a f2p paypig for the privilege of slurping shitty sloppy seconds.
No day one first party is a joke for the premium tier, essentials is bullshit for more than a new game a year, and you could probably build a comparable library via steam and humble through sales compared to extra.
No day one first party is a joke for the premium tier, essentials is bullshit for more than a new game a year, and you could probably build a comparable library via steam and humble through sales compared to extra.
ShadyAcshuns
Member
Investor9872
Member
Not this q3 and q4 since most people are already subscribed multi-year. Sony was strategic in this when they had the 25% - 30% off sale in June. They figured people will be subscribed for the next 3-4 years until the PS6 comes out, and by then $80 for the most basic Essential tier will be easier to swallow.
Don't give in to Sony's plan and swallow their shit!
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TheGreatMusashi
Member
I ended up canceling, the offering just wasn't there for me. I'll be spending less reupping on FFXVI 
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
I'm sure they did.
The gamers who will stick around and pay the price hike are the ones who are totally engrained into the ecosystem, MP and mtx. I dont think the typical core PS Fortnite, COD or FIFA gamer are suddenly going to jump ship. The gamers who bail from sub plans are likely the ones who focus more on SP and will probably just stick with those games anyway even if they give up MP play. I dont think the number of gamers who totally bail from PS gaming (go to Xbox or PC) will be that many. No way 25% or more people bail. I estimate maybe 10-15% tops. It will be a slow attrition too because a lot of gamers are already paid up for the year or stacked. So short term there's no point in any of them unsubbing if their current plans already goes to 2024 or 2025.
The company had a bad earnings report a month ago, so they need a boost now. By the time all the GAAS games come out the next year or two, they'll push them hard in hopes the MP modes in them draw back any gamers who left to buy back into the sub plan. And for any gamers (as I mentioned above) who are ready to renew their subs, the GAAS games might be interesting enough to keep going after all.
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KouNaN
Neo Member
A bump here.
I need a little bit of help please.
I play most of my games on NSW and PC (GP, steam and epic), but I will probably (in the near future, 1-2 months) get a PS5 for my daughter, son and me, so I wanted to know if PSPlus is worth it for somenone who never owned a PlayStation and has not played any of the exclusives (are the games included worth it) and if yes which plan schould I choose (I don't really like online gaming, but I do play it occaionally)?
Thx
I need a little bit of help please.
I play most of my games on NSW and PC (GP, steam and epic), but I will probably (in the near future, 1-2 months) get a PS5 for my daughter, son and me, so I wanted to know if PSPlus is worth it for somenone who never owned a PlayStation and has not played any of the exclusives (are the games included worth it) and if yes which plan schould I choose (I don't really like online gaming, but I do play it occaionally)?
Thx
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