PS Plus Could Be Getting More Expensive at Some Point

by

Sony intends to maintain the current price of the PS5, even if production costs go up. They plan to do this by finding ways to generate more revenue from existing PlayStation users, and many believe this will likely mean another price increase for PlayStation Plus. PlayStation Plus last saw a major global price increase in 2023, with some regions experiencing further hikes after that.

Even though Sony recently changed prices for PlayStation Plus, they also improved the benefits of each subscription level, and it seems to be working – more players are choosing the higher-tier options. However, the PlayStation community is worried about another price increase, feeling the current prices are already too high. Despite this, it looks like Sony might raise prices for the PlayStation Plus membership again in the near future.

Sony May Offset the Impact of Increased Memory Cost with PS Plus Price Hike

In Sony’s recent earnings call, Lin Tao announced a 4% drop in revenue for the Games & Network Services division compared to last year, primarily because of fewer hardware sales. Addressing concerns about rising costs of RAM, Tao stated that Sony plans to lessen the impact by focusing on generating more revenue from existing PlayStation users. This focus on maximizing revenue from the current user base has led to speculation about a possible price increase for PlayStation Plus.

Image via Sony

Despite a decrease in the Games & Network Services (G&NS) segment, Sony’s overall operating income increased by 19%. This was driven by favorable foreign exchange rates – likely due to how Sony prices products in different regions – and increased earnings from online services and its own software titles. PlayStation Plus performed particularly well, with more subscribers choosing its higher-priced tiers, which greatly boosted the company’s quarterly results.

Sony is trying to keep the price of the PS5 stable despite increasing costs for memory chips. To do this, they’re likely to raise the price of PlayStation Plus instead of reducing the number of consoles they make. Sony has had success getting players to subscribe to more expensive PlayStation Plus tiers, so they may rely on this to generate more income and avoid increasing the PS5’s price.

A More Affordable PS5 Console Could Also Be on the Way

Image via PlayStation

During the recent earnings call, someone asked if Sony was considering a less expensive version of the PS5. They pointed out that Sony had previously discussed releasing a cheaper PS5 specifically for Japan and wondered why they would introduce such a model so late in the console’s lifespan.

According to a Sony representative, the less expensive PS5 model was designed to boost sales in Japan, and early signs are promising. They noted that increased sales of this model could encourage game developers to create more titles for the console. While Sony hasn’t announced plans to release the model outside of Japan, some players are hoping the company will focus on offering more affordable hardware options rather than increasing the price of subscription services.

Sony Expects Upcoming Releases to Boost Revenue

Image via Bungie

During Sony’s recent earnings call, CFO Lin Tao discussed upcoming PlayStation games, including Marathon. She believes Marathon, launching on March 5th, will be popular thanks to improvements made by Bungie. Tao also mentioned that highly anticipated games like Saros and Marvel’s Wolverine are expected to boost revenue for Sony’s game development teams.

Although this plan could boost income, popular ongoing games and expensive new titles might not be enough to cover the increasing costs of making PlayStation consoles. Many players worry Sony may raise PlayStation Plus subscription prices again to deal with these financial challenges. It’s uncertain how Sony will handle the upcoming shortage of RAM, or if they’ll try to maintain PS5 console prices by increasing subscription costs.

Read More

2026-02-10 23:35