So as console gaming markets heat up ahead of the impending reveals of next-gen consoles, gamers are eager for more news. But it turns out that not all news is good news. Various PSN users in some countries in Europe and Asia are being notified that they’re going to end up paying more for Playstation Plus. Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and Japan are all the countries which will see price increases for PlayStation Plus services. This price hikes will be significant, and are set to begun in August 2019.
Playstation Plus has had price changes before, but this set of hikes is likely to make a lot of people question the expense. The new price points differ by region, and that means they’re probably linked to fluctuations in currency value compared to future projections. In Sweden, the price is being raised from 75.00 krona to 95.00, or 26.6%. In Switzerland, the price is being raised from 7.90 CHF to 9.90, or 25.3%. Japan’s monthly price is being raised from 514 Yen to 850, up 65%. Both Germany and France’s price is being raised to €8.99.
Many gamers in the US and other areas are used to paying the rough equivalent of $10 USD, which is still the general price in the US. The overall trend of fluctuation prices was due to hit European PSN users at some point. Unstable economic trends, Brexit, increasing electronics prices due to China/US trade escalations, the list of price signals causing increasing prices just keeps growing. And as Sony and other companies attempt to offset increased costs, subscription prices are likely to get hit at some point.
The interesting thing about this change is that many regions affected by the change can still be considered cheaper than other regions. For example, PlayStation Plus prices in the UK are 10-15% below other areas.
So while this trend is unlikely to change, it’s definitely going to get some backlash. the ending of free PS3 and PS Vita games for PS Plus users, the increasing prices, issues with localization and censorship, there’s a laundry list of reasons why gamers keep getting angry over Playstation.
Source: PSN
