PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for September: Saints Row, Black Desert – Traveler Edition, Generation Zero 

I have been a gamer since Atari 2600 and a Playstation owner of every model, I have always considered the costs versus the value they provided at the time -which is subjective to everyone.
From a company perspective recurring subscription payments provide a relative guarantee of future revenue be that for profit, or future product investment. In marketing terms Sony have taken a huge risk here by giving customers the ability to re-examine the subscription price they pay -something that is normally left ‘out of sight / out of mind’. Burying the new pricing model at the bottom of the monthly games announcement demonstrates the trap they are now in, they can’t fully hide this announncement when normally, increases are made small and often over time. This large of an increase signals either greed or something more critical going on behind the scenes.

Consoles have given us the convenience of ‘quick-fix gaming under a TV’ but companies need to keep their audience ‘hooked’ into their marketplace to succeed.

Subscriptions were introduced at the end of the PS3 lifecycle with a ‘hook’ of cloud saves and “free games” -convenient and reasonably priced at the time. Like many, I only reviewed the perceived value at renewal time. Everyone else was OK with the cost -so it must be OK right? That cost increased steadily over time like a live lobster in a pot of water slowly being heated to boiling point -until it was too late.

As evidenced by this blog, the majority of gamers just want online multiplayer and auto save game backups both should be free in the big picture of profits vs datacentre costs but I suspect most gamers would be happy to pay a small amount, personally I’d be happy with just USB auto-backup and free onlline multiplayer.
“Free” games were added by Sony to justify the price increases for their subscription roadmap. Some people like the games (especially to trial), but most have already bought what they want by the time they become available on PS+ so the real value to the majority is low vs what they are paying. I do understand the value of backwards compatibility for many, and this is more likely to justify some level of subscription, however Sony will never out do Microsoft in this area.

The PS5 introduced something which I find particularly agregious -locking the player game save backups behind the subscription paywall -something that Nintendo are also guilty of and I’m surprised this hasn’t become more of a talking point. Its your ‘earned’ data – and it should be openly available to you -morally if not legally, I think its reprehensible that people are held hostage to subscriptions using this tactic.
Today’s pricing increase is because subscriber revenue has plateaued and Playstation needs to remain competitive or greedy, not sure which.
Sony are betting that enough subscribers will stay with them, allowing the price increase to still increase revenue. In business terms this is a reasonable “test” -and one they can roll-back if it doesn’t go well. For Gamers it will decrease the number of people playing PS+ online for sure (even if they roll it back now). If it doesn’t work, expect to see a massive “we are still your friends” campaign giving something of value back or a discount – but unlikely anything that would de-rail long term revenue growth for them in this area.
In today’s world of ‘convenience’ there will remain a significant proportion of customers willing to pay this increase – and thats fine.
Remember how much money was put into marketing the unique looks and performance of your new shiny PS5 to hook you in.. the box is only there to hook you into their marketplace, what is obvious is that the writing is on the wall for consoles because PC’s have caught up massively with the convenience factor.

The amount of money I have spent with Sony would easily have paid for many PC’s. They have HDMI out and can be setup like a console with a Blutooth controller. You decide the hardware spec you can afford when you want, games have similar discounts/some available sooner and there are now Playstation exclusives. Free online multiplayer, free cloud backup, game mods, open access to your game saves -want more storage?… it goes on and on.

So Blue pill or Red pill: Freedom to choose your gaming quality/ongoing cost with a PC, or accept the (relatively) low upfront cost of a arguably pretty looking console box with lock-in pricing, upgrades and ‘service’ charges that will milk your wallet over time.

Today I chose the Blue Pill and my Playstations will become single player machines I will continue to enjoy. I’m now happy I waited before buying a PS5, instead I have a nice convenient white cased PC linked to my TV and most importantly, freedom over future captivity -and I will never return.
For those cancelling their subscription I salute you. The matrix will always be there for you if the real world becomes too much.