Sony Explains Why Your PlayStation Plus Subscription Costs More Now

Last month, Sony raised the prices for PlayStation Plus by up to 35%. In an interview the company recently gave to Barron’s via ResetEra, the company attempted to justify this price increase.

The price hike affects Sony’s 12-month subscription plans for the Essential, Extra, and Premium tiers, causing them to increase by $20-$40 (£10-£20 / €12-€32), depending on the selected tier.

As expected, this price increase disappointed some users. Eric Lempel, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, defended the price hike by stating, “We want to make PlayStation Plus great. With our reboot last year and introducing the tier system, a lot of consumers have recognized that there’s a lot of value in PlayStation 5″.

He also attributed the increase to economic conditions, adding, “Like practically everything else in the world, we have to look at our pricing, and we have to adjust to market conditions.”

Lempel made sure to remind consumers that they’re not being unjust with the price hike. He added, “I’m happy to say, unlike a lot of other subscription services out there, we haven’t touched the PlayStation Plus pricing for 85% of the world in many years. So, this was the first time we did something there.”

Lempel said about its competitor’s price hike, “It comes down to what you’re going to get in the service in terms of the type of game and the quality of games. I can’t comment on what the competition is doing. But with us, we feel we’re offering a great curated catalogue of games, as well as other features and services with PlayStation Plus.”