PS Plus Price Hike Drives Sony Share Prices Up Dramatically | Push Square

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Fans may be understandably fuming at Sony’s decision to increase annual PS Plus prices dramatically, but it’s had a positive impact on the firm’s share prices, with investors rubbing their hands over the prospect of increased profits. Bloomberg (paywall) reports that the Japanese giant’s shares increased by 3.4 per cent in Tokyo on Friday, the most they’ve gained in more than a month.

According to CLSA analyst Amit Garg, the hike could see the company stand to gain an additional $378 million operating profit annually, with further price increases potentially to follow. Of course, the manufacturer also runs the risk of churning through subscribers, with half of polled Push Square readers saying they’ll either lower their tier or cease subscribing entirely.

The price jump is a surprisingly sharp one, with the cost of a yearly subscription to the most basic PS Plus Essential membership rising from $59.99 to $79.99 in the United States alone. With the introduction of its new subscription tiers, Sony was effective at raising the average revenue per user. Now it’ll be interesting to see if its approximately 50 million members choose not to renew.

A true PlayStation veteran, Sammy's covered the world of PS gaming for years, with an enormous Trophy count to prove it. He also likes tennis games way more than you.

I can't afford to get past the Bloomberg paywall to read the article because I need to save my pennies for PS Plus...

I'd be surprised if such a large increase is driven solely by the subscription increase, especially when there have been multiple reports of astonishing YOY PS5 sales recently as well.

Shareholders only see money, obviously, and Sony is promising more of it.

Theses gaming companies ain’t your friends