Update: 23 August, 2.55pm: Great news, SA! PlayStation South Africa has confirmed in a follow up tweet that the PlayStation Plus price spikes that will affect the US and Canada will not affect South African users.
@AndyWalkerSA Hi Andy, good news, we have received confirmation that the price increases will not affect SA’s prices.
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— PlayStation_SA (@PlayStation_SA) August 23, 2016
Update, 23 August, 12.20pm: According to a tweet, PlayStation South Africa is “awaiting feedback” on how the North American price increases will affect South Africa.
@AndyWalkerSA Hi Andy, we are currently awaiting feedback on this.
— PlayStation_SA (@PlayStation_SA) August 23, 2016
Original article: We’ve already seen Microsoft increase its Xbox Live subscription price this year, and now its Sony‘s turn to do the same. The company announced, in an updated blog post, that its PlayStation Plus online subscription service will see a price increase from 22 September.
An important update for all our PlayStation Plus members: https://t.co/iEd4L49och pic.twitter.com/Ni7jL29ADI
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) August 22, 2016
Those in the US will pay US$10 extra per year, jumping the overall fee to US$59.99. Quarterly prices also jump from US$18 to US$22.
“The new pricing reflects the current market conditions while enabling us to continue providing exceptional value to our members,” the company elaborates on its blog.
“If you are a current member, the new prices will take effect if your membership renews on or after this date [22 September 2016].”
PlayStation Plus will jump by $10, to $60 per annum from 22 September 2016
According to Sony, it’s the first time that an increase has been bolted onto the service’s North American price since launch in 2010. Sony also explains that the PlayStation Plus free games programme will continue, including discounts on PlayStation Store games, and online multiplayer support for members.
As a result of the news, and the recent “boring” PlayStation Plus games, people aren’t pleased. Many took to Twitter to announce their displeasure.
@Rx_HuMpHrIe5 @PlayStation Damn I love those indie games that get boring within an hour
— Chris (@ChrisThurgood77) August 22, 2016
@Awaken_Cookie @PlayStation @BeastFireTimdog PSN+ going up to $60 a year? With that service and those crummy monthly games? lol
— The CrapGa
er (@The_CrapGamer) August 22, 2016
@PlayStation pic.twitter.com/XV7q26y5DY
— ㅤㅤㅤ (@FKAMARAJ) August 22, 2016
Sony was also quick to issue warnings to those weren’t happy with the increase to “cancel” their subscriptions.
“If you do not wish to continue your subscription, please be sure to cancel it by turning off auto-renewal in your account settings before September 22, 2016,” the company explains.
So how much will South Africans pay for PlayStation Plus?
We’re not too sure what this means for South African users at present, but have reached out to PlayStation South Africa and PlayStation console distributor Ster Kinekor for clarification. The service, without the price increase, currently costs around R750 per year. We should speculate that this marks the beginning of a wave of price hikes for much of the world, including SA.
In comparison, Microsoft’s Xbox Live currently costs R159 per month, which equates to around R1908. A year subscription can be pre-bought for R899 at the time of writing.
PlayStation Plus last saw an increase in South Africa in 2014, when the price jumped from R489 per year to its current R749 per year.
It’s been a busy month for Sony so far, with reports and leaked images of the purported PlayStation 4 Slim surfacing online, prior to the company’s big New York event on 7 September 2016. More details of the company’s PlayStation 4 Neo is also set to be revealed at the company’s event.
