Sony has confirmed on their PlayStation blog that starting on September 22, the PlayStation Plus membership price increases from $49.99 to $59.99. This increase in price matches that of the cost for an Xbox Live membership. The rising cost is only confirmed for America and Canada at this time, and it is unknown if PlayStation Plus membership price increases will be seen worldwide.
To justify the price jump, Sony had this to say:
“PlayStation Plus strives to enrich your PlayStation experience through a world-class service built for our fans. This marks the first time that PS Plus membership prices will increase in the U.S. and Canada since the launch of the service in 2010. The new pricing reflects the current market conditions while enabling us to continue providing exceptional value to our members.”
The fact of the matter is that the PlayStation Network sill pales in comparison to Microsoft’s Xbox Live service and offers less incentives to justify the extravagant cost. Gamers are not just seeing a jump in yearly membership rates, but also the three-month plan, which will rise from $17.99 to $24.99. While the US monthly rate will remain at $9.99, Canadians will see a spike to $11.99 CAD.
It is unknown how this will affect membership renewals going forward, but Sony doesn’t offer as much value as Microsoft with their free monthly games (PlayStation Plus required) and Sony online play has never quite lived up to Microsoft’s.
If there’s any time to buy a stack of yearly PlayStation Plus membership cards, it’s now before the price increase goes into effect.