[Machine fan gospel]Sony PlayStation Plus upgrades to fight Microsoft with game subscription service – Hong Kong Economic Times – Instant News Channel – Technology

In order to fight against Microsoft’s (Microsoft) game subscription service “Xbox Game Pass”, Sony finally announced yesterday (29) that it will make a comprehensive upgrade to “PlayStation Plus (PS Plus)” in June, bundled with the PlayStation Now cloud game service , re-establishing PS Plus as a single subscription service with three new tiers starting from a minimum monthly fee of HK$48.

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Sony said the three levels are PS Plus Essential, PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium. The basic-level PS Plus Essential, which replaces the original PS Plus, offers players two free games per month and access to online multiplayer games for HK$48 per month, HK$128 per season and HK$308 per year.

PS Plus Extra is more advanced than PS Plus Essential. It has the same benefits as PS Plus Essential, but adds up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games, and its price is HKD 75 per month, HKD 215 per season and HKD 515 per year Hong Kong dollar.

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The most expensive tier is PS Plus Premium, which has 340 more downloadable PS4, PS5 games than PS Plus Extra, and lets players stream their choice of PS, PS2, PSP, PS3, PS4, and PS5 games over the Internet. Additionally, PS Plus Premium lets players stream games to their PC, PS4 and PS5, and they can also try some games for a limited time before deciding to purchase the service.

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However, PS Plus Premium is temporarily limited to regions that support cloud streaming, such as the United States and Japan. The cost is US$17.99 (about HK$141) per month, US$49.99 (about HK$391) per quarter and US$119.99 (about HK$939) per year. ).

Since cloud streaming is not supported in Hong Kong, we can only choose PlayStation Plus Deluxe designed by Sony for markets that do not support cloud streaming. The price is slightly lower than PS Plus Premium, which allows players to download and play on the original PlayStation, PS2 and Classic games in the PSP generation, with limited-time game trial services. Members will also enjoy basic and upgraded tier benefits. Hong Kong subscription prices are HK$85 per month, HK$239 per quarter and HK$599 per year.

Increased costs or reduced margins in gaming division

Lewis Ward, director of gaming research at the International Data Center (IDC), said Sony’s move to streamline its service architecture is a bit overdue, noting: “While subscribers opting for higher tiers will increase over time, given the number of new games being developed High costs, and I fear the pressure to bundle more content with subscriptions could eat into Sony’s gaming division profits.”

As for Piers Harding-Rolls, director of gaming research at data analytics firm Ampere Analysis, Sony’s move should boost profit margins, as more players will be forced to buy more expensive subscription services. But he also added: “If content acquisition costs do increase, Sony needs to balance the additional revenue it generates from the PS Plus user base.”

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Responsible editor: Chen Zhuoxian