This Summer, we saw PlayStation relaunch PlayStation Plus as a multi-tiered service, while also merging it with their game streaming subscription PlayStation Now. The result of that change seems to have been a negative for Sony, because the latest financial report for the company shows that they lost 2 million subscribers in the process. Prior to the relaunch, there were 47.3 million PS+ users, but by the end of September, that number had dropped by 4%, to 45.4 million. It was also noted that active online users on PSN dropped by about a million, though Sony hopes to recapture that audience in due time. Beyond those two stats, sales, income, and PS5 console production are on the rise all across the board for PlayStation.

The number of PlayStation Plus subscriber accounts at the end of September decreased 4% from the end of June to 45.4 million accounts. We see that this decrease results from a greater decline in user engagement among PlayStation 4 (PS4) users than expected. • On the other hand, the ratio of PS Plus subscribers among PlayStation 5 (PS5) users remains at a level significantly higher than that of PS4. We are putting even more effort into accelerating the penetration of PS5 hardware to recover this user engagement going forward.

Source

 

[shaunj66]

I wonder if this has some connection to lockdown subscribers? The drop in active online users could suggest that.

Either way, I'm not massively impressed with the extra PS Plus tiers. Especially the "classic" games catalogue.

 

[SylverReZ]

Losing subscribers like Netflix.

 

[BraveDragonWolf]

I'm probably gonna be done committing to paying for online co-op for a while in about a week.

 

[Godofcheese]

Topkek

 

[DrPerkeleeee]

I'm surprised not more people went away from ps+.
It's not worth the money. Sony really went nutz here.

 

[eyeliner]

Well, they should unify everything under a tier and call it done instead of that completely pointless convoluted thing.

 

[NumberXIIIEdwin]

Honestly, it doesn’t surprise me. The classics catalog sounded cool on paper but they haven’t done anything with it since they released it.

 

[Adran_Marit]

I am shocked and horrified at this thought. How could it have ever happened? Oh wait.... when they decided to try to be greedy and make it multi tiered.

 

[CraddaPoosta]

I'm still mad at Sony for dropping the ball so badly on the Vita.

The PSP was the god of all handhelds, and where most of us actually started learning how to mod consoles. The Vita could have been the greatest handheld gaming device of all time, prior to the Switch.

Sony simply abandoned it and made it a platform for indie developers with 99-cent shovelware. It could have been the perfect repository for PS2 classics, which they STILL have failed to truly make available. Haven't seen any plans for a PS2 mini, and most of the very best titles have never been released in any digital format.

I think they saw how much of the market share that iPhone and Android games were starting to capture, and thought THAT'S what gamers actually wanted.

No, we do not want an Angry Birds game on a $250 device that we spent $80 for a memory card just to be able to use. Shovel Knight is not a reason to own a Vita. Jetpack Joyride didn't move any units.

Such a disappointment.

 

[Purple_Shyguy]

How many people have jumped ship from Sony to Xbox?

I did.

 

[Reploid]

Wow... so surprising... Bummer right?.. It was so much better than gamepass... boohoo...

 

[Ericzander]

I wonder how much money, if any, this cost them. Because of course they were going to lose subscribers but the point was to increase profit. Corporate shills like myself ended up upgrading to premium so I'm spending a lot more than I was prior.

 

[wartutor]

Didnt sony just impliment a policy that deactivated unused accounts. Sounds like something they knew was coming. Plus in this economy the first thing to go is video game subscriptions

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Maybe no one wants to pay a minimum of $60 USD to play online, or use cloud saves, or uhh... discounts.

Meanwhile Nintendo may have the $50 expansion with DLC and Sega genesis and N64 games.
BUT STILL HAVE $20 Subscription.

(And before anyone says "But steam on pc has free online and clouds saves") Yes, these are also facts too.

 

[godreborn]

I just paid for my subscription to nso, and I think I'll have to pay for psn in the next few days. I have just the basic version of psn+. I really don't like playing games that may or may not be around tomorrow. I'd much rather "own" the game. i got nso and psn + mostly for cloud saving after my original switch died, and there was no way to retrieve the saves. xbox does have free cloud saving, but it doesn't have free online play. I have gold for that rather than game pass. I don't play the games enough to warrant having a higher tier or gamepass for psn+ or game pass.

 

[KingVamp]

Pay online was and is a mistake.

 

[RedColoredStars]

How many people have jumped ship from Sony to Xbox?

I did.

Good for you. No one cares. I have a PS5, Series X, gaming PC, Switch, and a closet full of past gen consoles. Do you care? Imagine not having to jump ship though. Why do you feel like you need some sort of loyalty for one over the other? Because innocent, perfect MS? lol

 

[SMNFXCN]

good, tbh the tiers are too expensive and don't offer that much

 

[jimkage]

Hope it escalates to 80 million.