After PlayStation Plus price increase, Sony surveys angry gamers about its value

The recent PlayStation Plus price increase added to the frustration over more expensive PS5 consoles. Sony’s announcement focused on PS Plus Essential, but the changes to the Extra and Premium tiers took gamers by surprise. Now, a new survey is searching for ways to improve the subscription service.

On May 20th, the cost of PS Plus Essential rose from $9.99 to $10.99 per month. Meanwhile, PS Plus Extra is now $16.99 rather than $14.99, with the Premium tier $19.99 instead of $17.99. The PlayStation Plus price increases affect multiple regions and currencies.

Topics covered in the Sony survey

It’s possible the timing is coincidental, but the questionnaire has a section on overall value. Push Square shared a sample of the survey that also addresses PlayStation Store discounts. Other questions touch on included PS4 and PS5 games, the quality of online multiplayer, and cloud saves.

Perhaps trying to gauge the impact on membership counts, Sony’s survey asks how likely customers are to renew their subscriptions. The gaming giant is interested in what changes would make the service “feel more rewarding to you.”

Early in April, high memory costs and challenging economic conditions prompted Sony to raise the MSRP of PS5 consoles again. While disappointing, the component shortage has a more understandable effect on hardware. Yet, many fans didn’t anticipate subscription services further stretching budgets.

Should multiplayer gaming be free?

One of the most common complaints is with the increasingly expensive PlayStation Plus Essential plan. Critics note that, unlike on PCs, players must pay extra for online multiplayer.

Other concerns include a sometimes lackluster selection of older PS5 games each month. By contrast, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which recently benefited from a price cut, offers day-one releases. PS3 and retro gaming enthusiasts also regularly gripe about a limited Classics Catalog in PS Plus Premium.

It's unlikely that Sony will reverse course on the PlayStation Plus price increase. Still, using survey data, it may hope to add or improve on enough features to keep gamers invested in its ecosystem.