On the one hand, we get the feeling that it is Sony’s way of boosting the number of subscribers, and on the other hand, it seems a bit desperate, as we rarely see anything similar from Microsoft or Nintendo.

The PlayStation 5 has been on the market for more than two and a half years, but in that time, the console’s price has not only gone down but has even INCREASED since last autumn. In both versions (PlayStation 5 Standard Edition, PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, the latter without Blu-ray drive), Sony usually sells the console with first-party, in-house developments or third-party AAA games, as it has been a tried and tested practice for decades…

But now Sony has figuratively packed something else into the package, as it has been leaked: a bundle that doesn’t just give you an extra game, but two years of PlayStation Plus Premium, the highest subscription level, so you don’t just get three games a month (PS Plus Essential). Still, you can also run many PlayStation 4 games locally or from the cloud, and they’re already testing PlayStation 5 cloud games (PS Plus Extra), while Premium also gives you access to PS1, PS2, PSP, and PlayStation 3 games. But the so-called classic offer is inferior and hardly growing, even though Sony has a vast old range of internally developed products!

The bundle’s pricing is even more questionable, as a bundle that includes a game is usually available at a significant discount. New buyers may benefit from this method, as they can get a twenty-four-month subscription at a low price, which allows them to play online in addition to the list of games just mentioned. We doubt, however, that it is the way to increase the PlayStation Plus subscriber base, which has not been growing very much recently. Also, Sony is unfair, as, unlike Microsoft, it does NOT say in the announcement post which games will be removed from its service.

German mobile operator O2 has also come forward. You have to pay €40 a month for 36 months. That’s a total of €1,440, but in the meantime, you also pay for the mobile service. Sony hasn’t announced such bundle yet, though.

Source: PSU