Sony has commented on a worrying PlayStation Plus update, assuring PS4 and PS5 players they have nothing to worry about because PlayStation itself isn’t worried about it. PlayStation Plus is one of PlayStation’s biggest moneymakers, with over 46.3 million subscribers paying $60 a year. That’s a lot of money, but recently the service suffered a dip. At this point last year, PlayStation Plus subscription numbers were at 45 million, which means the service is up 1.3 million year-on-year. However, it’s down by over one million compared to the two most recent quarters.
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Of course, a dip of one million is substantial, and suggests that either PlayStation users are losing interest in the subscription service or this is simply a correction after unexpected growth the past year or so due to the pandemic. It’s not the only dip though. Sony also revealed a decline of about 10 million monthly active users during June 2021. That’s a massive dip. That said, if these dips have Sony worried, it’s not letting on.
“Of course, 104m is not a strong number, but are we looking at it as a declining trend? We don’t think so,” said Sony’s chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki while speaking about the latter dip. “We are trying to analyze different elements, but there are no conspicuous trends that we can capture. Maybe this month or next month we will have to continue to watch and do an analysis. “At the risk of repetition, may I say that last year the stay-at-home demand was so significant in hindsight, so compared to that period last year as a trend of course [it’s declined]. [But] compared to fiscal 2019 there is an increase. “So, we will monitor the situation carefully and we will deepen the engagement and enhance the platform, therefore during the coming fiscal year we will take actions to support this business.”
All of this information, and the quote, was relayed during an earnings call with investors, so it makes sense for Sony to express a position of calmness, and to be fair, when you factor in 2019’s numbers, the dip isn’t nearly as alarming. That said, a dip in revenue is still a dip in revenue, and the money loss will impact the service and those subscribed to it one way or another. The impact may not be substantial or even noticeable, but perhaps the incredible free games subscribers have been getting this year is about to come to an end.
H/T, VGC.
