With Sony running a PlayStation Now beta in the United States to get various points of feedback on the upcoming service, we thought now was the perfect opportunity to discuss our thoughts on how much we’d be willing to pay. So, we asked the staff: How much would you pay for PlayStation Now?
Anthony Severino – Sum $14.99 (@Sev_Anthony)
I’m going to be realistic here and say I’d pay as much as $14.99 per month, or an annual fee of $149.99 for unlimited access. However, it really depends on the library. My price is based on an assumption that there will be a robust offering of first-party games. I figure I buy three first-party retail titles per year, at the very least—so that would run me $180 if I pay full price. This way, Sony is guaranteed my money, however, I am taking a risk as a consumer that there will be at least three retail titles that I’d be interested in to meet my expected value. The trade-off on the risk I take, is that I have access to other titles to “try” that I may not have normally been interested in. That’s added value, whether I want it or not, which helps make up for the risk I am taking to subscribe.
All of this is pure assumption at this point. But trying to think of it from a business stand point it makes the most amount of sense. If Sony charges less, I’d fear that the service wouldn’t be as full-featured or have as large a library. If they charge more, they risk pricing it out of the average consumer’s expendable income range. Rationally speaking, I feel strongly that the price I am proposing is the sweet spot in terms of value and funding a worthwhile service. Remember: you get what you pay for.
Cameron Teague – PlayStationFly (@Cameron_PSLS)
For me it all depends on how they handle it. If you are renting games, how many can you rent at a single time? I wouldn’t mind paying around the same I would on Gamefly or Netflix, which is about 7-10 bucks a month. Since I know Sony needs to make money on this, I might even be willing to get up there around $15 a month, but that is about my limit. It will also be interesting to see if they offer a discount for current PS Plus customers, which I believe they should. I would also like to see a trial period introduced, whether that is a week or month.
Chandler Wood – PlayStationFlix (@FinchStrife)
A lot of this will be dependent upon what Sony’s “Netflix for games” will offer. I’d like to see a good mix of both top-tier titles as well as great unknowns that I may not have played otherwise (Plus has been a champion for that). Looking to the cost of other streaming services in addition to online subscriptions is a great place to start for pricing. Any more than $14.99 a month (with a discount for yearly rates) is going to feel like customers are being gouged for monthly payments when you consider fees for Plus, online games, internet subscriptions, and everything else gamers may already be paying for. Sony needs to be careful not to price themselves out of the market or piss off the customers that are already paying for Plus, so I can see a discounted rate being offered for current Plus subscribers, if for no other reason than to really show off the value proposition.
On the other side, there will be the ability to have PlayStation Now on non-PlayStation devices, which may be targeted towards an audience that isn’t gamer-centric. I’m a huge proponent for rewarding loyalty, so hopefully Sony will take this opportunity to provide package/loyalty rates and really reward people for entering into or already being a part of the PlayStation ecosystem. We may see the value as gamers, but Sony will have to convince everyone else.
Dan Oravasaari – Realist (@FoolsJoker)
Realistically, I probably won’t join PS Now until the industry starts releasing more titles than I can keep up with, as I already own the majority of PS4 titles and sparingly pick up anything on the PS3. On top of that, I also like to build a collection of games, so not really being able to own them is slightly a turn off.
If I was to pay for a subscription, I would have to say $15 is also my sweet spot. But at that price point it would be difficult to see how Sony would maintain current profit margins, as the consumer could spend a fraction of what they would to beat certain titles.
Heath Hindman – Oddman (@RPGLand)
I’m a weird guy, and this is one of my many unpopular choices with my fellow gamers, but I don’t care for PS Plus. I see its value for other people, just not me. I know there’s the whole thing about how much you save for the money, but realistically, I won’t ever have time to get to all those games before I die, let alone before more good-looking games come out.So to actually answer instead of ramble about finances, um, I guess I’d top out a like $2.13. If they lower it to that, they’ll get me as a customer!
Jason Dunning – PlayStation Maybe Later (@Jasonad21)
This is really tough for me to answer. I already have my PlayStation Plus subscription, and I subscribe to Game Access (basically a Canadian Gamefly), so my gaming needs are pretty much taken care of when you combine the two.
I also don’t really have much need for PlayStation Now as all the PS1 games I want have been bought as Classics, I played all the PS2 games when they were released (and the ones I want were re-released in HD already), and I don’t really have any inkling to stream old PS3 games I’ve already played either.
So, to answer the question, I’d really only be willing to pay about $5/month for PlayStation Now, with a $1-$2/per title fee acceptable as well. I’m sure Sony will charge more for PS Now per month as the overall benefits of unlimited streaming are very valuable on paper, but for right now, I just don’t really need another subscription.
Joseph Peterson – Libary (@BigPete7978)
I really think it depends a lot on the library of titles that will be offered. I used to have Gamefly for quite some time, but found it to be too expensive at times considering the amount of time it took to send/receive games at times. This will without a doubt speed things up. Also, I am really hoping for some discounts for current PS Plus users. I think the right price point will end up being about $9.99 a month, but I know that’s pushing it.
Russell Ritchey – Don’t Point (@RussellCRitchey)
$8 per month or $80 per year is my personal limit for these services, especially in light of a $40 – $50 annual charge for PS+. This fee is based upon what I currently pay for other, similar subscription services. I would like to point out newer games will most likely not find their way to this service until after the first month of release since (much like the movie industry) publishers will want to make as much money as possible off of new releases.
How much would you pay for PlayStation Now?
