Streams Come True As Sony Slashes Price Of PlayStation Now Gaming Service In Half
Pinch me, because I must be streaming. It's getting increasingly difficult not to slip into a sweet stream, with competition in the space heating up. In response to the growing field of competitors, Sony just slashed the price of its PlayStation Now game streaming service in half, to $9.99 per month. It's even cheaper if you pay for the service in the 3-month or 12-month chunks.
"Starting today, PS Now will be offered at a more compelling price that is comparable to other entertainment streaming services on the market. Current customers will see this new pricing reflected in their next billing cycle," Sony said in a statement.
Sony's price cut is in clear response to services like Google's Stadia and Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass services. Here's how Sony's new pricing structure breaks down by territory...
- US: $9.99 – monthly / $24.99 – quarterly / $59.99 – yearly (down from $19.99/ $44.99/ $99.99)
- CAN: $12.99 – monthly / $34.99 – quarterly / $79.99 – yearly (down from $19.99/ $44.99/ $99.99)
- EU: €9.99 – monthly / €24.99 – quarterly / €59.99 – yearly (down from €14.99/ (N/A)/ €99.99)
- UK: £8.99 – monthly / £22.99 – quarterly / £49.99 – yearly (down from £12.99 / (N/A) / £84.99)
- JP: ¥1,180 – monthly / ¥2,980 – quarterly / ¥6,980 yearly (down from ¥2,500 / ¥5,900/ (N/A)
The best deal is when paying for an entire—in the US, the cost is $59.99 for an annual subscription, which works out to $4.99 per month. That's down from $99.99 per year before the price cut. The quarterly subscription amounts to $8.33 per month.
It's not just Stadia and Xbox Game Pass that Sony is competing against. There's also EA Access and Ubisoft's Uplay+. To some extent, it also competing with the recently introduced Apple Arcade, which offers up a buffet of games with no ads or in-app purchases for $4.99 per month.
There are key differences between each service, but they are all competing for entertainment dollars among consumers who may not have the disposal income or desire to pony up a subscription for each one. So in that sense, Apple Arcade is absolutely a competitor.
PlayStation Now boasts an extensive library exceeding 800 PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 2 games, which are available to stream on the PS4 and PC.
More games are on the horizon, as well. Specifically, Sony announced a handful of limited time additions—from now until January 2, 2020, PlayStation Now subscribers have access to God of War, Grand Theft Auto V, inFAMOUS Second Son, and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Sony said it plans on adding "marquee games" every month, with those games being available to play for a limited time.
If you are a new subscriber to PlayStation Now, you can trial the service for 7 days at no cost.
