This morning, Microsoft announced a steep price increase for Xbox Live Gold, resulting in the 12-month subscription now costing twice as much as PlayStation's equivalent service – PlayStation Plus. The massive price adjustment on Xbox Live Gold's annual subscription is being viewed by many as an anti-consumer move on Microsoft's part.
Xbox owners who opt into Gold anytime soon, or have to renew their annual membership, will be met with a $120 price tag. Meanwhile, the value of the service isn't receiving any significant advantages. There are still free games that go live with Gold each month, of course, but many maintain their Gold membership to play games online, even those of the free-to-play variety. (Notably, Nintendo and PlayStation don't ask players to pay to enjoy the likes of Fortnite.) It's easy to see why Xbox fans are upset with the typically consumer-friendly brand.
The big Xbox-related news today does not seem so consumer-friendly. Following news that Xbox Live Gold's yearly subscription is doubling in price, PlayStation began trending on Twitter. According to the trend's description on the social media platform, most of the discussion involves "frustrated gamers are threatening to transition to PlayStation Plus." However, there are also folks sharing useful information; for example, one Twitter user highlighted that retailer CDKeys currently has PS Plus one-year subscriptions available for about half-off the usual $60 price tag. The trending tag is naturally filled with a whole host of memes, too.
How many Xbox fans will abandon ship for PlayStation remains to be seen. It probably won't be very many at all, but the backlash could encourage Microsoft to reconsider the move. Yet, analysts and pundits posit the price increase is a way for Microsoft to nudge users toward Xbox Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate, the latter of which combines Gold and Game Pass. Many have long predicted Xbox Live Gold is on the way out the door. The new price hike certainly indicates as much.
While PS Plus has its fair share of perks, it, too, could admittedly use some revision here and there. Specifically, users continue to hope for a Game Pass Ultimate-like subscription model that combines PS Plus with Sony's game streaming service, PS Now. Whether or not the platform-holder will pursue such an avenue is unknown, but it hasn't stopped fans from keeping their fingers crossed.
Source: Twitter