Free games, exclusive demos, and beta access seems to be drawing in the crowds.
Sony’s PlayStation Plus paid subscription service is working just as intended, according to a recent interview with John Koller, VP of PlayStation Home and Handheld Consoles. The premium plans were introduced in 2010, and while you don’t need Plus to play multiplayer games online – you can do that for free on the PS3 – the service offers perks like free games and chances to participate in events like pre-release betas.
“This is a nice weapon in our arsenal that we’ll be utilizing and it’s just a great value for a consumer that’s coming in,” Koller explains. “If you look at a consumer that’s coming in in year 6 or year 7…you could call them a later adopter and giving them an instant game collection, which is what PlayStation Plus provides, has really proven to be successful.”
The company also appears to be poised to make a new push for Plus subscriptions. “This is going to be a significant part of our marketing efforts over the next 6, 12, 24 months,” Koller notes. “This is a big part of what we do. The amount of value that you get from PlayStation Plus is significant. Since E3, we’ve seen a significant rise in PlayStation Plus adoption and we’ll be utilizing this.”
As time passes and a greater wealth of content accumulates on PlayStation Plus, its value proposition continues to rise. Most new PS3 bundles include at least a brief free trial of the service in order to get consumers hooked. Paid plans start at $17.99 for three months, and $49.99 for a full year. But whatever the reason for its success, the company’s strategy surrounding Plus appears to be working.
Source: GamesIndustry
