Anyone following the saga of Sony and the pricing for PS Plus upgrades will feel like they’ve been on a bit of a rollercoaster today. Sony has now officially gone on record to say any pricing discrepancies between PlayStation Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium upgrade fees were due to a “technical error” and those affected will receive “a credit.”
Backtracking on PS Plus pricing after player backlash
When the new PS Plus tiers launched in Asia on May 23, players who had existing PS Plus subscriptions that had been purchased at a discounted price reported they were having to pay a higher fee to upgrade from PS Plus Essential to PS Plus Extra or Premium. This morning, an e-mail from Sony’s Customer Support seemed to confirm this was a deliberate decision. Players would have to pay extra to bring their subscription up to a full-price membership as well as pay the upgrade fee. Many players disagreed with this decision in a very loud manner, creating quite a backlash across social media.
Sony seemingly didn’t like this backlash. Reports started emerging that players were now being charged just the standard upgrade fee regardless of how much they paid for their existing subscription. Now Sony has announced the issues were down to a “technical error” and those players affected by this will receive “a credit”:
Due to a technical error, players in Asia who have previously purchased a PlayStation Plus membership at a discount have been incorrectly charged for their upgrade pricing. This error has been fixed and impacted players will receive a credit. We thank you for your patience.
Due to a technical error, players in Asia who have previously purchased a PlayStation Plus membership at a discount have been incorrectly charged for their upgrade pricing. This error has been fixed and impacted players will receive a credit. We thank you for your patience.
— Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) May 25, 2022
Opinion: Sony needs to repair the damage from their “technical error”
Rebecca writes: Technical error or not, many players are angry over what seems like an attempt to charge hidden fees for taking advantage of reduced PS Plus prices, whether this was through Sony themselves or third-party retailers. This was Sony’s chance to present their revamped PS Plus service in its best possible light and now there is a lot of damage to be repaired instead. Better communication without the mixed messages would be a start. As a side note, my own personal PS Plus subscription is currently labeled as “PlayStation Plus: 12 Month Membership – 33% Off”, the “33% 0ff” part being a new addition since last week. Maybe this is a technical error too?
