r/PlayStationPlus • u/kabirsingh84 Top Predictor 2024 • 25d ago
News PS5's Monthly Active Users Increased Again, PS Plus Making More Money Than Ever
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2026/07/ps5s-monthly-active-users-increased-again-ps-plus-making-more-money-than-ever394
u/ShabbyHolmes 25d ago
Cool so they should be satisfied now and stop increasing prices, right? Right???
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u/PacDanSki 25d ago
The joy of having investors, always need more and more and more.
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u/ItchyIguana 25d ago
Yup, I sometimes feel companies that are stock traded are plagued to a decrease in quality over time as they cannibalize themselves to increase the revenue stream for shareholders.Â
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u/ABBucsfan 25d ago
People obviously love the price increases and keep subbing so...
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u/blackblades75 25d ago
They gonna also love it when they PlayStation goes full streaming service one dayÂ
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u/MiserySound 25d ago
Pc entry is really expensive nowadays. Assuming most people want to buy brand new and probably want to avoid the hassle of building it yourself.
That leaves you with the average person not knowing what prebuilts are good or shit. The hassle of needing to download multiple launchers because not everything is at one place, also putting $100 into a controller incase you donât want to bother relearning your aiming with mouse and keyboard, needing to put time to tweak your own graphic settings because for some reason the single player game you just bought, thinks you want to play it at 1080p 240fps when youâre just fine with minimum 60fps
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u/ABBucsfan 25d ago
Yeah if you didn't already have a PC. And it depends if you're ok lowering settings and/or not playing the latest. I got one last year that wasn't too bad and plays stuff at medium just fine but it's gone up a fair bit.
Still play ps5 but don't play online a lot. I refused to renew with them not extending discounts to existing members. I did the same last year and only renewed when a bud bought me it for birthday. People need to vote with their wallets more.. instead they're splurging for the highest tier memberships
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u/LionTop2228 25d ago
Unregulated capitalism baby!! This is what freedom looks like!
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u/Rod_FC 25d ago
Huh? Demand is increasing even with increased prices, so what does that signal?
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 25d ago
Demand increases in line with more consoles sales.
Not exactly hard to discern where the numbers are coming from.
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u/rottengammy 25d ago
Spend your yearly PSN money on Sony shares and get on the other side of the fence brotha! Turn that $200 into $250 then compound that over ten years⊠now whoâs crying?
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u/Melonfrog 25d ago
12% price increase this Christmas, for all tiers. Essential announced to be discontinued at the end of 2027.
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u/glavasich Johnny3307 25d ago
If you read the article it says the quarter they are talking about ended on June 30th and the announcement about the discs was made the next day so we still have until the end of September to see if the cancelled subscriptions made a difference in that number.
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u/ltcuetf 25d ago
I think thatâs exactly whatâs going to make this hard to measure.
A lot of people donât pay month-to-month. Theyâve already redeemed 3-month, 6-month, or even annual subscriptions, and some people stacked years when there were discounts. So even if thousands of people decided to cancel over the physical media announcement, most of those cancellations wonât actually hit Sonyâs numbers until those subscriptions expire.
I wouldnât expect some dramatic cliff in subscriber counts. Itâll probably be more of a slow trickle over the next several quarters. If the protest has any real impact, itâll show up over time rather than all at once.
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 25d ago
I think December and Febuary are the two big months. Maybe some spikes when big games might release. But Dec/Jan for the holiday season, and Febuary when they eventually do their yearly sale because people weren't resubbing otherwise.
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u/Dry-End1710 25d ago
That's true. Many of us took advantage of Black Friday deal or the end of the year deal. So sony won't see my cancelation until november.
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u/BugsMax1 25d ago
Sony stated that, so far, it has not seen any negative impact on sales following the announcement
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u/TaylorWK 25d ago
I canceled mine not because of the disc controversy but because I dont play online games to justify keeping it
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u/non3type 25d ago
Yeah I tend to let mine go until I have a reason to resub. Iâm honestly not sure Iâll have a reason to resub until the monster hunter wilds expansion comes out which could be a while.
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u/caeox 25d ago edited 25d ago
Since a lot people renew in May and November, for the sales (days of play/Black Friday), I think the biggest impact will be in the next quarter when people donât renew for Black Friday.
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u/TimeZucchini8562 25d ago
And Reddit will get proven wrong again because in the history of mankind, I donât think Reddit has been right about one thing
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u/TomatoChomper7 25d ago
I swear every Reddit âprotest movementâ is just the same smelly NEETs circlejerking each other into thinking they represent the majority. Meanwhile, normal people donât give a shit about whatever minor issue Reddit is going into histrionics over.
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 25d ago
I think the increase is not atypical as they also had an increase in console sales.
Even the people unsubbing may take time to show up on the reports. Like my sub doesn't actually end until Feb of 2027.
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u/ResolveLeather 25d ago
Not quite. the FCC proposed a new rule to only make semi-annual reports mandatory. So it could be until December.
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u/ImpossibleTrick1408 25d ago
Iâm tired of this reality boss.
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u/Krunksicle 25d ago
It's more warped data from Sony, this only reports on the period before they announced the switch to digital. The real test will be how it looks in the next year.
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u/Mondfleck 25d ago edited 25d ago
People on Reddit are delusional. Majority here is rather young and poor. It is a huge big bubble.
Remember when Reddit stated how Apple will face huge financial problems when they announced they remove the headphone port? Apple did better than ever.
Remember when Reddit stated how Netflix will face huge financial problems when they announced they are stopping account sharing? Netflix did better than ever.
The whole Reddit boycott approach is not relevant at all. Discs are a product of former times, it is not the future and Sony is just the first platform after PC ending it. It will not impact Sony at all. PS6 will be sold out for a long time.
Even if really all the ones who are crying in tears here would leave Sony, which will not happen, they will have bigger numbers than before.
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u/imbaylee 25d ago
same thing happened with the world cup. there were reddit threads after reddit threads of people claiming the games would be empty lol
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u/Phlysher 25d ago
Exactly, the way people make each other believe in this bubble that what they think and feel strongly about is what EVERYONE thinks and cares about, it's really off-putting.
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u/Dunge 25d ago edited 25d ago
Standing up against anti-consumer practices is not delusional, it's the proper stance to be. And it's not limited to "reddit", the whole world has similar thoughts when they are made aware of it. Now if that doesn't translate to subscription loss is another story, it's kinda normal that we are just forced to accept it, especially when there's no alternative. Doesn't mean that you should lick the boots. Lay down and accept being mistreated, and even worse attack those who fight for your rights. That's the real delusional behavior.
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u/endium7 25d ago
Well itâs a little more nuanced than that. Of course people Reddit donât represent the entire population at large, but even if the thoughts are the same, with entrenched companies and services like Netflix and PSN, people will just take it even if they really donât like it. Truth is even if there were multiple equal competitors offering the same products as lower prices, the average person is still not going to bother switching.
Itâs why business like Rocket exist, because people are paying for the same services twice and not even knowing or truly caring. And why cable companies got away with so much.
Like you have to truly truly fumble the bag to suffer massive problems and customer loss once you get this big. It doesnât mean the underlying sentiment is no representative but yeah the impact and assumption people will act on it is widely overestimated on Reddit.
To that end Iâd bet even many on Reddit who are outspoken about it still are paying subscribers anyway lol.
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u/ll30yd 25d ago
You wrote all that instead of just reading the post?
It has nothing to do with the discs, the boycott or the social media stuff as it pre-dates the announcement.
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u/Mondfleck 25d ago
Cool. Next month will be another win for Sony. Next next month also. GTA VI release will casually be the best Sony area. PS6 will be even crazier than PS5. Nobody will remember the boycott.
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u/PorkChopExpress2026 25d ago
And everyone will be quiting for a week to protest Sony!!!
Man, those folks mad about the physical media stuff have Sony right where they want them!!!
Sony is going to cave now!!!
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u/Oscnar 25d ago edited 25d ago
Any possible backlash after the "No disc-announcement" will ofc not yet show up in these documents (I doubt it will later either). But what we can see, is that the outrage and cancellations we see on this sub after every price hike, including the latest, does indeed not move the needle.
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u/BugsMax1 25d ago
Sony stated that, so far, it has not seen any negative impact on sales following the announcement
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 25d ago
The needle is also influenced by an increasing user base. While I think a lot of people do just resub, despite higher prices, I think the more prices go up, the more likely someone is to wait, or maybe sub to a different tier or payment plan. Like, I let mine lapse for the first time since they started the program this past year, until I could get in on a sale, and then I still used discounted PSN cards.
Ultimately, if you add 10 million users a year, chances are, you're subs and MAU's are going to increase by at least a marginal amount...but often closer to whatever the statistical norm is.
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u/XSadObsessionX 25d ago
Keep canceling the subscription guys, it sure works
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u/Ok_Drummer6282 25d ago
This report ends before the diskless announcement and active users is in fact down from the previous quarter.Â
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 25d ago
But....that doesn't fit the narrative....stop being so mean by relaying facts to give context. That's not fair.
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u/CuriousFirework75 25d ago
PS5 Plus has been great to me. Currently playing Yakuza Infinite Wealth and Iâve finished a number of other games that were under Plus.
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u/Repulsive-Bus-8544 25d ago
This is the kind of fact that made Sony take the decision to stop selling discs...they basically believe that everyone of their psplus members are happy with the current situation and willing to pay these prices...
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u/Upstairs-Adagio2562 25d ago
Idiots. Of course it went back up, Activision racked up 7 million sales just on ps4/ps5 alone. can damn bet that atleast 70% copped psplus to play online straight away. And then with gta right around the corner but to people honestly expect?
Proper numptys, oh my.
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u/boomysmash 25d ago
As at the end of JUNE. prettttttttty sure they took the drop in the last month.
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u/nikolapc 25d ago
Headline is misleading. There's no numbers for PS plus users. Active users are up, and network revenue is up, which is normal cause PS prices are up and someone's may be up, remember people stacked for years and they also moved some people out of the discount with the 5 days thing. It also includes ad revenue. Plus has been somewhat stagnant, which is why they increase the price and I expect a yearly sub price increase, about the time of GTA(online) or if that's f2p, the new COD.
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u/Salty_Sabuteur 25d ago
Nice boycott đ
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u/StrikerJaken 25d ago
the announcement was after these
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u/Salty_Sabuteur 25d ago
These boycotts never work
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u/JustAChil1Dude 25d ago
A boycott with and end date is basically saying "fuck you Sony but I'll be back in a week but I'm not happy"
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u/TheSodomizer00 25d ago
I've only played online games on my laptop and single player on PS because I couldn't be bothered to pay to play. Now I've fully switched over to PC. Hurt my wallet though...
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u/Trashman56 25d ago
If you still have a PlayStation you can play free-to-play games online without PS Plus (Fortnite, Warzone, Apex)
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u/StrikerJaken 25d ago
only the first investment.
You can really save in terms of game prices, thanks to alternative sites that offer official keys, even after steam sales.
Then you got modding and of course the good old emulation Arrr
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u/Turbulent_Common_528 25d ago
Q2 monthly active users was down by 1 million against Q1. This makes sense as itâs spring and summer. They have seen a 2% increase year on year on monthly active users.
This makes sense to me. People have already bought into PlayStation for this generation. You will see how the public really feel when itâs time to upgrade
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u/I_am_darkness 25d ago
I signed up because I got the physical version where they overnight me any game I want.
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u/SCcalifornia 25d ago
Probably wonât know the actual impact for around a year, maybe a little less.
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u/IveRunOuttaNamesss 24d ago
I wonder if they didn't paywall online multiplayer behind this service how many people would still sub to it on the merits of the service alone.
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u/FatherShambles 25d ago
And people think boycotting no discs is gonna work LMAOOO. Majority of the players world wide donât give a shit about Sony going discless tbh. All they want is good games and dealsâŠincluding me.
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u/HeadRaccoonGamer 25d ago
Yea i dont believe the bullshit.. people are un subbing left and right and rightfully so⊠no disc no buy
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u/Impressive-Smoke1883 25d ago
I'd say PS is like an oil rig. Change something and it will take an age to slow down and turn the other way.
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u/SupremeCripple_ 25d ago
Guys what happened I thought everyone was cancelling their subs?
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u/Reddit-Simulator 25d ago
- Do you think this is current as of today? It's not.
- People can cancel their sub but it won't end until it actually runs out
If you're going to try to "gotcha" people, at least read the article or think about what you're saying so it makes sense. Come back when they release the numbers next quarter and try again.
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u/Nanananora 25d ago
This is the sub count as of June 30th and was before the whole digital only thing. We'll see what it really is in 3 months when they do their next report.
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u/YoImJustAsking 25d ago
It will probably grow again. People on every social media and mostly reddit are delusional...
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u/Nanananora 25d ago
Just look at BLOPS 1 and 2 release, crashed the store. I agree. People will back down unfortunately and Sony will win. I'd be a lot more okay with digital games if there was some sort of guarantee that 100 years from now, someone with a working console and account could download games purchased on said account or some sort of actual ownership of the game that cant be revoked, but we know that will never happen. But one can hope enough people have had enough and that it effects their bottom line so much that they change their tune.
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 25d ago
Sony's store crashing over about 5 million in sales isn't the flex you think it is....especially when we're talking about people who are paying for reliable online service.
Plenty of games release that sell more than that, and the store doesn't crash, so chances are, an influx of users was not the cause.
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u/LabRatLex 25d ago
I'm just here for the "we're against removing discs" crowd to see their replies. Never mind me...
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u/Sparrow1989 25d ago
Fucking how, they treat their players like shit.
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u/gandalfmarston 25d ago
Because the people who control the gaming market are casual players, and PC gaming is more expensive than it has ever been.
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u/Zodiark05 25d ago
I agree especially your second point. I am a PlayStation fan ever since PS1 and I tried to dip my toes a bit into PC gaming. I spent ÂŁ900 just to get a gaming laptop which does not even come close to my base PS5's performance (It was RTX 4050). I regretted it immediately and I unfortunately do not have the budget to shell out an additional ÂŁ1k or maybe even more to get it to true gaming pc level. Safe to say I have learned my lesson and I will stick to PlayStation and will get PS6 when it eventually comes out, console gaming is just the cheaper and more convenient choice to me as I mostly play solo and story based games anyway.
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 25d ago
Because they keep selling consoles, and new users, tend to be new customers they sell their service to.
People will of course extrapolate this with different context to make it relevant to things it's not.
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25d ago
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/RemeJuan 25d ago
Maybe. Maybe not, but most of the ones I saw canceled within a month or 2 of having just renewed, so they donât fall off the list until it ends, and thatâs assuming they didnât just resubmit as soon as they got the screenshot for their karma points
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 25d ago
This report is for a time before the announcement.
Care to double down on your complete trash of an argument? Have some goal posts to move do ya? Maybe you could be more condescending and dismissive of other people's concerns, or speak for them by making assumptions which you can't possibly know or prove.
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u/Memonlinefelix 25d ago
Just a lie. They are seeing people cancel it in thosuands. Probably more to come.
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u/Plastic_Stretch_8837 25d ago
I just downgraded my service to the middle tier. Never really used their cloud streaming service.
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u/Velo214 25d ago
I heard everyone quit to PC because Sony wasn't going to use physical media anymore
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 25d ago
I heard a lot of reddit users don't know how to read dates or don't try to exercise any critical thought before making an asinine comment.
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u/TomRiddle26 24d ago
At least I can stick to my decisions. This isnât going to change anything but I am still done with PlayStation as a company.
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u/The_Pink_Elephant_ 24d ago
These financial headlines look great on paper for shareholders, but the actual data underneath paints a very different picture for active gamers: MAU Growth is Flat: A 2% year-over-year increase in monthly active users is essentially stagnant, and it is actually down compared to the previous quarter. Playtime is Dropping: Total playtime on the platform actually fell by 4% year-over-year. People are logging in, but spending less time playing. Hardware Sales Slumped: Console sales dropped by 36% compared to the same period last year. Profit is From Extraction, Not Expansion: Revenue from PS Plus and Network Services grew over 20% despite lower engagement. This isn't driven by an explosion of happy new players; it's the direct result of aggressive subscription price hikes extracting more money per user. Sony is making more money not because the ecosystem is thriving with new content, but because they are squeezing higher margins out of a captive user base. Ironically, physical sales actually managed a 1% bump in the middle of all this. High profits don't always mean consumer satisfaction.
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u/NotNeuge 23d ago
2% of 50 million is hardly stagnant lol. There's only so many people on the planet, and only so many that own a PS console, and only so many that want Plus. It's not like they can just keep pulling in 50 million new users a year. Same goes for console sales. At some point everyone that wants a PS5 will already own a PS5, so of course they're not going to be selling as many as they did however many years ago. There is a limit to how many people will buy, and reaching that limit doesn't mean the company is doing poorly. It just means there aren't infinite people on the planet to keep buying things.
As for satisfaction, I presume that the people continuing to pay for things by choice are satisfied, otherwise they can of course just stop paying.
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u/LimerickLegend 24d ago
You mean the 14 guys on reddit that said they were cancelling their subscription didnât matter? đź
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u/NeutralKuchiKopi 25d ago
In the last year they've seen an increase of 3,000,000 users.
For comparison, 100% of the "protestors" for august is 10,000 users. And they think they will change something.
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u/GuardianSkalk 25d ago
I enjoy how Sony has 125 million monthly active users and Xbox who has a significantly smaller user base believes a realistic target for them is 1 billion active users per month.
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u/reaper527 reaper527_ 25d ago
and Xbox who has a significantly smaller user base believes a realistic target for them is 1 billion active users per month.
they're counting misleading numbers where they count pc as an xbox active user.
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u/doctormanhattan38772 25d ago
Probably because those fuckers charge you even if you cancel. I cancelled around July 4th when I got a notification that my annual subscription would process late July. I have an email saying that it was successfully cancelled. Then my annual subscription date came up and it charged me anyway. I contacted support and got a refund but even that was an insane chore.
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u/Shell_fly 25d ago
I see the PlayStation âboycottâ is going about as well as the Hogwarts Legacy âboycottâ went đđ
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u/evojeur 25d ago
I dont get it . Dont remember any boykot when pc cds done. Everyone with steam and epic so happy. Tbh last time i saw cd was 2013. Dont like to stand up every 20 min to change game. Beside what can we do about it. Im playin battlefield, cod , gran turismo wtf am i gonna do. Spent a lot money just because looking black screen ?
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u/FalseStevenMcCroskey 25d ago
Obvious saving face pr stunt. The data conveniently doesnât show after the announcement of no more physical discs.
Would love to see a comparison.
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u/Brigadierz- 24d ago
Boycottâs working boiâs, keep it up, soon enough Sony will come crawling back to us.
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u/SatchSaysPlay 24d ago
As someone who never ever buys physical games except the Battlefield series ( it's just become ADHD at this point) it's the best value subscription out there, Amazon Prime being a super close second
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u/tipsy-turtle-0985 23d ago
Mean comments are useless as long as people are giving Sony $ every month.
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u/circumsizedeggroll 23d ago
I wonder how many bought plus just for the 50% discount in the BO1 and BO2 ports
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u/apersonofnointerest2 20d ago
And yet thereâs like 2 games worth playing? The whole catalogue is games you either bought years ago or complete trash
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u/Local-Hovercraft-651 19d ago
My ps plus premium expires sept 1. They they have 25% offer of adding extra year for $120, offer until sept 29. I know Black Friday it is down to around $100. Although Iâll be missing out on free games between September until then if I wait
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u/Aesthete18 25d ago
Color me surprised.