Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida claims that the game subscription model isn’t as valuable as video streaming services.
Speaking in an interview on the Norges Bank Investment Management YouTube channel, Yoshida stated that, while Sony offers a game subscription business model, people usually play one game at a time, and so an all you can eat type of many games may not be so valuable compared with video steaming services.
Yoshida mentioned that Sony offers a balanced/hybrid service on PlayStation Network, which includes subscription i.e. PS Plus, as well as pay per content.
Meanwhile, on the subject of gaming in general, Yoshida stated that he sees the future as ubiquitous, and that users will be able to play their favorite games wherever there is computing. He added that, while PlayStation will remain Sony’s core product, the company will expand its gaming experiences to PC, mobile and cloud.
Regarding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard King, Yoshida said that healthy competition is necessary for the game industry to grow, and he believes it is important to provide gaming audiences with different options to play. Therefore, he added that Sony will continue its efforts to achieve this.
Recently, Executive Director and Video Game Industry Analyst at Circana (NPD), Matt Piscatella, discussed the growth trajectory of game subscription services, including Xbox Game Pass and PS Plus. He took to Twitter/X to share that the growth of these subscriptions has reached a plateau, constituting only 10% of the total expenditure on video game content in the United States across console and PC platforms.
Piscatella emphasized the need to acknowledge differing perspectives on preferred models, dispelling the notion that subscription services will dominate based on current data. He argued that game subscriptions have proven to be more complementary than competitive, providing players, developers, and publishers with increased flexibility in gameplay and marketing strategies.
