How is This Possible?
A new report that was conducted by Sony has found that only 37 percent of PS4 owners use PlayStation Plus. PlayStation Plus is the equivalent of Xbox Live. It also gives players access to a handful of monthly free games along with other benefits. While this number might seem low at first glance, due to the success of the PS4, 37 percent is still almost 39 million people.
PlayStation Plus is by no means suffering. However, it is obvious that Sony would like to see a higher number of people using their services. Xbox Live, on the other hand, has nowhere near the same amount of popularity. Microsoft has not done well this generation. Its most recent console has only managed to sell around 41 million copies. Which is only a little bit larger than the PlayStation Plus community.
The amount of PS4 users signing up for the subscription service has grown steadily over the years. This is the highest it has ever been throughout the existence of the console. Many have attributed this to the generous amounts of deals and free games that are gifted to PlayStation Plus users.
Sony has not really touched on how it is going to handle online gaming for the PS5. There is a very small chance that we will ever see them revert back to a free online service like on the PS3. Due to the success of PlayStation Plus and by extension the PS4, the PlayStation 5 is most likely going to use a similar paid subscription program.
Sony has tried some lackluster gimmicks like PlayStation Vue however, Plus really is a half-decent investment. No one likes to spend money on anything, but if you have to, PlayStation Plus is not a bad idea.