PS+ for online PS4 set to make Sony billions

Last Updated: August 15, 2013

ps-plus

Sony looks set to reap billions of dollars by introducing Playstation Plus as a requirement in order to play games online with the PS4.

Research firm IHS Electronics and Media has run the numbers and says that Sony should generate $1.2 billion courtesy of the PS+ service in the year 2017 and at least one billion dollars each year thereafter (although presumably the figure will actually increase).

The numbers compare very favorably to current PS+ revenue stats. IHS estimates that Sony took in only $140 million thanks to the service in 2012. Although it should be noted that a valid Playstation Plus subscription is not required in order to play online with the PS3. This will only come in with the Playstation 4 – hence the higher projected numbers.

By way of comparison, IHS also says that Microsoft made $1.25 billion in 2012 thanks to the Xbox Live Gold subscription model – which requires you to pay in order to play online.

With all the benefits of Playstation Plus (free games!) we can’t see any reason why it won’t be adopted extremely widely with the PS4.