Kiwi gamers are going to have to fork out up to $24.95 per month if they want to take advantage of the new PlayStation Plus tiers launching soon.
Sony has confirmed the new Extra tier will cost $21.95 per month in New Zealand, with the Deluxe tier - a watered down version of the Premium tier available in countries that currently have PlayStation Now streaming - will cost an extra $3 per month.
Three month subscriptions will cost $63.95 and $72.95, while annual deals will cost $149.95 and $172.95, respectively. The existing PlayStation Plus model - now called Essential - remains at $13.95 per month, with 12 months available for $89.95.
That makes Sony's top two tiers more expensive than Microsoft's comparable Game Pass Ultimate service when paid monthly, which costs $19.95 in Aotearoa. That package also has advantages over PlayStation's offering: It allows subscribers to play on both PC and Xbox, includes Xbox Game Studios franchises like Forza and Halo on the day they're released, and includes access to EA's Play service.
EA Play is an additional cost for PlayStation Plus subscribers in New Zealand at $6.95 per month.
Sony's Extra tier offers the same online gaming and monthly downloadable games as the Essential tier but with access to an additional catalogue of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games, including "blockbuster hits" from the PlayStation Studios catalogue and third-party partners, the company said.
"For markets without cloud streaming, PS Plus Deluxe will be offered at a lower price compared to Premium, and includes a catalogue of beloved classic games from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations to download and play, along with time-limited game trials," Jim Ryan, president & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment said previously.
The PlayStation New Zealand website said the new services will launch on June 22 when they are "merging with PlayStation Now", however there is no confirmation of that date yet for Kiwis, given Now isn't available here.
There remains hope, however, that Kiwis will get access to games streaming and the Premium tier in the future.
"We also plan to expand our cloud streaming benefit to additional markets, and will provide more details at a later date," Ryan said.
Sony has confirmed that when the new membership plans launch, subscribers will be able to upgrade their current plans.
"When you upgrade you will be charged a pro-rated fee to level up the remaining time on your existing membership to the desired level," the website states.
"For example, if you purchased a 12-month membership five months ago and have seven months left, you will need to pay a pro-rated upgrade fee to upgrade your remaining seven months to the desired plan level.
"Then on your next payment date, you will be charged for the standard price of the membership plan level that you upgraded to at your current payment frequency."
