PlayStation Plus members in Asia were shocked when they were told how much they would need to pay to upgrade their subscriptions.
The new PlayStation Plus service is getting a staggered rollout with Asia first, then the Americas, before finally landing in Europe.
However, while many fans were excited when the revamped PlayStation Plus service was finally announced, the initial rollout in Asia has shocked some as it revealed that some users will have to pay exorbitant fees to upgrade their base level subscriptions.
PlayStation Plus Upgrade Fees Shock Console Owners
Previous members of PlayStation Plus have always looked for ways to get the monthly subscription service cheaper and many have found that purchasing the pre-paid cards, which come in 1-, 3-, and 12-month bundles, is the best way to do that.
In fact, the deals can be so good that some will purchase many years' worth, giving them PlayStation Plus for years with no recurring cost and at a fraction of the price.
However, that savviness has now come at a cost. Users who already had a PlayStation Plus subscription are being moved to the base level of the service at the rollout with the option to upgrade to Extra or Premium at their own discretion.
However, what has now become clear, through players in Asia, is that you have to upgrade the entire remaining time on your PlayStation Plus subscription. This could be a few months or several years, and you have to pay it all upfront.
What's worse, Sony appears to be punishing those that purchased the service while on sale in the past, charging extra again to allow users to upgrade.
News that this is Sony policy seems to have been confirmed by Video Game Chronicles, who translated a PlayStation support ticket from a Hong Kong player which revealed that the upgrade fees players are seeing are correct.
Since you purchased PlayStation Plus at a discounted price at the time of membership, there are two PlayStation Plus memberships that cannot enjoy other discounts:1) PlayStation Plus membership bought with a discount.2) PlayStation Plus membership redeemed with redemption code.Therefore, if you need to upgrade to Level 2 or 3 Premium membership, you will need to make up the difference between the previous discounted price and the normal price.PlayStation Support representative
It is not yet clear if Sony intends to take a similar policy in North/South America and Europe, where the service isn't expected to launch until June 13 and June 23 respectively.
That isn't the only issue that has come up at launch, as some players have noted there are far fewer games on the service than initially expected.
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