Amazon Discounted 1-Year PlayStation Plus Membership After 2016 Price Hike

In late September 2016, Amazon offered a discount on the 1-Year PlayStation Plus Membership digital code, providing a brief window for consumers to purchase it at its previous price. The promotion followed a recent price increase for the subscription service implemented by Sony.

The 2016 PlayStation Plus Price Increase

On September 22, 2016, Sony Interactive Entertainment raised the price of its PlayStation Plus subscription in the United States and Canada. For U.S. customers, the cost of a 12-month membership increased from $49.99 to $59.99. This was the first price adjustment for the annual plan in the region since the service first launched. The change reflected the evolving market conditions and the value offered through the subscription, but it was met with concern from some longtime subscribers who were accustomed to the established price point.

Amazon’s Temporary Price Reduction

Just a few days after the official price hike took effect, Amazon listed the 1-Year PlayStation Plus Membership digital code for $49.99. This represented a $10 discount from the new standard retail price, effectively rolling it back to its pre-increase cost. The deal allowed existing members to renew their subscriptions for another year at the familiar rate and gave new members a chance to join without immediately paying the higher fee. As a digital code, the purchase could be redeemed directly on the PlayStation Network to add 12 months of membership to a user’s account.

PlayStation Plus Features in 2016

At the time, a PlayStation Plus subscription was essential for PlayStation 4 owners who wanted to engage in online multiplayer gameplay for most titles. Beyond enabling online access, the membership provided several other key benefits.

Monthly Games: Subscribers received access to a selection of games each month at no additional cost through the Instant Game Collection. These titles were available across the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita platforms. As long as the membership remained active, users could download and play any of the games they had claimed from the monthly lineups.

Exclusive Discounts: Members were entitled to exclusive sales and deeper discounts on digital content sold through the PlayStation Store. These promotions often applied to full games, downloadable content, and other digital items, with price reductions sometimes reaching as high as 80% off the standard price.

Cloud Storage: The service provided subscribers with 10 GB of online cloud storage for PS4 game saves. This was a significant increase over the 1 GB offered to non-subscribers. Cloud storage allowed players to back up their game progress securely and transfer saves between different consoles.

Share Play: A unique feature for PlayStation 4 users was Share Play. This allowed a Plus member to invite a friend on the PlayStation Network into their game session remotely. The friend could watch the gameplay, take over control of the game, or join in a simulated local multiplayer match, even if they did not own the game themselves.