Sony is increasing the cost of its PlayStation Plus membership program in the United States and Canada for the first time since the service’s launch in 2010, and members can expect to see higher renewal prices as early as next month.
Starting on September 22, PlayStation console owners re-upping their subscription to PlayStation Plus can expect to pay $60 for 12 months of service — an increase of $10 over the program’s former annual fee. Three-month PlayStation Plus subscriptions will also see a price increase from $20 to $25, while month-to-month renewals will remain a flat $10 fee.
“This marks the first time that PS Plus membership prices will increase in the U.S. and Canada since the launch of the service in 2010,” Sony said in a statement released today. “The new pricing reflects the current market conditions while enabling us to continue providing exceptional value to our members.”
At the time of this writing, Sony has not outlined any improvements or new features it has in store for PlayStation Plus members to justify the increase in price.
“As a member, you will continue to enjoy the benefits and features that enable shared experiences, such as online multiplayer, free games, and exclusive discounts,” the company stated. “You will also continue to get exclusive benefits such as online game save storage and discounts across the PlayStation digital services.”
PlayStation Plus is a subscription-based program that grants members access to free digital PlayStation 4, PS3, and PS Vita games on a monthly basis. Online multiplayer features for PlayStation 4 games also require an active enrollment in the PlayStation Plus program.
Sony launched PlayStation Plus in 2010 as an equivalent to Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold subscription service, which grants access to online multiplayer via Xbox Live. After upping Xbox Live subscription fees in 2010, Microsoft started offering faithful members additional incentives and monthly bonuses, including free digital games for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
PlayStation Plus members who do not agree with Sony’s updated pricing can disable auto-renewal in their PlayStation Network account settings before September 22 to avoid being charged at the new quarterly and annual rates.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.