For the first few years of this generation, a number of industry analysts argued Sony may need to add first-party games to PS Plus at launch in order to maintain pace with Xbox Game Pass.
The Japanese giant, to its credit, always maintained its position that this was unsustainable. It later added tiers to its subscription offering, providing good value with PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium without going all-in like its Redmond rival.
Microsoft has since missed a number of targets with its own service, and has subsequently started releasing games like Forza Horizon 5 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Sony's console.
And now Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, writing in response to an incoming PS Plus exodus, has said subscriptions are "certainly not the future of gaming".
While he added that they can have a place in the industry, he pointed out that US spending on services like PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass has remained flat since 2021, aside from a brief 14% year-over-year boost when Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was added to the service last holiday.
It's worth noting that prices have been increasing in that time, too, and Circana data is ranked based on revenue.
So, why hasn't the rhetoric about gaming subscriptions being the future panned out?
We'd argue it's all down to a number of reasons, including:
Customers still placing value on owning their games as opposed to renting them.
Players preferring to focus on a handful of games they love as opposed to a large catalogue they may not be interested in.
Gaming requiring a more active investment as opposed to media like movies and music, which can be enjoyed passively.
Free-to-play live service titles like Fortnite and Marvel Rivals eating up a lot of dollars and time.
As Piscatella himself notes, there's still a lot of room for subscriptions, and the likes of PS Plus will continue to drive plenty of revenue for Sony.
But the idea that subscriptions are the future of gaming has been proven completely untrue, and in hindsight, it looks like PlayStation's decision not to devalue its first-party software has ultimately proven a good business move for the platform holder.
Comments