Late last year a report came out stating that Sony would be ending its PlayStation Now brand, and it would appear the company has taken the first steps towards this goal.
VentureBeat reports that Sony is removing PlayStation Now gift cards from UK retailers. Meaning you will no longer be able to buy them after a certain date. According to a Sony spokesperson, that date is by end of day on Wednesday, January 19.
After which any remaining gift cards must be pulled off the shelves and can no longer be sold to consumers. Instead, consumers will need to buy PlayStation Store gift cards which can then be used to pay for PlayStation Now subscriptions.
Or set up payment through other means. Like credit or debit cards, or PayPal.
PlayStation Now could be ending in the near future
Gift cards may be getting removed from UK retailers, but the service is still live and for the time being Sony hasn’t confirmed officially that it’s shutting down. However, the report from December does mention that Sony’s plans to phase the service out would all be in the effort of merging it with PlayStation Plus. The company would then be rolling the features of both into a new offering. Codenamed Spartacus.
Which is rumored to be Sony’s competitor of sorts to Xbox Game Pass. Sony’s removal of the official gift cards from stores is just that. A removal of the gift cards and nothing more. At least on the face of things. But the timing of the removal with last month’s report is all too convenient.
And if Sony did have plans to phase out the brand, beginning that process with the discontinuation of products under than brand would be a good place to start.
As of right now the removal of these cards in retailers seems to be limited to the UK. You can still buy digital cards for the service on Amazon in the US. As well as at other US retailers like Best Buy and GameStop. But consumers should expect the same treatment in other regions soon enough. The only question is when it will happen.
Sony spokesperson says:
“Globally, we are moving from PlayStation Now gift cards to focus on our current cash denomination PlayStation gift cards, which can be redeemed for PlayStation Now.”https://t.co/RFyXXqkcZC— Jeff Grubb (@JeffGrubb) January 12, 2022
2022-01-15 15:04:38