In a bleak sign of the times, PlayStation is mimicking Xbox by encouraging dormant players to trade-in their PS5 consoles.
The memory crisis and soaring prices have made this a very peculiar console generation, and this is reflected in Sony and Microsoft’s increasingly odd business strategies.
Last month, Xbox ran a promotion encouraging players to trade-in their Xbox Series X/S consoles, if they’re no longer using them. They never explained why but it was assumed to be an attempt to boost active players and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, even if that seems a very unreliable way to achieve that goal.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and Sony is now doing the same thing for dormant PlayStation 5 players, across the US and the UK.
As highlighted on ResetEra, Sony is sending out notifications on the PlayStation app entitled ‘Trade in your PS5 console for up to $400’. In the UK, the same marketing push is offering up to £300.
This promotion is in collaboration with online marketplace Back Market (Xbox’s was through Best Buy in the US). Even if there is some logic behind it, in terms of putting consoles in the hands of more invested players, at a time when there are stock shortages, it’s still bizarre to see from an optics point of view.
Crucially, the deal itself is pretty rubbish too. The promise of up to £300 varies on the condition of the console, but the amount is based on a ‘PS5 standard console with two or more controllers’, when brand new consoles only come with one DualSense controller.
Full storyHERE
The memory crisis and soaring prices have made this a very peculiar console generation, and this is reflected in Sony and Microsoft’s increasingly odd business strategies.
Last month, Xbox ran a promotion encouraging players to trade-in their Xbox Series X/S consoles, if they’re no longer using them. They never explained why but it was assumed to be an attempt to boost active players and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, even if that seems a very unreliable way to achieve that goal.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and Sony is now doing the same thing for dormant PlayStation 5 players, across the US and the UK.
As highlighted on ResetEra, Sony is sending out notifications on the PlayStation app entitled ‘Trade in your PS5 console for up to $400’. In the UK, the same marketing push is offering up to £300.
This promotion is in collaboration with online marketplace Back Market (Xbox’s was through Best Buy in the US). Even if there is some logic behind it, in terms of putting consoles in the hands of more invested players, at a time when there are stock shortages, it’s still bizarre to see from an optics point of view.
Crucially, the deal itself is pretty rubbish too. The promise of up to £300 varies on the condition of the console, but the amount is based on a ‘PS5 standard console with two or more controllers’, when brand new consoles only come with one DualSense controller.
Full storyHERE