Effective October 2019, the consumption tax in Japan has been raised from 8% to 10%.
If it is going to be a flat rate of 10%, there is no choice in some areas, but the reduced tax rate, cashless reductions, and other intricacies make it difficult to understand.
Game software and hardware are not subject to the reduced tax rate, so the consumption tax rate is 10%. That's pretty steep for people who buy a lot of software!
While we were expecting the prices of various game services to increase to reflect the tax hike, PlayStation Now, PlayStation's game subscription service, has announced changes to its service.
Among the various changes, it was announced that the price will be revised from 2,500 JPY (including tax) to 1,180 JPY (including tax) per month starting October 2, 2019. Huh? Price reduction? Reduced tax rate?
Let's find out what it all means!
Price revision for use tickets
Starting October 2, 2019, the price of PlayStation Now subscription tickets has been revised and is now much cheaper. It's less than half the price!
| PlayStation Now subscription | Old price | New price |
| 1 month subscription | 2,500 JPY (including tax) | 1,180 JPY (including tax) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 month subscription | 5,900 JPY (tax included) | 2,980 JPY (tax included) |
| 12 month subscription | -- | 6,980 JPY (tax included) |
Both 1-month and 3-month subscription rights are now less than half price, making it possible for those who want to try out a few titles for a short period of time.
This is good news for those who have a few titles they want to play but are not sure how much they can afford.
Of course, for long-term users, the 12-month subscription of 6,980 JPY is by far the best deal, at about 582 JPY per month, which is half the price.
【名作から大作まで、今すぐ遊び放題。】
PS Nowが10月2日よりサービス変更！ 月額1,180円(税込)から！
さらに『ゴッド・オブ・ウォー』『グランド・セフト・オートV』などの人気タイトルが期間限定でPS Nowに登場！https://t.co/CBJDyEOXuk#PS4 #PSNow pic.twitter.com/5C1mOCCUm7— プレイステーション公式 (@PlayStation_jp) October 1, 2019
Distribution of CERO Z titles
The terms of use for PlayStation Now have been changed, and the service is now available to users 18 years of age and older.
With this change, CERO Z titles (18 years and older) can now be distributed!
There are a surprisingly large number of popular titles that are CERO Z, and to be honest, until now many people have been dissatisfied with the titles available on PlayStation Now because they were not able to distribute them.
However, from now on, we can expect that more and more popular CERO Z titles will become available for distribution!
Delivering classic titles for a limited time of 3 months!
PlayStation Now still offers more than 400 PS4/PS3 game titles, but the following popular titles will be available for a limited time of 3 months!
3-month limited time offer titles
- God of War.
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Uncharted: The Pirate King and the Last Secret
- inFAMOUS Second Son
Grand Theft Auto V and inFAMOUS Second Son are CERO Z titles, which means they can only be distributed because of the aforementioned changes to the Terms of Service!
These four titles will be available from October 2, 2019 to January 1, 2020.
With four classic titles, three months may not be enough time!
In addition to the monthly additions, they will be offering other popular titles every month that you can enjoy for a limited time, so we are looking forward to seeing what titles will be available in the future.
Let's play all the games for a fixed price!
In recent years, the number of subscription services for games has increased.
Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold costs 842 JPY (including tax)/month, Apple's Apple Arcade costs 600 JPY/month, and Google's Stadia costs about 1,100 JPY/month, all of which are easy to maintain. I believe that the competition in the subscription service market will intensify.
As a user, I can only be happy that the price is lower and more titles are being distributed! Thank you so much!
For more information about PlayStation Now, please visit the official PlayStation website, and for an overview of the changes to the PlayStation Now service, please visit the PlayStation Blog!