Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has said that unless 2-3 million PlayStation owners subscribe to online service PlayStation Plus within the next two years, Sony can’t expect to generate profit on the PlayStation Network as a whole.
“Sony is already spending the money on PlayStation Network, so layering on a new group of users paying it for a service will be profitable,” said Pachter on the latest episode of his Gamestrailers show Patch Attack.
“PlayStation Plus will take a while to get up to the same level as Xbox Live and I think you will see around 1 million subscribers early on, which amounts to around $50 million in profit.
“What this means is the PlayStation Network as a whole will not become profitable, as I’m guessing it costs Sony about a couple-of-hundred-million a year to maintain. What Sony will be hoping is the new service drives people to download more movies and games and therefore bring in more money.
“I think for Sony to make a profit on the PlayStation Network, it will need at least 2-3 million PlayStation Plus subscribers within the next two years.”
PlayStation Plus which was released at the end of June, allows subscribers automatic firmware updates and enables access to offers and discounts on PSN downloadable content.
