Analyst: PS4 Will Earn $1.2 Billion Each Year From PS Plus

According to the “IHS Electronic and Media” research firm, Sony’s decision to enforce PlayStation Plus for non-free-to-play multiplayer gameplay on PS4 devices will generate an estimated $1.2 billion each year.

The PS4 multiplayer paywall, which has been a part of Microsoft’s Xbox Live since 2002, has only been around on the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita for the past three years. Some of the services include cloud saving, free games each month, exclusive discounts and more for $50/year. However, because it is not a mandatory service like Xbox Live Gold, it brought in only an estimated $140 million in 2012 subscriptions. That is quite paltry in comparison to the life-to-date estimated earnings of $4.7 billion by Microsoft from their paid online services over the past 11 years.

Sony needs the PS4 to hit the ground running whenever it launches later this year in order to get that subscription money flowing. Sony’s electronics department has taken a beating over the past decade, resulting in over $8.5 billion in the red during that time. Keeping on par with the main competition will allow Sony to slowly recoup some of their losses before any of their next gen software is even taken into account.

Now with the PS4 and Xbox One both requiring a paid online multiplayer service, the Wii U is the only 8th generation console that comes with free online multiplayer. That is, if you happen to own one of the 3.61 million sold worldwide since its launch in November 2012. It’s a difficult task to balance the wants of your consumers with free online multiplayer and the financial requirements of a struggling company in order to run a successful corporation. The PS4 and Sony just can’t afford to leave money on the table.