Sony already sending extension details to PS Now and PS Plus users affected by PSN outage

Sony promised to extend the subscription of many PlayStation Network subscribers affected during the PSN outage earlier this month. Sony has advised the PSN subscribers to check their emails as the company will start distributing extensions this week.

Sony, after the PlayStation Network outage, announced via Twitter that the affected users will receive extension in their services. The company will provide extensions details from this week. The reason behind the recent outage is still confusing as the company has not said anything about it.

This month, PlayStation Network witnessed the year’s first biggest outage and almost all the services were down for a couple of hours. PlayStation Network subscribers including PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PS Vita owners were unable to manage their account activities. Users were also facing problems with services such as PS Now, PS Video and gameplay. Sony took hours to fix the issues and PSN users were outraged on social media sites. According to GameSpot, Sony announced the extension for affected users but it did not clarify on how long the company will extend users’ subscriptions for.

Towards the end of 2015, Sony was threatened by a group of hackers that attempted DDOS attacks on Sony’s PlayStation Network. Sony PlayStation Network users also experienced problems and later, Sony apologised for the outage. The group of hackers also disrupted the services of Microsoft’s Xbox Live.

Whatever the circumstances of the network outage itself, obviously Sony has no other option than to extend the subscriptions affected. In this console generation, it’s increasingly clear that monthly engagements are the preferred revenue stream for many of the larger entities in the video game industry.

PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live membership are of course the leading names in gaming subscription services, but EA Access is also becoming popular with its recent expansion to the PC. Players can expect many more to come as the subscription services including Netflix and Spotify have been very successful in the past. But to give users the confidence to go for a monthly subscription depends on how well the service is being delivered.

If such outages become common for any gaming service, it is more likely that consumers will ditch the service provider and make another arrangement. So, it’s a smart move by Sony as the company has been proactively planning to make things right for its users.