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Turkish players furious at PlayStation over game price hike

After a massive increase in the price of PlayStation Plus subscriptions in Turkey last year, Sony has once again quietly raised the prices for games in Turkey.

Console games are typically more expensive than PCs, at least most of them. The September 2023 price changes for PlayStation Plus subscriptions came as a shock to fans, with some regions feeling the pinch more than others. Turkey was among them and has dealt with a steady stream of major price hikes for gaming products and services.

Following the price change, complaints started flooding in around social media. Sony was criticized for imposing an $85 price tag on a single full-priced game in the country, which was particularly galling as the country’s median income is $400 per month.

PlayStation price hike in Turkey follows similar moves by Twitch, plunging value of Turkish lira

PlayStation is the latest company to raise game prices in Turkey, following the likes of Twitch and Steam.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows, scheduled for release later in November, is currently priced at $84.75 for PlayStation users in Turkey, a significant increase from the previous $60. The standard version includes only the base game and is being offered for pre-order at $15 more than its price in the USA.

assassin's creed codename red

Sony’s sudden price increase has left many players feeling uneasy. Not only was there no prior announcement, but the company is also facing criticism for charging higher prices to a country with a lower average income compared to the USA and other nations. This hike is only limited to PlayStation. Assassin’s Creed Shadows remains comparatively affordable on PC and Xbox in Turkey, at $52 and $62, respectively.

Game companies are not required to do so, but prices are often adjusted to each country. Because of this, the norm would have been lowering prices.

PlayStation prices going up follows price hikes in Turkey by Xbox and Steam in 2023. Turkey was also particularly hard-hit by Twitch subscription prices going up.

However, a chunk of users are justifying the price hike by pointing out that some players exploit lower prices in Turkish regions by using VPNs to purchase the game at a discounted rate.

The reason for Turkey getting continually brutalized by price hikes likely stems from the sinking value of its currency. In January 2010, 1.50 TRY was equivalent to $1 USD. The value of the currency declined steadily starting in 2011 before starting a freefall in 2020 that continues deep into today. As of this writing $1 USD is equivalent to more than 33 TRY.

Written by Fariha Bhatti X Twitter Logo

Fariha is a content writer who grew up playing such games as Metal Slug and King of Fighters. She briefly ended up in the corporate world before finding her way back to gaming. With bylines at WIN, PCGN, and One Esports, Fariha can talk all day about FPS games, especially Valorant. She has a degree in criminology and a problematic spending habit when it comes to CS2 skins. She can be followed on Twitter / X at @Frizbyx.

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