Sony’s PlayStation division has recently come under fire for a controversial pricing update in Turkey, where the cost of AAA titles has skyrocketed to the equivalent of 25% of the country’s median monthly wage.
This move has drawn heavy criticism from gamers worldwide, as the new prices are seen as outright exorbitant and out of touch with the economic reality of the region.
PlayStation’s Pricing Blunder: A Bitter Pill to Swallow
The news of the pricing update first broke on social media when @SynthPotato shared a post on their X feed, featuring a screenshot of the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows with its updated Standard Edition price in Turkish lira on the PS5 Store:
PlayStation just updated their prices in Turkey and games now cost $85.
— Ameer (@SynthPotato) July 14, 2024
This is in a country with a $400 median salary, what the actual hell? Gaming on PC is much cheaper in comparison, I literally cannot afford games on PS5 anymore due to this.
These prices have to be illegal. pic.twitter.com/gtgZYUz9js
To put this into perspective, the price of a single AAA PlayStation title in Turkey now equates to roughly 25% of the monthly wage for half of the country’s working population. It’s a difficult pill to swallow for gamers who may already be struggling to make ends meet in an economically challenging environment.
Naturally, the community has been quick to voice their outrage and criticism of Sony‘s decision, with many calling out the company for its apparent greed and disregard for its loyal customers.
The price was updated on the 1st of july for many games on the ps5 (new & upcoming + first party & third party) PlayStation are the ones responsible for this. They did this for absolutely no reason other than greed
— Sultan 🗡️DEAD RISING IS BACK🔥🔥 (@SultanPSN) July 15, 2024
The absurdity of the situation becomes even more apparent when comparing the cost of a game in Turkey to the average income in other countries, as one user aptly demonstrates:
For context, that’s a weeks salary for 1 game compared to about 2.5 hours at my very, very middle of the road middle class job in America. That’s insane
— JohnThicc (@JohnThicc07) July 15, 2024
But as always, Sony’s staunch defenders are quick to jump at the opportunity to back up their favorite gaming giant.
The VPN Debate: Cause or Consequence?
Some users have suggested that the decision to hike PlayStation game prices in Turkey is a response to players abusing the country’s previously lower prices by using VPNs to purchase games at a discount:
It's not Sony's fault, it's the players that abuse the cheap markets to buy accounts and games. Same thing happened to Argentina, Brazil etc because of vpn and game pass
— Νίκος Δήμου (@Nikolaos_Dim) July 15, 2024
While using VPNs to circumvent regional pricing may have played a role in the gaming giant’s decision, what about the legitimate customers who are now faced with exorbitant prices? To no one’s surprise, some fans have taken it upon themselves to defend Sony’s actions—offering unsolicited lessons in economics:
yeah, toilet economy with inflation in 70-95% range .. and tou blame SONY.
— Ondřej Súkup (@mimi1vx) July 15, 2024
What to say.. go back to school and try learn something about economy
These comments, while attempting to shift the blame onto the country’s economic situation, fail to address the issue at hand: the lack of regional pricing that takes into account the purchasing power parity of different countries.
Another comment misses the point entirely:
Lmao if anything all they’ve done is matched the price to the rest of the world and it’s still cheaper.
— Russel Perryman (@ShadowRuzza) July 15, 2024
You just be using this to take a dig at PlayStation when it’s the same across all platforms pic.twitter.com/7477M7jk3y
Having a universal price for a game across all regions is precisely what we don’t want, as it fails to account for the vast differences in purchasing power between countries.
What may be a reasonable price in the USA or UK could be an entire month’s salary for someone in a less economically developed nation!
What do you think about PlayStation’s decision to hike prices in Turkey? Is it a justified response to VPN abuse, or an unfair punishment for gamers in the region? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
