**SONY’S "SILENT SUBSCRIPTION" – IS HISTORY REPEATING?**

SONY’S “SILENT SUBSCRIPTION” – IS HISTORY REPEATING?
August 2024 – In a move historian-turned-gamer Dr. Elena Cross calls “the Nero of subscriptions,” Sony has hiked PlayStation Plus prices by up to 35%, sparking comparisons to the 1637 Dutch Tulip Bulb market crash—where inflated access to a prized commodity led to sudden, mass devaluation. “Sony is betting gamers are addicted like tulip investors,” Cross notes. “But history whispers: overvalue loyalty, and the petals fall.” The price increase mirrors the 1837 Panic—when banks (here, Sony) raised fees on “essential” services, igniting a user revolt. Parallels to 1980s cable TV “killer tiers” are also stark: once consumers felt nickel-and-dimed, they cut the cord. Is Sony repeating the Enron playbook—creating a false scarcity around “premium” digital access? Gamers are already threatening a mass exodus. As the Tulipmania proverb goes: “Beware the bubble that only the seller believes is eternal.” #PlayStationPricedOut