Sony’s controversial new dynamic pricing appears to have rolled out in the US.
While the practice originally seemed limited to a slew of regions in Europe, evidence is beginning to emerge of its implementation in the US, specifically with the new Spring Sale.
Deals account Cheap Ass Gamer notes that acclaimed platformer Astro Bot is one such game struck by the variable pricing, as it shows $39.59 (-34%) for some and $26.99 (-55%) for others.
As before, the dynamic pricing only affects the depth of the discount, so in each example above you’re still saving money on Astro Bot’s $59.99 MSRP.
But depending on Sony’s algorithm, for reasons not made public to consumers, you may be eligible for a worse discount than someone else.
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In a poll, 50% of Push Square readers said this “unfair” practice needs to stop, but with today’s Spring Sale it looks like Sony is doubling down. It just remains to be seen whether this is an experiment that will go away, or a sign of the future.
The platform holder has yet to make any kind of comment on this situation, and we doubt it’ll ever publicly address it. Nevertheless, we’ll continue to monitor the situation to see if this gets axed – or gets worse.