Sony may just have permanently plugged the last PS Store exploit that PSN users — primarily those in the West — were abusing to purchase games for cheap. In July, we reported that Sony was being accused of an unfair price hike in Turkiye, where the PS Store has long been used by folks in Europe and North America to snag games for dirt cheap. It was pointed out that pricing decisions were down to publishers, not just Sony. But it now appears that the hike is uniform across the board.
Sony plugs PS Store exploit in Turkiye, but it’s not all good news
For years, outlets dedicated to video game deals have promoted the practice of using digital stores in cheaper regions to grab games for a fraction of the price that they are in users’ home countries. Unfortunately, this sometimes comes at the expense of consumers in those countries.
Enter PS Store Turkiye, which was a lucrative place for international shoppers due to a freefalling Turkish Lira. A year ago, Sony finally decided to crack down on the exploit, making it mandatory to have a Turkish mode of payment to purchase games from the country’s PS Store, and there are no PSN cards to purchase.
Some entrepreneurial minds in Turkiye decided to use the situation to their advantage, often taking to video game deal sites and forums like Reddit to facilitate transactions for a small fee. Since the games still came out cheaper, PSN users outside Turkiye gladly paid. Well, that ends now.
New games on the Turkish PS Store cost just as much, if not more, than their U.S. versions. Turkish players certainly aren’t happy about the situation because this means that they’re paying anywhere between 2,499TL/$74 (for Black Myth: Wukong, as an example) to 2,799TL/$82 for games like Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Pertinent to mention that plugging loopholes isn’t the sole or even the main reason behind Sony jacking up PS Store prices in Turkiye (there are economic factors at play, as previously explained), but I believe that’s certainly part of the consideration. I do feel for Turkish players, but this was bound to happen.