For a brief number of years, Sony ported some of its first-party titles to PC. However, earlier this year, it was revealed that the PlayStation maker was scrapping the model so that first-party titles remain PlayStation exclusives. A new report has hinted at the reasons why.
According to Jason Schreier, the reason why Sony was ditching that model was that they were not making enough money from their PC releases. Unlike Xbox, which still decides on which games will go to rival platforms on a case-by-case basis, that logic will not apply to PlayStation single-player titles.
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“I guess they’re not going to lay this out publicly, but there’s no ambiguity in their strategy,” Schreier wrote on Resetera.
“During a townhall a few weeks ago, Hermen Hulst told staff that their single-player narrative games will be PlayStation only, and he explained that they were inconsistent with their PC releases, they didn’t make enough money, and they want to keep their IP aligned to their own platform. Confirmed this with two people who heard him say it. There’s no ‘case by case’ here.”
Sony spends money to port single-player games to PC, usually in collaboration with other studios like Jetpack Interactive and Nixxes Software. Sony has particularly worked with Nixxes to bring several single-player titles to PC. Therefore, it makes sense to discontinue with the model if the returns don’t justify the expenses.
Also, Sony hopes to sell more PS5 consoles before the end of its lifecycle. Exclusives encourage gamers to purchase the console. Xbox learned the hard way on this. After a few years of “This is an Xbox” campaign that tended to discourage fans from purchasing a console and rather stream games on Smart TVs and phones, the new CEO has scrapped the campaign and is gradually returning console exclusives.
Canceling PC port for PS single-player is an unpopular opinion
Not porting PlayStation sing-player games to PC appears to be an unpopular opinion among gamers. Five years ago, a petition was launched titled “Stop Sony from porting more PlayStation games to PC”. Only 328 people have signed that petition to date.
“PlayStation games belong ‘only on PlayStation’, read part of the petition. “Period. That’s what’s plastered on every box of PlayStation exclusive games and on a ton of their advertisements, and that’s how it should always be!”
“Sony/PlayStation has had their most profitable generation ever and yet they still choose to sully and tarnish the legacy of PlayStation by bringing their games to PC and soon mobile. This is nothing more than pure corporate greed. I know there is no such thing as “too much money” for these giant corporations, but no amount of money is worth disrespecting your IPs and the loyal community that got you to where you are.”
Sony clarifies AI usage in report
In a new financial report submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Sony hinted at how it intends to use AI to fortify or evolve the PlayStation ecosystem. After the content of the filing raised concerns, Sony has now changed the language of the filing, as spotted by Stephen Totilo of Game File.
Totilo highlighted the key points of Sony’s recent SEC filing, which includes how the company intends to interact with AI as follows:
- AI for game development “productivity”
- AI for more efficient routing of player transactions
- AI for recommending games to players on the PlayStation Store
- AI and machine learning to improve graphics
After the initial backlash, many studios are now leaning towards AI to improve graphics and speed up game development. NVIDIA and Unreal Engine continue to encourage developers to embrace AI in game development and even expand what developers can achieve using these tools.
Do you think Sony’s decision to scrap cross-platform release for single-player titles is justifiable? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
