Poll: Years Later, How Do You Feel About PlayStation's PC Strategy?

It's great for me as I game mainly on PC these days, the main reason I still have a console is because its a 4K blu ray player, that and my boy plays on it

I'm a console player and I honestly don't mind games going to PC even if it was day and date as it's still a sale and extra revenue for Sony which they can use to fund their games or future acquisitions. Also there's not many people who Own both a PC and a Playstation meaning putting games on PC won't really effect Playstation Console sales. And the casuals won't convert over to PC either due to the cost to set up a PC good enough to run games well and they like the ease and comfort of a controller.

Given recent development it looks like it will take some time before pc players understand the company they love to look down to actually makes pretty f*cking awesome games so Sony has to be intelligent and not lose console sales for a cursed promised land, like every Uncharted game warned us about lol.

@carlos82 - sounds very similar to me, except I have 4 boys!

I hope Sony's PC strategy continues to expand/improve and we get confirmation soon regarding PSVR2 and how that will work with PC. I've been waiting for something with OLED panels to upgrade to from my ageing Samsung Odyssey+.

Zero impact on me.

I was worried it would devalue the brand a bit, but I appear to have been proven wrong, so I'm down to don't really care now.

It is spot on because it allows Sony Studios to focus on initial release and take advantage of the PS5 and release quality AAA, on time ish and bug free ish. This helps not stretch the developers having to make the game initially for multiple devices.

Imagine every Xbox developer making for series s and series x and PC and all other devices and cloud based to release all on day one.
I rest my case.

So long as it helps Sony keep it's dev teams in business then I'm all for it

Unfortunately, with the death of consoles very soon, I'll have no choice but to go full PC.

I'm a console gamer and I dont mind the games going to PC a few months late. But the PC player base is a different beast so I hope Sony really know what they're doing.

I think their current system is great. Singleplayer games on PC about 2-3 years later, and live service games also on PC day one. I care less about the value of my PS5 and the value of the PlayStation brand compared to good experiences, so if these PC ports help increase revenue for better sequels then I can’t complain.

It absolutely devalues the console brand for me. Which is a little sad insofar as I grew up with Playstation consoles, although it'll be nice going forward not needing to buy expensive consoles in order to play their games.

That said, Microsoft seems to have given up on being a serious competitor in the console market, and Nintendo is... Nintendo, so, by and large, this won't hurt them with the majority of consumers.

will end up just like the Xbox.

But I think now that MS is giving up and Nintendo isn't a real competitor, it doesn't matter to them.

It's been hit and miss of late. But generally hit. A BIIIG miss with TLOU and less so with Horizon 2. But I personally love having most of my Sony exclusive library available via Steamdeck wherever I go. Just wish they would adjust the coding on Horizon 2 to run at PS4 levels as an option instead of this ultra high grade crap.

I think that PC and consoles are two separate realms. Nothing wrong with PC gaming, but when I talk exclusive games, I think console exclusives and don't include pc in that equation. That's is why I have no problem with Xbox or PS5 games being on PC. Actually I don't mind having PS5 games on an Xbox and vice versa.

I have absolutely no problem with PS games appearing on PC, quite happy for those guys to enjoy premium console games too.

Apart from the recent cry-babyness, I think having Helldivers 2 on both PC & PS has been pretty good IMHO, certainly meant the player numbers have been consistently high (too high on release of course).

I’m about 50-50 at this point, PC game prices for nonPS exclusives are almost always way lower than PS Store plus. Basically my ps5 is where I play exclusive games or games that are terribly ported on PC (ie jedi survivor)

Personally, I think it’s great that people can play God of War and Uncharted on the same machine they use to file their taxes.

I'm not a shareholder, why should I care?

I think Sony’s strategy was quite good until about a week ago…

As long as Sony keeps making triple A single player games I could care less.

I'm a console gamer. But I think it's great Playstation games are coming to pc. More gamers need to play these awesome games.

I went to PC after being a Playstation gamer from PS1-PS4.

Having multiplayer games release on both PC and PS5 simultaneously, but let singleplayer come to PC after a year or so of console exclusivity seems to be a good strategy.

I think it's great the way it is now, with a delay of 1-2 years for every game between console release and PC porting.
Helldivers is either a trial or an exception in this regard, we shall see what the future brings.

It should be pointed out though, that the most important thing to consider is the future of PS studios, which is as clouded as a mountain top on a rainy day...
Right this moment we know next to nothing about what they have planned for the future of the franchises we love so much, or for new IP's. Sony is keeping way too quiet and doesn't care enough about giving it's clients a roadmap or even a glimpse at what they can expect 1-2-3 years from now.
Which is unsettling to see and frankly, after the PS5 experience so far, I don't know if I should buy the next console or not.

Devalue your system to chase a few thousand extra sales, Nintendo are the only one of platform holders that got it right.

@Ralizah I don’t really see how it devalues the console.

Sony make 99% of their revenue on the PlayStation Store. And a majority of that comes from third party games, DLC, loot boxes etc.

I don’t think Sony is going to do anything to dramatically damage their console market. They haven’t released all games (like Xbox has) and they also have created a system that retains console exclusives from third party developers.

All it’s really doing is expanding some of its key franchises to a bigger audience. This turns people to game more on Sony games.

One of my brothers has no interest in consoles. But he now plays PlayStation games on PC.

Me personally, I went back to PlayStation after being PC / Xbox only for a while because I missed a lot of the games on PlayStation and their PC releases reminded me of that.

Sony’s brand has not been damaged by either of our very different viewpoints, in fact it’s been helped.

It's great! Now I never have to buy a Playstation console ever again! I bought a PS4 and PS5 for console exclusives games. That's not a thing anymore, so I'll just stick to PC and Nintendo from here on.

Don't give a monkeys toss to be honest as it doesn't impact me in the slightest.

@Kienda

I said it devalues the console for me. As in, I don't feel a need to buy into Sony's hardware now. Their exclusives are pretty much all hitting PC. The hardware is, for the first time, very skippable.

As I also said, this won't really hurt them as long as they're essentially the default player in the high end home console market.

I'm mainly a console gamer, but I'm glad PS is branching out to PC. It leads to higher sales and higher player interaction making their games more successful.

@OldGamer999 Xbox and pc both utilise directx api, PlayStation uses a custom api. It’s one of the reasons naughty dog’s in house pc port was such a *****-show at launch - they weren’t overly familiar with developing for pc. It’s also why Sony bought nixxes to handle the majority of pc ports.

It’s easier for Xbox to port to pc than Sony due to directx, and there’s little to no work done with cloud “ports” of Xbox games as they’re running on server blade versions of series x hardware. The biggest difficulty for Xbox seems to be the sacrifices required to get games working on the series s.

Sony will essentially be optimising for the same number of hardware configurations once the pro launches. Although the rumours suggest that porting between ps5 and ps5 pro should be incredibly straight forward for devs vs the headache of series s and series x.

It was a bit of a shock and rubbed me the wrong way at first but now it's settled in I honestly don't care anymore. I prefer to game on console and as long as I get to play them I'm good with it.

I primarily play on console so it doesn't really effect me much. I've only used my PC to play 2 games in like the last 5 years and those are Trails in the Sky the 3rd (only available on PC) and Halo Infinite (Didn't have an Xbox Series X yet...although with how things are going I might not ever have one😅).

I personally have no desire to play PS5 games on PC myself but I'm not bothered one bit if PC players get a chance to play some PS5 games too.

@Ralizah got it.

Sorry to hear that it devalues the brand for you. I think it depends on money. For me, console gaming is the more affordable option and therefore the console reigns supreme and so it hasn’t changed the value the brand in my mind.

I get your point though.

I think it's a good strategy. PC gaming and PlayStation, in my opinion, aren't really head-to-head competitors. There's no sound argument for keeping their games off the PC platform, especially if they're released 6-12 months later than their PS5 counterparts. Everybody wins.

@Vault_Mcfly death of consoles ? lol thats cute , but 100 million consoles being sold playstations aren't going any where.

Didn't care then, still don't care. I mean, I do care that Sony has this additional revenue stream to use to keep developing games. I do care that once they go to PC we might get the game tossed on PS+ Extra for a while. I do care that others get to play these games. I DON'T care that all the ExCluSivE gAmeS are no longer exclusive.

Still remember the comment section on PlayStation Blog when Sony announced the first one going to PC, it lit up like Sony just killed all the babies

@twitchtvpat @Vault_Mcfly

To be fair there is something in the air when it comes to video games. The layoffs, the closures, the Xbox games on PS. These companies are hoarding more money and cutting more jobs all the time. It's not just the games industry though.

pc like ps plus is a good cemetary for games that run their circle and add extra value to them. For Gaas it is fine.

@Neither_scene
I definitely think Sony studios will have no issues with PS5 to PS5 pro.
Look at some of the PS4 to PS4 Pro stunning results and even PS4 to PS5 like HFW.

For some reason Sony developers and also Nintendo just have that thing that gets the best out of their own respective consoles.
But for whatever reasons and maybe the ones I mentioned Xbox developers don’t with Series x.

@MikeOrator You read too much into it, layoffs happen all the time. Certain people are hired for certain games and then they get laid off when the job is over, or the job they have is no longer needed. Having layoffs doesn't mean they are hording money either. Companies have a forecast of what they predict the revenue will be for that period. If they are drastically under that , they'll have layoffs to fix the budget. But saying it means they'll stop making consoles is just silly.

Releasing games on PC at a later date is a much better strategy than not releasing them at all and certainly monumentally better than releasing on PC day 1 like Xbox does. Xbox's approach devalues their console and Sony's does not.

If this means more, quality games, so be it. I will remain a console gamer since I do not and will not own a gamer PC. I have a PS5 for fun and a MacBook for work. Simple as that.

So half of us think it's great but that same half doesn't PC game. Lol

Personally, I don't think they should do it.

I genuinely don't care, although I do think the efforts to port have proven to end up taking valuable first party studio dev time to ultimately fix these often sloppy port/remaster factory dev team efforts.

It's good for me, coz my last ps console was the PS4. Decided to go full on PC gaming this Gen. Tho the games that have come to PC now aren't games I want to play or have played already on PS4.

I've played Last of Us remastered and ghost of Tsushima on PS4. I bought horizon 1 on launch on PS4, but never got around to finishing it. And then eventually lost interest. So I never got the sequel on PC.

There's 2 PS games I want to play that's not on PC yet, are last of us 2 and stella blade. I could get last of us 2 on PS4, but nah, I wanna try a PC version hehe.

Oh cool now we get to throw in racist terms like it's all fun and games! Gee I wonder who else called themselves the master race? I definitely feel welcome here on this site!

Reported today that in UK PS5 in behind PS4 sales

Well PS4 actually had exclusives!

I've accepted that this is going to be the new normal for Sony and fully believe day and date PC releases for single player games will happen soon, it's just a matter of when.

I can easily wait the 2 years for the PC ports and have absolutely no desire to ever own a PS5 anymore. The first party output is already so horrendous that by the time the newest PC ports arrive there'll probably be like 2-3 games only playable on PS5 at that given time.

I'm already in the process of selling off my physical PS4 collection and re-buying the games I want to keep on Steam. It's pretty much an impossible task for Sony to win me over to their platform now other than explicitly bringing back the "Only on PlayStation" label.

Nintendo consoles only from now on.

@Balosi you were proven right!

You're gonna see how bad it's been for the console business in the next few weeks, but people will make other excuses

It’s hard to comment on anything definitively without the data but putting that aside, I think it’s a great idea and I’d actually like to see more select games release between the two platforms with parity day and date.

@Kienda PS5 sales tanking, PS+ subs declining, Playstation profit margins collapsing.

People need to stop burying their heads in the sand

I've been primarily a PC gamer between late 1980s and like 2011 - now a console gamer by choice (mostly because my job has everything to do with PCs).
Bringing single player games to PC after a while and multiplayer games day 1 seems like a good way to do it.

Most gaming today is done on a Switch or Mobile. All of us bickering between ourselves about PC versus console are like men talking up their preferred long-distance horse as Model Ts are rolling off the line.

My latest build cost $1,400 and I had the chassis, fans, SSDs, and PSU.

I'm fine with the current strategy as long as they keep the incentive on players having a PlayStation. Which Xbox lost the incentive with putting it on day 1.

@Ralizah I see it differently. In a year or so GOW:R will be on PC for $69.99…. At that point its a 3 year old PS4 game that you can find for $15.99.

People willing to wait 3 years to play it were never hyped to buy it barring the PS4/PS5 ownership requirement. Anyone who was dying to play it has done so. You have to be trolling yourself to pay 2022 brand new prices at that point. Its like buying a three year old car with wear for brand new price.

The Sony strategy is VERY different from MS. They released their big budget game Starfield on PC. Those games usually sell for $69.99. Since it was on GP? You could play it a month and clear all the original content for $9.99. They lost a ton of money with their Day 1 GP philosophy.

I play with PC and Switch, if playstation releases cool games on PC, I'll play it. If Playstation asks me to sign in to PSN, I'll sign in. Unlike some, I'm consistent with my actions. I don't play favourites. The only thing I won't tolerate from PlayStation is making games need 32GB RAM minimum to run. That's a NO from me.

I couldn't care less where games get released now. In the 90s and early 2000s most consoles were unique and you very rarely has the same game on different consoles. Even 3rd party games were either different versions altogether or different additions. Nowadays third parties are pretty much parity just resolution differences. And once I committed to a digital library and trophy hunting I wouldn't move ecosystem. I am playstation by habit, but I do love the habit. I won't everyone to experience the games so we can talk about them. I miss some games like halo back in the day, so if they come across, the better

I don't really care either way, I don't like gaming in PC. Just keep games coming to console and I won't mind wherever else they show up.

doesnt bother me one bit, im multiplatform

Don't see the issue myself. If it was day one sure. It literally benefits us as it means sequels are more likely. Don't affect you in slightest if a game comes out in PC. It'll be 4 years for the PC port of Ragnarok. Is it that big of a deal?

Nintendo will be the only platform left that protects their IP from the Pc Pirate Race. Terrible Idea from the start.

@MisterNintendo they need to protect their IP from all gaming platforms to be honest , considering they have a huge chunk of players imprisoned to their garbage hardware and stone age software

Well this is going to be a fair, measured and not tribalistic comments section....

In all seriousness, with the current state of the market and the constant state of fear a lot of devs must feel - even with the backing of multimillion dollar publishers - it's important to have your games available. Whether it's an exclusive for console that is also on PC. Or if you just place it everywhere. The landscape of outright exclusives is changing. That's not to say exclusives aren't important because they are. But right now, financially, they aren't the most viable option. If it wasn't for what feels like the precipice of a market crash maybe we could be having a different conversation right now. And even with record high profits for certain publishers, we know that no developer is safe. Because once it's about profits... It becomes a case of "how do we lower operational costs?"

And at that point anyone could be considered collateral if they don't rake in absurdly high numbers based off projections made by people that don't understand the market they're attempting to evaluate.

Right now, I think PC is a good place for Playstation games to be. And those who think otherwise are either being too tribalistic or aren't considering what many developers need right now to stay in business.

@TrickyDicky99
ps5 sales are at the same succesful level as ps4, ps+ subscriptions remained the same after a huge price increase, profit margins are so good that they managed to absorb a 7b purchase of Bungie and still make profit.

It make ps5 not special anymore sincel all of its games can be played on other platform (pc). Now I only think ps5 as 3rd party box, if switch 2 has at least ps4 pro power and sdd, I don't need ps5 anymore.

And the subs is super expensive too, psplus essential at $80 compared to discounted $40 on ps4 era, nintendo + expansion family subs is waay better value at about $12 peryear 😕

The biggest problem when Sony publishes a PlayStation game on pc is that the return of investment doesn't have the same revenue like publishing on console because of the piracy. The only exception is when a game is a multiplayer game.

It's not caused any harm to me as a PS owner, but I have started to think I might get a steam deck or similar instead of the PS6.

I think the strategy as it is at the moment is good.

It gives it's a IP a 2nd chance to find more players after it's maybe tapped out it's potential to sell more on console.

I wouldn't mind them maybe adding the same game to plus when it comes to PC in future if the idea is it's sold enough on PS4 and 5

I will never be a PC gamer. Too much thought needed for upgrades etc. I’m a simple guy who likes simple things. Consoles are for me but the pc strategy is also a must now I feel

@wiiware I hate comparing Nintendo to PlayStation. Different demographics bro. Xbox and PlayStation are comparable. Nintendo is a law unto itself lol

Personally I don't care for it like Xbox in the long term this will only serve to devalue and destroy their brand

I think it's great. Playing old PC games is easier and more accessible than playing old console games (especially as continued backwards compatibility is not a certainty). PC versions are good for game preservation, and one day these PS5 games will be old.
Let's look at two PS3 games. Dragons Dogma came out for PC and is easily playable today. Metal Gear Solid 4 was a PS3 exclusive and is now dangerously close to being lost media.
TL:DR, totally in favour, but maybe we could dig into the back catalogue a bit more?

I think all the focus on Pc games has put PS5 games as a second priority and made the few games released on the PS5 more buggy. I think Playstation has forgot who made them successful in their chase for quick cash.
I think it will bite them in the butt longterm.
I hope I'm wrong but pretty sure I'm not... 🤷😢

@TrickyDicky99 there are multiple factors for that decline though. It’s not because Sony put games on PC.

The gaming world is vastly different.

Most kids only play Fortnite/Roblox/Minecraft and they have all become platforms for games which eats into the console market. The mobile market has also had a big effect on the industry. And PC gaming is now more popular than ever due to cheaper laptops and the fact that the older library of PC games is always available to everyone (unlike how PS3 games are locked away to PS5 users for example).

So it isn’t just things Sony is doing that are affecting Sony.

And it’s not burying our heads in the sand to think a few PC releases isn’t a bad thing.

If steamdeck made a gaming pc (no bigger than a PS5) with its own operating system, then I would join the PC gaming world.
Until then playing PS5 from the sofa is a winning formula that no PC gaming offers.

@Kienda So why do Nintendo refuse to put their games on PC and yet they aren't having any trouble?

Sorry, but you are burying your head in the sand, we literally have a case study of how Xbox put all their games on PC and now Xbox the console is effectively dead. We have a case study of Nintendo not putting any games on PC and they are doing better than ever.

@tomic20 PS+ subs have dropped, so much so that last year Sony announced they are no longer going to report the number of PS+ subs

Yesterday it was announced PS5 sales are behind PS4 in the UK, PS5 sales dropped 30% compared to last year

Playstation's financials are in a few weeks, early reports are that it's looking bleak.

Now it looks like games may get trophies it opens up PC to me. So it’s gone from something that doesn’t impact me to something that encourages me to get a PC especially with PSVR2 being compatible. Just hope third party games start putting trophies on their games too. Would just need Sony to encourage them (and they then get the sign up).

@TrickyDicky99 With no 1stparty games on the horizon, ofc the PS5 sales dropped 30%, and it will just get worse if they don't announce something new for PS5 SOON!!

If it's good business for Sony, then theoretically it should lead to good things for the player. Having said that, I personally couldn't care less. I don't even own a computer, let alone play on one.

@TrickyDicky99 profits from ps+ have been about 10-15% increased after the increase to the subscription price, so i would guess that sony is very happy with that. You can see that on the quarterly statements.

The first quarter of 2023, sony had a 200% increase on hardware sales in Europe from the same period in 2022, having one of the best years ever. A 25% decrease, with the announcements of ps5 pro so close, which many users wait before buying a new playstation now, it's practically nothing.

Sony had a great gaas success which they really werent even expecting with Helldivers and will certainly milk to death the coming years. Sony is fine.

Sony makes the best AAA games, aside from Nintendo. If PC ports keep them doing their thing, I'm all for it. As disappointed as I am that Sony gave up on creative projects, indie devs have more than filled that gap. So PC players can help fund these big projects.

It really doesn't matter or make any difference to me whatsoever. I really don't see how it negatively impacts me whether the game is 'limited' to just Playstation ONLY gamers or that MANY other gamers can play. If anything, exclusives force me to buy Hardware or miss out on the 1 or 2 games a year I can't play EVERYWHERE adding to the Cost.

I'd rather have more choice as to where I choose to play games, not less/no choice.

@Kienda It'll definitely depend. For me, keeping semi-updated in terms of PC technology is automatic, so if all of Sony's games are going there, I don't really see why I would ever buy their console.

But if you're buying their consoles by default, then yeah, it wouldn't really matter, would it?

@Konks Given the accelerated pace of PC releases, I fully believe the release window gap will shorten. Hell, it was approximately only half a year between the PS5 and PC releases of TLOU Part I. I expect, once Sony catches up with their back catalogue and gets their developers accustomed to releasing games on PC as well, that'll become the default for all their single player games. I wouldn't even rule out eventual day one releases.

Anyway, I dispute your contention. Let's say someone really only likes God of War in Sony's catalogue, but doesn't care about The Last of Us, Ratchet and Clank, etc. They'd have probably bought a Playstation console in the past in order to play those games, since they were exclusive, but even if they were hyped for Ragnarok, if they knew it was coming to PC eventually, would it really be worth buying a $500 console for instead of just waiting a bit and playing other games?

Obviously hardcore PS people will have reason to stick with the consoles. But for those of us who aren't, but still bought PS consoles for their exclusives, what's the incentive to stay on console? There isn't one. Sony is bringing everything to PC.

@tomic20 Sony's clearly not happy, otherwise they wouldn't have made the statements they made back in February and they wouldn't have tried to force PSN integration into their PC ports (Sony haven't given up on that one considering they've delisted GoT's PC release in regions that don't have PSN). But the reason they're not happy is likely that the CEO and investors are being extremely greedy rather than PS actually doing poorly.

Most of gaming's problems are caused by investors and people higher up in companies (like the CEO) being extremely greedy. They want infinite growth and treat devs as disposable when there's not enough growth. In hindsight, this is probably the real reason why Playstation moved from Japan to California in 2016 considering American laws are really weak when it comes to worker protections. This is all really disgusting stuff.

@Mikey856 Yup I agree, nintendo doesn't play heavy story based games and its 3rd party support usually isn't as good as playstation. Both console is in different market.

But if their next console has both nintendo 1st party titles and 3rd party support (since its rumored switch 2 is as powerful as ps4 pro), most people will think it's "good enough" for them and buy 1 console rather than ps5 for tv gaming and switch for portable play and nintendo 1st party titles.

Although maybe they'll make wii u 2 instead rather than switch 2, you never know with nintendo lol.

I’m very happy Sony decided to go this route. I can basically play most Sony exclusives and Xbox exclusives on my ROG Ally, either docked or handheld. I left consoles behind a year ago and I’m not going back so it’s a win for me to be able to play all those games. Keep them coming Sony.

@Grumblevolcano you’re absolutely correct but this isn’t unique to the gaming industry. Your description applies to all corporations and company’s with investors. It’s all about money, people are just numbers.

The whole strategy is flawed at the core. It devalues the ps brand . The ps plus also is a terrible business idea. I think the only ones who got figured out how to run a business are the nintendo folks.

@Zeke68 literally no reason to own a ps5 now… and im not happy about it

The more people who can enjoy games everywhere the better. Platform wars are over.

@Grumblevolcano Capitalists are greedy. But psn registration doesnt have anything at all to do with the playstation subscriptions. How is that confusing?

Not a fan of it.

To answer the questions directly:

Does it really devalue PlayStation as a platform? Yes, i think so. We've had a good beginning of the year with great PS5 titles but from here on now it's pretty much the "PC Port year" and less PS5 games. I don't like it.

Did the whole Helldivers 2 thing sour your perspective? No. I couldn't care less about these issues. Not my problem.

Let me make something clear, though: these are MY OPINIONS on the matter. I've seen time and time again PC people here or on Twitter getting pissed and trying to start an argument about "why PC gaming and Steam are better and PC is inevitable and yadda yadda yadda" but i don't care. This is MY perspective, as selfish as it can be, after all these questions are individual. So don't bother pestering me about what i think or what i don't like because i won't change my mind and i'm aware Sony won't either. I game on PC too (less now), i have +250 games on my Steam library and at least +150 games on Epic and 50 or more on GOG. You people need to learn to let others express themselves without getting worked up

I'm out

I have no interest in buying a console for its exclusives. Ever. I'm not a PCMR elitist but I have no interest in buying a locked-down system that plays games exponentially worse than my PC and where I also have to pay for online. If Playstation (and other systems) games don't come to PC I will never buy those games, plain and simple. By ignoring the market that appeals to me and potentially millions of others, Sony is straight up losing tons of money.

But, I have bought and fully played, Uncharted 4, both Spider-Man games, and The Last of Us Part 1. I thought they were all fantastic. I also bought Horizon: Zero Dawn and God of War but I haven't got to them yet. I'm really excited for Ghost of Tsushima. I don't think releasing games on PC reduces the quality of the brand, rather it improves it by allowing people to play PS games on the systems that they want to.

I think Sony's Playstation PC strategy is great and I would love it if Nintendo would follow suit.

Their PC strategy as it stands now is fine I think. But it’s clear that day and date is inevitable, probably gonna start happening when the ps6 launches. And when that happens the console will objectively be devalued and I think a lot of people including myself will switch to PC.

And I don’t say that as some angry entitled console warrior, just out of practicality. Why own a console when I can spend a little extra on PC and get the same great games with much better performance, NO PS PLUS, and access to a bunch of other games not available on PS including older gen classics that makes ps plus premium even more pitiful.

I would feel a bit sad if that happened. I do care about the console, but Sony and console gamers can’t have it both ways. If the console is a priority and you want it to thrive, exclusivity even if timed does matter. If you think exclusivity is a bad thing or you want Sony to make more money in the publishing arena, that’s fine, but don’t expect ps consoles to flourish like we’re accustomed to. Sony has to pick one.

My best friend has primarily played PC games his whole life and struggles with a controller. So I think it's great that he can play the Horizon games with his preferred method. I have been a lifelong console player and I am horrible with a keyboard and mouse. So I appreciate how he and I have options on how to play.

@TrickyDicky99 good Lord! I’m literally doing the opposite of burying my head in the sand by looking at multiple aspect.

You’re the one looking at one single issue and hitting that single point with a sledge hammer. Take the blinkers off your eyes and look at other aspects.

There is far more to Sony’s problems than PC releases. And I never said Sony wasn’t needing to change things.

One of the main problems for Sony is they are not releasing any first party games. It doesn’t matter if they are on PC or not - that’s the number one (but not only) problem. They have to make and release more games. Their strategy is fewer but bigger budget AAA games. It’s not sustainable.

Nintendo have an amazing profit margin because they produce tons of first party titles that sell well and are cheap to make and they are on a very closed system with a loyal fanbase.

So yes, Nintendo is doing far better than Sony. I never said otherwise. But Sony doesn’t have to be Nintendo to be successful.

All I am saying is that having first party games on PC that enter the market long after they are on PlayStation are not the big problem here.

Although, the Helldivers fiasco may have tanked their stock more than any other thing. And that wouldn’t have happened if they never released games on PC. But again, Helldivers is a third party exclusive, not first party.

It doesn’t really affect or bother me.
I’m glad more people get to experience PS games either via PC or the Xbox.
Only thing I don’t get is why they seem to want PC players to pay a subscription for a console they don’t own as Helldivers 2 and ghost of Tsushima are said to need a PSN account.
As a console player I wish we got MMO’s such as Lord of the rings online and a few that are PC only, they can’t say MMO’s don’t do well on online as ESO, FFXIV, Diablo IV, PS02 and DC universe have been very successful on console.
DC Universe and FFXIV both started on the PS3, now they have PS4 and PS5 versions out, also recently Xbox series S and X release versions

PC gaming for me is my addiction to tycoon style games and city builders and some RTS games.

I find it tedious to play on a console these types of games to the point that if any come ooto ps extra and I haven't played them. But enjoy the console version.

I'll hop on steam and buy it.

Any third person action games and exclusives will always be on PlayStation.

It's to hard to stay up to date with the. New GPUs and components. I spent near 4grand on a PC build when the 1080 card came out and it's serving me well but I can definitely see the difference in graphics on ps5 to my PC.

But then it's like do I spend 1k for the newest graphics card and be bottlenecked by my other hardware.

People love to call PC gaming the master race but your only the master race if you can afford to keep up or be left behind.

@Vault_Mcfly I could be wrong, but I don’t believe consoles are dying. Xbox is dying bc it doesn’t have any games worth buying a console for and gamepass is bleeding profit for them, so I believe Sony will be more than happy to pick up that market share.

I think Sony releasing a lot of their games on PC is a great thing, and I've supported the idea since day one, even before I moved to PC being my main gaming machine.

And I genuinely hope we see more of like what they did with Helldivers 2 and release new games on both console and PC day one.

One day when the PC versions come out the same day as the PlayStation versions, the PlayStation brand will die the same way the XBOX brand is dead.

Why buy a PlayStation? You think I'd own a Switch if I could play the Mario games on another system or PC? No chance.

Nintendo is smart. Sony is just chasing short term profits over the brand's long term viability.

I would not leave console for PC. For me Physical games is a MUST. I love the history tracking of trophies on console. I love playing games in 4K on a big screen TV. I love PS Plus essential. I love to keep more of my money in my pocket not in someone else's pocket. If every game was on every platform I would still be on PlayStation. Sony knows electronics.

@tomic20 The money Sony make from Helldivers 2 is less than the money they make from Fortnite, and Fortnite didn't cost any money to make!

@Kienda What 1st party games has Nintendo released recently?

I'm loving the DENIAL in the comments!

When it all goes Pete Tong for Playstation (like it has for Xbox), people will blame economy, GenZ don't want console games, Margaret Thatcher, subscription services, consoles are outdated, mobile is the future, streaming is the future, Kinect, bad management.

No Windows computers here and have always been a console gamer. Don't mind other folks getting to play these games (and funding more). It's silly to think PSN accounts weren't going to happen though, as most large publishers do this.

@TrickyDicky99 What does this has to do with anything. Helldivers isn't competing with Fortnite, doesn't cuts revenue from it. It's an expansion to new market for Sony, so more profit is better. Don't understand what you want to say.

@tomic20 The less people that game on Playstation means Sony makes less money

It's quite simple

Also where is this more profit you speak of? Playstation's profits have collapsed since putting games on PC

@TrickyDicky99 You look at it entirely wrong. In live service games, you need all the people you can reach, if mobile was a possibility for this game it would be more than welcome for Sony.

Check the FY2023 Q3/ Supplemental Information (Page 9)
Network Services (which is for the ps plus). The subscribers are certainly down but their income increased since the increased the subscritption.

The last 5 years Sony is in it's best position in their history. They were losing money until the half of the life of PS4. Their revenue has increased in record numbers and they are making more money than they ever did. All the talk is because Nintendo is having more profit(much more) with less revenue(much less). But Sony is in healthy position. The second part in the lifetime of a successfull console, is always much more profitable than the first.

@TrickyDicky99

By the way, it’s industry experts (not just me) saying Sony’s first party releases are the problem. And you’ll see clearly why with this.

Nintendo

In 2023, Nintendo almost had a first party game every month:

• Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Super Mario Bros Wonder
• Metroid Prime Remastered
• Fire Emblem Engage
• Pikmin 4
• Kirby’s Dream Land Deluxe
• Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp
• Pikmin 1 & 2
• Super Mario RPG
• Detective Pikachu Returns
• WarioWare: Move It!
• Pokémon Scarlett & Violet (DLCs)

In 2024, Nintendo has a first party for each month.

• January: Another Code: Recollection
• February: Mario vs Donkey Kong
• March: Princess Peach Showtime
• April: Endless Ocean: Luminous
• May: Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD
• June: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Sony

In contrast, Sony has released hardly anything.

In 2023, Sony released:

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores (DLC)

In 2024, Sony has released:

• Stellar Blade
• Helldivers 2

@Kienda Sony has to increase the games that they are publishing, but just to note that the comparison with Nintendo is totaly wrong. Switch doesn't run anything else, except by first party games and indies. Sony is obliged to leave room to breath for third party publishers. They are making a lot money from them, but of course Sony's first party studio which right now are more and bigger than they ever were, has to produce and be sustainable by themselves.

More games on more platforms is always a good thing

@Kienda I guess Valve are in trouble too with Steam because Half Life Alyx is still exclusive to Steam VR and Counter-Strike 2 is exclusive to Steam and Valve aren't releasing 1st party games.

All I know is that I have no reason to own a PS5 if games come day 1 on PC. I don't care either way but people are delusional if they think the few pennies which they earn from PC game sales will benefit the brand in the long term.

@TrickyDicky99 not at all.

Valve is a marketplace. A piece of software. They get return on every game, cosmetic and DLC sold in Steam.

Sony is a hardware maker and needs to shift physical units of hardware. Which requires a reason to buy the hardware (such ans exclusive content).

They are two completely different business models.

Funnily enough though, Sony’s revenue is up and their console sales are holding steady. It’s their profits that are struggling because the most profitable games they make are first party games because they reap 100% of the profits. They just aren’t releasing enough of them.

But it’s not dire. They are still making over a billion dollars in profit each year.

So I don’t even know why we are debating.

@Kienda Playstation is a marketplace, just like Steam they take a cut selling all 3rd party software. They make more money selling microtransactions for 3rd party games than ALL 1st and 3rd party game sales combined.

@bizzysgs Yep, most people are delusional unfortunately. People these days just believe what they want to believe.

@tomic20

Nintendo still entices third party exclusives and a lot of third parties that are not exclusive or indies. But you are correct that it is not the same as Sony. And to be honest, third party exclusives like FF16 and FF7 Remake/Rebirth have been system sellers for Sony. I’m not sure Nintendo has a 3rd party exclusive franchise that is on that level by any stretch of the imagination.

But the point I was making was someone was saying Sony’s only problem was they release games on PC when experts suggest a bigger problem is their lack of first party exclusives.

Sony has relied on its third party deals for far too long. They’ve only produced AAA first party titles and are only bringing 1-2 per year (not even that last year).

Sony doesn’t have to be Nintendo. They made over a billion in profits and aren’t going anywhere. But they could learn a thing or two from them.

@TrickyDicky99

Yes, Sony is a marketplace like Steam and like steam they make most of their money from CoD/FIFA etc. I didn’t say otherwise.

But the biggest difference between them is one is a free piece of software, the other is an expensive piece of hardware. Sony has to pay to make the hardware. Steam doesn’t have to spend anything. People just download it for free.

I’m not sure why you’re changing the goal posts each time.

You compared Sony to Nintendo. And I showed you why Nintendo’s first party model is stronger than Sony’s.

You compared Sony to Steam and I explained why Steam is doing better than Sony.

And yet I’m apparently the one with my head in the sand saying Sony is amazing and doing everything right. I’m literally telling you that Sony needs to improve (which is what you’re trying to tell me - we are actually agreeing on most points when I look back at your previous comments). I’m just not as pessimistic because when a company makes over a billion dollars in profits, that is not a failing business model.

The main contention we have is the PC releases. Whether they are good or bad. For me, they aren’t the big problem Sony needs to fix.

PlayStation is a mix of the business models of Nintendo and Steam. Sony can do Sony and survive. But I think they could learn, especially from Nintendo, and make more first party exclusives.

@Kienda

For Playstation to keep making money from 3rd party software they need exclusives, putting games on PC just means less people will game on Playstation, this is just fact.

75% of my PSN friends list have moved to PC. I've gone from spending around £1,000 a year in the PS eco-system to now under £100 a year.

Since putting games on PC, Playstation's profits have tumbled, PS5 sales have failed to meet Sony's own forecasts and PS+ numbers have declined.

Xbox started putting games day one on PC around 2016, this is when the decline started. A lot of Xbox players play on PC now, Xbox literally advertise no need for an Xbox, and look at the situation they are in now. The main reason Xbox is in such a bad place is because the their sales of 3rd party games and MTX's has declined, their own platform is virtually dead. They are changing from a platform holder to a 3rd party publisher now.

@TrickyDicky99 I think you’re completely right about Xbox. They have given people little reason to go Xbox exclusively because you can play every Xbox first party title on PC or through streaming (although that’s far less popular).

Personally, I sold my Xbox late last year because I knew I could play all Xbox games on PC if needed.

Now I agree that if Sony starts to release all games on PC it will be a mistake. We agree on this.

But, I think there is more to Sony’s problems than simply releasing old games on PC.

Sony so far have released a handful of first party games on PC. All of them are older games where their sales weren’t making money for them on PlayStation. This is not what is causing Sony’s decline.

The biggest factors are:

• Cost of living for most families is higher and wages are not increasing. This obviously is out of Sony’s control.
• Changes in how people game mean that people use personal devices much more now. This is something Sony tried to address with the portal.
• Most kids are playing Roblox and Minecraft now and these can be played on anything (most of my kids friends play these on tablets) and Roblox especially isn’t just a game, it’s its own platform. Minecraft and Fortnite are moving in that direction also. Sony has all three of these games on its system now, Roblox only arrived late last year.
• First Party Exclusives: Sony just isn’t releasing enough games like it used to. Look at 2017/2018 and compare it to 2023/2024.
• Third Party Console Exclusives: Another factor for PC isn’t just Sony’s offerings, but that many third party titles are no longer console exclusive but also on PC day one.
• Japanese support - there are a lot of Japanese developers focusing on Switch because it’s the bigger system seller. In Japan, handheld reigns supreme. This in turn affects Western sales/appeal.
• PS+ becoming like Game Pass I think was a mistake. It’s not as profitable as selling individual games.
• This coupled with Sony upping the price of individual games put people off. (Another factor in players moving towards PC is also because PC games are cheaper. And gaming PCs/laptops are more affordable).

So I would say all of these factors are bigger factors than simply Sony releasing some old exclusives on PC.

@Kienda All multiplayer games will be PC day one, Sony has already advertised this on their trailers, and no need to pay for PS+ on PC, while at the same time Sony increased the PS+ price for console players only recently

Sony will be releasing more multiplayer games than single player games as shown on the slides from their business strategy, so it is fact more games than not will be day one on PC.

@Kienda we agree 100%

also regarding sony's first party's discussion. I think that the first two years of ps5 were pretty good. 2023 was a bad one and if the upcoming showcase doesn't change the release schedule for the remaining of the year, 2024 could be even worse. I am fairly optimistic for 2025 though, they were silent for too long. But it is just speculation.

@DestructionAllstars then go away, again.