Sony’s PC strategy is off to a sturdy start, with Days Gone and God of War closing on one million units apiece – and Horizon Zero Dawn already way over two million units. The company pulled a cool $80 million on PC in its fiscal year ending 31st March, 2022 – and it’s predicting revenue in the region of $300 million for the current business year.
This is all cumulative, of course, so catalogue content will continue to sell – but it suggests the organisation has more major PC ports in the pipeline. It sounds like the company’s upcoming live service titles – of which it expects to release two more during the current fiscal year – will release day-and-date on PC, as well as PS5 and PS4. Of course, acquisition target Bungie could also play a role here.
PC, along with mobile, forms part of Sony’s plan to bring PlayStation outside of its traditional console ecosystem. The firm is going through something of a reinvention at the moment, which it hopes will result in the expansion of its brand. While the estimated PC revenue figures are quite small in the grand scheme of things, it’s a growth vector that the company hadn’t really explored before – until now.
[source sony.com]
Comments 42
“Just a few games, years down the line…”
Hopefully the next port is Ghost of Tsushima, I'm not going to beg for Bloodborne, if it comes it comes. Honestly the games that need the treatment the most are the two Gravity Rush games, Gravity Rush 2 is still only 30 fps on ps5 😥
Sony should release TLOU Remake and TLOU2 Directors Cut on PC when the TV show launches. I already streamed these games through PS now, but I want to replay them with all of the bells and whistles.
News like this makes me want to preorder a steam deck and be able to play all these PlayStation games coming on the go. I’m expecting a lot of ports within the next year. Never would of imagined this happening but times are changing fast.
@GorosBat I don't think they'll port Bloodborne to PC. Apparently it's the sole game a lot of PC gamers subscribe to PS Now for. And with the new PS+ it'll be double price for them to subscribe to Premium.
It’s a smart business move to increase revenue and the more Sony’s PlayStation division do well the more chance we will see better quality games and more of them
Removed - inappropriate language
@BReal This is naive reasoning. The thought here is to cut costs where you can. You don't have to go far, just look at the terrible quality of DualShock4 and DualSense... drfit+drift+drift
It may be wrong, but I’ve heard for years that Sony makes a ton off of their store purchases. It really surprises me that Sony would want to bolster their PC business with the possibility of sending their customers to the PC market.
Personally, I can see the PS5 being the last Sony console I own because I feel that the game market is pushing me to PC. Hell, if you enjoy playing a wide variety of games, PC is definitely becoming the way to go. PC + Nintendo is going to be the ultimate combo and all you will need.
They honestly have a great strategy. Releasing the games on PlayStation hardware first helps drive demand for their consoles and when those sales dry up, release it on PC. I think it's a much better strategy than what Microsoft is doing (not even counting Game Pass detracting from sales).
@neitan I had 2 DualShock’s, one on my launch and the other on my pro and had no issues with either. I’ve also have a dualsense since launch and had no issues with that either. Zero drift. Same goes with any of my mates controllers. You’re referring to a small percentage that malfunction like how any product has a small percentage that malfunction. Also the dualsense is the best controller I’ve used in my 37 or so years gaming. And it’s not naive it’s factual. As PlayStation has become more popular since it started the amount and quality of first party games has risen and risen in line with the amount of profit it’s been making. What are you smoking
@BReal I have two DS4 with just over a year of use with problems, even with all the care that is possible with "dust" or whatever. There is no shortage of players on the internet with a similar situation. If the fans weren't sick this would have been raised in time and would certainly have been resolved, but it's better to hide the platform's problems for the sake of a perfect image. I don't smoke or drink, it's stupid!
@neitan absolutely the problems exist as I said. And no doubt many of them have gone online and wrote about it. Out of the nearly 20 million consoles sold though and the accompanying controller plus all the other controllers sold separately (no doubt in the multiple millions) you’re talking about a very small percentage. If that wasn’t the case where it’s only a tiny percentage then it’d be everywhere constantly and it just isn’t. There’s no constant articles being written about it and no class action lawsuits
@uptownsoul If Todd Howard really meant that, developing for PC is a big mistake, lol. I'd also like to see Bethesda try and make an open world game not riddled with game-breaking bugs...just ONCE!
@neitan for example, if there was 100,000 malfunctioning units (which I don’t believe there’s anywhere near that many) with the console sales and the sold separately controllers that’d be about 0.04% which are faulty. And there’s no way there’s that many. Tiny. Plus the internet always attracts more people who write negative than positive and tiny issues like this take on a life of their own and snowball, only in the short term though. When this story was reported it took on a life of its own and then it stopped as again the numbers of affected users was small
@BReal I won't go any further... There's no shortage of video on YT showing how much the parts used in the PS4 generation onwards are inferior to the old controls. Anyway, great that you never had to go through this inconvenience!
@BReal Well, I had two controllers purchased on different dates one after the other that had the problem. For me it's statistically worrying, after all I've had almost all the consoles released so far and this had never happened. I have two newer ones that haven't shown anything yet, but still have a few weeks of use. This conversation is going nowhere... :-/
@BReal DualSense rocks. My first one that came with PS5 developed some drift in about 3 months, but I fixed it with a spray contact cleaner (had to open the casing a bit to get there). That's all there is to it: dirt causes drift, as it takes years of active usage for stick assemblies to wear.
@BReal never had a problem with any sony dualshocks etc..had an issue with the original playstation (as did a hell of a lot of people) where the plastic spindle would warp and prevent the discs spinning evenly thus resulting in discs that couldnt be read..they issued metal ones subsequently..that was much more prevailent than a bit of drift..on a whole sony has been one of the more reliable manufacturers i've purchased from.
@neitan Do what I did, just clean it. I used "wd-40 specialist contact cleaner". After fixing the drift it still works without issues, for more than a year.
@uptownsoul I really don't see how when the games are developed specifically for (ps4/) ps5 and then ported years later.
@OmegaStriver PSN Revenue Hits $14 Billion up almost 50 percent since 2017. I read from 3 days ago news
@Baccaman So, they stand to lose a ton if they continue to entice people with the perks of playing on a PC. PC gets the indies, Xbox games and soon, even more PlayStation games. PC will be the best place to play, and the way to go.
@GorosBat
I'd say ghost still has 1-2 years more before it comes to pc. hope they release a gravity rush patch for ps5 to run at 60fps soon. especially with it being on the service
Some would say this is only a good thing. We get the same games and Sony makes more money on them to reinvest. Win/win. The trouble is, the PS5 has very specific architecture that cannot easily be replicated on PC (yet), such as the ridiculously fast IO speed.
More games targeting PC means a longer wait until we finally get games that make use of our hardware. Especially as it’s usually the platform holder and it’s first party devs that lead the way there.
Sony acquired a few studios making multiplatform games. Push needs to evolve with the perspective here. 🙄
It’s not just about ‘ports’.
No doubt Bungie (and other new acquisitions) is going to be huge $ on pc.
I think this is fine, the games are already made so it's cheap to port them to pc. It's about time the self proclaimed master race will get decent games.
@mrtennis1990 it’s. It not as compact as Gameboy Advance!
I'm undecided if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Yes opening up old games on PC brings in more money for Sony, doesn't automatically translate into more and better games for us. Kind of defeats the object of 'exclusivity' if its just a year.
I suspect long term Sony and MS both want to move away from developing consoles - which is the most costliest bit of the business and takes years to recoup - and become Netflix style apps on various devices with significantly lower running costs.
At this rate i'd be better off buying a PC for the next gen and getting access to Sony games via the app, MS Xbox games via gamepass and just using a console controller.
@uptownsoul But that's not true, because they aren't trying to cast a wide net at the point of RELEASING the game, but years after. That won't affect the games at all. At worst, it'll stop them appearing on certain low-powered consoles like the Switch.
Not that I had doubts of this happening given Xbox went a similar path (as time went on the gap between console and PC release decreased eventually resulting in day 1) but with Sony's statement here I could definitely see games like HFW and GT7 be more like "months" than "years".
@uptownsoul people can speculate all they want. But complaining over what may happen is beyond silly, imo. We have more than enough things to complain about that are already happening.
@uptownsoul
Well games have gotten more 'samey' in the last few years even without whatever you don't like about PC ports. The industry is consolidating hard and who knows what will come of it. Does Sony exit the console business if MS can buy up enough IP? Does the market have another crash/correction? Who knows.
PC ports are a good thing imo. Brings more money in and that's a group these low end machines aren't competing with really.
I think it's a good thing. I also like MS' day 1 release XB/PC but I understand Sony can't really do that; since MS owns Windows it's a win win for them.
@uptownsoul
I don't buy it. Both consoles are cheap slow AMD procs/gfx cards. There's no reason say Naughty Dog can't try to wring whatever out of the thing and then Sony port that to PC with barely any effort and it run much better with much higher gfx settings.
Maybe you are still thinking consoles are some esoteric chip/feature sets like that dumb PS3 but no; they're bog standard PCs now albeit slow ones. No reason Sony can't port whatever 6 months/1 year after the fact and it be fine.
Also MS owns Windows so they have a stake in the PC side hence the dual releases.
@neitan I had the stick drift too on the dualsense. It happened after a controller firmware update. For me the fix was fully powering down my console instead of just rest mode. Never had the issue again.
The problem I’m having now is a sticky triangle button. And on top of that
One of my controllers is unresponsive in apps but works in the general UI. So weird.
But no shortage of little issues
@neitan @BReal FYI the PS5, PS4, PS3, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Xbox Elite 1&2, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Switch Pro controller all use EXACTLY the same analogue stick part. That part has on the whole been proven over time to have a very low failure rate.
Of course some units do fail, it's a moving part and as such the most likely thing to fail on a controller. Some may have had bad batches, or some may have been sourced from a different supplier that didn't have the same quality control, but on the whole that part and all the controllers listed have been shown to be sound.
So if it's not the part what are the differences?
The assembly of each controller is different which could make some more/less susceptible to dirt and dust and lead to more problems
There are differences in software for the dead zones e.g. on PS5 it could be smaller than on PS4 leading to more drift if your stick is just slightly out. In fact at launch there was some evidence of this and the PS5 increased the size of the dead zones very slightly perhaps to mitigate this. It's ONE of the reasons Xbox Elite has proportionally more reported drifting, the dead zones are smaller by default, so it's more susceptible. But also being a premium priced product more people complain when it fails compared to a stock unit.
I used to run an electronics repair business on the side and repaired controllers soldering in the new sticks, I still know friends that do and haven't seen or heard of any major increase in drifting on any of these controllers. Early PS5 controllers DID have a problem with the shoulder button springs snapping that was quite widespread.
To be honest I think you've just been unlucky. That's just my 2 cents.
@themightyant There is no Switch Pro as far as I know... and I thought it was great to cite it as an example (I never had an Xbox) because Nintendo's console drifts are public knowledge. I have a Wii U GamePad+2 Pro Controllers with years and years of use, I've never had to do any maintenance. They still work like new! The first Palystation and Playstation 2 also didn't have drift... I didn't have PS3, so I can't speak. That's exactly the point I raised, every generation that came from the PS4 so far has this problem, cutting costs. Anyway, I don't think Sony is too concerned about quality (except for their in-house studios-for now!) when their fanbase is so sick that they shut up on a problem just so they don't tarnish their beloved brand. I love my PS4, it's my favorite console ever...I like it so much that I preferred to buy another one during the height of the pandemic instead of an XboxSeries. The box is here sealed and I don't intend to get rid of it. Xbox does not interest me and PS5 is still not justified. I can't believe it was bad luck... see that just in the last few hours there have been two or three more cases here in this conversation. I believe a simple solution would be to add a calibration option in the console panel itself. A poll on the site on the subject would be interesting... "Has anyone here ever had or knew someone with problems with their PS4/PS5 controllers or whatever?" Anyway... Have a nice weekend!
@uptownsoul
The min requirements are about on par with the new consoles.
These things are way behind and the chip shortage/covid did MS/Sony no favors.
I'd expect pro models out in a year or so if they want to at least attempt to keep up. Might get them into 2080 territory... Maybe. Also hitching to AMD was a bad idea but I guess Nvidia has a bad track record with supporting old stuff (Xbox). I guess they do OK with the Switch though.
@neitan lol. While there is no Switch Pro, there is a Switch Pro Controller
I honestly don’t think it is cost cutting. My point was that ALL the major console manufacturers use exactly the same analogue part in their full sized controllers, because it has proven over 17 years of usage has to be pretty robust. Are they all in cahoots giving us cheap parts? Or is it more likely they all think it’s currently the best option on the market?
That doesn’t mean it’s faultless, it’s the main moving part on a controller, and one of the most complex, it’s the most likely point of failure on any console by some distance.
As for your poll I’d be amazed if the majority of people here HADN’T had some sort of drifting issue at some point. We’re talking about a dedicated bunch of gamers that even comment on gaming news, the chances are we play a LOT more that the average player. More play time, more chance to fail. That’s not exactly a good cross sample for a poll. But it would still be interesting, even if statistically pretty useless.
Of the consoles that use that same part personally I’ve had drift on one X360 controller (after about 6 years of solid use), one Xbox One controller (after about 3-4 years of minor use… was disappointed in that). On older hardware I also had it on 1 PS1 analogue controller, 2 N64 controllers (bad part)… and every single joycon I’ve ever owned… even the replacements started drifting. As you said that is public knowledge and a flaw in the parts design. Never had it on PS2, 3, 4, 5 or XSX (so far). What does that tell us? Not much 😂
But if you have a problem and you see others have the the same problem it’s easy to think that it is more widespread than it actually is, that’s confirmation bias. Perhaps I’m wrong but I think they’re all just fine re: drift.
I do agree an option to adjust the dead zones would be welcome. You can do this on the Xbox elite controller, and in some games.
Regardless happy gaming. Have a good weekend
@themightyant I didn't just have the PS3 (bad days!) or any Xbox (just disinterest...), all the other consoles passed through my hands in their respective times (the N64 controller was garbage!!) and only today ( and I didn't disagree with that!) there is no longer any console that offers the quality of yore. That's how it looks to me! No company shows interest in improving this picture, the PS4 would never receive a hardware update these days to fix a flaw that would cost you more investment, it's too late! Even more so that players prefer to solve it on their own than to point out the real culprit. You have a strong stance and I still think I'm right. So let's put this conversation aside because this isn't going to get you anywhere. Ahhh... they've all been conspiring together since forever to reduce their costs and for that we give it a suitable name; capitalism. Thank you! I hope so! I wish the same for everyone!
More games available to players is always a good thing! I hope Sony continues to release their exclusives on PC.
@uptownsoul I'm not sure what you mean, the game's aren't made for PC, they're ported after they release. What you're saying would be true for the PS3, since that had a completely different architecture, but the PS5 is pretty close to PCs now that they can directly port PS5 games to PC with great results.
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