TrollOfWar

@EfYI

To an extent, the criticism I often levy at Microsoft for training their audience not to buy is exactly what happens to me when I subscribe to PS Plus.

It's because the player base on PlayStation and Xbox are fairly identical in interests and behavior. If PlayStation had GamePass or day-1 first party games on PS Plus, you would hear the same argument that people have been trained not to buy games on PlayStation.

@JoeNobody That's a standard practice here. Every articles only focuses on PS5 (or PS4) ignoring other platforms. Except when it's a topic which might spark a debate, like for example how many units Final Fantasy 16 sold on Xbox, or Steam and Xbox games releasing on PS5. In this case that practice unfortunately makes it sound as if the game's failure is exclusive to PS5.

I guess the editors want to encourage readers to also visit other sites if they want to know on which platforms a game is available.

I don't see a "remake" of Metal Gear Solid 4 making any sense at this point. The remake of MGS3: Delta works, because, similar to Silent Hill 2, it has a standalone story, where you don't need to have played previous parts to know the characters and understand key plot points. But MGS4 references all previous games including Metal Gear 1 & 2. Konami would have to at least remake MGS 1 & 2 first.

So in my opinion, it would be enough if it's "remastered" on the 2nd MGS Collection.

Now I fear that other publishers marketing teams will use AI generated "leaked videos" to "bring people together and spark discussion".

@get2sammyb

I think it's just people on the Internet have got really negative and you hear those opinions louder than positive ones.

Gaming news media is part of the problem why people are so negative on the internet. The published articles sometimes intentionally focus on negative aspects and aim to polarize the readers and increase user engagement & advertisement revenue.

Take this article's title for example: "Talking Point: Does PS5 Have a Sequel Problem?" - So now we have a "problem" that we need to talk about. This is an intervention.
Here are some friendlier alternatives:

1. "Does the PS5 Lean Too Much on Sequels?"
2. "Are PS5 Games Getting Too Familiar?"
3. "Does the PS5 Need More Fresh Ideas?" (I like this one, as it's solution-oriented, rather than focusing on the issue)

Or an example from 2 weeks ago "The Next Horizon Game Is an MMO for Mobile and PC, Prompting Fury from PS5 Fans". In that case the article only quoted some person from Twitter/X asking for a PS5 version. There was no "fury from the PS5 fans".

I understand that running a website isn't easy. But calling out people who are negative online, while at the same time you invite that negativity, is somewhat sanctimonious.

Like others said, the "problem" are not the sequels. There are several successful game series with sequels.

The "problem" are the long development times and large budgets these sequels require. During the PS1 - PS3 generation, we would get 2 - 3 games per series (Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy, Spyro the Dragon, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted, Resistance, Motorstorm, Killzone, God of War, Tomb Raider, Dead Space, Mass Effect, Need for Speed, Tony Hawks) per generation. Now we get 1 game if we're lucky.

But this issue is not exclusive to PlayStation. All big publishers are affected by this.

@SMJ

I genuinely don't think think that Sony want to be making PlayStation consoles after the PS6. Therefore they will need some kind of PC presence to ensure they can transition to a hardware agnostic future.

Weirdly, I think Sony could continue with a closed ecosystem console, in a similar fashion as Apple, if they manage somehow to deliver trendy, "must-have" consoles with modern smooth experiences, like iPhones, that fans of the brand would want to have.

That doesn't necessarily mean that the games need to be exclusive (just like you can get Apple TV & Apple Music on other devices, like Windows and Android), but you would get the smoothes experience on a PlayStation. And I have the impression PlayStation is already in that "trendy brand" category in gaming now.

@Oram77 We can only speculate until further details are revealed, but what you describe sounds like an expensive project restart. Which would be ironic, as Sony bought Bungie to tell them how to make live-service games, not the other way around.

While I never got invested in the Destiny games, only played them on short occasions, I still hope it works out in the end for Bungie and Sony, as Bungie still has many talented people and Destiny has a big fanbase.

Hopefully Destiny 3 is a reset for the story of the franchise, with a better approach to story telling, which allows an easier entry for new joiners.

I have the impression, Bungie would have needed Destiny 3 much sooner (like actually right now). While Marathon ain't terrible, from what I saw it feels like a time filler, as it's much smaller in scope (similar to how Respawn released a small game called Apex Legends during the battle royale hype). I wonder what happened that Destiny 3 is an early development stage.

@Vermines To me that sounds more like a disgruntled PlayStation owner who only sees the value of a console in it's "exclusives", without seeing any other aspects, like ease of use, performance, price/value, compatibility, ecosystem and services.

@Vermines In that case I apologize if I misunderstood your comment.

@UltimateOtaku91 @Vermines @Jey887
PlayStation has been publishing many games on PC for more than 5 years now, and as PushSquare also reports on PlayStation's 3rd party publishing efforts (often earlier than other websites), this will also attract PC players. PlayStation is now much broader than just the console, their ecosystem reaches players also on PC. This is similar to the discussion "if Xbox articles should be covered on PushSquare?". Yes, as Xbox is a 3rd party publisher, PlayStation players are able to play those games.

And there is nothing wrong in PC players being excited about a game releasing on Steam which they wish to play.

@get2sammyb

@TrollOfWar They'll probably just publish it themselves like Helldivers 2 if it's in the contract with Kojima.

For publishing Death Stranding Director's Cut on Xbox, Kojima Productions partnered with 505 Games, as apparently PlayStation didn't seem interested in publishing the game. That's why I was wondering if PlayStation has changed their mind now, especially after the success of Helldivers 2 on Xbox.

I'm not sure how much of an audience there's going to be on Xbox by the time that happens though.

I understand it's kind of standard here to put anything Xbox related into a negative light, but games still sell well on Xbox, despite the brand's current image problems.

On Xbox Helldivers 2 sold 1.4 million units, Battlefield 6 has sold 1.2 million in it's first week (compared to 1.5 million on PS5).

Death Stranding Director's Cut sold around 60% of what Helldivers 2 sold on Xbox, so approximately 800K, despite releasing 5 years after the PS4 launch.

So even if you doubt it, there is a big enough audience on Xbox willing to buy and play these games, including Death Stranding 2.

I wonder if PlayStation or another 3rd party publisher will also publish Death Stranding 2 on Xbox.

@omadeli Excellent game 👍

@omadeli

Personally, I've had distaste towards Xbox ever since most of my mates defected after the PS2 and got a 360 instead of PS3 (leaving me on my jack jones for the first few slow years).

Sorry for your loss, must have been a tough time for you. Your hatred towards Xbox is justified for taking away your friends, I hope you feel better now.

@omadeli

Kinect and trying to stop people using second hand copies are what shot themselves in the foot initially...

The funny thing is, Sony has been fighting the sale of second hand games on multiple occasions (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and has been spying on users (link) before Microsoft attempted any of that. Luckily no one remembers any of that and Sony is a different, much more consumer-friendly company now. 😁

@judgmentarrows You can buy and play games on an Xbox the same way you can on a PlayStation, and games are still being released for the consoles for the foreseeable future. GamePass is optional, it has always been optional.

It's the same point why people have a PlayStation: for entertainment.

@judgmentarrows

guys please throw your series console if you have one in the bin and get a ps5 at least sony cares about good will to their customers

Wouldn't it make more sense to sell or trade an Xbox series console rather than throwing it into the bin? Also those who already have one and enjoy it are not affected by the price hike. They continue playing as Xboxes basically play 90% of the same games as the PS5.

@Fiendish-Beaver

Personally I'd rather they just ripped off the band aid and departed with a little more dignity. Just go third-party and be done with it. We all know they could be massively successful doing that, but instead they just seem to want to humiliate themselves...

I agree that everyone would like more transparency regarding Microsoft's future gaming hardware strategy.

But I don't think it's that simple. Assuming Microsoft would "just ripped off the band aid" and announce the end of all Xbox hardware activities, what would really happen?

Players would panic and stop spending money on games and subscription services before they would get the chance to see what the next Xbox/PC hardware can do and if/how they can play their current game libraries on those next gen devices.

Developers would stop any development on Xbox versions of their games as they wouldn't see Xbox as a viable platform where the userbase is leaving.

Partners like AMD, Asus, Lenovo, MSI would question Microsoft's commitment to gaming, resulting in Microsoft having less influence and insights in future tech developments, which would negatively impact any DirectX development in Windows and Linux could gain a bigger share in PC gaming.

@Oram77

My only fear is what will be the price of a PS6 be, £550? 600? £700? Sony need to be smart on this and not be completely tone deft like what they did with the PS3.

The issue with the PS3 was that Sony wanted to sell expensive blu-ray player to the people, kind of like Microsoft wanted to sell Kinect cameras to Xbox gamers. While Sony lost a lot of money selling expensive blu-ray drives in PS3s, it paid off in the long run when it comes to physical media for movies and games for the following 20 years.

But in case of the PS6, Sony can charge whatever price they want, as it seems like noone will compete with them in the high-end console sector. I expected the PS6 (the high-end home console) to be around £800+, as it will offer a better hardware than the PS5 Pro which, apart from seasonal discounts, still costs £700 and hardware component price seem to become more expensive in the future.

@Megabeenz What marketing team? Didn't they get laid off recently?

I guess, at this point Microsoft doesn't care anymore where you play their games, as long as you buy their games.

@themightyant

While PS5's sales have been in line with PS4 will PS6's? And perhaps PS5 could have outsold PS4 launch aligned if they didn't publish on PC. We don't have enough data to tell but usually companies want to expand their market.

Yes, we don't have enough data, but I am sure PlayStation has enough data to make the right decisions. If consoles are subsidized and sold at loss then Sony/PlayStation doesn't profit from selling millions of consoles to PC players who would buy 1-2 first party exclusive games, if those user don't spend more money on PSN (on 3rd party games and subscriptions).

If it was me at Sony I would be watching this like a hawk and play it super-safe. It would be multiplayer Day 1 everywhere, single player at least 2 years of PlayStation exclusivity, and possibly never depending on what happens in the next 2-3+ years. I do think PC gaming is on the rise and a large part of that is almost all games are available on it.

I'm pretty sure Sony has some of the best people in the industry doing just that, watching this like a hawk and play it super-safe. Whatever they do it's well planned.

@Rich33

Or, they could pull out of PC entirely.

If Sony see Hybrids and handhelds are a threat to them keeping customers in their ecosystem, they will react by stopping ports to PC entirely. The comparatively tiny amount of money they make from PC Ports is not worth the risk of eroding their userbase.

Sony/PlayStation could pull out of the PC environment if they want. They could start making low-budget / high-profit games like Nintendo does.

But instead of thinking of hybrids/handhelds as a threat, they could see it as an opportunity to expand. Instead of thinking of PC ports as "risk of eroding the userbase" they could see it as an "opportunity to grow the PlayStation userbase".

The PC ports (and Xbox and Switch) might seem as a small amount compared to overall revenue, but they are 1/3 of PlayStation's first-party revenue. Making their games available on more platforms makes them less dependend on console economics and 3rd party content.

@themightyant I understand your fear of a decreasing brand value, but fact is that PlayStation has been publishing PlayStation games on PC for the past 5 years now and the brand is just as strong as before. There is no evidence of a decreased brand value, despite the Steam Deck and several other handheld PC gaming devices releasing in the mean time.

Do you really think anyone who's main platform is Steam/PC, will buy a PS5 and start buying all their 3rd party games on PSN, if PlayStation decides to make all their first party games exclusive to PS consoles? Or will they just not buy PlayStation games as those aren't available on Steam/PC? Yes, maybe some unsatisfied Xbox players will switch to PlayStation, but PC players are less likely to fully swith to PlayStation.

Releasing games on PC helps the PlayStation brand grow and expand beyond its box. Not releasing games on PC is basically money left on the table.

Congrats to ShiftUp and PlayStation for their success on PC.

@Rich33

I thought launchers could actively detect the hardware they are running on, so would have thought it would be very easy, particularly with standardised hardware set ups. I would also have thought modders would only have a certain amount of ability to circumvent it.

Yes, launchers probaly can detect the hardware components, but if that information doesn't include anything that identifies it as "This is an Xbox", Sony would have to guess which hardware configuration (CPU, RAM, GPU, Windows version) is an Xbox and which one is not. And even if they do get it right, like I said, modders could develop an app to intercept the check and tell the launcher the device is something else. Or you can install Rancher desktop and run Windows in a virtual machine comtainer where the launcher doesn't have a clue which hardware it's running on.

@Rich33 Or PlayStation could just continue releasing games on PC (and PC handhelds) like they do now, without trying to prevent people from playing their games.

Apple and Google are competitors, but they offer their products on other platforms even though they both build the same devices (smartphone, tablets smart watches) and have competing app stores selling 3rd party apps.

@Nei Hopefully one day they can do it. 🙂

@Rich33

The main threat to Sony's console market from the PC space at the moment is hybrid devices eg the next Xbox / steam machine.
A Sony launcher could, I assume, be made to detect and not run on these standardised devices, thus removing this potential competition. They would have to be upfront about this of course.

How would a Sony PlayStation launcher on PC detect a hybrid device such as the Steam Machine or the next Xbox (considering that the next Xbox is an Xbox branded PC)?

Steam Machine might be easier to block, Sony just doesn't need to release the launcher on Linux.

But on Windows, if the next Xbox is telling the launcher that it's a Windows PC, what else would they use to block? AMD hardware components? PlayStation just announced a big partnership with AMD, AMD wouldn't approve that approach. Would they block all Windows based handhelds, like the Asus Rog Ally, Lenovo Legion Go and the MSI Claw?

Whatever security check Sony might consider implementing to stop the next Xbox from accessong it's games, modders will find a way around it in a few weeks if the next Xbox is a PC. That's the thing, Windows is an open platform, Sony cannot control what modders do on Windows.

@Striker21

Those who advocate for Sony to take the "Nintendo route of console exclusivity" actually mean that Sony will be forced to abandon AAA productions and low development costs in favor of making AA games like Stellar Blade or Astro Bot, which can be profitable even with moderate sales of only 2-3 million on PS5.

But that's the problem: Playstation 1st party studios need to develop "AAA" games if they want to showcase the PS5 as a true next gen console. Lower budget games like Astro Bot, Stellar Blade and even Returnal could run on a PS4 (minus the controller feauters). That doesn't help to promote the PS5.

A shame PushSquare left out the best part of the analytics report:

Alinea’s estimates highlight five standout titles leading Sony’s success:

1. Helldivers 2 – 12.7 million copies sold, generating $400 million. This co-op shooter has become Sony’s first true PC megahit, with 200,000 daily players and a fifth of its audience logging over 100 hours.
2. Horizon Zero Dawn – 4.5 million copies sold, earning $170 million. As Sony’s first major Steam release back in 2020, it benefited from pent-up demand and continues to sell steadily thanks to discounts.
3. God of War – 4.2 million copies sold, nearly $150 million in revenue. Its strong reputation and technical polish helped build trust among PC gamers.
4. Days Gone – 3.4 million copies sold, $108 million revenue. Despite mixed reception on console, its survival mechanics resonated with PC players.
5. Spider-Man Remastered – 2.7 million copies sold, $116 million revenue. The strength of the Spider-Man IP and technical features like ray tracing boosted its appeal.

In total, PlayStation-published games are estimated to have sold more than 43 million copies on Steam.

Link: https://www.gamingamigos.com/post/playstation-games-steam-1-2b

Porting one of those games to Steam/PC costs around $ 1-3 million. That's a small investment for a large return.

@UltimateOtaku91

But does that include port costs and the split that Sony have to give to Arrowhead and ShiftUP, Sony were just the publisher for some games and won't be taking the full amount.

Alinea Analytics' report is about revenue, so it doesn't include porting costs, nor any share they would provide to 3rd parties. But even if PlayStation shares the revenue with a 3rd paty, like maybe ShiftUp, it's not much different from an internal 1st paty studio where Sony needs to cover the salaries and expenses of it's own developers who are working on their next projects after the PC launch.

The porting costs are fairly small with 1-3% or the PC revenue per title. Porting costs are around $ 1-3 million (form the Insomniac Games leak), but most PlayStation published games earn over $ 100 million on Steam. Of course Helldivers 2 being at the top with $ 400 million.

@Medic_alert

Firstly unless i'm missing something 30% of 1.5bn is 0.45bn so the actual figure for Sony would be just over 1bn in 5 years or an average of 200m a year.

Steam has a variable percentage of the share they take on games, here is from the official documentation:

"...when a game makes over $10 million on Steam, the revenue share for that application will adjust to 75%/25% on earnings beyond $10M. At $50 million, the revenue share will adjust to 80%/20% on earnings beyond $50M."
Link: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/1697191267930157838

A lot then depends on what the margins of these ports are. I would guess they are cheap to make but there will also be associated marketing costs too.

Hard to know if it has been worth it without a load of other information to be honest.

It's worth the effort. Like Yoshida Shuhei said, PC ports of PlayStation games is like printing money.

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered port for PC costed $ 2.3 million according to the Insomniac Games leak. A year after its launch in 2022 the game has sold 1.5 million times on Steam and generated $ 52 million dollar in revenue. So by now it might have generated more revenue. There's hardly a marketing for the games before they launch on Steam. In most cases you only see a trailer.

@Kienda

@Northern_munkey they didn’t make COD an Xbox exclusive is because when they bought Activision, part of appeasing the regulators was they signed a contract to release COD on all consoles including Nintendo for the next ten years (at least).

So the real story is: why is COD not in Switch yet.

Microsoft never planned to make Call of Duty Xbox exclusive. It's too large and expensive to be exclusive just to 1 platform.

I assume that Activision wishes for COD to be on Switch 2, but there are technical difficulties like the lack of Switch 2 dev kits, COD games requiring 100-200 GB of space and the recent games requiring an online connection where the Switch 2 is more likely to be used offline.

@AgentMantis

@TrollOfWar probably not. It'd be a lot of work just for no one to buy them. Xbox gamers have been trained that games have no value and to never step outside of Gamepass

I mentioned Nintendo as well in my comment, where often certain games sell better on Switch than on PlayStation.

Good games sell well also on Xbox. On Xbox, Helldivers 2 sold 1.5 million copies, Battlefield 6 sold 2 million copies, Elden Ring sold 7.4 million copies. It's true that games on GamePass sell less on Xbox (just like ganes on PS Plus on PS5), but I don't think Sony would put their own games on GamePass, it wouldn't make sense.

I bet PlayStation devs would be just as "thrilled" to bring their games to other platforms, including Nintendo and Xbox.

Every developer wishes for their game to be played by as many people as possible, no matter which platform.

For context, the entire PlayStation division generated around $7 billion in revenue during the last quarter alone.

Yes, but how much of that revenue was form first-party games? Estimates are that around 30% of PlayStation's first-party game revenue comes from PC storefronts.

@Americansamurai1

good luck trying to convince those kid's parents on spending 800+ plus on it though. Especially in this economy.

Probably easier convincing parents of a $800 PC than a $600 gaming console and a $80 yearly online subscription. But what do I know, I only have a 13 year old nephew who desires getting a gaming PC, despite already having a PS5.

The point of this Steam Machine is to expand the SteamOS ecosystem and have more developers adopt it in their development process. It might be a threat to Windows for gaming in the long-run.

Console enthusiasts, especially on PlayStation will less likely need one, but I can see younger players (12+ year olds) being more interested in a Steam Machine than in an Xbox or PlayStation, as all the trendy games release on PC/Steam first and they don't need to pay for online gaming. Seeing all YouTubers and Twitch streamers play on PC already makes the platform more attractive to them. Kids can also justify the Steam Machine to their parents as a PC which they can use for productive school work.

PlayStation doesn't need to fear the Steam Machine, the PlayStation brand is stronger than ever. But who knows what the gaming landscape looks like in 10 years. 😉

I'm happy that Sony will not increase the console prices with everyone else, just to increase profits.

The Adventures of Rad Gravity on Evercade

If PlayStation won't release Returnal for Switch 2 then someone else will... under a different name. 😄

I wonder which company that is which makes a revenue of "$3 billion a year"? Based on the List of largest video game companies by revenue I wonder if it's Take-Two, Bandai Namco or Ubi Soft? They all have some beloved classic games, yet no projects of remastering or re-releasing games (unlike Square Enix and even Activision). Embracer (in the same range of yearly revenue) did partner with Blaze Entertainment to release the old Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain games on Evercade and Aspyr for the remasterson current platforms.

Well Take-Two's efforts of remastering the PS2 GTA trilogy was a failure.

@Porco

sony potentially losing its users to the pc market is bad for its business in the long term. i.e. there is a cost to porting its games to pc in the sense sony will inevitably lose console customers for life (whether it was a pc user who considered buying a ps console but now doesn't need to, or a dual user who will no longer pick up a ps6 since owning a console and pc is now redundant).

@Rich33

It is still nothing compared to the risk of having their userbase eroded.

There is no evidence of a larger trend for the risk of PlayStation players switching to PC, as you are describing. PlayStation games are being released on PC for the past 5 years, yet PS5 sales numbers are in line with PS4 numbers. Even Sony in a shareholder meeting stated that they "cannot confirm any such trend, nor do they see it as a major risk". The fear is based on PlayStation fans not wanting to lose "their exclusives".

Sony doesn't benefit from PC players who buy a PS5 just to play 1-2 exclusive titles, as those players will continue buying other 3rd party games and subscribe to 3rd party subscriptions on PC storefronts. Plus I think that unlike in previous generations where console got cheaper, now PC players are less likely going to spend $ 500+ on a PS5 just to play a few games which they don't have on PC.

@UltimateOtaku91 That comment raises legitimate concerns from the perspective of a dedicated console enthusiast, and I understand that being a PlayStation fan and having and identity around that brand feels as "magical" as it feels "magical" to believe in Santa Clasu. But it rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of modern market dynamics and the actual financial impact of the PC strategy.

The idea that PC ports inherently weaken the PlayStation brand is a common misperception that fails to account for current market realities:

1. Financial Reality: New Money, Not Stolen Money: The revenue generated by PC sales is almost entirely new money that Sony would not have earned otherwise. The majority of PC gamers buying a game like God of War were never going to purchase a PS5 solely for that title. By selling to them, Sony creates a massive new, high-margin revenue stream that increases the total capital available to fund game development and studio acquisitions, directly refuting the idea of a loss in revenue.
2. Maximizing Investment Return: Modern AAA games cost upwards of $200 million to develop. Limiting that investment return to a single console platform for a finite window is inefficient. Releasing the game on PC years later maximizes the return on that massive development expenditure, effectively subsidizing the next generation of console exclusives.
3. ​The Microsoft Analogy is Misleading: Comparing PlayStation's selective, delayed PC strategy to Microsoft's Day One Game Pass model is a false equivalence. Microsoft's goal is to drive subscriptions to a low-margin service across all platforms. Sony's strategy is to drive full-price unit sales on a new, high-margin platform, while still reserving its biggest games as timed exclusives to incentivize PS5 purchases.
4. Record Profits with Current Startegy: Since the launch of the PS5 Sony has increased the releases of first party games on PC. Their financial reports show that it paid off, as this generation has been PlayStation's most profitable generation.

The reality is, the financial health of the PlayStation brand relies on growth, and in 2025, that growth is found in expanding beyond the console box. This expansion provides the financial muscle to keep the PS5 and future consoles relevant by ensuring they have the funding to develop world-class games that remain the launch platform and initial exclusive home of the biggest titles.

@Rich33

Unfortunately, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they stop putting their games onto PC - the extra cash is miniscule compared to their real worth in giving people a reason to move to / stay with their closed ecosystem.

Between fiscal years 2022 and 2024, sales of PlayStation titles on PC and other platforms might have grown from less than a fifth to almost a third ($ 830 millions) of total first-party PlayStation game revenue. I wouldn't call that "minuscule" and hard to see PlayStation give up on 1/3 of their first party revenue, just to attract a few more players to PlayStation consoles.

@trestan

Most PS5 user don't even play the exclusives, so their point is completely invalid. The "fans" are what, 5% or 10%?Everyone else they just don't care

I guess some hardcore fans secretly wish that PlayStation reduces their playerbase so they can feel more "special" about their brand choice when they are the only ones being able to play a game, while everyone else is excluded. And "exclusive games" helps them feel superior in "console war" debates in why their favorite console is better.

@Porco

the pandemic boosted the disirability for ps5 hardware (as people spent more time indoors) while sony coasted and relied on 3rd party software. ps5 sales are not sustainable and are still trailing the ps4 by a few million (the decline is here already but guess what, sony will be saved yet again by gta 6 next year). there is just no way sony can repeat the ps5 generation with the ps6 and expect the same results. only the most naiive gamers without any analytical skills would consider the ps5 era noteworthy in any way and not a step down from everything that came before it. if you cannot see that sony has been complacent (and lucky) this generation, that is just your loss and nobody will be able to help you there.

That's a very strong and somewhat pessimistic take, but I think the core argument about Sony's sustainability completely misses the mark on their most significant strategic move this generation: the expansion to PC.

Releasing games on PC for a wider audience is not only more positive but also a more accurate reading of PlayStation's future strategy:

1. The PC Strategy is the Opposite of Complacency: The decision to bring acclaimed first-party titles like God of War, Horizon, and Spider-Man to PC is a calculated, forward-looking business strategy, not a sign of complacency or luck. The "decline" argument is refuted by the fact that Sony is actively seeking to expand its market reach beyond its dedicated console base.
2. New Revenue Streams Fund Future Exclusives: PC ports generate entirely new, high-margin revenue streams that were previously untapped. This extra income directly funds the massive budgets required for developing future console-exclusive blockbusters and the next generation of hardware (the PS6). Maximizing the financial return on their world-class IPs makes their business more sustainable, not less.
3. IP Expansion and Future-Proofing: Bringing games to PC is the best form of marketing. It introduces millions of new players to the quality of PlayStation's first-party titles. When the PS6 launches with a major new exclusive, those PC gamers are now highly incentivized to jump onboard and buy the console, effectively future-proofing the brand's success. It turns the PC platform into a massive, profitable marketing funnel for the console.
4. Outdated Console Wars Mindset: Your focus is locked on an outdated metric where a game leaving the console is a "loss." The reality is that maximizing the audience for their IP—be it on PS5, PS6, or PC—is the healthiest path for the brand. It benefits the consumer by offering more ways to play and ensures the long-term financial stability necessary to keep funding top-tier, ambitious development.

Sony’s success is no longer solely measured by how many PS5 consoles trail the PS4 (otherwise there would be no cross-gen releases on PS4); it’s measured by how many people are playing PlayStation IP globally. Embracing PC is a sign of a company adapting to the modern gaming landscape, which is a significant step up for both the business and for gamers who want access to great titles. More players equals a stronger ecosystem, and that is unequivocally better.

@Rich33

If everything comes into place, then we see an erosion of Sony's userbase, which will have the knock on effect of raising Sony's prices - subs/games/store/hardware, but this isn't going to happen overnight.

Only at this point does PC become a tangible threat - that's my opinion at least, coming from someone who regularly considers PC.

The prices for PlayStation hardware, games and subscriptions are already going up, but that's not related to the PC releases of PlayStation games.

Somehow I have the impression, you are looking for reasons why you want to stick with PlayStation rather than considering what is the best for you. I hope you'll be happy with your choice. 🙂