10 years ago it would have been hard to believe that one day Halo will be part of PlayStation's official marketing. Interesting how the industry has changed in the past few years.
i can't see this "game" ever getting released. microsoft doesn't care about prestige projects in the way sony used to... and you know there will not be any marketing behind it. this is destined to fail so why even back it up if you are microsoft? it's a tough sell even on a sony platform, but on xbox it's DOA. if i was kojima, i would cancel it and put all hands on physint.
If I remember correctly, OD was teased by Kojima as a game which only works with the cloud. If the game does something special with Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure, it will help showcase those capabilities. Microsoft is very successful in the cloud business, so having something promote it in gaming might benefit Microsoft.
Also Hideo Kojima seems somewhat more excited talking about OD than Physint, as OD is again an attempt by him to create something totally new, while Physint will probably be more of a familiar stealth game.
Perhaps Sony pushing for it to come to PS5 was enough to twist the company's collective arm, or maybe it was just coincidence that the strategy was already forming to go multiplatform with many titles.
According to the interview it sounds like Sony went port-begging to Microsoft. 😉
/I'm joking - but the writing in this article is really questionable.
It's nice to see that the team at Microsoft takes the PlayStation release seriously and put months of effort into optimizing the port for PS5.
There is actually another interesting part in tbe interview. The Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator basically confirmed a long-term support which also bodes well with future releases of other Microsoft games:
Where we are on PlayStation right now, there is only a single device that's not a DualSense. The good news is, I get called by the hardware makers, and they ask if this is a long-term commitment. For them, it's super important that we don't make just a one-off product and then leave.
Curious to see to which extent it will be Remade. The original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is one of the most memorable RPGs on Xbox and you can see how it's an early prototype to BioWare'a Mass Effect. But I'm not sure if certain gameplay elements like the combat would be good enough for today's standards.
@naruball There are plenty of games exclusive to PlayStation which didn't sell well (Gravity Rush, Puppeteer, Dreams, The Last Guardian, Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time, God Hand, Foamstars, Forspoken). It's not something only seen on Xbox.
If a game is good and popular, it will also do well on Xbox. Though I can see why you want to invalidate any successes on Xbox.
I get that, but that's not what I mean exactly. What I wanted to say is that 1. I don't think it's going to sell many copies on xbx at all. 2. They could have focused entirely on ps5 hardware and made it an even better experience for ps5 gamers. 3. Advertising it as an exclusive could attract greater attention. etc.
If it's a good game it will sell just as well on Xbox as on PS5. Elden Ring, Baldur's Gate 3, Helldivers 2, Battlefield 6 sold well on Xbox.
If this is an Unreal Engine 5 game then a port to Xbox is fairly straightforward. Any optimizations on Xbox would also benefit PS5 (just like Xbox Series S related performance optimizations on Baldur's Gate 3 also improved the performance on PS5).
The opposite can also happen. "Another PlayStation published game releasing on Xbox" nowadays draws more attention than "This game skips the Xbox again, it's PS5 exclusive". Helldivers 2 sold exceptionally well thanks to being released on multiple platforms.
@Flaming_Kaiser That's a fair point regarding the exceptional quality of flagship Sony first-party titles, but that quality has virtually nothing to do with the game being locked to a single platform. It has everything to do with time, budget, and corporate structure.
The reason PlayStation first-party games like Demon's Souls and Ghost of Tsushima achieve such high polish isn't due to the PS5 hardware magic; it’s due to the privileged position and resources those studios receive:
Massive, Guaranteed Budgets: These studios receive huge, consistent funding directly from Sony, removing the financial uncertainty that plagues many third-party studios. This means they can afford to spend years on polish.
Time to Market: They are rarely forced to meet arbitrary release windows driven by marketing departments. They are allowed to "cook" until they are genuinely finished, a luxury most third-party studios don't have.
Best-in-Class Management: Studios like Insomniac, Sucker Punch, and Bluepoint have developed stable pipelines and excellent management, consistently delivering quality regardless of the platform architecture.
Concord as a first party multi-platform release was well polished for both PS5 and PC, but people didn't like the game. On the other hand several "PS5 exclusive" games like Forspoken, Final Fantasy 16, 7 Rebirth, Until Dawn Remake, Lost Soul Aside and even Helldivers 2 have a questionable quality and performance.
The core argument remains: If you give any studio (first-party or third-party) the same unlimited time and funding, they will deliver a polished product, whether it releases on PS5, PC, Xbox, or all three.
Dude it's a literal fact if you explained this to someone who knows nothing about gaming they would say it's anti-consumer because it benefits the company not the consumer!
How does a consumer benefit from an exclusive title??
It benefits the hardcore fans, who can use exclusive games to strengthen their brand identity and win online "console war" debates. They are also consumers. 😉
I just hope it's a winning strategy for them. Releasing it on Xbox makes very little sense to me.
If PlayStation publishes the game on Xbox, they get a large share from every sold unit. If they don't publish the game, then the developers would find someone else after the exclusivity period ends and PlayStation would earn nothing.
@SMJ on even footing I disagree. Exclusives encouraged users to buy multiple platforms, created more competition, and allowed developers to fully utilise the specifics of that target system. While it sucks for consumers who don't own the console I think it ultimately helped gaming innovation and also pricing - think of the PS2/Xbox era.
I agree that in the PS2/Xbox/GameCube era, consoles were defined by their highly customized, proprietary hardware. Developers had to master unique architectures (like the Emotion Engine or Cell Processor) to extract performance, and those technical constraints sometimes resulted in genuinely unique experiences.
However, that was 20 years ago and things are now different.
Since the PS4/Xbox One generation, console manufacturers have wisely transitioned to standardized x86 PC architecture and commodity components (primarily AMD). Functionally, modern consoles are now closed-off, purpose-built gaming PCs. While this standardization has improved cross-platform development, it has fundamentally removed the hardware innovation that defined earlier generations.
The consequence is that exclusives are no longer a technical necessity; they are purely a commercial lock-in mechanism.
If we eliminate the artificial barrier of software exclusives, the console market would be forced to evolve. It would incentivize true, aggressive competition not just between Sony and Microsoft, but by opening the door to hardware giants like Nvidia, Asus, Lenovo, Google, Apple and others.
This pressure would force manufacturers to compete on what actually matters in a standardized market: price, power efficiency, cooling innovation, and genuine consumer choice. Removing exclusives is the single most effective way to foster the hardware innovation we haven't seen in over a decade.
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.
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:
"Does the PS5 Lean Too Much on Sequels?"
"Are PS5 Games Getting Too Familiar?"
"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.
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.
@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.
@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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Days Gone – 3.4 million copies sold, $108 million revenue. Despite mixed reception on console, its survival mechanics resonated with PC players.
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.
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.
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:
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.
Comments 347
Re: PlayStation Confirmed for the Game Awards with a New Look at PS5 Exclusive Saros
Just read that Returnal sold less than 2 million units. Hopefully Saros finds a bigger playerbase.
Re: PlayStation Teases 2026 PS5 Games in New Trailer
10 years ago it would have been hard to believe that one day Halo will be part of PlayStation's official marketing. Interesting how the industry has changed in the past few years.
Re: Xbox Ruthlessly Cancelled Perfect Dark, But Take-Two Just Hired Its Directors
Xbox are so ruthless when they cancel projects. Concord at least was cancelled gracefully by having it release and then publicly humiliated. 👍
Re: Not Even Hideo Kojima Is Sure if Xbox Game OD Will Be Any Good
@Porco
If I remember correctly, OD was teased by Kojima as a game which only works with the cloud. If the game does something special with Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure, it will help showcase those capabilities. Microsoft is very successful in the cloud business, so having something promote it in gaming might benefit Microsoft.
Also Hideo Kojima seems somewhat more excited talking about OD than Physint, as OD is again an attempt by him to create something totally new, while Physint will probably be more of a familiar stealth game.
Re: We Could've Had Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5 Much Sooner
According to the interview it sounds like Sony went port-begging to Microsoft. 😉
/I'm joking - but the writing in this article is really questionable.
Re: We Could've Had Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5 Much Sooner
It's nice to see that the team at Microsoft takes the PlayStation release seriously and put months of effort into optimizing the port for PS5.
There is actually another interesting part in tbe interview. The Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator basically confirmed a long-term support which also bodes well with future releases of other Microsoft games:
Re: Not Even Hideo Kojima Is Sure if Xbox Game OD Will Be Any Good
OD will probably get an Oscar rather than a game award. 😄
Re: Rumour: Sony's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic PS5 Remake May Soon Return
Curious to see to which extent it will be Remade. The original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is one of the most memorable RPGs on Xbox and you can see how it's an early prototype to BioWare'a Mass Effect. But I'm not sure if certain gameplay elements like the combat would be good enough for today's standards.
Re: PS5 Dominates UK on Black Friday, Sells More Than 60% of All Consoles
Congrats to Sony PlayStation. They are the best. 👍
Re: Sony's All-In on Exciting PS5 Action RPG The God Slayer, Despite an Xbox Version Existing
@naruball There are plenty of games exclusive to PlayStation which didn't sell well (Gravity Rush, Puppeteer, Dreams, The Last Guardian, Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time, God Hand, Foamstars, Forspoken). It's not something only seen on Xbox.
If a game is good and popular, it will also do well on Xbox. Though I can see why you want to invalidate any successes on Xbox.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 610
Claymates on Evercade
Re: Sony's All-In on Exciting PS5 Action RPG The God Slayer, Despite an Xbox Version Existing
@naruball
Re: Sony's All-In on Exciting PS5 Action RPG The God Slayer, Despite an Xbox Version Existing
@Flaming_Kaiser That's a fair point regarding the exceptional quality of flagship Sony first-party titles, but that quality has virtually nothing to do with the game being locked to a single platform. It has everything to do with time, budget, and corporate structure.
The reason PlayStation first-party games like Demon's Souls and Ghost of Tsushima achieve such high polish isn't due to the PS5 hardware magic; it’s due to the privileged position and resources those studios receive:
Concord as a first party multi-platform release was well polished for both PS5 and PC, but people didn't like the game. On the other hand several "PS5 exclusive" games like Forspoken, Final Fantasy 16, 7 Rebirth, Until Dawn Remake, Lost Soul Aside and even Helldivers 2 have a questionable quality and performance.
The core argument remains: If you give any studio (first-party or third-party) the same unlimited time and funding, they will deliver a polished product, whether it releases on PS5, PC, Xbox, or all three.
Re: Sony's All-In on Exciting PS5 Action RPG The God Slayer, Despite an Xbox Version Existing
@Chip-Douglas
It benefits the hardcore fans, who can use exclusive games to strengthen their brand identity and win online "console war" debates. They are also consumers. 😉
Re: Sony's All-In on Exciting PS5 Action RPG The God Slayer, Despite an Xbox Version Existing
@naruball
If PlayStation publishes the game on Xbox, they get a large share from every sold unit. If they don't publish the game, then the developers would find someone else after the exclusivity period ends and PlayStation would earn nothing.
Re: Sony's All-In on Exciting PS5 Action RPG The God Slayer, Despite an Xbox Version Existing
@ItsAlwaysSunnyyy
I agree that in the PS2/Xbox/GameCube era, consoles were defined by their highly customized, proprietary hardware. Developers had to master unique architectures (like the Emotion Engine or Cell Processor) to extract performance, and those technical constraints sometimes resulted in genuinely unique experiences.
However, that was 20 years ago and things are now different.
Since the PS4/Xbox One generation, console manufacturers have wisely transitioned to standardized x86 PC architecture and commodity components (primarily AMD). Functionally, modern consoles are now closed-off, purpose-built gaming PCs. While this standardization has improved cross-platform development, it has fundamentally removed the hardware innovation that defined earlier generations.
The consequence is that exclusives are no longer a technical necessity; they are purely a commercial lock-in mechanism.
If we eliminate the artificial barrier of software exclusives, the console market would be forced to evolve. It would incentivize true, aggressive competition not just between Sony and Microsoft, but by opening the door to hardware giants like Nvidia, Asus, Lenovo, Google, Apple and others.
This pressure would force manufacturers to compete on what actually matters in a standardized market: price, power efficiency, cooling innovation, and genuine consumer choice. Removing exclusives is the single most effective way to foster the hardware innovation we haven't seen in over a decade.
Re: Black Ops 7 Dominates PS5 Downloads Despite Backlash
@EfYI
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.
Re: PS5 Mega Flop MindsEye Gets a Free Starter Pack on PS Store
@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.
Re: Metal Gear Solid Delta Producer Is Hoping to Remake MGS4, Rescuing It from PS3 Jail
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.
Re: GTA 6 Gameplay 'Leaks' Are AI-Generated Nonsense, Creator Owns Up After Backlash
Now I fear that other publishers marketing teams will use AI generated "leaked videos" to "bring people together and spark discussion".
Re: Talking Point: Does PS5 Have a Sequel Problem?
@get2sammyb
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:
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.
Re: Talking Point: Does PS5 Have a Sequel Problem?
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.
Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off
@SMJ
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.
Re: Destiny 3 Allegedly in 'Extremely Early Development', Could Be a Tentpole Title for PS6
@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.
Re: Destiny 3 Allegedly in 'Extremely Early Development', Could Be a Tentpole Title for PS6
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.
Re: Sony Poised to Publish PS5 Hit Death Stranding 2 on PC
@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.
Re: Sony Poised to Publish PS5 Hit Death Stranding 2 on PC
@Vermines In that case I apologize if I misunderstood your comment.
Re: Sony Poised to Publish PS5 Hit Death Stranding 2 on PC
@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.
Re: Sony Poised to Publish PS5 Hit Death Stranding 2 on PC
@get2sammyb
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 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.
Re: Sony Poised to Publish PS5 Hit Death Stranding 2 on PC
I wonder if PlayStation or another 3rd party publisher will also publish Death Stranding 2 on Xbox.
Re: You Can Buy a Fully-Fledged PS5 for the Same Price as a Less Powerful Xbox Series S Right Now
@omadeli Excellent game 👍
Re: You Can Buy a Fully-Fledged PS5 for the Same Price as a Less Powerful Xbox Series S Right Now
@omadeli
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.
Re: You Can Buy a Fully-Fledged PS5 for the Same Price as a Less Powerful Xbox Series S Right Now
@omadeli
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. 😁
Re: You Can Buy a Fully-Fledged PS5 for the Same Price as a Less Powerful Xbox Series S Right 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.
Re: You Can Buy a Fully-Fledged PS5 for the Same Price as a Less Powerful Xbox Series S Right Now
@judgmentarrows
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.
Re: You Can Buy a Fully-Fledged PS5 for the Same Price as a Less Powerful Xbox Series S Right Now
@Fiendish-Beaver
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.
Re: You Can Buy a Fully-Fledged PS5 for the Same Price as a Less Powerful Xbox Series S Right Now
@Oram77
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.
Re: You Can Buy a Fully-Fledged PS5 for the Same Price as a Less Powerful Xbox Series S Right Now
@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.
Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off
@themightyant
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).
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.
Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off
@Rich33
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.
Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off
@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.
Re: Stellar Blade Is Sony's Most Successful Single-Player PC Game to Date, Says Shift Up
Congrats to ShiftUp and PlayStation for their success on PC.
Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off
@Rich33
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.
Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off
@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.
Re: Xbox Devs 'Thrilled' to Be Bringing Their Games to PS5
@Nei Hopefully one day they can do it. 🙂
Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off
@Rich33
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.
Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off
@Striker21
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.
Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off
A shame PushSquare left out the best part of the analytics report:
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.
Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off
@UltimateOtaku91
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.
Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off
@Medic_alert
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
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.