Nintendo gets away with it because it's what all the kids want. It's a very family orientated system that sells at a very cheap price point.
Please keep in mind, that Nintendo's games often times cost much less to develop. For example The Ladt of Us Part 2 or Horizon Forbidden West had a development budget of around $ 200+ million, where Pokemon games on Switch somewhere between $ 10 - 13 million.
Their games aren't just kid friendly, their IPs like Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Yoshi, Mario Kart/Party/Tennis, Animal Crossing, Pokemon are games which have a strong nostalgic value for those who grew up with them in the 90s and early 00s, so they have a broader appeal and sell more than most of Sony's IPs.
Opinions are definitely tolerated here. But it’s also worth remembering that this is a Playstation centric website, geared towards fans of Playstation. That makes it confusing if you’re only here to call people fanboys, ponies or shills?
...
So I can understand why some people here push back. If people want to offer constructive criticism or wanna engage in good faith discussion that’s totally fine. But if you’re just here to hate on Sony fans and anything Sony related, i dont see the point of that.
Each community is very diverse, no matter where you go. That includes both reasonable people who want to have a good discussion and people who hide behind the anonymity of their funny nicknames and act like trolls trying to anger others who have a different opinion. Those who are PlayStation fans here, will go to "other sites" and call people fanboys, xbots, PC master race gang or shills. They aren't any better than the ones coming here calling PlayStation fans "ponies".
The problem is, Push Square is a fairly poplar website (as PlayStation is now the dominant console brand) and it is attracting all manner of people from all platforms, including PC players who enjoyed some of the PlayStation published games, or Xbox fans who had a PlayStation console at one point in their life. PushSquare oftentimes reports on news earlier before other gaming outlets do. But the articles often times have a negative tone on everything other than PlayStation, with the aim to polarize readers. It helps drive user engagement (just look at this article), but it further drives negative sentiments towards one another and divides people - just like in politics.
PlayStation vs Xbox vs PC? None are better than the other, they all have their good and bad sides, and the customer/fans/players win absolutely nothing if one is "winning" over the other.
I always try to reason fairly, and listen to what people are saying, but the amount of times people assume bad intent, and label others shills or fanboys is tiring.
You're indeed one of the more reasonable people to have a respectful conversation, I think the community is better for having you here.
Pretty obvious who those in that 22% are, I can see most of them still crying in this comment section.
Maybe we can create a list of those 22% aggressors, get them together and have them deported to PC Gamers, as their opinions will not be tolerated on this site. 😉
Microsoft/Xbox is not competing with Sony/PlayStation in the console market anymore. PlayStation can and most likely do make decisions independently from what Xbox is doing.
So no, the Helix will not change anything for PlayStation and the PS6
Like with previous Resident Evil games, I expected this one to receive a DLC, so the game is expected to evolve over the coming months. I will consider not submitting a scored review until this is available out of respect for the developers.
Really enjoyed this game. Nice story, cool visuals, good soundtrack and memorable boss fights. The gameplay feels like a classic linear 3D action platform from the PS2 era. Unfortunately the combat arenas are dull and repetitive.
Happy to see the game being available to more people.
Looking at the Marathon Metacritic page, it looks like every games news and review website is sticking to this practice of withholding a review score until the end of the month. There's only 1 review on OpenCritic so far.
Either the endgame is the most game-changing experience players have ever seen, truly worth the delay or... these websites don't want to be blacklisted by Sony/PlayStation from receiving review codes for other games in the future.
I do wonder how you they manged to get a Marvel exclusive license
Just speculation, but maybe because Sony owns the film rights to Spider-Man, who Marvel really wanted to include in the MCU movies. So, Sony can negotiate a stronger exclusivity deal for Marvel's Spide-Man with the help of the film rights.
@LowDefAl Thanks for the clarification on how live services work, I was fully aware of that. It's just funny that this game gets a pass from PushSquare while other live service games don't. If the game isn't ready for review than Bungie should call it an "early-access" release.
Imagine if sites would have waited another 1-2 month reviewing Redfall after it's release, once it got patched into a better shape. Might have gotten a somewhat higher metacritic score.
At least to PushSquare's credit, they do revisit some games after the initial launch with mini-reviews like in case of No Man's Sky.
Since they spent a lot of money designing and manufacturing this PC controller, they might just release it to the public.
This doesn't impact their intentions to make the games, which would mostly benefit from this controller on a PC, exclusive to PlayStation consoles, right?
I think for Sony the next Xbox is less of a concern, even if it's a PC with an Xbox sticker that plays Steam and Epic games, and who knows when it will release and at which price.
Their bigger problem is Valve's Steam Machine, a console-like gaming PC which connects to your TV, has more exclusives from indie developers by default, has cheaper games and doesn't require a subscription for online gaming.
@Carnage It depends, what Sony wants. If they want to reach more players on their first party games and grow their success on PC, then yes they would have to improve the quality of those releases and release them around the time where the hype is big. And from a consumer's perspective that would be a welcome move.
If Sony cares more about their closed PlayStation ecosystem, where they lock players into the system and they control the terms, prices and subscriptions, then they should stop releasing games on PC.
It's on Sony to figure out what's more profitable for them as a business. For me as a player, who has no stocks in Sony, I care more about the option which allows more people to play games.
In case of Microsoft, I believe many of their first party games weren't strong enough. Halo Infinite should have been better, Flight Simulator, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment are very niche, Redfall bombed, Hellblade 2 isn't a "God of War" rival, Starfield couldn't fulfill expectations, Forza Motorsport underdelivered. The only strong Xbox first party games from recent years are Forza Horizon 5, Psychonauts 2 and Indiana Jones. And all the price hikes to the hardware and GamePass took away a lot of reasons for people to buy an Xbox console.
What i asked was the proof of "a large percentage of PC gamers also own consoles including PS5" like Gemini53 claim. Your first link only said growth for PC and console players, not how many of PC players also own consoles or a PS5.
I'm not sure what you will gain from a proof to the statement "a large percentage of PC gamers also own consoles including PS5"? That if people have the needed income, they will buy multiple platforms? There was a (now deleted) statement from Matt Piscatella (Circana) on Twitter that 1/3 of PC players in the US in 2021 owned a PlayStation console. Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/qhno06/according_to_the_npd_groups_playerpulse_only/
It's hard to estimate as from those 900+ million PC players, only maybe 1/3 are Premium PC players. Many of those PC players are located in Asia (China, India, Saudi Arabia), South America (Brazil, Mexico) or Eastern Europe (Romania, Poland) where modern consoles are proportionally more expensive and PC gaming is the only viable choice.
As for your 2nd link, that 30-40% revenue was mostly from Helldivers 2 which wasn't by 1st party studio. But we're talking about Sony 1st party studio revenue from PC which is only 2%, not PS studios business as a whole or their collab with 3rd party studios like Stellar Blade, Helldivers 2 etc.
I don't understand why people treat Helldivers 2 as if it's not first party. Sony/PlayStation ownes the IP, they funded the development, marketing and publishing, even if it's a 3rd party studio. It's even heavily featured by PlayStation on their "PlayStation Studios" web page: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/corporate/playstation-studios/
Treating Helldivers 2 as if it's not a 1st party games is like saying that Pokemon is not a 1st party Nintendo game because it's developed by Game Freak (a 3rd party studio).
The only difference in the collaboration with Arrowhead Studio is that PlayStation will need to find a different studio for Helldivers, if Arrowhead Studio would decide to abandon the series.
If there's really 800-900 million PC gamers around the world like that survey claim and Sony still decided to scalled down their 1st party release for PC then the allegation about the majority of PCMR gang doesn't like nor buy Sony 1st party games & PS console is pretty much true 😃
Well, there are several reasons why PlayStation's strategy doesn't work so well on PC:
Player interest in new single-player games typically lasts one to two weeks, with engagement declining by approximately 60 % by the fifth week. By the time a PlayStation game releases 1-2 years later on PC with no fanfare, interest in those games has declined dramatically. Link: https://games.gg/news/newzoo-2025-game-market-report/
Games like The Last of Us Part 1 & 2 and Marvel's Spide-Man 2 were released in a poorly optimized state on PC where the games have long shader compilation durations and still hitch heavily during gameplay. People here on PushSquare complain if a games doesn't have any "PS5 Pro optimizations". Now imagine how people feel when the games in general run poorly.
There are narrative barriers like only Uncharted 4 releasing on PC without the first 3 games. Same with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
I just find it kind of funny/sad how divided the gaming community is. People feeling hurt by the "PC master race gang" or those who think "Xbots are the enemy" don't realize that they aren't any better than the ones they are criticizing. They are just as much unfriendly/uninviting to people outside of these communities.
Instead of defending the interest of large corporations, which don't give a damn about them, they should speak up for more affordable gaming and better, sustainable conditions for the game developers. They should welcome games becoming more available for people to play rather than celebrating the exclusion of other players.
"There are literally millions of people who are gaming on PC, more than PlayStation, Xbox and Switch combined and a large percentage of them also own consoles - including PS5"
Oh really? Where did you got this stats? Did you surveyed millions after millions of PC owners?
"In the 2025 PC and Console Gaming Report from Newzoo, global data indicates that more players started playing games on PC than they did on console. According to the report, PC player numbers rose 3.9% year-over-year (YoY) from 873.5 million to 907.5 million in 2024. Console players growth, on the other hand, while still up, only grew 2.3% from 615.6 million to 629.5 million".
And if there's hundreds of millions of PC gamers more than PS, Xbox, and Nintendo combined then Sony should earned more than 2% revenue from PC release and scale up their PC strategy right? The math doesn't add up here with your claim and more of a hard proof that the majority of PC gamers didn't buy consoles.
Your math definitely doesn't add up. When the "2% revenue from PC" figure is mentioned, that's first party revenue on PC compared to PlayStation's total revenue. The largest part of PlayStation's total revenue comes from the 30% cut PlayStation gets from 3rd party games, micro-transactions and DLCs. From PlayStation's total revenue, only 15-25 % are first party revenue, from games and DLCs published by PlayStation.
The revenue from the PC ports accounts for 30% - 40% of PlayStation's first party revenue. PlayStation doesn't have a revenue from 3rd parties on PC because they don't have a PC store/launcher to sell 3rd party content.
That PC percentage would of course be higher if PlayStation games would release day 1 on PC in a better technical state, as some PC ports according to reports don't run smoothly. But it's on Sony to decide where they want to allocate their resouces and if they want to improve their PC releases.
Sony hoped for good PC sales to co-finance the development of the big, identity-shaping titles with absurd budgets.
Without this perspective (which should be the case for a few years now, seeing the poor PC sales), Hulst (or his successor) will hesitate to give his OK for development even more.
Abandoning Steam will also put more pressure on those 1st party studios to meet sales expectations on PlayStation consoles. Based on reports, Days Gone was deemed a success only after it launched on PC. Without that PC launch Bend Studio might have been closed by now.
The bottom line is that Sony's multiplatform efforts have been underwhelming from a commercial point of view. Indeed, last we heard, port sales make up just 2% of the Japanese giant's total income; a relative drop in the ocean.
PlayStation is returning to exclusives, Xbox is thinking about returning to exclusives, Nintendo always had their games exclusive. Maybe Rockstar can make GTA exclusive to their own launcher, Activision Blizzard can make Overwatch, Diablo and Call of Duty (after any multi-platform contracts expire) to battle.net And next generation, you need to buy 3 different $ 1000 consoles and a $ 1500 gaming PC if you want to play all big games.
I think this trend is going into the wrong direction making games less affordable for casual gamers, pushing most players towards subscriptions and live-services.
Saints Row was a more extreme take of the GTA open world with a parody of the gang culture of the 90s and early 00s. Of course that setting was still present in the early 2000s. A spiritual successor of Saint's Row would need to look at what is currently going on.
A hypothetical spiritual successor could be an extreme take on GTA, where you play a patriotic US fighter, joining a government agency called "Terrestrial Watch And Tactical Squad" huntig illegal extra terrestrials who disguise themselves as left-winged climate protesters. Side quest could include dispersing protests, interrogation of the aliens and beating up people who disagree in online debates with the main character.
@Max_the_German You could read it that way, but in the context of what she's talking about I took it to mean they will recommit to the Xbox console specifically.
"We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are"
"We will recommit to our core Xbox fans and players, those who have invested with us for the past 25 years"
I understand it's a difficult position, she wants to get the Xbox fans on board but is basically also saying they're going to continue down the path they're currently on.
I think you read to much into it using traditional "console wisdom". The 2 main people in Microsoft Xbox's division are leaving the company, 2 people who are well connected in the gaming industry and understand the console business very well. Since Microsoft decided to acquire Activision-Blizzard-King, those 2 had less to say at Xbox. Xbox is celebrating 25 years and these 2 key players, who lead Xbox for the past 10 years are leaving before that event. Whatever the reasons are why those 2 are leaving, their vision was definitely not in line with Microsoft's plans for the future of Xbox.
A "renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are" doesn't mean there's an Xbox console in the future. They are starting that commitment to the Xbox brand by looking at the console which started all: an attempt to bring Windows into the leaving rooms on every TV.
We will break down barriers so developers can build once and reach players everywhere without compromise
How do you achieve that? By removing the different consoles out of the process.
I'm sick and tired of this whole kumbaya WHEN EVERYONE PLAYS, WE'RE STRONGER crap. Just look at how many copies Spiderman 2 sold on PC vs PS5 lmao. It's nothing but scraps and I still think Sony should completely abandon porting their first party single player titles to PC because they're not selling well AT ALL.
Seriously, why is it such a huge problem for you personally, if a game which was at some point PlayStation exclusive, releases on other platforms like PC or Switch 2? Are you going to enjoy those games less, just because more people can play them and you don't like that? What exactly are you losing?
You're trying to make a point that Sony should abandon releasing PlayStation games on PC. But 40% of Stellar Blade's units were sold on PC despite releasing 1 year later. Helldivers 2 has actually sold more units on PC than on PS5.
Any studio should be very wary, if they are approached by some guy from Sony with cheque book in hand , "hey ,you wanna join the playstation family"
It's a gamble. Many studio owners will see all the money they would get from such a large corporation trying to acquire the their studio, which is hard to turn down.
And being independent doesn't necessarily keep your studio safe from a closure. Both Insomniac Games and Bungie at one point were celebrating their independence before being bought by Sony, as being part of a larger organization often comes with benefits, like higher chances of getting a new project and shared knowledge & technology across studios.
If a studio of theirs isn't making money, or is losing money, do you just keep them going? Of course you can do this to an extent, you can have a few loss leaders, but not many. If the books don't balance, they don't balance, you don't usually offset with profits from elsewhere. One part a business can be failing while another is thriving. Still a shame this was their solution, surely there was a better way...
I've always been curious how sustainable PlayStation first party studio games are?
One could argue, that despite Bluepoint Studio's games underperforming from a sales perspective, PlayStation as a whole would invest into them, as the Demon's Souls Remake helped promote the PlayStation hardware at the launch of the PS5. So it's money invested in marketing the platform through exclusive games.
But with changing market conditions, like Xbox phasing out of the console hardware business and component prices rising, pushing a PS6 launch further back, the question is: Does PlayStation need to continue investing money in studios like Bluepoint or Studio Japan, if their games are not profitable and there is no need to invest in promotoing the PS5 hardware the same way they did in the past?
This of course puts a lot more pressure on PlayStation 1st party studios, as game development is expensive and there are higher expectations on return-of-investmemt on their projects.
But how does shutting BP games help?! You'd think a relatively cheap remake studio would be a reliable pillar to keep doing what it does best in the background.
The question is if there are actually cheaper external options for Sony to remake/remaster games?
There are studios like Virtuos ( MGS Delta Oblivion Remastered, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster), d3t (Alan Wake Remaster), Toys For Bob (Crash N Sane Trilogy, Spyro Reignited, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 +2), Blue Moon (Until Dawn Remastered), so there are plenty of options.
Sony would only need to pay them per rematser project, so no expenses for studio managers, human resources, studio rent, tool licenses, staff trainings and Sony wouldn't need to think about keeping the studios occupied between projects.
Question: What if Bluepoint Studio would have ported and released the Demon's Souls Remake to other platforms such as PC and Nintendo and by doing that secure their studio for the next 2-3 years? Wouldn't that be better than the current scenario?
Given that Bluepoint Studio's last game was over 5 years ago. So I guess studios like Media Molecule and Bend Studio could be next, if they don't have anything new to release in the near future.
The general reaction has been one of shock, followed by anger directed squarely at the platformer holder.
The sad thing is, no matter how angry people are right now, in a week's time it will mostly be forgotten, they will move on and will be excited about what's new. Nothing will change.
Maybe there is a way for companies to combine video games, gambling and erotic... Oh right, there are already gatcha games like Wuthering Waves and Genshin Impact. 😅
because i didn’t feel like being specific, you knew what i meant.
let’s not act like player numbers don’t matter with f2p games too, whether it’s a sale or player count
I think you wanted to say "live-service" games, but your argument loses any impact if your statement is contradictory.
@StitchJones
@nomither6 Maybe xbots would flock to a free to play game on the xbox.
What do you think where those "xbots" go when they don't like Xbox anymore? PlayStation. A lot of the PlayStation playerbase at some point had an Xbox.
And what do you think are some of the most popular games on PlayStation? Free-to-play games.
5 of the top 10 most played games on PS5 are free-to-play (Fortnite, Call of Duty, Roblox, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege). Saying that "xbots would flock to a free to play game" clearly shows that you are ignoring that it's exactly the same case with the PlayStation playerbase: https://newzoo.com/resources/rankings/top-ps5-games
I mean gamepass is basically designed to wreck the industry and shun all developers out of the real $$$ they could be making by selling their game the old fashion way, in the name of giving xbots a slew of games for a cheap monthly price. Its technically designed to promote "mooching" or "freeloading". WIth that said, free to play would be perfect for a collection of moochers.
You basically described the situation on PS Plus. People each month celebrating which games they get for "free" and don't need to buy anymore.
I see an issue with the size limits of blu ray discs and the trend of growing game install sizes.
Since 2+ discs are more expensive, Microsoft decided to turn game discs into key cards, where the majority of a game is downloaded from the internet. Sony are part of the Blu Ray Disc Association, and have means of manufacturing blu ray discs, so the licensing and manufacturing costs for them are lower. But at which point does it become unfeasible for them as well? 4-5 discs? We'll see.
Either way, the PS6 will most likely have a disc drive as an optional attachment. Mainly for those who have a large PS4/5 disc collection.
I was thinking of skipping the ps6 due to how this generation has not been great for me. The games released just haven't been my cup of tea.
Honestly, I am currently more excited playing old games on my Evercade handhelds (like the original Tomb Raider, Duke Nukem 3D, Earthworm Jim) than any new current gen releases. Even on console, I tend to play old games.
Evercade has been the best gaming experience for me last year and Iook forward to see which old games get released on that platform.
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Re: 'Sony Finally Understands': Over 70% of PS5 Fans Agree with Decision to Scrap PC Ports
@Troy_McDuff85
Please keep in mind, that Nintendo's games often times cost much less to develop. For example The Ladt of Us Part 2 or Horizon Forbidden West had a development budget of around $ 200+ million, where Pokemon games on Switch somewhere between $ 10 - 13 million.
Their games aren't just kid friendly, their IPs like Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Yoshi, Mario Kart/Party/Tennis, Animal Crossing, Pokemon are games which have a strong nostalgic value for those who grew up with them in the 90s and early 00s, so they have a broader appeal and sell more than most of Sony's IPs.
Re: 'Sony Finally Understands': Over 70% of PS5 Fans Agree with Decision to Scrap PC Ports
@LogicStrikesAgain
Each community is very diverse, no matter where you go. That includes both reasonable people who want to have a good discussion and people who hide behind the anonymity of their funny nicknames and act like trolls trying to anger others who have a different opinion. Those who are PlayStation fans here, will go to "other sites" and call people fanboys, xbots, PC master race gang or shills. They aren't any better than the ones coming here calling PlayStation fans "ponies".
The problem is, Push Square is a fairly poplar website (as PlayStation is now the dominant console brand) and it is attracting all manner of people from all platforms, including PC players who enjoyed some of the PlayStation published games, or Xbox fans who had a PlayStation console at one point in their life. PushSquare oftentimes reports on news earlier before other gaming outlets do. But the articles often times have a negative tone on everything other than PlayStation, with the aim to polarize readers. It helps drive user engagement (just look at this article), but it further drives negative sentiments towards one another and divides people - just like in politics.
PlayStation vs Xbox vs PC? None are better than the other, they all have their good and bad sides, and the customer/fans/players win absolutely nothing if one is "winning" over the other.
You're indeed one of the more reasonable people to have a respectful conversation, I think the community is better for having you here.
All good, I was aware of that. 👍
Re: 'Sony Finally Understands': Over 70% of PS5 Fans Agree with Decision to Scrap PC Ports
@UltimateOtaku91
Maybe we can create a list of those 22% aggressors, get them together and have them deported to PC Gamers, as their opinions will not be tolerated on this site. 😉
Re: 'Sony Finally Understands': Over 70% of PS5 Fans Agree with Decision to Scrap PC Ports
In related news "PlayStation PC Ports have struggled due to delayed releases, research firm claims": https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/playstation-pc-ports-have-struggled-due-to-delayed-releases-research-firm-claims/
You wouldn't need a research firm to figure that out. 😄
Re: Site News: Where's Our Marathon PS5 Review?
Interestingly Marathon is currently higher rated on PSN, Steam and the Xbox store than Arc Raiders or Helldivers 2. A lot of people seem to like it.
But on Metacritic, users don't seem to like it as much: https://www.metacritic.com/game/marathon/user-reviews/ Probably just your average review bombers. 🤨
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 623
The Sword of Ianna and maybe a bit of Sea of Thieves.
Re: Opinion: I Wonder if Xbox Helix Will Force Sony to Break Its PS6 Silence
Microsoft/Xbox is not competing with Sony/PlayStation in the console market anymore. PlayStation can and most likely do make decisions independently from what Xbox is doing.
So no, the Helix will not change anything for PlayStation and the PS6
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Resident Evil Requiem?
Like with previous Resident Evil games, I expected this one to receive a DLC, so the game is expected to evolve over the coming months. I will consider not submitting a scored review until this is available out of respect for the developers.
Re: Marathon PS5 User Reviews Remarkably Positive After String of Live Service Disasters
Could Marathon really be the game of the year?
Re: PS5 Players Can Finally Explore This Award-Winning Xbox Gem
Really enjoyed this game. Nice story, cool visuals, good soundtrack and memorable boss fights. The gameplay feels like a classic linear 3D action platform from the PS2 era. Unfortunately the combat arenas are dull and repetitive.
Happy to see the game being available to more people.
Re: Some PS5 Users Really Are Paying More for Their Games on PS Store Than Others
Assassin's Creed Unity on my end...
There is definitely some weird thing going on.
Re: 'They're Not Going to Delay PS6': Hardware Leaker Says 2027 Still Likely After Xbox Helix Reveal
@GamingGod I kind of hope that there would be at least some affordable option, maybe something like a handheld or "Series S" at a lower price.
Otherwise modern AAA gaming will become unaffordable for many casual gamers who will stick to their old systems.
Re: 'They're Not Going to Delay PS6': Hardware Leaker Says 2027 Still Likely After Xbox Helix Reveal
With all the PC component (RAM, SSD) costs rising, I wouldn't be surprised if the PS6 costs $1000 without a disc drive.
Re: Site News: Where's Our Marathon PS5 Review?
Looking at the Marathon Metacritic page, it looks like every games news and review website is sticking to this practice of withholding a review score until the end of the month. There's only 1 review on OpenCritic so far.
Either the endgame is the most game-changing experience players have ever seen, truly worth the delay or... these websites don't want to be blacklisted by Sony/PlayStation from receiving review codes for other games in the future.
Re: After LEGO Horizon, Don't Expect Any More PS5 Games on Switch 2
@rjejr
Maybe PushSquare doesn't consider MLB to be a full PlayStation 1st party game - maybe 2nd party since Sony doesn't own the MLB license/IP?
Re: After LEGO Horizon, Don't Expect Any More PS5 Games on Switch 2
@DualWielding
Just speculation, but maybe because Sony owns the film rights to Spider-Man, who Marvel really wanted to include in the MCU movies. So, Sony can negotiate a stronger exclusivity deal for Marvel's Spide-Man with the help of the film rights.
Re: Site News: Where's Our Marathon PS5 Review?
@LowDefAl Thanks for the clarification on how live services work, I was fully aware of that. It's just funny that this game gets a pass from PushSquare while other live service games don't. If the game isn't ready for review than Bungie should call it an "early-access" release.
Imagine if sites would have waited another 1-2 month reviewing Redfall after it's release, once it got patched into a better shape. Might have gotten a somewhat higher metacritic score.
At least to PushSquare's credit, they do revisit some games after the initial launch with mini-reviews like in case of No Man's Sky.
Re: Site News: Where's Our Marathon PS5 Review?
By this logic of waiting for promised content, Anthem would never have gotten a review score. 😄
Re: Site News: Where's Our Marathon PS5 Review?
@pukana
Because upper leadership demands to have the game released before the end of the fiscal year, which in case of Sony ends in March 31st.
Re: After Cancelling Most PC Ports, Sony Promotes New 'PC Ready' Controller
Since they spent a lot of money designing and manufacturing this PC controller, they might just release it to the public.
This doesn't impact their intentions to make the games, which would mostly benefit from this controller on a PC, exclusive to PlayStation consoles, right?
Re: Sony Apparently Pulls the Plug on PC Ports of Saros, Ghost of Yotei
@Afroducc
No one cares about the sales numbers. The PlayStation brand value is much more important. /s
Re: Sony Returns to PlayStation Exclusivity and Stops Single Player PC Ports, New Report Says
I think for Sony the next Xbox is less of a concern, even if it's a PC with an Xbox sticker that plays Steam and Epic games, and who knows when it will release and at which price.
Their bigger problem is Valve's Steam Machine, a console-like gaming PC which connects to your TV, has more exclusives from indie developers by default, has cheaper games and doesn't require a subscription for online gaming.
Re: Sony Quietly Decided to Scale Back PC Ports Last Year, Insider Claims
@Carnage It depends, what Sony wants. If they want to reach more players on their first party games and grow their success on PC, then yes they would have to improve the quality of those releases and release them around the time where the hype is big. And from a consumer's perspective that would be a welcome move.
If Sony cares more about their closed PlayStation ecosystem, where they lock players into the system and they control the terms, prices and subscriptions, then they should stop releasing games on PC.
It's on Sony to figure out what's more profitable for them as a business. For me as a player, who has no stocks in Sony, I care more about the option which allows more people to play games.
In case of Microsoft, I believe many of their first party games weren't strong enough. Halo Infinite should have been better, Flight Simulator, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment are very niche, Redfall bombed, Hellblade 2 isn't a "God of War" rival, Starfield couldn't fulfill expectations, Forza Motorsport underdelivered. The only strong Xbox first party games from recent years are Forza Horizon 5, Psychonauts 2 and Indiana Jones. And all the price hikes to the hardware and GamePass took away a lot of reasons for people to buy an Xbox console.
Re: Sony Quietly Decided to Scale Back PC Ports Last Year, Insider Claims
@PuppetMaster
I'm not sure what you will gain from a proof to the statement "a large percentage of PC gamers also own consoles including PS5"? That if people have the needed income, they will buy multiple platforms? There was a (now deleted) statement from Matt Piscatella (Circana) on Twitter that 1/3 of PC players in the US in 2021 owned a PlayStation console. Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/qhno06/according_to_the_npd_groups_playerpulse_only/
It's hard to estimate as from those 900+ million PC players, only maybe 1/3 are Premium PC players. Many of those PC players are located in Asia (China, India, Saudi Arabia), South America (Brazil, Mexico) or Eastern Europe (Romania, Poland) where modern consoles are proportionally more expensive and PC gaming is the only viable choice.
In 2024 from the 120 million PSN monthly active users, 20 million were on PC. Link: https://electroiq.com/stats/playstation-statistics/#By_Platform
I don't understand why people treat Helldivers 2 as if it's not first party. Sony/PlayStation ownes the IP, they funded the development, marketing and publishing, even if it's a 3rd party studio. It's even heavily featured by PlayStation on their "PlayStation Studios" web page: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/corporate/playstation-studios/
Treating Helldivers 2 as if it's not a 1st party games is like saying that Pokemon is not a 1st party Nintendo game because it's developed by Game Freak (a 3rd party studio).
The only difference in the collaboration with Arrowhead Studio is that PlayStation will need to find a different studio for Helldivers, if Arrowhead Studio would decide to abandon the series.
Well, there are several reasons why PlayStation's strategy doesn't work so well on PC:
Re: Sony Quietly Decided to Scale Back PC Ports Last Year, Insider Claims
@Gemini53 All good.
I just find it kind of funny/sad how divided the gaming community is. People feeling hurt by the "PC master race gang" or those who think "Xbots are the enemy" don't realize that they aren't any better than the ones they are criticizing. They are just as much unfriendly/uninviting to people outside of these communities.
Instead of defending the interest of large corporations, which don't give a damn about them, they should speak up for more affordable gaming and better, sustainable conditions for the game developers. They should welcome games becoming more available for people to play rather than celebrating the exclusion of other players.
Re: Sony Quietly Decided to Scale Back PC Ports Last Year, Insider Claims
@PuppetMaster
"In the 2025 PC and Console Gaming Report from Newzoo, global data indicates that more players started playing games on PC than they did on console. According to the report, PC player numbers rose 3.9% year-over-year (YoY) from 873.5 million to 907.5 million in 2024. Console players growth, on the other hand, while still up, only grew 2.3% from 615.6 million to 629.5 million".
Link: https://insider-gaming.com/pc-gaming-gained-more-players-than-console-in-2024/
Your math definitely doesn't add up. When the "2% revenue from PC" figure is mentioned, that's first party revenue on PC compared to PlayStation's total revenue. The largest part of PlayStation's total revenue comes from the 30% cut PlayStation gets from 3rd party games, micro-transactions and DLCs. From PlayStation's total revenue, only 15-25 % are first party revenue, from games and DLCs published by PlayStation.
The revenue from the PC ports accounts for 30% - 40% of PlayStation's first party revenue. PlayStation doesn't have a revenue from 3rd parties on PC because they don't have a PC store/launcher to sell 3rd party content.
Link: https://www.techspot.com/news/109514-pc-sales-now-account-nearly-third-sony-first.html
That PC percentage would of course be higher if PlayStation games would release day 1 on PC in a better technical state, as some PC ports according to reports don't run smoothly. But it's on Sony to decide where they want to allocate their resouces and if they want to improve their PC releases.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 622
Hidden Cats in Istanbul
Cathedral
The Sword of Ianna
Re: Rumour: Sony Backtracking on PC Strategy, Shifting Towards PS5 Exclusivity Again
@Max_the_German
Abandoning Steam will also put more pressure on those 1st party studios to meet sales expectations on PlayStation consoles. Based on reports, Days Gone was deemed a success only after it launched on PC. Without that PC launch Bend Studio might have been closed by now.
Re: Rumour: Sony Backtracking on PC Strategy, Shifting Towards PS5 Exclusivity Again
@Contimaloris
I hope not, but maybe they are next after Bluepoint.
Re: Rumour: Sony Backtracking on PC Strategy, Shifting Towards PS5 Exclusivity Again
Comparing apples to oranges. The revenue from the PC ports accounts for 30% - 40% of PlayStation's first party revenue. Source: https://www.techspot.com/news/109514-pc-sales-now-account-nearly-third-sony-first.html
Re: Rumour: Sony Backtracking on PC Strategy, Shifting Towards PS5 Exclusivity Again
PlayStation is returning to exclusives, Xbox is thinking about returning to exclusives, Nintendo always had their games exclusive. Maybe Rockstar can make GTA exclusive to their own launcher, Activision Blizzard can make Overwatch, Diablo and Call of Duty (after any multi-platform contracts expire) to battle.net And next generation, you need to buy 3 different $ 1000 consoles and a $ 1500 gaming PC if you want to play all big games.
I think this trend is going into the wrong direction making games less affordable for casual gamers, pushing most players towards subscriptions and live-services.
Re: For Some Reason, Sony Apparently Got Gran Turismo 7 Running on Switch 2
Gran Turismo 7 on Switch 2. Let's go!
Re: Saints Row Is 'Dead' Says Design Director After Prequel Pitch 'Ghosted' by Embracer Group
Saints Row was a more extreme take of the GTA open world with a parody of the gang culture of the 90s and early 00s. Of course that setting was still present in the early 2000s. A spiritual successor of Saint's Row would need to look at what is currently going on.
A hypothetical spiritual successor could be an extreme take on GTA, where you play a patriotic US fighter, joining a government agency called "Terrestrial Watch And Tactical Squad" huntig illegal extra terrestrials who disguise themselves as left-winged climate protesters. Side quest could include dispersing protests, interrogation of the aliens and beating up people who disagree in online debates with the main character.
Re: Incoming Xbox Boss Promises a 'Renewed Commitment to Console', But Will Still Publish on PS5
@get2sammyb
I think you read to much into it using traditional "console wisdom". The 2 main people in Microsoft Xbox's division are leaving the company, 2 people who are well connected in the gaming industry and understand the console business very well. Since Microsoft decided to acquire Activision-Blizzard-King, those 2 had less to say at Xbox. Xbox is celebrating 25 years and these 2 key players, who lead Xbox for the past 10 years are leaving before that event. Whatever the reasons are why those 2 are leaving, their vision was definitely not in line with Microsoft's plans for the future of Xbox.
A "renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are" doesn't mean there's an Xbox console in the future. They are starting that commitment to the Xbox brand by looking at the console which started all: an attempt to bring Windows into the leaving rooms on every TV.
How do you achieve that? By removing the different consoles out of the process.
Re: Stellar Blade Will Seemingly Be the Next PS5 Exclusive to Come to Rival Consoles
@Judal27 Maybe the additional time and budget will allow them to make the sequel bigger and better.
Re: Stellar Blade Will Seemingly Be the Next PS5 Exclusive to Come to Rival Consoles
@Judal27 It seems like the sequel is being developed for multiple platforms, based on previous statements from ShiftUp.
Releasing the first game on additional platforms generates additional budget for the sequel and increases the size of the sequel's audience.
Re: Stellar Blade Will Seemingly Be the Next PS5 Exclusive to Come to Rival Consoles
@Divergent95
Seriously, why is it such a huge problem for you personally, if a game which was at some point PlayStation exclusive, releases on other platforms like PC or Switch 2? Are you going to enjoy those games less, just because more people can play them and you don't like that? What exactly are you losing?
You're trying to make a point that Sony should abandon releasing PlayStation games on PC. But 40% of Stellar Blade's units were sold on PC despite releasing 1 year later. Helldivers 2 has actually sold more units on PC than on PS5.
Re: Opinion: Sony's Disgraceful Bluepoint Closure Should Concern Every PS Studios Fan
@lazarus11
It's a gamble. Many studio owners will see all the money they would get from such a large corporation trying to acquire the their studio, which is hard to turn down.
And being independent doesn't necessarily keep your studio safe from a closure. Both Insomniac Games and Bungie at one point were celebrating their independence before being bought by Sony, as being part of a larger organization often comes with benefits, like higher chances of getting a new project and shared knowledge & technology across studios.
Re: Opinion: Sony's Disgraceful Bluepoint Closure Should Concern Every PS Studios Fan
@themightyant
I've always been curious how sustainable PlayStation first party studio games are?
One could argue, that despite Bluepoint Studio's games underperforming from a sales perspective, PlayStation as a whole would invest into them, as the Demon's Souls Remake helped promote the PlayStation hardware at the launch of the PS5. So it's money invested in marketing the platform through exclusive games.
But with changing market conditions, like Xbox phasing out of the console hardware business and component prices rising, pushing a PS6 launch further back, the question is: Does PlayStation need to continue investing money in studios like Bluepoint or Studio Japan, if their games are not profitable and there is no need to invest in promotoing the PS5 hardware the same way they did in the past?
This of course puts a lot more pressure on PlayStation 1st party studios, as game development is expensive and there are higher expectations on return-of-investmemt on their projects.
Definitely good points you brought up.
Re: Opinion: Sony's Disgraceful Bluepoint Closure Should Concern Every PS Studios Fan
@Fyz306903
The question is if there are actually cheaper external options for Sony to remake/remaster games?
There are studios like Virtuos ( MGS Delta Oblivion Remastered, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster), d3t (Alan Wake Remaster), Toys For Bob (Crash N Sane Trilogy, Spyro Reignited, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 +2), Blue Moon (Until Dawn Remastered), so there are plenty of options.
Sony would only need to pay them per rematser project, so no expenses for studio managers, human resources, studio rent, tool licenses, staff trainings and Sony wouldn't need to think about keeping the studios occupied between projects.
Re: Opinion: Sony's Disgraceful Bluepoint Closure Should Concern Every PS Studios Fan
Question: What if Bluepoint Studio would have ported and released the Demon's Souls Remake to other platforms such as PC and Nintendo and by doing that secure their studio for the next 2-3 years? Wouldn't that be better than the current scenario?
Re: Opinion: Sony's Disgraceful Bluepoint Closure Should Concern Every PS Studios Fan
Given that Bluepoint Studio's last game was over 5 years ago. So I guess studios like Media Molecule and Bend Studio could be next, if they don't have anything new to release in the near future.
Re: 'I'm Confident in the Direction We're Headed': Under-Fire PlayStation Boss Tries to Explain Baffling Bluepoint Closure
The sad thing is, no matter how angry people are right now, in a week's time it will mostly be forgotten, they will move on and will be excited about what's new. Nothing will change.
Re: Sony Makes Shocking Decision to Shut Down Bluepoint Games
There go ny hopes of a Bluepoint developed Bloodborne Remake. 😔
Re: Mobile App Addictions Are Quickly Becoming a Serious Threat to Video Games, Report Claims
Maybe there is a way for companies to combine video games, gambling and erotic... Oh right, there are already gatcha games like Wuthering Waves and Genshin Impact. 😅
Re: Seems Like PS5 Will Be the Only Console You Can Play Silent Hill Townfall at Launch
@nomither6
I think you wanted to say "live-service" games, but your argument loses any impact if your statement is contradictory.
@StitchJones
What do you think where those "xbots" go when they don't like Xbox anymore? PlayStation. A lot of the PlayStation playerbase at some point had an Xbox.
And what do you think are some of the most popular games on PlayStation? Free-to-play games.
5 of the top 10 most played games on PS5 are free-to-play (Fortnite, Call of Duty, Roblox, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege). Saying that "xbots would flock to a free to play game" clearly shows that you are ignoring that it's exactly the same case with the PlayStation playerbase: https://newzoo.com/resources/rankings/top-ps5-games
You basically described the situation on PS Plus. People each month celebrating which games they get for "free" and don't need to buy anymore.
Re: Seems Like PS5 Will Be the Only Console You Can Play Silent Hill Townfall at Launch
@nomither6
How are free-to-play games being sold if they are "free-to-play"? 🤔
Re: Seems Like PS5 Will Be the Only Console You Can Play Silent Hill Townfall at Launch
@tameshiyaku Isn't that what all these "console wars" are about?
Re: Here's Why Shawn Layden Thinks Sony 'Can't Get Away' with Making PS6 Digital Only
I see an issue with the size limits of blu ray discs and the trend of growing game install sizes.
Since 2+ discs are more expensive, Microsoft decided to turn game discs into key cards, where the majority of a game is downloaded from the internet. Sony are part of the Blu Ray Disc Association, and have means of manufacturing blu ray discs, so the licensing and manufacturing costs for them are lower. But at which point does it become unfeasible for them as well? 4-5 discs? We'll see.
Either way, the PS6 will most likely have a disc drive as an optional attachment. Mainly for those who have a large PS4/5 disc collection.
Re: Sony Will Offset Soaring RAM Prices by Further Monetising PS5 Players
@LeeBB_Art
Honestly, I am currently more excited playing old games on my Evercade handhelds (like the original Tomb Raider, Duke Nukem 3D, Earthworm Jim) than any new current gen releases. Even on console, I tend to play old games.
Evercade has been the best gaming experience for me last year and Iook forward to see which old games get released on that platform.