Earlier this month, former SIE Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden stated the still-ongoing flailing at Xbox “evince a primary misunderstanding of how the interactive leisure world strikes.” Harsh phrases certainly—however lest you suppose he is only a partisan hater, he is now taken purpose at his former firm, Sony, and its pullback from the PC market.
It has been fairly a turnaround from Sony. After years of dogged exclusivity, Sony started releasing its video games on PC to vital success—to the purpose that Shuhei Yoshida, additionally a former SIE Worldwide Studios boss, stated it was “virtually like printing cash.”
However earlier this 12 months, Sony started backing away from the technique, and whereas no formal announcement was ever made, it quickly turned clear {that a} PC pullback is going on.
Layden, who additionally beforehand served as president and CEO of Sony Interactive Leisure America and government vp and COO of Sony Community Leisure Worldwide, addressed the shift in a brand new interview with PSI, starting by noting that in his thoughts, not less than, bringing Sony video games to PC was by no means about creating wealth—it was about getting Sony properties in entrance of people that in any other case would not see it.
“Not essentially as a result of they will purchase a PlayStation,” Layden stated. “I wasn’t that loopy. I did not suppose that was going to occur.
“However as we take our mental property throughout different media, whether or not it is into movies or whether or not it is in tv or in comedian books or into merchandise, no matter, you have to have as many eyeballs which might be conscious of this character, of this story, and simply concentrating on the PlayStation inhabitants and solely telling them these tales, after which attempt to convey it off of that platform into completely different media, that is going to be a hell of a soar.”
Whereas some have instructed that releasing PlayStation video games on PC might “devalue” the model, Layden says the technique of holding them again for a 12 months or so successfully addresses that concern: “I believe if somebody’s ready 18 months for one thing to return on PC, we did not lose a sale to them. They weren’t going to purchase the {hardware} anyway.”
“If it is a strategy to cowl prices or the burden of creating a port, there’s some cash connected to that, or the distraction or no matter,” Layden stated. “I do not know what they’re pondering.”
I do not both, however I do suppose it is attention-grabbing that we appear to be shifting inexorably into a brand new spherical of the console wars: Microsoft has indicated that it is also taking a look at leaning extra closely on console exclusives so as to resuscitate the flagging Xbox model. In that case, although, the influence on PC players must be minimal: Microsoft chief content material officer Matt Booty stated earlier this month that Xbox exclusives will “nonetheless present up on all the conventional locations the place we promote the PC model.”
The fabric influence of the PlayStation PC pullback can be debatable: PC Gamer’s Morgan Park not too long ago reminded that within the brief time period, not less than, we’re not more likely to miss out on very a lot.
This is one other truth to not be missed: Not like the ignominious darkish days of “PC gaming is dying,” PC gaming has by no means been stronger than it’s proper now. Whereas year-over-year console income development was near stagnant, in keeping with a World Video games Market Report printed earlier in June, PC revenues leapt by 12%, powering the market previous $200 billion in a single 12 months for the primary time. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says PC players have to attend for Grand Theft Auto 6 as a result of we’re not a part of its “core” viewers, however he additionally admits that PC can account for 45-50% of a giant recreation’s complete gross sales. I don’t know easy methods to sq. that both, however I positively agree with Layden: Bringing Sony video games to PC made sense, and taking them away simply doesn’t..
