raycevick
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Sony...
🕑 Added 2023-03-03 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
The last time Sony brought an innovation beyond six axis motion control, touch-pads, and killing game-studios even more quickly than Electronic Arts, was Playstation Now.
It's a service that Sony didn't put nearly as much marketing into as its other products, likely due to its specialized nature.
It was a streaming service, where you could stream Playstation Games from the Cloud onto multiple devices, even PCs; very much like what Xbox is attempting to do now with its push into crossplay across PC, Console, and Streaming…
…in 2014.
Almost ten years before Microsoft's big push, Sony were ahead of the curve, properly so, putting their bets on something that as more and more time passes, looks like something that is going to be a normal part of gaming in the near future, as technology gets more accessible, along with gaming itself, as a whole.
It was built off of OnLive…
Yeah.
When OnLive were in the process of liquidating all of their assets, Sony purchased the company's patents.
So Sony's only unique push in the industry was after someone else beat them to the punch… but Gaikai, the infrastructure used for Playstation Now, and competitor was owned by Sony!
It was also acquired by Sony.
Why am I talking about this?
Well, Sony releasing a handful of games onto PC last year has really been shifting some people's perspectives, predicting that anything's on the table.
We could get Gran Turismo, Ghosts of Tsushima, Last of Us II, even Spiderman 2 maybe at launch!
I mean, if God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Uncharted are on PC these days, why couldn't those things happen?
Now, I'm sure one day, they will happen, I agree, there is no reason that couldn't happen, however, it needs to be done under Sony's strategy, which as nothing to do with democratizing their properties or widening their audiences, but creating a bigger funnel into their echo-system.
It's very simple.
As it currently stands.
Sony will not release a game beyond these circumstances…
A) Game has a sequel on PS5
B) Franchise is shelved
C) IP isn't renowned
Is it a current flagship?
No PC.
Simple.
It does make sense; even with the slower hardware sales due to limited resources in the tech industry's struggles, Sony's got the dominant console compared to Microsoft's X&S pairing.
It's always got the credibility factor.
While there's a growing negativity towards Sony's movie-games, fact is, they're still played in the millions and loved by the masses, likely because of their accessibility and direction.
I think it's rather telling that criticism aside, everytime a Sony exclusive has been ported to PC, it goes over really well.
People are appreciative to have something with such high-production value that isn't a time-sink in multiplayer like Call of Duty, and isn't Microtransaction infested Sandbox like (insert-Ubisoft-game-here).
Hell, even Days Gone went from a universally derided stain on Sony's impeccable track record on PS4, to a surprisingly positive reception on PC months afterward.
That's the thing.
What frustrates me about Sony's strategy, of trickling a handful of games out months or years after they've already served their purpose under Sony's console, they're sitting on top of thousands if not millions of units of games that would absolutely demolish the competition available on PC by default.
Microsoft's big budget exclusives have been middle of the road for the most part, outside of Forza, and even that doesn't fill a sub-culture of the racing game space.
Sony is sitting on-top of multiple styles of game where the only competition is a pitiful effort from Microsoft, a greedy effort from Ubisoft, and Indies who can only compete in certain aspects…
And they're just letting them all go in the name of an exclusive console in a time when consoles are beginning to matter less than ever.
There's Fortnite kids playing with their Playstation friends on Android, and the only reason they can do that is because Sony were dragged across the floor kicking and screaming like a Fortnite kid, after their competitors pressured Sony via Fortnite and Rocket League being available for crossplay on every single platform except Sony's console because Sony said…
Sony seemingly doesn't want money, or acclaim, but control.
They've got a stranglehold on a sub-section of the industry and they don't want to let it go.
Which honestly fair enough…
But when you're doing it to the detriment of your own games that are the real money makers over your hardware which brings in $2-5 per-unit on a good day?
Like New Yorkers say…
Forget about it.
Sony's shooting itself in the foot, while begging to keep shooting it.
They just released a $600 dollar VR Headset with real innovative technology - unlike Playstation Now in 2014 - and what do they do?
Isolate it to the $700 CAD console!
Where the biggest complaint with the device is not the comfort, controllers, tracking, resolution, field of view, or feedback… but the lack of games!
Sony.
It's not 2004.
Even if you had 150 Million PS5's like you used to have PS2's, there's going to be 2 Billion users on other devices that you're completely ignoring, and you won't have a foothold in that you could've by just swallowing your pride, instead of being doomed to being the oxymoronic leader that's always playing catch up.
Comments
Dominik Jaworski
You have no idea how cathartic this was to read. Thank you
