Jim Ryan: Sony Increasing Number of PS5 Exclusives With Staggered PC Releases 2 or 3 Years Later - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 02 June 2023 / 5,936 Views
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan in an interview with Famitsu was asked about PlayStation Studios releasing more games on PC
"PlayStation Studios will continue to focus on development for the [PlayStation 5]," said Ryan via Google Translate. "However, when I deem it appropriate, I think I will work on games that can expand beyond the boundaries of game consoles.
"When thinking about where to expand an attractive IP, it's easy to come up with an answer about releasing it on PC because it's all you have to do is port it. What's more, what about movies, what about dramas? It's attractive to be able to choose, and I'm very happy that the opportunities to choose are increasing more and more."
He added, "We also fully understand the importance of PS5 exclusive titles. As I said earlier, PlayStation Studios' main responsibility is to have people enjoy the gaming experience using the latest PS. We are increasing the number of PS5-exclusive titles and staggering the release of the PC version.
"I often have the opportunity to ask game fans for their opinions, and when I ask them about the time lag, they say that selling the PC version two or three years after the release of the PS version is accepted favorably.
"It's a community that we should cherish the most. We will continue to listen to the voices of game fans and develop various titles in a multifaceted manner."
PlayStation has released a number of games on PC including Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, God of War (2018), Uncharted,: Legacy of Thieves Collection, The Last of Us Part I, Horizon Zero Dawn, Returnal, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, and Days Gone.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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I mean yeah, this has been par the course since Sony started releasing PC ports.
Just don't be releasing them 3 years later for $70 a pop and being pushed out the gate in a bad state (looking at TLOU/HZD/DG/UC4).
Also don't be expecting a big hype train years down the road either, unless you're going to pull a Ubisoft and make one of those "PC" trailers that show off staple features (which we shouldn't need at all, it should come as an expectation to have DLSS/FSR/RT/keyboard+M configurations).
That's what I like to hear!
Same old strategy. All this does is make Game Pass even more appealing, especially when bigger AAA Xbox games are released day 1 on game pass…….but that’s if Xbox gets quality right, & that’s a big IF?????
Biggest Game pass growth is on PC, so if Xbox get its AAA games right, game pass on PC could be more Xbox oriented then PS5 oriented on pc’s, when it comes to console games on there.
Most games are made for consoles, even I remember Arkham knights dreadful pc port hahaha
I was hoping to see a Ragnarok PC port this year, I guess I'll have to buy a PS5 after all
Looks like their strategy is working.
Considering how crappy pc ports have been recently they might need a full year alone to make a port work to begin with. Not only TLOU, but also Star Wars survivor and Hogwarts Legacy had sub sub par pc ports this year alone. Porting to pc isn't as easy as many think. But sure they could be releasing these games in pc a bit faster.
Jimbo is not dumb , he knows what he is doing.
Well if they plan on waiting 2 to 3 years to realise PC ports, this will equal less sales on PC due to the lack of hype and knowing Sony will still charge full price for these games.
If you want to maximise Software sales than they need to do it when the hype is at its peak.
Your supposed hype at its peak doesn't exist on PC when a game is console only though. For example, PC-only gamers weren't hyping for recent Zelda. There is no peak hype there in the first place.
obviously that's a horrible decision lol listening to fanboys and not releasing games on PC when they're new and hyped up and can generate an insane number of sales on PC, this strategy will affect sales drastically, HZD sold like 20m on ps4 and when it went to PC so late it sold only 1 million, same with GOW...etc, if those games launched same day on PC the sales would be through the roof.
people on the PS5 won't sell their console and buy a PC if sony does day 1 pc games, they'll get angry and eventually buy the game, the number of fanboys who'll go on a strike and not buy a game cause it's on PC are a vert very small % of the total number of customers.
games coming years later on PC and being $60/$70 will not sell well, unless they're $30 or something
If they release exclusives on PC same day, it will eat some sales from Sony. It wouldn't make sense to release it on PC same day. HZD could turn from 20 million to 15 million or lower, and even if you say that PC sales would make up for those sales, the 30% cut that steam takes guarantees you have to sell a million or two more copies on top of the ground it needs to cover if it just released on PS consoles first.
Not to mention if you don't have a PS console, if the game looks enticing enough to buy a console, why would you if their games are already on PC?
Horizon sold 2.3 million on PC as of May 2022.
That won't help the game sell on PC. Releasing a game on PC years after it came out on PS5 will only hurt the PC sales. The hype, the marketing, the conversation, etc will have passed and moved on to other games. If Sony is serious about releasing games on PC it needs to be day n date, or at most a few months after the PS version releases. Only a handle of games can keep that hype a year or so after release to keep sales going even on newer platforms (GTA 5 as an example).
Day and date or only months later would kill the sales on PS5 and largely alienate the fanbase. The word exclusive wouldn't mean anything.
The goal is to sell as much as possible on ps5 with PC just squeezing any last sales it can get for those that haven't played on console yet
It's very clear, if you really want to play it, buy on PS5 else wait! PC isn't and will never be priority.
Plenty of PC gamers arent just going to abandon their PCs, Sony will see this short coming once they see PC sales are slow and arent capitalising on it.
PC sales being slow wouldnt be a concern as its just something extra on the side to make a small bonus on games that have otherwise already sold to the vast majority of interested players. Even below 1M is a success.
Sony will expand their IPs through movies and tv shows as we are seeing already in TLOU, Horizon, God of War, Twisted Metal and Ghost of Tsushima tv shows and movies. This approach can generate FAR More interest and revenue than some PC port.
Sony does not owe the PC audience anything at all, did you buy into the PS ecosystem? No you didnt, PS player did in dropping the 500-700$ for the machine so that is where Sonys FULL focus should be. PC crowd honestly is lucky to even get anything so be happy that you are even thought about.
Its not about oweing anything to anyone. Its about maximising the sales of their games. You strike when the iron is hot. PC gamers wont just forget in years time, but they will be playing brand new games in those years these games finally come across.
Not at all correct, there is a very fine line with "maximizing sales" as you have to do it in such a way to also not totally alienate your fanbase. Why treat your home turf as second class citizens who bought into the ecosystem? Jim Ryan is doing it perfectly, putting PS fans FIRST with huge advantage to play all the hits games years before anyone else. You want maximizing sales? How about maximizing hardware sales that cost more than any game.
Exclusive games are about pulling brand new players who don't own a PS5 into the ecosystem. PC players want to play too, they can wait or buy the hardware. Everyone says PC players are the "Master race" ?? Sounds more to me like the port begging race! lol Not getting the games you desire over there? Come on over to PS, we got you covered.
The word "exclusive" already means nothing unless you're Nintendo. PC and PS are different audiences. PS gamers will stay on PS and PC gamers will stay on PC. You're not going to see PS5 sales drop because they launch their games day n date.
Factually incorrect, we're seeing it in real time, Xbox hardware continues its death spiral month after month as PS5 laps it by 1M units each month. Nobody has any reason whatsoever to go out and purchase an Xbox as every single title is available on PC. Good chance this is the last hardware MS will ever do for Xbox as sales just cannot rebound no matter what they do.
Also hugely incorrect as players will absolutely jump platform when they feel like it based on upcoming titles. We saw it very very clearly when players were jumping ship from PS3 over to 360, then Xbone dropped the ball and most 360 players jumped ship away from Xbox back over to PS4. We're also seeing it now with some Xbox players losing faith in the brand and buying PS5s. Why buy PS5? Because you have to if you want a chance to play all the hit titles coming without waiting 3yrs! If they were also on PC? Sales would fall sharply just like Xbox.
Playstation first and, in 2-3 years, PC ports after. Sony realy wants PS5 to fell like VIP/First class experience, and profit some extra money on PC ports.
Makes me Sad, i wanted to get rid of consoles and go full PC. I will need to buy a PS5 in the end.
It is a sound way of doing business when one of the main pillar is a game console.
Nintendo shares a similar business DNA, yet outside of their accessory trek into mobile, they remain steadfast in their focus to sell their consoles to grow their user base.
Personally, that’s the approach I enjoy most, as it creates a differentiating factor that spices things up. A future where everything is available on a single unified architecture would be boring, get stale fast, and stifle innovation and surprising ideas/concepts.
I am sure that is not why Sony will wait until 2 to 3 years to port their games. If you want to play PS games you need to get a PS system. For everyone else, you can wait because then Sony is just concerned about squeezing the last amount of money from the game on PC. Not a bad strategy but then again Sony makes the most of their money from the PS. Case in point for MS, the Xbox and PC is considered their platform so its a better situation for them to put their games on both on release. One main reason why is to support GP which is a download service for both PC and Xbox. For each company its just a means to maximize profits more than anything else and has nothing to do with spicing things up. These are all just money moves.
That was always my assumption. Take a now older game that has slowed to a snails pace in sales, port it to PC, suddenly an older game is making bank again.
True but then what would be the incentive of getting the PS. For Sony, they want you on the PS not the PC. Sony wants to sell you games from the PS where they get a bigger cut then you purchasing from the PC. PS store Sony gets that 30% cut on sales while they have to get less of a cut if they sell on a Store like Steam. Money wise, Sony makes way more money getting more users on the PS then selling their games on the PC.
It's a very slow strat at best, and one that is forever going to play out the same results each time (people either waiting or just not buying, or even waiting for deep discounts like myself).
If you release day and date, you've got two platforms you're selling to at the same time, which also means you're earning long-tail sales over time from two sources, instead of having one platform first, and seeing it's long-tail slow down, while relying on the later platform for a longer-tail sales.
I honestly think any company going forward should be looking at their future profits, not 2 weeks to a month window. long-tail sales is just more money over time vs short term.
Yes. Sony, MS and Nintendo (to only mention "The Big 3") are indeed businesses.
There's a spice to enjoy?
I really don't know what this spice is, I mean PS5 gets the game first, then PC, and both manage to get the same exact gameplay and visuals to a degree, I fail to see how that is "spiced" up.
Also what's with this "unified" crap?. There is no unified system, there's Windows, Linux, Mac, consoles and mobile, and all use varying degrees of different hardware/software.
I think you just don't like others getting to experience something at the same time as you do, and you find secret enjoyment in that level of denial, because I see virtually nothing wrong with day and date and giving people full choice of where they wish to buy.
You're not a suit, so no ened to act like one with "sound business plan" bs.
From your constant whining here, I can see you don’t enjoy any spice.
You reply by misrepresenting what I say, ask a question about my stance, answer it with a self-absorbed interpretation, to then do what pretty much amounts to arguing with yourself. Which is, and has always been a hilarious thing you do.
I don’t have that secret enjoyment. That’s an utterly moronic thing to say, and you clearly know jack shit about me if that’s what you think.
You’re not the center of the universe and clearly not omniscient, so no need to act like you know what drives me or where I’m coming from with my stance.
Next time, ask the question and let the other answer it instead of arguing with yourself and jumping to stupid conclusions.
There's no "misinterpretation" to be had. You literally said you "enjoy" exclusivity and a game being made for one platform first, that being exclusivity.
There is also no such thing as "unified architecture", because that would entail everyone on the planet agreeing to one hardware spec, one APi, one UI and software dynamic, which isn't at all possible, because no one wants to do that.
I've watched you on here for years mate. I've seen the way you throw digs at other people and thinking it's justified, just like you're doing so right now. I'm only here to call you out on something that's 1, not a great practice, and 2, something that isn't at all possible.
I'm the center of no universe, but if you think you are, more power to you.
Like what digs per say?
You were tossing digs before "moronic", "whining".
The part about "unified architecture" is factually impossible, so I've no idea why you even included that line.
There isn't really much "spice", because everyone gets the majority of games on their own platform, mostly looking the same at that. The only difference is that 2 out of the big 3 have noticed that they can make money from an outside platform.
The last line of my og comment isn't even meant to be an insult, "stop acting like a suit" is in fact, not an insult, it's me telling you to stop thinking like one, because we are in fact on a gaming forum, not a business office full of execs.
Unified "crap", I can't believe I have to explain to someone who's supposed to be older than me and know what the word crap means.
See you called me "moronic" and "whining" directly, whilst I used words like "bs" and "crap" to describe the logic, not you as a person. You on the other hand, go for the person directly, not the logic.
No words to be put in the mouth mate. You said there is no joy in having a system that cannot possibly exist, and that you love exclusivity on consoles first, because you think that brings that extra spice for for people to enjoy.
Nah. I would love to play all on a single device and save money.
That’s why I only game on a PC/Switch combo lol
But you can't play most playstation exclusives!? I don't get your point. I mean, unless you don't like PS exclusives, if that works for you, congrats.
Doesn't work for me at all. Playstation exclusives games, IMHO, are the best exclusives, better than Ninty. or any other publisher.
Not all, but the library will only continue to grow. I don’t mind waiting. I’m saving money with fewer platforms and PS exclusives are very hit or miss for me. Quality is always there, but gameplay and for the open world games, open world design, leaves a lot to be desired at times. But since everything else, including most Sony hatted games, come to PC day one, I don’t mind waiting for their exclusives that I’m actually interested in.
Well, If you don't mind waiting a unknow amount of time. Sure... If It Works for you.
As for quality, in the last 10 years, It's kinda rare for Sony to drop the ball. Imho, they surpassed Ninty., In my book at least.
This is them wanting the same pie MS has, but they don't want to go all out for it and get a cheaper deal from their end.
I prefer MS's way of doing it, especially considering how well they've kept up with the AoE games.
I also like MS way of doing things, saves me money since i don't need a Xbox or subscription. I mean, first they need to make some games that i want to play, aside from AoE2, but you get my point, right?
