GOW's Valhalla expansion being free was a brilliant and timely business move by Sony

[Jim Ryan]

Many fans have voiced their discontent lately with PlayStation, their lack of a roadmap, their transparency, first party lineup and showcase quality.

However the suprise announcement of GOW Valhalla at the game awards 2023 was met with the biggest fanfare of the show and was just what the the PlayStation faithful needed.



The fact that it was free generated massive goodwill and then the highly positive reception added to that going into the holidays.

It's evidence that PlayStation are very capable of their own masterstrokes when they want or need one and I hope we see more of this in the future.

 

[Entropi]

Valhalla provided me with top-quality gaming for about 20 hours. I can’t believe it was free.

 

[Jim Ryan]

Valhalla provided me with top-quality gaming for about 20 hours. I can’t believe it was free.

It is a fantastic offering and really builds beautifully on the lore.

 

[KiryuRealty]

Many fans have voiced their discontent lately with PlayStation, their lack of a roadmap, their transparency, first party lineup and showcase quality.

However the suprise announcement of GOW Valhalla at the game awards 2023 was met with the biggest fanfare of the show and was just what the the PlayStation faithful needed.



The fact that it was free generated massive goodwill and then the highly positive reception added to that going into the holidays.

It's evidence that PlayStation are very capable of their own masterstrokes when they want or need one and I hope we see more of this in the future.

Sony has always run PlayStation by their own plan, and it is why they are reliably successful.

They control the conversation about their products by not talking about them before they’re close to ready. They roll out hardware on their timetable and they don’t chase trends or the media.

Of course, this panics the “journalists” who live off the crumbs generated by press releases, “state of the platform” interviews and previews of games that may never ship, so they all act like Sony’s approach is a sign of weakness rather than the assured direction of a confident, mature company.

 

[AfnanAcchan]

Sony has always run PlayStation by their own plan, and it is why they are reliably successful.

They control the conversation about their products by not talking about them before they’re close to ready. They roll out hardware on their timetable and they don’t chase trends or the media.

Of course, this panics the “journalists” who live off the crumbs generated by press releases, “state of the platform” interviews and previews of games that may never ship, so they all act like Sony’s approach is a sign of weakness rather than the assured direction of a confident, mature company.

I always prefer when developer announce their game not more than a year before release. Rift Apart announced in June 2020 and release exactly year later is perfect. Enough time for marketing and build hype and keep public interested. The only games announced during Sony 2020 showcase that didnt have release date is Pragmata which is not even 1st party. Meanwhile, half game announce in Xbox 2020 showcase (State of Decay 3, Everwild, Avowed, Hellblade 2, Fable) still dont have release date.

 

[JAHGamer]

They should’ve charged $10-$20 for this and made TLOU2 remastered free. Santa Monica deserves the money and Naughty Dog could’ve used it to get some goodwill back.

 

[anonpuffs]

But I was told Sony was anti-consumer!!!1

Sony has been giving out these free DLC imo as thanks for good sales... they did it for ghost of tsushima too. And that was beyond fantastic.

 

[Danja]

They should’ve charged $10-$20 for this and made TLOU2 remastered free. Santa Monica deserves the money and Naughty Dog could’ve used it to get some goodwill back.

I'd honestly say Naughty Dog is more in-need of the money currently after the Factions write off.

But Sony Santa Monica has always been for the gamers in their own way, so though I was surprised by this gesture, it also made sense given their history with how they treat their community.

But definitely would love to see stuff like this going forward. Sony Bend, Sucker Punch, Housemarque and Santa Monica leading the way and hopefully more studios will follow.

 

[Jim Ryan]

Sony has always run PlayStation by their own plan, and it is why they are reliably successful.

They control the conversation about their products by not talking about them before they’re close to ready. They roll out hardware on their timetable and they don’t chase trends or the media.

Of course, this panics the “journalists” who live off the crumbs generated by press releases, “state of the platform” interviews and previews of games that may never ship, so they all act like Sony’s approach is a sign of weakness rather than the assured direction of a confident, mature company.

Well said

 

[JAHGamer]

I'd honestly say Naughty Dog is more in-need of the money currently after the Factions write off.

But Sony Santa Monica has always been for the gamers in their own way, so though I was surprised by this gesture, it also made sense given their history with how they treat their community.

But definitely would love to see stuff like this going forward. Sony Bend, Sucker Punch, Housemarque and Santa Monica leading the way and hopefully more studios will follow.

lol true and Ragnarok did sell significantly better than TLOU2…