Phil Spencer hypocritically calls PlayStation “slimy” for paying publishers for exclusive content

[Dick Jones]

STALKER 2 devs would gladly have a word with you, Spencer

STALKER 2 devs obviously don't want to release it the same day as the PS5 because the PS5 is so weak that they have to raise it to their quality standards. There is no 3 month timed exclusivity and if it is released on PS5 three months later then that is a coincidence.

 

[Would_you_kindly]

Why's he not putting the most expensive edition of the game on gamepass then , is that not slimy to ask for more money

 

[CrackmanNL]

Speaking of slimey platform things

 

[xollowsob]

I bet this is the exact same question being discussed in a Sony boardroom somewhere right now.

Imagine Sega discontinuing the Dreamcast and putting Sonic on Nintendo and PlayStation and then slagging them off. Kaz Hirai would burn down Sega HQ

 

[Monkeyclaw]

Imagine Sega discontinuing the Dreamcast and putting Sonic on Nintendo and PlayStation and then slagging them off. Kaz Hirai would burn down Sega HQ

Seeing all sorts of fucked up stuff happening in the industry at the moment, I wouldn't be surprised if another crash is right around the corner.
Companies flinging ideas like monkeys throwing shit IS NOT the way forward.

Buying small studios and putting a bullet in their head also. Creativity is being muted.

Xbox brand not knowing what it is. Sony being clueless about what to do, half assed implementations of bad ideas...
It's a perfect storm and Im waiting for the first shipwreck to happen. Because it will.

 

[Nhomnhom]

Looks like he was the chosen one. Maybe he wasn't all in on PC port like Hermen was. He also used to put up much better shows, release much better games, made their best acquisition and didn't shut down key studios.

 

[mibu no ookami]

I bet this is the exact same question being discussed in a Sony boardroom somewhere right now.

Why is Sony working with Microsoft?

They make 30% of the revenue from every copy of every game they sell on PlayStation. The more people buy their content on PlayStation, the fewer people buying Xboxes. The fewer people buying Xboxes the more potential for selling more PlayStations...

How is it hard to understand why Sony would allow Microsoft to publish their games on PlayStation? You think they're going to get hurt feelings because Spencer implied they were slimey? They don't care. The only people who care about comments like this are silly fanboys on forums.

When this generation is over and PS5 has sold 10-15 million units more than PS4, you'll still be wondering why Sony is working with Microsoft... They bought the largest 3rd party publisher in the industry, a major partner for Sony... of course they're going to work with them.

 

[Petekilla]

Looks like he was the chosen one. Maybe he wasn't all in on PC port like Hermen was. He also used to put up much better shows, release much better games, made their best acquisition and didn't shut down key studios.

Ex-PlayStation Boss Shawn Layden Says ‘Exclusivity Is Your Achilles’ Heel’ if Game Costs Exceed $200 Million - IGN

Former president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, Shawn Layden, has said that when a video game’s costs exceed $200 million, “exclusivity is your Achilles’ heel.”

www.ign.com

 

[Petekilla]

Why is Sony working with Microsoft?

They make 30% of the revenue from every copy of every game they sell on PlayStation. The more people buy their content on PlayStation, the fewer people buying Xboxes. The fewer people buying Xboxes the more potential for selling more PlayStations...

How is it hard to understand why Sony would allow Microsoft to publish their games on PlayStation? You think they're going to get hurt feelings because Spencer implied they were slimey? They don't care. The only people who care about comments like this are silly fanboys on forums.

When this generation is over and PS5 has sold 10-15 million units more than PS4, you'll still be wondering why Sony is working with Microsoft... They bought the largest 3rd party publisher in the industry, a major partner for Sony... of course they're going to work with them.

You think PS5 will sell that much over PS4? Right now they’re still slightly behind.

 

[Darth Vader]

They make 30% of the revenue from every copy of every game they sell on PlayStation. The more people buy their content on PlayStation, the fewer people buying Xboxes. The fewer people buying Xboxes the more potential for selling more PlayStations...

And yet, with such simple logic, you cannot fathom that PC ports move people OUT of the PS ecosystem, causing loss of revenue.

When this generation is over and PS5 has sold 10-15 million units more than PS4, you'll still be wondering why Sony is working with Microsoft... They bought the largest 3rd party publisher in the industry, a major partner for Sony... of course they're going to work with them.

Only if the generation lasts 8 or 9 years. If it's a 7 year gen it's much more likely it will sell less.

 

[mibu no ookami]

You think PS5 will sell that much over PS4? Right now they’re still slightly behind.

They're slightly behind in Europe only. They're ahead in the US and in Japan.

PS5 Pro, GTA6, and an EVENTUAL price drop probably in 2026 will push the PS5 ahead of the PS4. Not to mention that Sony will probably continue to produce and sell PS5s well into the PS6's generation as PlayStation officially becomes a platform rather than simply generational consoles.

PS4 was largely limited by the pandemic and supply chain issues in addition to its weak design and HDD. We should have seen a PS4 for $200-250, but we never did.

We'll probably see Sony sell a 300 dollar PS5 digital at some point, while we can probably expect the PS6 to launch at 600 dollars or more.

Eventually, games like EA FC, CoD, and Fortnite will drop support for PS4 and all of these players will jump to the latest consoles.

It'll sell a minimum of 10 million more than the PS4.

 

[mibu no ookami]

And yet, with such simple logic, you cannot fathom that PC ports move people OUT of the PS ecosystem, causing loss of revenue.

A lot of people can't understand orders of magnitude. Because they can't understand it they think all things are equal.

Will SOME people jump from PlayStation to PC because games are ported? Sure. Some, probably a negligible number in the grand scheme of things.

What is also true is that SOME people will also pick up a PS5 from PC because of those same ports.

Will these things cancel or or is one thing more likely than the other? I don't think anyone knows that answer to that and that is a primary reason why Sony is pushing for PSN registrations on their PC games, because they want metrics on whether they're seeing new sign ups or if they're seeing existing PSN accounts playing PC games. They can also track to see if these PSN accounts that utilize PC games are still being actively used on console.

This is how you make data informed decisions, rather than emotional ones.

It's also a far cry from the situation with Xbox where the entire platform is imploding.

Only if the generation lasts 8 or 9 years. If it's a 7 year gen it's much more likely it will sell less.

7 years? The PS6 is not coming out in 2027. I don't know why people say things that are clearly not serious. And as I said, even when the PS6 releases, the PS5 will be sold as a budget system, not entirely unlike the Xbox Series S.

 

[Darth Vader]

A lot of people can't understand orders of magnitude. Because they can't understand it they think all things are equal.

Will SOME people jump from PlayStation to PC because games are ported? Sure. Some, probably a negligible number in the grand scheme of things.

What is also true is that SOME people will also pick up a PS5 from PC because of those same ports.

Will these things cancel or or is one thing more likely than the other? I don't think anyone knows that answer to that and that is a primary reason why Sony is pushing for PSN registrations on their PC games, because they want metrics on whether they're seeing new sign ups or if they're seeing existing PSN accounts playing PC games. They can also track to see if these PSN accounts that utilize PC games are still being actively used on console.

This is how you make data informed decisions, rather than emotional ones.

So what you're saying is that your entire arguments regarding "PC Ports being good" are based on emotion and not data? Good to know.

I'll help you with some data

• Playstation missed their console sales target by 18% - this could be correlation or causation, but the fact remains that they missed not only the original target, but also the revised one, even after having the consoles on discount for a few months;
• Half of their MAU is still on the PS4 despite the PS5 releasing almost 4 years ago - clearly around 50% of their users have decided that the upgrade is not worth it;
• Sony not being able to beat the PS4 launch aligned despite the Switch being at the end of its lifetime and the Xbox Series consoles being an even bigger sales bomb than the Xbox One.

I'll help you with some emotions

• Hermen Hulst happily tripping all over himself when asked by Goldman Sachs about cannibalisation - The only thing he did was discuss how he hoped things would work out, and provided no data that they did. Transcript here, because I took the time

I do want to add special emphasis to this, which just shows how terrible their strategy has been:

Will these things cancel or or is one thing more likely than the other? I don't think anyone knows that answer to that and that is a primary reason why Sony is pushing for PSN registrations on their PC games, because they want metrics on whether they're seeing new sign ups or if they're seeing existing PSN accounts playing PC games. They can also track to see if these PSN accounts that utilize PC games are still being actively used on console.

Them not doing this in the first place and instead opting to do it after porting most of their back catalog speaks volumes about the (in)competence of their leadership.

7 years? The PS6 is not coming out in 2027. I don't know why people say things that are clearly not serious. And as I said, even when the PS6 releases, the PS5 will be sold as a budget system, not entirely unlike the Xbox Series S.

Source? Because so far every single PS platform had a release gap of anything between 7 years or less, so the likelihood is that an hypothetical PS6 releases in 2027 or before. I could be wrong, of course, but don't come in all high and mighty when historical trends prove that my opinion on this matter is actually more solid than yours.

 

[Englishy]

From the guy that brought you parity-clauses and announcing games that don't exist. There's something seriously wrong with the way his brain is connected to his mouth.

 

[xollowsob]

Seeing all sorts of fucked up stuff happening in the industry at the moment, I wouldn't be surprised if another crash is right around the corner.
Companies flinging ideas like monkeys throwing shit IS NOT the way forward.

Buying small studios and putting a bullet in their head also. Creativity is being muted.

Xbox brand not knowing what it is. Sony being clueless about what to do, half assed implementations of bad ideas...
It's a perfect storm and Im waiting for the first shipwreck to happen. Because it will.

Right on, brother. I hope there is a crash, wipe the slate clean and start again. For it to happen, we need another form of entertainment that will pull the normies; and the investors, away from gaming.
I remain optimistic but not very hopeful that it will happen. We are stuck in Clownhog Day after all.

 

[AllBizness]

Xbox started this with paying for exclusive map packs on xbox 360 and they even undercut the game price making it $10 cheaper then on PS3

 

[Nhomnhom]

Ex-PlayStation Boss Shawn Layden Says ‘Exclusivity Is Your Achilles’ Heel’ if Game Costs Exceed $200 Million - IGN

Former president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, Shawn Layden, has said that when a video game’s costs exceed $200 million, “exclusivity is your Achilles’ heel.”

www.ign.com

He still could be right about excessive budgets and long development cycles. He also specifically singles out GaaS and F2P right after saying that.

Sony output has been pretty lacking this gen due to how long they are taking to make games now, exclusives or not.

 

[J_Paganel]

He still could be right about excessive budgets and long development cycles. He also specifically singles out GaaS and F2P right after saying that.

Sony output has been pretty lacking this gen due to how long they are taking to make games now, exclusives or not.

I still don't understand where the money went in Speder Man 2 and GoWR, and why their development cycle took 5 years...

These games were made with a ready-made technological basis, not from scratch, so we can assume that this is the fault of poor management and the start of parallel development for PC.

And the most frustrating thing is that in 2023-2024 we could have already received Days Gone 2, and possibly other projects from studios outside the big three, but Sony doesn't care about them, they would rather close SuckerPunch and BendStudio than put things in order in their flagship studios.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

FWIW e.g PS6, I do think that's a 2028 system. Especially if the PS5 Pro is delayed to early 2025, I doubt SIE would want that to only have a "focused" shelf life of only 2 years before a PS6 comes out and displaces it as the premier system.

However, anyone saying PS5 will outsell PS4 in the same 7-year span is being EXTREMELY optimistic. GTA6 might not end up being the phenomenon GTA5 was...and if it's not then what? What would SIE have left to push further console sales? Especially if they stick with the cadence of bringing all their games to PC (likely more Day 1 i.e LEGO Horizon, and shorter windows for tentpole titles too).

Although, at least it seems like SIE are doing other things with the console that could stimulate sales over time. They're testing a 4-part installment payment program in Brazil that should be deployed in other markets over time. If they refine it the right way (I've gone in about this type of idea in the past), it might incentivize more console buyers ad let them have more flexibility with the games they buy. Getting more features on PS5 (and console-side for PSVR2, PS Portal etc.) to better match what other ecosystems like Steam are providing, would also help in the long run.

 

[Eternal_Wings]

FWIW e.g PS6, I do think that's a 2028 system. Especially if the PS5 Pro is delayed to early 2025, I doubt SIE would want that to only have a "focused" shelf life of only 2 years before a PS6 comes out and displaces it as the premier system.

However, anyone saying PS5 will outsell PS4 in the same 7-year span is being EXTREMELY optimistic. GTA6 might not end up being the phenomenon GTA5 was...and if it's not then what? What would SIE have left to push further console sales? Especially if they stick with the cadence of bringing all their games to PC (likely more Day 1 i.e LEGO Horizon, and shorter windows for tentpole titles too).

Although, at least it seems like SIE are doing other things with the console that could stimulate sales over time. They're testing a 4-part installment payment program in Brazil that should be deployed in other markets over time. If they refine it the right way (I've gone in about this type of idea in the past), it might incentivize more console buyers ad let them have more flexibility with the games they buy. Getting more features on PS5 (and console-side for PSVR2, PS Portal etc.) to better match what other ecosystems like Steam are providing, would also help in the long run.

I heard PS6 releases in late 2027. Rumours of course.