PlayStation co-CEO Hideaki Nishino says consoles will remain the core of their business

[Johnic]

Most of them are. And of course Spidey 2 was developed with PC in mind. Their engine is already changed due to the other Spider-Man games and R&C.

Helldivers 2 released day and date and is still full of bugs after being barely playable st launch. And what do they say? "We hear your Steam reviews".

I would like to give you more recent examples but for that PlayStation would have had to have released something.

Can't talk about Astro Bot yet, thanks to PlayStation I've changed my buying habits and am waiting for a good deal first.

Why do you think PS is focusing on GaaS?

So the example is one GaaS, notorious for issues as they're live service? This is exactly what I'm talking about. People argue with their feelings, not actual argumentas. PC is bad because it takes away from the list wars on PS' end.

Why do they focus on GaaS? Same reason they focused on MP games during the PS3 era. Everyone else was doing it and GaaS are the biggest money makers in the industry. What does that have to do with PC? GaaS are the most popular games on consoles as well.

I left reddit for this very reason. If it wasn't blatant astroturfing it was dooming. This site is becoming fueled by emotion and it pours out of every single thread that's made here. Sony's doomed because reasons. And no actual arguments to be made.

I don't care about PC gaming. I have a PC that's used as an emulation machine and internet surfing. If I had a choice, I would port nothing to PC. And yes, part of it is this stupid fanboy BS of where you feel your platform of choice has it all. But I'd also rather see that money used elsewhere. Put that PC port money into another Astrobot. Now there's an argument to be made that PS wouldn't even get that money if it weren't for the ports but that's a discussion for another time.

The increasing problem I have with this site is that everything's ran into the ground with this incredible dooming based on nothing but feelings. If Sony came out today and said their studios are taking a break from consoles to focus on PC development and we wouldn't be getting 1st party games for another 4 years because of this, I'd be pissed as much as the next guy. But as it stands now, there's a lot of fearmongering going around and it ruins any actual discussions.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I don't know about you, console peasants, but I sure feel like investing 2000$+ on a top CPU, an RTX4080, 64GB sweet fast RAM (although that's optional apparently), and a 4TB SSD.

Screw overpriced consoles!

You're probably just joking but this idea that you need to spend $2K or more for adequate PC gaming has been false for years now. It's not the '90s or early '00s anymore where that was definitely true (in some cases you probably needed to spend more).

Only maybe the top 1% - 3% of PC gamers are even elite enough to feel they need top-line hardware to game comfortably; when considering many of the most popular PC games are stuff like GTA Online, Fortnite, VALORANT, Apex Legends, Counterstrike 2, League of Legends, Minecraft etc., these aren't high-performance games whatsoever.

Even a decent OEM laptop can run most of those at 60+ FPS at Medium to High settings while probably having Discord and Twitch running in the background or on a 2nd monitor.

 

[64bitmodels]

Consoles continue to fail to grow.

you'd think as a market leader that instead of trying to branch out they'd try to make consoles grow again? Playstation was the exact innovative console that when it came out blew up the console audience (first 100m seller home system) and now they're branching out to PC because they can't seem to make that work anymore?

 

[Yurinka]

Yes, Jim Ryan, Hermen Hulst and Totoki said multiple times that their main business focus will continue being consoles even if they plan to continue expanding to new areas. None of them ever said the opposite.

Which is logical because it's what gives them more money.

you'd think as a market leader that instead of trying to branch out they'd try to make consoles grow again? Playstation was the exact innovative console that when it came out blew up the console audience (first 100m seller home system) and now they're branching out to PC because they can't seem to make that work anymore?

Consoles continue to fail to grow.

you'd think as a market leader that instead of trying to branch out they'd try to make consoles grow again? Playstation was the exact innovative console that when it came out blew up the console audience (first 100m seller home system) and now they're branching out to PC because they can't seem to make that work anymore?

The console market isn't growing but the PS console market / business is at all time high for any console maker in gaming history and growing (revenue, active userbase, games sold/revenue, accesory revenue, game sub revenue etc) and broke all time Sony 1st party game launch sales with titles released in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Since the console market doesn't growth their console growth potential for the long term is limited, even if PS continued growing these years. So in addition to continue growing their console market, they have to grow via other areas (PC, movies, tv show, mobile, etc) as secondary business, which also popularize their brands and bring more people to their console hardware and games.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Sony doing what they've been doing for the past 4 years.

People here: See, they're doomed.

Until PC ports start affecting my game quality and release schedules, go for it. Releasing games day one on PC isn't a problem because of some fanboy list wars. It's a problem of working on several platforms at the same time.

None of you have answered my question, though. If so many people are moving to PC because Sony releases games several years after the original release, how come PC hardware is down and is expected to go further down in the next few years? Where did those supposed players go? Especially since Gen Z and Alpha have zero interest in PC gaming and would rather play mobile.

PC hardware going down doesn't really mean anything. PC gaming is a hardware-agnostic environment, so even if sales of new GPUs and CPUs drops, growth of platforms like Steam can continue.

Also SIE's PC strategy is already affecting you, you just don't notice it yet. Why do you think they wanted 12 GAAS? Why do you think all the GAAS were set for Day 1 PC releases? Why do you think Wolverine is a 2026 release? Why do you think SIE practically gave up with 1P games pushing PSVR2?

I'm not saying the PC strategy is the ONLY thing contributing to those situations, but it is a part of the picture.

 

[Yurinka]

Why do you think they wanted 12 GAAS?

Because GaaS generates the majority of game revenue and has the majority of the gaming userbase and that percent keeps growing year after year.

Sony didn't have any big GaaS hit and looking at the long term wanted to have a couple plus a few good performing ones more.

Why do you think all the GAAS were set for Day 1 PC releases?

Because GaaS need the biggest userbase possible at launch to be successful and because Sony wanted to grow in PC.

Why do you think Wolverine is a 2026 release?

Because the team started to work on it after releasing Morales and AAA games nowadays take around 5-9 years to be made.

Why do you think SIE practically gave up with 1P games pushing PSVR2?

Because they already have a record number of 3rd party games released and announced for PSVR2 and their 1st party games are busy with other projects with way more sales potential and are in a period where they have to prioritize short term profitability.

Meaning, no 1st party games for a while. They may announce the next wave once they announce the upcoming wireless version of PSVR2.

They need another 2006-2007 lesson with PS6 to be behave .

Doomers and gloomers who spam Sony hate derailing all Sony related threads dream with that. But the objective data says they are performing great/at record levels and are growing in most areas, so won't happen.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

@Yurinka is mostly right except for GAAS needing the biggest possible audience to succeed. There are a number of hugely successful GAAS titles limited to one platform. You don't need to be multiplatform to succeed in that space.

 

[Loy310]

Then this guy is in delusion, steam is as convenient as console nowadays.

Yes, it’s like he wants to ignore Valve/Steam own consoles the Steamdeck which is as simple & pickup like consoles but not only that Steamdeck is price similar to console around $400 to $500 depending where & when you buy it.

obvious alts......

 

[arvfab]

So the example is one GaaS, notorious for issues as they're live service? This is exactly what I'm talking about. People argue with their feelings, not actual argumentas. PC is bad because it takes away from the list wars on PS' end.

Why do they focus on GaaS? Same reason they focused on MP games during the PS3 era. Everyone else was doing it and GaaS are the biggest money makers in the industry. What does that have to do with PC? GaaS are the most popular games on consoles as well

I gave you the most recent examples.

Returnal: game breaking bugs
HFW: full of bugs
God of War 2: no NG+ although they had it for the first game
Spider-Man 2: bugs and missing NG+

Can't comment on GT7 as I didn't get it at launch.

Now, I'm not saying stuff was not playable or broken or whatever, but it's a noticeable decrease in quality, uncommon for PlayStation 1st party titles. You may not have noticed it, I have.

You also have devs like Naughty Dog explicitly saying how PC has become part of their development process.

And well, they didn't release much more. So you see, schedule is affected too.

And no, PC is very much the reason for the sway towards GaaS.

1) Because you already have people accepting the fact that "it makes sense for GaaS to release day and date on PC for the userbase" (see corporate ChatGPT account above). So no delayed release which they do for SP games to not enrage their "core" userbase (yet).

2) PC players can't pirate GaaS, while they can SP games.

3) The possibilities for a GaaS to "explode" on PC are higher because of the Chinese market.

 

[Bryank75]

He also said PC will be their attention as well PS and Sony are now publishers and more games are going to PC best thing ever to see games at their full potential as opposed to wasted on an overpriced console

Actually PC is overpriced. A PS5 gets higher performance per dollar than a PC.

A pro would cost half that if a 4070 rig, which is the most comparable and has numerous advantages.

If you like the office package though, PC is the way to go.

 

[mibu no ookami]

you'd think as a market leader that instead of trying to branch out they'd try to make consoles grow again? Playstation was the exact innovative console that when it came out blew up the console audience (first 100m seller home system) and now they're branching out to PC because they can't seem to make that work anymore?

Easier said than done. Markets have natural ceilings. The biggest ways Sony can expand TAM is to reach underserved markets, which they're also trying to do.

You ignore business realities and create your own narrative because it is convenient to you. Sony doesn't have that same convenience.

 

[Yurinka]

@Yurinka is mostly right except for GAAS needing the biggest possible audience to succeed. There are a number of hugely successful GAAS titles limited to one platform. You don't need to be multiplatform to succeed in that space.

Most top performing (non mobile only) GaaS are multiplatform. Or minimum PS+PC. But yes, there are some exclusives like Gran Turismo 7 or LoL.

And it's long and complex to explain because of different interconnected things related to GaaS specific user retention, monetization, user acquisition stuff, but the TLDR is that non-GaaS titles are ok with selling their copies across multiple years with discounts and so on, but in GaaS need strong enough numbers in a few key metrics (related to user acquisition, revenue, retention etc) during launch month to secure that the game will continue getting support.

Every few months the postlaunch roadmap of the GaaS titles get reviewed depending on recent performance and that may mean to increase budget, to decrease budget, to stop development or to directly kill it.

 

[Yurinka]

Yes, it’s like he wants to ignore Valve/Steam own consoles the Steamdeck which is as simple & pickup like consoles but not only that Steamdeck is price similar to console around $400 to $500 depending where & when you buy it.

Vita sold over 12M units and Sony considered it a failure. Steamdeck only sold around 3.3M as of now, way less than that. And it is nothing compared to the over 117M of the PS4 or over 60M of the PS5. The Steam Machines were a failure.

But I think he sees potential in the PS handhelds to do their own one as next gen PS Player, to sell more Sony PC games and to compete against Nintendo more directly while ensuring MS doesn't dominate that segment in the mid term.

I left reddit for this very reason. If it wasn't blatant astroturfing it was dooming. This site is becoming fueled by emotion and it pours out of every single thread that's made here. Sony's doomed because reasons. And no actual arguments to be made.

Yup. And when showing or explaining the related objective metric numbers to show the doomers are wrong then you're supposed to be a corporate shill boot licker.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Most top performing (non mobile only) GaaS are multiplatform. Or minimum PS+PC. But yes, there are some exclusives like Gran Turismo 7.

And it's long and complex to explain because of different interconnected things related to GaaS specific user retention, monetization, user acquisition stuff, but the TLDR is that non-GaaS titles are ok with selling their copies across multiple years with discounts and so on, but in GaaS need strong enough numbers in a few key metrics (related to user acquisition, revenue, retention etc) during launch month to secure that the game will continue getting support.

Every few months the postlaunch roadmap of the GaaS titles get reviewed depending on recent performance and that may mean to increase budget, to decrease budget, to stop development or to directly kill it.

I always read this and think "All games are subject to the same market forces".

A larger customer base allows you to build a more expensive product. That's not exclusive to GAAS. If you're locking a game onto a single platform you need to budget accordingly.

 

[SuperPotato]

Then this guy is in delusion, steam is as convenient as console nowadays.

Not quite.

Still need a mouse & keyboard for couch gaming since you can't navigate Windows or other third party launchers with a controller. And even Big picture mode can be buggy since the overhaul.

 

[Johnic]

PC hardware going down doesn't really mean anything. PC gaming is a hardware-agnostic environment, so even if sales of new GPUs and CPUs drops, growth of platforms like Steam can continue.

Also SIE's PC strategy is already affecting you, you just don't notice it yet. Why do you think they wanted 12 GAAS? Why do you think all the GAAS were set for Day 1 PC releases? Why do you think Wolverine is a 2026 release? Why do you think SIE practically gave up with 1P games pushing PSVR2?

I'm not saying the PC strategy is the ONLY thing contributing to those situations, but it is a part of the picture.

They're chasing GaaS because they're the biggest money makers in the industry. It's the PS3 era multiplayer craze all over again, only this time much more damaging. I think they would have kept their GaaS push without PC. They want that Fortnite and COD money as they're the biggest games on PS.

PSVR2 was left out to die. An amazing piece of tech killed because Sony decided not to make games for it. And I have no idea why. Using money for PC development? Could be but it seems the issue is much bigger. Current management wants all the money right now and PSVR2 didn't take off immediately. So instead of investing more, they killed it. And it's a MAJOR disappointment.

 

[AllBizness]

So the example is one GaaS, notorious for issues as they're live service? This is exactly what I'm talking about. People argue with their feelings, not actual argumentas. PC is bad because it takes away from the list wars on PS' end.

Why do they focus on GaaS? Same reason they focused on MP games during the PS3 era. Everyone else was doing it and GaaS are the biggest money makers in the industry. What does that have to do with PC? GaaS are the most popular games on consoles as well.

I left reddit for this very reason. If it wasn't blatant astroturfing it was dooming. This site is becoming fueled by emotion and it pours out of every single thread that's made here. Sony's doomed because reasons. And no actual arguments to be made.

I don't care about PC gaming. I have a PC that's used as an emulation machine and internet surfing. If I had a choice, I would port nothing to PC. And yes, part of it is this stupid fanboy BS of where you feel your platform of choice has it all. But I'd also rather see that money used elsewhere. Put that PC port money into another Astrobot. Now there's an argument to be made that PS wouldn't even get that money if it weren't for the ports but that's a discussion for another time.

The increasing problem I have with this site is that everything's ran into the ground with this incredible dooming based on nothing but feelings. If Sony came out today and said their studios are taking a break from consoles to focus on PC development and we wouldn't be getting 1st party games for another 4 years because of this, I'd be pissed as much as the next guy. But as it stands now, there's a lot of fearmongering going around and it ruins any actual discussions.

Another way to look at it is a war between fanboys of PlayStation and Xbox. PlayStation is the winning side, but their fanboys have deployed psychological warfare against PlayStation fans to make them believe PS5 games on PC is a L because all games will be day 1 on PC which we all know is bs. Era has gone back to spouting all games will be day 1 on PC just because of Sony's recent comments about PC in the OP, which again is total bs. Those Xbox fanboys have corporate backing, shills, and astroturfers. PlayStation side has none of that. Imagine being at war and the enemies propaganda has effected the mindset and thinking of the soldiers and allies. That's exactly what's going on here and it comes off as dooming, but in reality those PlayStation fans that are dooming just got mind fucced by the other side.

 

[Zzero]

Is this opposite day or something? Why are you all crying and pouting?

 

[AllBizness]

Is this opposite day or something? Why are you all crying and pouting?

PlayStation winning in real life but not on the internet has got some people in a bad mood.

 

[Cool hand luke]

I will never not be amazed at how many gamers can't think past 18 months into the future.

Oh it's worse. Some can't even see what's right in front of them. Check out this guy:

I'm on your side, but is PC hardware really down? Everything on Google says the PC market is growing significantly faster than the console market.

PC is declining in all major markets. Console is growing, mobile is growing.

Consoles are simply better value for money than any PC you can buy or build. End of story.

Sony, however, is going to expand to be the premier platform owner across all modes - console, PC, mobile. That's the end goal.