Microsoft is in a similar situation. They’ve had bigger difficulties with internal software production than Sony. More layoffs. More missed targets and forced to keep a dying platform alive and a sub service that loses them money.
Hell, that’s why they bought Bethesda and Activision, to fill software releases since they dropped the ball and destroyed most of their internal devs not working on Forza.
The irony is that Microsoft’s desperation for actual profits have brought them to PlayStation. The timing is incredible as their backlog will do wonders to bolster ps5 catalog. I actually like this result best. MS being third party. It’ll be healthier for their studios… to actually be able to sell their games. Gamepass subsidization is a proven disaster for all game makers. Pro consumer sub my balls. Its nature will destroy studios… and killing studios is anti-gamer. So this pro consumer stance can lick my salty nuts. It leads to death. That’s a shit idea
The only issue is there’s no one to really challenge Sony right now unless Nintendo somehow enters home console business again or Apple finally takes a swing. Sony might cruise this generation to a massive victory and have killed off their competition… by kinda doing nothing.
I'm always amused by people who think Sony has done "nothing".
Generally, these are people who think things happen in a vacuum.
Sony navigated the supply chain issues around PS5 extremely well. They gave up on PS4 production pretty early, which also helped them. They slowed down their cloud-based aspirations and focused on console production, delaying PS5 cloud streaming.
They shifted to cross-gen game development to maximize revenue in what otherwise would have been very down years for them.
They also avoided disastrous moves like listening to a vocal minority online about chasing GamePass and putting their games day 1 on a subscription service.
They ported their games to PC not Day 1, but well into the future.
They invested heavily in a transmedia strategy and created PlayStation Productions, which has paid dividends around The Last of Us, Uncharted, and Gran Turismo.
They've kept up a focus on introducing new consumers to existing major/minor franchises by remaking games which is extremely cost effective and efficient.
Their GaaS strategy has already seen massive success with Helldivers 2.
They bought iSize to probably help developer PSSR and improve their cloud streaming.
They continue to push to make sure the value proposition around PlayStation is the best. VR, Pulse Elite/Explore, Dual Sense Edge, PS Portal. They purchased Audeze to make sure they could release higher quality headphones. They put more effort into 3D audio and a haptic game controller than Microsoft.
They designed the PS5 with an internal replacement SSD which was a significantly more affordable option for the market than a proprietary plug in option.
They designed the PS5 to limit bottlenecks and have largely outperformed the XSX despite being "lower powered"
They bought Bungie, Haven Studios, Firewalk, largely to shore up their GaaS strategy and we're going to see whether these purchases were worth it. They also bought Bluepoint and Housemarque showing that they still have a focus on single player games.
But sure... I guess you can say they've done nothing...