PlayStation will remain “thoughtful” with which of its games it brings to other platforms.
During a recent fireside chat, Sony Interactive Entertainment president Hideaki Nishino and Studio Business Group head Hermen Hulst were asked about how they would “protect the value” of the PlayStation console, when there is a move towards multiplatform gaming.
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Nishino noted that for over 30 years PlayStation has been “committed to being the best place to play and publish”, adding the PlayStation console experience is designed for “immediate gameplay in an immersive and accessible way”. That said, the team is always looking for “new and innovative ways to broaden [its] reach”.
Hulst then affirmed that PlayStation is “continuously exploring new ways for players to interact with their franchises”, before adding: “It’s important to realise that we’re really thoughtful about bringing our franchises off console to reach new audiences and that we’re taking a very measured, a very deliberate approach in doing that.
“Particularly on the single-player side, our tentpole titles, they’re such a point of differentiation for the PlayStation console. They are real showcases of the performance, of the quality of the hardware, so we want to ensure that players get the best experience from these titles.”
Continuing, Hulst said PlayStation is very “thoughtful” about the “how and if we bring these titles to other platforms”.
“We need to constantly understand the players’ patterns and behaviours,” Nishino further explained. “We need to be sure we serve them appropriately. [Hulst] and myself are very, very focused on this, and investing as needed to evolve the PlayStation experience.”
When further asked about Microsoft’s multiplatform push, which has seen games such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Sea of Thieves and more arrive on non-Xbox consoles, Nishino said “competition in the business is healthy” and helps drive innovation.
“There are multiple participants who together drive the overall gaming industry, and while there are new engagement models being explored, we ultimately think this is a good thing,” he said.
“However, as I mentioned earlier, we are confident and committed on our current strategy. There isn’t an urgent need for us to pivot, but we will continue to monitor play patterns appropriately as required.”
PlayStation has been steadily adding many of its titles to PC over the past few years, with the likes of Uncharted, The Last of Us and Spider-Man now all available on that additional platform. In February of this year, former PlayStation exec Shuhei Yoshida said porting PlayStation-exclusive games to PC was “almost like printing money”, and provides an opportunity to invest in further games.
Earlier this week, the PlayStation published Stellar Blade released on PC, becoming the company’s first single player game to pass 100,000 concurrent players on Steam.