A former Sony exec has shared insights into the ongoing strategies for the console maker in porting games over to PC. While Sony has seen its share of ups and downs in porting games made for its PlayStation consoles, the reasons for doing so have not always been what some might have thought. Money seems obvious with double-dipping, or more, with multiple releases on different platforms but the former Sony exec explains that’s not how the process initially started.
Shuhei Yoshida joined Sony in 1986 and went on to become President of Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2007 and then stepped down in 2019. Yoshida stated in a recent interview that he advocated to bring exclusives over to PC but met with resistance as at the time it did not fit within Sony’s business models but over time that stance changed as other factors came into play. One is that consoles are not always popular in various regions but perhaps a PC user might be enticed into getting one if they like the games they are playing.
Per Sacred Symbols+ (via Push Square):
“Releasing on PC does many things: it reaches a new audience who do not own consoles – especially in regions where consoles are not as popular. The idea is that those people may become fans of a particular franchise, and when a new game in that series comes out, they may be convinced to purchase a PlayStation.”
However, this is only one angle since it was realized the additional income from PC sales introduced revenue streams without having to actually develop a new title, “It also adds additional income, because porting to PC is way cheaper than creating an original title. So, it’s almost like printing money.” said Yoshida. Sony discovered the extra income allowed it to invest in developing new titles as development costs increased. However the issue of gaining new players in regions such as China where console sales were historically less remained challenging, “In order to reach the audience in countries like China then it’s crucial to release on PC. So, I believe PC versions really reach a new audience.” added Yoshida.
PC Ports in the Present
Sales numbers for Sony’s PC ports can fluctuate depending on several reasons. Most PC users would like to see an exclusive brought over sooner than later but the console maker does have a track record of waiting two years or more before doing so. Obviously, this is to maximize console sales but sometimes waiting too long can be detrimental if interest has faded. Sony has somewhat overcome this hurdle by introducing PC-specific features when those versions do get released, and often coincide with a new or upgraded console launch as well.
However, it can be tough to gauge what strategy will work best and if a game, despite popularity or demand, launches in a buggy state word gets around and many will hold off for it to get fixed. A case in point is the recently released Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 which just received its 3rd patch to helpfully get the game into a better state but although it has a mostly positive ranking on Steam, there are many reviews pointing out its technical issues.
Another decision, which was recently rescinded, was the PSN requirement for PC users to play games. This too presented regional issues as more than a few countries/regions did not have access to PSN but in those that did there were plenty of PC users who did not want another account to keep track of. It had previously been reported that sales of PlayStation games seemed to drop after the introduction of this requirement that has thankfully been removed.