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.
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Discussion (10 replies)
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"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." Uh no. We're just gonna continue to wait for more Sony games to come to PC. The whole point of why I want these games on PC is so that I don't have to get a PS5. I've bought PlayStations for 4 generations. I'm done.
Yeah, I was kind of baffled by that statement too.
It won't print money if they require a PSN login for single player games.
"DrezKill, post: 94461, member: 230" wrote:Uh no. We're just gonna continue to wait for more Sony games to come to PC. The whole point of why I want these games on PC is so that I don't have to get a PS5. I've bought PlayStations for 4 generations. I'm done.
If they had an exclusive good enough, I could be convinced to buy a console, but after GT7 was a huge letdown, I don't think SONY even has a system seller exclusive anymore. Because I'm sure as hell not buying a PS6 for GT8 after the disappointment that was GT7.
If a game is console exclusive that's money lost since I'm not buying a console to play it.
I admit - I have bought a system to play an exclusive. And i would do it again, for the right game.
That said, nothing in the past several years has risen to that for me
If that sounds rediculous - keep in mind a lot of folks here talk about throwing down 2-4x the price of a console on GPUs, and often the “justification” is for performance in just a very particular game, or set of games that “need” it. And GPU generations come and go a lot faster than console generations. Not really much different on the face of it - just a lot more money.
I want new guitar hero or rock band with all my classic titles. If a new console and game was released that offered that I would be tempted. But probably just get the guitars and use clone hero.
It's like printing money...
...yet they have to keep raising game prices because they are not making enough money.
It's all a sham man.
Brand new games should be $30. Anything older than 3 years old should be under $10. Anything older than 5 years old should be under $5.
And this is measured from first release, not from the date it was ported.
"Zarathustra, post: 94476, member: 203" wrote:It's like printing money...
...yet they have to keep raising game prices because they are not making enough money.
It's all a sham man.
Brand new games should be $30. Anything older than 3 years old should be under $10. Anything older than 5 years old should be under $5.
And this is measured from first release, not from the date it was ported.
Pricing is the least of gaming's problems now. I'd happily pay full price for a good AAA experience. Heck, even for a mediocre AAA experience. But what we are getting today I'd not play for free.
"MadMummy76, post: 94477, member: 1298" wrote:Pricing is the least of gaming's problems now. I'd happily pay full price for a good AAA experience. Heck, even for a mediocre AAA experience. But what we are getting today I'd not play for free.
If argue it is hit or miss. There are still some great titles being made, but they are the minority, for sure...
....and usually they launch in a hopelessly broken state.
"Zarathustra, post: 94493, member: 203" wrote:If argue it is hit or miss. There are still some great titles being made, but they are the minority, for sure...
....and usually they launch in a hopelessly broken state.
I can't name a great AAA game after Cyberpunk 2077.
A broken / buggy game can be fixed, a fundamentally poorly designed and written game will remain bad even if bug free.
Discussion (10 replies)
Join Discussion →"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." Uh no. We're just gonna continue to wait for more Sony games to come to PC. The whole point of why I want these games on PC is so that I don't have to get a PS5. I've bought PlayStations for 4 generations. I'm done.
Yeah, I was kind of baffled by that statement too.
It won't print money if they require a PSN login for single player games.
If they had an exclusive good enough, I could be convinced to buy a console, but after GT7 was a huge letdown, I don't think SONY even has a system seller exclusive anymore. Because I'm sure as hell not buying a PS6 for GT8 after the disappointment that was GT7.
If a game is console exclusive that's money lost since I'm not buying a console to play it.
I admit - I have bought a system to play an exclusive. And i would do it again, for the right game.
That said, nothing in the past several years has risen to that for me
If that sounds rediculous - keep in mind a lot of folks here talk about throwing down 2-4x the price of a console on GPUs, and often the “justification” is for performance in just a very particular game, or set of games that “need” it. And GPU generations come and go a lot faster than console generations. Not really much different on the face of it - just a lot more money.
I want new guitar hero or rock band with all my classic titles. If a new console and game was released that offered that I would be tempted. But probably just get the guitars and use clone hero.
It's like printing money...
...yet they have to keep raising game prices because they are not making enough money.
It's all a sham man.
Brand new games should be $30. Anything older than 3 years old should be under $10. Anything older than 5 years old should be under $5.
And this is measured from first release, not from the date it was ported.
Pricing is the least of gaming's problems now. I'd happily pay full price for a good AAA experience. Heck, even for a mediocre AAA experience. But what we are getting today I'd not play for free.
If argue it is hit or miss. There are still some great titles being made, but they are the minority, for sure...
....and usually they launch in a hopelessly broken state.
I can't name a great AAA game after Cyberpunk 2077.
A broken / buggy game can be fixed, a fundamentally poorly designed and written game will remain bad even if bug free.