PlayStation co-CEO Hideaki Nishino recently addressed concerns about the future of traditional console gaming and the impact of PC gaming and its growing popularity in an interview with Nikkei.
While others believe that PC gaming is a threat to the console gaming industry, the long-time Sony executive is expressing his confidence in the console’s position due to the plug-and-play convenience of the gaming experience, contrasting it with how complicated it is to build a PC, especially for the average consumer. Nishino is also highlighting how easy it is to enjoy the PlayStation experience, where users can dive into their purchased content as soon as they power on the system.
However, Sony isn’t ignoring the PC market entirely. The company has gradually expanded its presence on the platform by porting select PlayStation exclusives to PC after the success of the PC ports of Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone. The strategy allows Sony to tap into a wider customer base without compromising its traditional console-focused approach.
The decision to bring PlayStation titles to PC is partly driven by the escalating costs of game development. Modern AAA games often require massive budgets, with the best-selling titles such as Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, The Last of Us Part 2, and Horizon Forbidden West costing hundreds of millions of dollars to produce. This financial pressure has led publishers to seek additional revenue streams, and expanding to PC is a logical step in that direction.
Most, if not all, of today’s games, feature intricate 3D models with millions and millions of polygons, high-resolution textures, and sophisticated animation systems. These advancements require larger teams of artists and longer development cycles, driving up costs substantially. While programming expenses have also increased, it hasn’t grown at the same rate as the artistic elements of game production, which is arguably the most marketable aspect of gaming.
Interestingly, not all successful first-party PlayStation titles follow the high-budget AAA model. Helldivers 2, one of the year’s top-selling titles, was developed with a relatively modest budget compared to many blockbuster releases like Concord, for example. The same goes for Astro Bot, which is so far this year’s runaway Game of the Year candidate and has received praise from everyone, including other Sony executives.
Sony’s strategic and cautious approach to PC ports sees a game launch on their consoles first, followed by a PC release months or years later. This staggered release schedule allows Sony to maintain the appeal of its console while eventually tapping into the PC market. The strategy has shown promise, with older titles like Ghost of Tsushima finding success on PC long after their initial console release although titles like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Sackboy: A Big Adventure couldn’t quite capture the same market.
Of course, this approach isn’t without its drawbacks. What’s another year of waiting for a PC gamer who has already waited for a year to play a former PlayStation exclusive if it means getting the same game for half the price?
Nevertheless, Sony seems aware that the PC and PlayStation markets are completely distinct from each other. PC gamers who spend thousands of dollars on their setups could’ve easily bought a PlayStation if they really wanted to play a game, but they’re not as interested so they didn’t. Thus, the PlayStation 5 Pro, with its premium price, isn’t directly competing with an equivalently priced PC. Instead, it’s for gamers who want the convenience of a console and access to much better hardware that’s typically reserved for PCs.
So, while there’s a significant audience of dedicated PC gamers who are unlikely to switch to consoles, there’s also potential to generate additional revenue from this group through PC ports, especially if Sony can figure out how to release the same game on countries where PSN isn’t available.
First-party titles, God of War: Ragnarok and Until Dawn, are coming to PC on September 19 and October 4, respectively. The latter marks the first time that a first-party exclusive that isn’t an online multiplayer game that will be available on PlayStation and PC simultaneously, although it’s technically a remake.
