I have been having my fingers crossed for some time now that Sony’s current success with Helldivers 2 (regardless of their finest efforts) and different ports is an indication that we’ll all get to cease having to sit down round and kick grime for a yr every time there is a new, nice unique on the PlayStation we won’t play.
Apparently, my want magic is not very potent, since PlayStation joint-CEO Hideaki Nishino has emphasised in an interview with Nikkei (by way of VGC) that—shocking no person—consoles are nonetheless going to be a central a part of a console firm’s technique for fulfillment.
“I believe that with cell gadgets, there are numerous video games that present ads, and PCs are troublesome to arrange, however with PlayStation, when you flip it on, you’ll be able to expertise the content material to procure immediately.”
It’s with nice frustration that I, as somebody with nary a console in sight, should grit my tooth and admit: yeah, that’s considerably true. PCs are troublesome to arrange from scratch—both you shell out a nonsense quantity for a prefab, otherwise you have interaction on the planet’s most demanding model of a LEGO set, the place you are not fairly certain in the event you’ve aligned the CPU’s pins proper, or whether or not that loud click on/clang was speculated to occur or in the event you’ve simply wasted a number of hundred quid.
After which there’s the updates, the bizarre OS options, fretting over kernel-level anti cheat and Denuvo, updating your drivers, and all of the sudden that $700 value level for the PS5 professional is trying fairly affordable, if pricier than console players are used to. I imply, even right here at PC Gamer, we describe a $800 construct as penny-saving—penny-saving!
Granted, you are additionally getting a pc, and that may do different stuff, too—however nonetheless. If you wish to play videogames with a videogames field, any console (or a Steam Deck) is simply less complicated. Experiencing the content material to procure “immediately” looks like a stretch, although, since final I checked, most video games include downloads however hey. He is having to huge up the console market after a tough yr.
This following paragraph additionally does scan as an enormous ‘however’, to me: “We are attempting to extend our share of the general sport market by growing content material for PCs as effectively. There isn’t a doubt that consoles will probably be on the core of our enterprise, however by providing titles for platforms aside from consoles, we’ll attain a wider vary of consumers.”
Additionally appropriate. Sony’s technique of double-dipping console exclusives into the PC market is understanding swimmingly for it—not solely does it assist generate one other spherical of gross sales for its big-name blockbusters, it additionally seems to be a part of a scheme to lure your brethren to the darkish facet with these tasty, tasty sequels.
That is not me being a cynic, that is actually what co-CEO Hermen Hulst stated: “We’re discovering new audiences which are doubtlessly going to be very concerned about enjoying, for instance, sequels on the PlayStation platform … We’ve excessive hopes that we’re truly in a position to deliver new gamers into PlayStation at giant.”
But additionally, to push again—possibly we just like the issues, yeah? If we need to upscale a turd’s textures (no, actually), or spend over $1,400 on a 4090, or put Yoshi in Resident Evil, then we are able to do this. The slipshod nonsense is kind of the attraction, even when Microsoft continues to be making an attempt to get me to make use of Copilot for some ungodly purpose.
