I have been having my fingers crossed for some time now that Sony’s latest success with Helldivers 2 (regardless of their greatest efforts) and different ports is an indication that we’ll all get to cease having to take a seat round and kick filth for a 12 months each 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—stunning no one—consoles are nonetheless going to be a central a part of a console firm’s technique for fulfillment.
“I feel that with cell gadgets, there are numerous video games that present commercials, and PCs are troublesome to arrange, however with PlayStation, when you flip it on, you possibly can expertise the content material you obtain 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 this planet’s most nerve-racking model of a LEGO set, the place you are not fairly certain should you’ve aligned the CPU’s pins proper, or whether or not that loud click on/clang was supposed to occur or should 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 a 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 you obtain “immediately” looks as if 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 12 months.
This following paragraph additionally does scan as a giant ‘however’, to me: “We try to extend our share of the general sport market by growing content material for PCs as nicely. There isn’t any doubt that consoles will probably be on the core of our enterprise, however by providing titles for platforms apart from consoles, we’ll attain a wider vary of consumers.”
Additionally right. 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 can be doubtlessly going to be very all in favour of enjoying, for instance, sequels on the PlayStation platform … We’ve excessive hopes that we’re truly in a position to convey new gamers into PlayStation at massive.”
But in addition, to push again—perhaps we just like the issues, yeah? If we wish 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 try this. The slipshod nonsense is form of the attraction, even when Microsoft remains to be making an attempt to get me to make use of Copilot for some ungodly cause.