Consoles

Making PlayStation the best platform for playing third-party games is Sony’s goal

Published

1 year ago

March 2, 2023

Nowadays, there are fewer third-party exclusives, so platform owners like Sony must come up with clever strategies to draw players into their ecosystem. One executive claims that this can be accomplished by elevating the PlayStation gaming platform.

There is still room for exclusives where it makes sense, Shawne Benson, head of third-party portfolio and acquisitions, said in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. “Really the focus, especially with a digital distribution model that is more prevalent than in generations past, is that there are different types of gameplay out there,” he added.

A one-size-fits-all strategy won’t work for everything because the variety of gaming experiences accessible to players is expanding along with the industry. For instance, a free-to-play game’s economic model is most successful when it is available on as many platforms as is practical and draws the largest audience possible, according to Benson.

Benson claims that, when the opportunity arises, making the PlayStation version of a game stand out as the finest is more crucial than any exclusivity agreement and can be done by skillfully utilizing current technology. Benson posits the query, “What kind of innovation can they implement using the adaptive triggers or the haptics in the DualSense? What could they accomplish with 3D audio in terms of a game’s sound design, etc.? Hence, there are numerous things we could do and then base marketing narratives on, and some of these collaborations for multiplatform games really center on that.”

As Benson puts it, “we definitely are still in this ‘raising tide helps all ships’ mindset for the VR ecosystem, so it’s not the same kind of competitive landscape as it is, say, in the console space, a kind of ‘flat’ gaming experience.” As a result, the situation is a little different for the company’s most recent technological innovation, the excellent PSVR2.

As Benson notes, “it’s around how we can best support you to be able to bring that content over to PSVR 2, and that can be development funding support or marketing support because a lot of these studios don’t necessarily have the same kind of marketing infrastructure as a bigger publisher would.” Instead, Sony wants to support PSVR2 by maintaining the development community and helping studios that want to bring their titles to the platform.

Last but not least, Benson talks about PC. He says, “From my point of view, it’s really important for gamers to have choice and variety in places to play, and PC is really not in the same kind of competitive space for us, at least right now,” but that could change.

Do you concur with Benson’s approach, according to which an exclusivity arrangement is less effective than making the PlayStation the finest platform for playing third-party games?

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Consoles

Despite popular belief, PS4 sales in the UK skyrocketed last year

Published

3 months ago

January 10, 2024

Zach Riley

PS4 sales in the UK climbed by a shocking 633 percent year-over-year in 2023, so apparently the old system isn’t dead yet. The previous year’s very limited supply of the system is likely a major factor in this figure, since the console’s lifespan was drastically reduced because of chip shortages caused by the pandemic. Still, it’s proof that PlayStation’s original platform has unmet demand.

With the very low prices of PS4 software (both in-store and online at the PS Store), this strategy makes a lot of sense. Plus, it’s future-proof, so there’s no harm in stocking up on PS4s while new-gen pricing is still high, since if you decide to switch to a PS5 in the future, you can transfer all of your purchases across. Not to mention that the majority of new releases still come out on the PS4, with several offering free PS5 upgrades.

While the percentage rise may seem huge, real PS4 sales will probably be much lower. It’s a sign that the gadget, which is now a decade old, isn’t completely dead yet, and we expect it to keep receiving maintenance for a while longer. Of course, this is great news for Sony, because the company would rather have PS4 players playing on its last-gen gadget than none at all, even if it would love to have them upgrade to PS5.

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Consoles

New PS5 firmware is available for download!

Published

5 months ago

December 6, 2023

Zach Riley

A PS5 firmware update on a cold winter morning is unmatched. The latest PS5 system software update is 23.02–08.40.00 from Sony. Does this one add useful features or just boost system performance?

Though closer to the latter, it’s more than Sony’s favorite patch note. It fixes security issues, improves messages and usability, and boosts system software performance. Official patch notes for this 1.185GB update:

We updated system software security
We improved system software stability and performance
Some screens now have better messages and usability

That’s it. PS5 gets another win to recover from its midweek slump. Do you share our enthusiasm for this firmware update? Comment below. To spice things up, make your comment rhyme.

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Consoles

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Xbox Version Will Help PS5

Published

5 months ago

November 30, 2023

Zach Riley

Belgian developer Larian Studios’ work on Baldur’s Gate 3’s Xbox Series S version will improve performance on all platforms, including PS5. The game’s fifth major patch, expected to launch this week, will include upgrades and new features. More details will be revealed later today.

Director of Publishing Michael Douse says PS5 performance improvements may be the “least exciting thing” in the title’s next update, so it sounds like a big one. Larian Studios employees are proud of “finally” implementing tweaks, fixes, and changes, Douse says. Later today, we’ll bring you all the Baldur’s Gate 3 update details.

Those who reached the RPG’s third act have reported technical issues during the narrative’s conclusion, especially in co-op, so today’s update should fix them. New features like a permadeath mode are expected, along with Xbox Series S optimization fixes. What else should be added to the game?

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