It has been a long few months of rumors and reports about whether PlayStation will back away from multiplatform releases, and now CEO Hideaki Nishino has clarified that it may likely be the end for single-player PS5 games on PC. PlayStation has notably been reducing the number of ports it brings to PC, with this year seeing practically no notable releases.
It has been a time of change for both Xbox and PlayStation. While both companies were starting to adopt other platforms, effectively putting the infamous “console wars” to bed, it seems that this time of peace is now gone. Gears of War: E-Day is now going to be an Xbox console exclusive, and recent reports claim that PlayStation is backing away from PC almost entirely. Amid all the back-and-forth, PlayStation CEO Hideako Nishino delivered a statement on where the company stands on PC.
It’s The End of an Era for PlayStation Games on PC
PlayStation announces a major change for PS5 exclusive games expected to launch on PC as fans wait for ports of Ghost of Yotei and Saros.
PlayStation CEO Clarifies That Single-Player PS5 Games May Not Come to PC, but Live-Service Is on the Table
In a recent interview with Famitsu, PlayStation CEO Hideako Nishino has clarified that the company will focus on delivering single-player games on PlayStation to “refine the value of the gaming experience that PlayStation can offer.” However, Nishino additionally states that live-service games that need to reach a wider audience through online multiplayer will likely remain multiplatform on PS5 and PC. Nishino believes that platform selection will be based on what “maximizes” the gaming experience going forward. Essentially, PS5 is keeping its games to maintain the value of owning a PS5. The translated interview by Genki_JPN can be found above.
Drag weapons to fill the grid
Drag weapons to fill the grid
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Jason Schreier of Bloomberg has also reported that PlayStation is backing away from PC, noting that executive Herman Hulst has been a bit firmer behind closed doors about where the company stands on multiplatform releases. A recent PlayStation town hall apparently had Hulst tell staff that the company’s blockbuster single-player narrative games will be PS5-only titles, corroborating what Nishino recently said to Famitsu. Hulst’s apparent reasoning behind PlayStation’s pivot away from PC releases is that the ports did not make enough money, the company was inconsistent with its releases, and ultimately, PlayStation wants to keep its IP aligned with its platform.
In some regards, Hulst is correct about certain pain points with its PC releases. For example, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was a notable mess at launch, plagued by bugs and performance issues, and still has tech problems to this day. Meanwhile, The Last of Us Part 1 was another infamously bad port that improved over time, but still somewhat tainted expectations for PlayStation ports going forward. However, some titles were actually pretty good, like Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection‘s excellent PC port. When it came to port inconsistencies, Hulst was certainly correct, but it seems far from a reason to back away from PC entirely.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
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That said, PlayStation wanting to align its core franchises with its own platform makes the most sense as to why it’s pulling away from PC. Xbox is now also shying away from multiplatform releases, so naturally, PlayStation may feel the need to stop playing nice as well. Moreover, console production costs have started to skyrocket, and having a consumer base that will likely wait for the next PS5 exclusive to drop on PC rather than go out and buy a console may not be the best business move. Wherever either company ends up going forward, it certainly feels like the “console wars” are back after a short time of peace.
