Sony PlayStation cross-platform game strategy

[Nesh]

So, why does every studio launch their games on pc aswell then?

Because why not? Sales are sales

Except for the sony exclusives then?

Because Sony wants to differentiate the Playstation so people will buy it and buy games on it?

Also, Global Offensive, WoW, Doom, HL Alyx etc are doing quite well, and those arent free to play.

Really those are the best examples you could find?

Ubisoft titles, aswell as EA ones etc just arent doing all that well on PC for a reason, standards seem higher for those types of games. Doom did sell best on pc, BF usually is the largest on pc, too.
For games like FiFa and CoD, yea they do better on PS. Its the difference between a more casual (console) vs the pc market where you dont get away as easy with something like AC valhalla.

Spin it all the way you want. Publishers sell more on consoles. If your explanation was valid those publishers would have been making all their games "PC core" to enjoy the super sales of the supposed super large hardcore PC gamer scene.
Well, they dont. Because reality is simple. Their games just sell better on consoles.

Well, its what im seeing from some, not all sony users, but some are in purely for platfrom warring.

Thats just you.

Thats all of us, one can show data PC reigns supreme in market value, another can find the opposite where the PS reigns supreme. Its just what you want to find.

Thats not what happened. We just double checked what the numbers mean in real life

 

[Deleted member 11852]

There's no proof to this claim whatsoever, its certainly not coming from Sony's mouth.

It's not a claim, it's speculation.

PC gaming is the largest, perhaps not for Fifa and CoD, but as pointed out by someone else, the F2P market covers 85% or so of the market, it seems Sony and in special Nintendo are the only ones keeping many and in nintendos case all games eclosed to a single box. I suspect that Sony now testing the waters, will have most if not all their games on pc either on day one or at a later date.

I know you dislike facts that contradict your worldview but the the monetary size of the PC market includes a lot of hardware sales which isn't revenue that Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft can tap into, and many of these hardware sales will never be used for games because it's ending up in professional, scientific and industrial applications. High-compute graphics cards are a must for professional Photoshop users.

In terms of revenue that the console manufacturers can tap into, it's entirely software sales and microtransactions and in terms of microtransactions in F2P games, Fortnite is the 800lb gorilla in the industry and thanks to recent court disclosures we know that 46% of Fortnite's microtransactions come from PlayStation platforms.

 

[chris1515]

I am curious to see if with all the new announced multiplayer games(Project Haven, Firewalk Games, new Insomniac ip, TLOU 2 standalone mp...) if Sony would try at least for one project to release simultanously on PS5 and PC.

 

[see colon]

Yet EA, Ubisoft (etc) all report significantly bigger profits on PlayStation alone...


What are you talking about? Uibsoft shows PC @ 23% and PS4/5 @ 33% - so PS has around 40+% more value with significantly less buyers.

That's my whole point, the number of PC gamers who are willing to pay top dollar for the games that Sony are now trying to produce does not meet the what PSMan is trying to say, the average spend. Sure there's a market but it's currently smaller and harder to target for...don't forget Uibsoft will likely make money from more titles on PC also - so if you took those out of the equation and just compared like for like the gap is likely even bigger.

If you think about the most popular PC games they aren't published by big companies, or companies that regularly disclose sales. In the last few years, it's been stuff like Valheim, Pubg, and Among Us. And the evergreen PC titles are things like Counterstrike or Team Fortress. Not only have those gone free to play, so there wouldn't be sales data from them anyway, they are also Valve games. Valve is privately held and doesn't disclose financials.

Just because EA or Ubisoft make less money on PC than they do on console doesn't mean the market is smaller, it just means EA or Ubisoft don't make a s much money on PC.

 

[goonergaz]

If you think about the most popular PC games they aren't published by big companies, or companies that regularly disclose sales. In the last few years, it's been stuff like Valheim, Pubg, and Among Us. And the evergreen PC titles are things like Counterstrike or Team Fortress. Not only have those gone free to play, so there wouldn't be sales data from them anyway, they are also Valve games. Valve is privately held and doesn't disclose financials.

Just because EA or Ubisoft make less money on PC than they do on console doesn't mean the market is smaller, it just means EA or Ubisoft don't make a s much money on PC.

Yes, I understand this (I said a big bit of the extra money would be from indies). And thanks for bringing Valve to the discussion - that is obviously a chunk of the missing data.

But the point I was making was that if you 'like for like' as best you can and try to 'align' with what Sony are/want to be, then the data I am looking at represents good data to look at.

I never said the market wasn't smaller, I openly admit it's ~10x bigger (than PS4/5) but what I'm saying is that companies that release similar games across both formats are making more on the significantly smaller PS market than they do on the 10x bigger PC market...which you agree with.

The money is there it's just more thinly spread out and it's not suited to the games Sony are trying to make (that we're currently aware of - eg big budget AAA £70 a pop games).

Of course that changes if Sony show a bigger interest in 'PUBG' and other 'PC style' games...but I would say they are not in that market (H1Z1?).

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I am curious to see if with all the new announced multiplayer games(Project Haven, Firewalk Games, new Insomniac ip, TLOU 2 standalone mp...) if Sony would try at least for one project to release simultanously on PS5 and PC.

I think Sony would if it was profitable to do so. I feel like the strategies of Nintendo and Sony are broadly quite simple, they both pursue markets and market strategies which have and continue to prove profitable. Both companies have experimented with both hardware and software and lost money in some ventures and they're content making hundreds of millions of schmeckles making the most of their large console user bases.

If you think about the most popular PC games they aren't published by big companies, or companies that regularly disclose sales. In the last few years, it's been stuff like Valheim, Pubg, and Among Us. And the evergreen PC titles are things like Counterstrike or Team Fortress. Not only have those gone free to play, so there wouldn't be sales data from them anyway, they are also Valve games. Valve is privately held and doesn't disclose financials.

There sure are hugely popular games but with a few exceptions, sales/revenue/profitability isn't a great mystery. Valheim was published by what was THQ Nordic so the sales came to light and as of last month Valheim it has sold almost 7m copies - Valheim has no micro transactions by the way. PUBG Corporation issue financial reports, Among Us is one of the rare ones that is difficult to estimate because their publishing is a mishmash across different platforms but they've been really transparent about their business, including sales.

You can't really have a massive hit with so few distribution platforms which themselves are difficult to hide. Even Steam, Steam Spy creepily tracks with unnerving accuracy.

 

[goonergaz]

There sure are hugely popular games but with a few exceptions, sales/revenue/profitability isn't a great mystery. Valheim was published by what was THQ Nordic so the sales came to light and as of last month Valheim it has sold almost 7m copies - Valheim has no micro transactions by the way. PUBG Corporation issue financial reports, Among Us is one of the rare ones that is difficult to estimate because their publishing is a mishmash across different platforms but they've been really transparent about their business, including sales.

You can't really have a massive hit with so few distribution platforms which themselves are difficult to hide. Even Steam, Steam Spy creepily tracks with unnerving accuracy.

Interesting, so Valheim which is a £15 game and considered a big seller (and has a low PC spec from what I can understand), has only been sold to 0.005% of the PC gamers out there.

I can see why Sony want a slice of that pie with their £70 games.

Honestly, the more data points brought forward the more ludicrous the claim about how great the PC market is.

 

[PSman1700]

Because why not? Sales are sales

And so does sony think, too.

Really those are the best examples you could find?

Whats a better example, CoD and valhalla? lol

It's not a claim, it's speculation.

Well, theres that then. A wild speculation, i mean, as a playstation only user its obvious what you want to speculate. As someone that wants games across more platforms, il speculate a more positive outcome.

nteresting, so Valheim which is a £15 game and considered a big seller (and has a low PC spec from what I can understand), has only been sold to 0.005% of the PC gamers out there.

I can see why Sony want a slice of that pie with their £70 games.

Games like valhalla again ,)

Honestly, the more data points brought forward the more ludicrous the claim about how great the PC market is.

And how great the PS market is, right? The pc market has only been improving over time looking at the numbers and stats, i know its your biggest enemy, becuase well, imagine Sony dumping another of your games on that platform.

 

[zed]

Are you working on a game?

of course The greatest shit game eva!

(couple of bugs I spotted in this video which I just recorded), though in the main, it is pretty bug free, just needs some more content but mostly polish / story / dialog / balancing / optimization etc so nearly half way done

edit: Just checked- Dont watch this here cause you need to see it it on youtube (so cgo with your mouse over the video and click on the watch in youtube button) otherwise you cant see the text etc

 

[PSman1700]

of course The greatest shit game eva!

(couple of bugs I spotted in this video which I just recorded), though in the main, it is pretty bug free, just needs some more content but mostly polish / story / dialog / balancing / optimization etc so nearly half way done

You have your best changes on mobile (IOS or android) or steam (i think).

 

[zed]

the claim about how great the PC market is.

It is great (outside the western world) but like I say theres so many titles (compared to consoles) fighting for a slice of that pie thus on average unless you have a breakout hit its hard to make money, conosle is a lot more guaranteed to earn money. mobile is even worse than PC. maybe 9 out of the top 10 money earning titles are mobile, but fuck the competeion is cutthroat and theres so much out there, you have to invest heavily in marketting to have any chance unless you are supremely lucky ( more than a decade ago I made a really good IOS title, technically one of the best on the app store and quite fun to play and it was aimed at mobile devices, i.e. no buttons, I dont think I even made my yearly $99 apple developer signup fee, I needed to spend 100s of thousands marketing or just get very lucky to have had any chance, and if I didnt well thats my lifesavings gone on marketting )

 

[PSman1700]

It is great (outside the western world) but like I say theres so many titles (compared to consoles) fighting for a slice of that pie thus on average unless you have a breakout hit its hard to make money, conosle is a lot more guaranteed to earn money. mobile is even worse than PC. maybe 9 out of the top 10 money earning titles are mobile, but fuck the competeion is cutthroat and theres so much out there, you have to invest heavily in marketting to have any chance unless you are supremely lucky ( more than a decade ago I made a really good IOS title, technically one of the best on the app store and quite fun to play and it was aimed at mobile devices, i.e. no buttons, I dont think I even made my yearly $99 apple developer signup fee, I needed to spend 100s of thousands marketing or just get very lucky to have had any chance, and if I didnt well thats my lifesavings gone on marketting )

Oh and this is what i can agree on. Its what i ment when i said that games like valhalla, or CoD, they usually in this state and day dont make it far on pc. Due to the larger install base, the larger market, there are more developers and studios, theres more competition.
And thats why i think Sony with releasing their games on pc, after they the momentum on PS has slowed down, is something that works (it does right now). Their games are of a certain class thats hard to match if your into singleplayer experiences. Lets compare valhalla to GoT, i mean ye.... its not even close. The latter would do better in the PC space than valhalla ever could.

Good luck with your game, IOS doesnt sound like a fun place to develop for as a small or lone dev. Hows it for Steam?

 

[zed]

I can see why Sony want a slice of that pie with their £70 games.

For me I see them using it as either Advertising (eg heres a game about fighting robot dinosaurs, if you like it and wanna see how the story finished you will have to play the next version on PS, I would not be surprised if they before they release a new Uncharted game on PS that they first release old uncharted games on PC
(I hope they dont release a new uncharted, cause fuck man dont keep milking that old dehydrated cow, give it at least a decade before it gets revisited again, thus 2030 at the earliest) )

look at nintendo they tried mobile (pokomon go is another company) they have not gone back, though Im sure if they have a money making idea they would in a heartbeat, but ATM its not beneficial for them to release their stuff on mobile or on the PC

 

[zed]

Interesting, so Valheim which is a £15 game and considered a big seller (and has a low PC spec from what I can understand), has only been sold to 0.005% of the PC gamers out there.

Its a massive seller, 7 million is yuge, sure based on revenue its not that super impressive (but for a very small studio is it super impressive) compared to console titles, but thus is what Im saying, average on PC != average on console, eg remember Anthem ( yes the recent game that was a total failure on consoles, yet Im 99% sure it has earnt more money than valheim the sucessful PC game, perhaps not in profit but certainly revenue)

I can see why Sony want a slice of that pie with their £70 games.

They are overpriced, games should be max $30, you cant give joe public that cinematic experience for $30 well fuck it, think better give shorter games without DLC, no expansions asking for money, just heres it 10 hrs @ $3 and hr, you can replay different paths etc but dont drag out these stories till 50+hours

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Well, theres that then. A wild speculation, i mean, as a playstation only user its obvious what you want to speculate. As someone that wants games across more platforms, il speculate a more positive outcome.

I have a Switch, PS5, Series X and two gaming PCs - one of which I only recently bought.

How many more platforms do I need to own?

They are overpriced, games should be max $30, you cant give joe public that cinematic experience for $30 well fuck it, think better give shorter games without DLC, no expansions asking for money, just heres it 10 hrs @ $3 and hr, you can replay different paths etc but dont drag out these stories till 50+hours

There is a massive indie/AA market that caters for this price bracket exceedingly well, and sales generally put most AAA games into this range eventually.

 

[London Geezer]

I have a Switch, PS5, Series X and two gaming PCs - one of which I only recently bought.

How many more platforms do I need to own?.

MORE! ALL OF THEM!!!!

 

[milk]

I have a Switch, PS5, Series X and two gaming PCs - one of which I only recently bought.

How many more platforms do I need to own?

Google Stadia?

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Google Stadia?

You know where you can shove that suggestion! ;-)

 

[Nesh]

And so does sony think, too.

Well yeah. So?

Whats a better example, CoD and valhalla? lol

You can barely find games to prove a point. And you dont provide any links either.

Just a small search give this:
https://www.globalxetfs.com/video-game-industry-hits-reset-in-2020/
Despite the growth in PC gaming, consoles still make up a larger portion of the gaming market. Consoles account for 30% of the 2019 global gaming market at $45.3 billion.1 PCs fall slightly behind with 24% market share or $35.3 billion.2 Mobile, which we’ll discuss shortly, represents the biggest market with 46% share or $68.2 billion.3

 

[goonergaz]

Well, theres that then. A wild speculation, i mean, as a playstation only user its obvious what you want to speculate. As someone that wants games across more platforms, il speculate a more positive outcome.

It's all speculation it's just you seem to present as fact!

And how great the PS market is, right? The pc market has only been improving over time looking at the numbers and stats, i know its your biggest enemy, becuase well, imagine Sony dumping another of your games on that platform.

You do realise I have a PC that shits on my PS5 right? I think you're confusing yourself, I'm simply here looking at the data and trying to understand what Sonys long term plan is and calling out bad ideas.

Due to the larger install base, the larger market, there are more developers and studios, theres more competition.
And thats why i think Sony with releasing their games on pc,

Like this lol - "hey I got a great idea, there's the huge market which is saturated with our type of product...why don't we try to sell our product to them!?"
I'd love to see this pitch on Dragons den...
Dragon "so how do you intend to differentiate yourself from the competition?"
PSman "buy selling my games which the market don't seem overly interested in at extremely high prices"

Its a massive seller, 7 million is yuge, sure based on revenue its not that super impressive (but for a very small studio is it super impressive) compared to console titles, but thus is what Im saying, average on PC != average on console, eg remember Anthem ( yes the recent game that was a total failure on consoles, yet Im 99% sure it has earnt more money than valheim the sucessful PC game, perhaps not in profit but certainly revenue)

Of course, but it's not the market Sony are looking for

They are overpriced, games should be max $30, you cant give joe public that cinematic experience for $30 well fuck it, think better give shorter games without DLC, no expansions asking for money, just heres it 10 hrs @ $3 and hr, you can replay different paths etc but dont drag out these stories till 50+hours

Shame Sony games don't sell, someone should tell Sony to stop counting the cash and pay attention? Or was this a joke post!?

I have a Switch, PS5, Series X and two gaming PCs - one of which I only recently bought.

How many more platforms do I need to own?

I know right

There is a massive indie/AA market that caters for this price bracket exceedingly well, and sales generally put most AAA games into this range eventually.

Exactly, but maybe Sony is branching out - that's a possibility I guess, but from what we've seen they just seem to be pushing the tried and tested formula of top budget AAA titles.