Sony PlayStation cross-platform game strategy

[Deleted member 11852]

But that's a little too simplistic. That first game sale for a PS5 owner might net Sony an extra 30% off the 70 USD price tag, but they are also out, let's say 500 USD for the cost of the console. That makes for a very tiny profit margin and extremely high cost of sales versus the same game being sold on PC.

The console walled garden economic model has always been simple and it is the reason why similar walled ecosystems (Microsoft and Nintendo consoles, Apple's iOS ecosystem) produces the revenue they do. When you're taking 30% of every sale that anybody else makes to any customers, that's a tremendous low-effort, zero-risk profit driver.

Now, where it eventually works out is if that PS5 owner is buying all or most of their 3rd party games on PS5. Then Sony is getting 30% of all game's that the person buys. The cost of sales goes down over time as the person buys more and more games.

Why would somebody who owns a PC and PS5 be buying Sony first party titles on Steam/PC, but most third parties titles on PSN/PS5? I mean, sure, you're right that the economics probably work out but what situation would drive that kind of buying behaviour?

 

[see colon]

Would be amazing if Sony then move to same day pc and ps5 release. It will bring more money, as I doubt Sony will allow crossbuy like Xbox and windows

I'm still amazed Sony doesn't have an account system that links some of the social aspects of Playstation into their PC releases. Trophies, chat, matchmaking for their upcoming live service games, stuff like that. Crossbuy would require them to have some sort of integration with a PC storefront, but I can't see them partnering with any of the other big players. Maybe Epic, because they've invested in them, but I think Sony also knows that making their games Epic exclusives defeats the purpose of trying to sell games. Epic just doesn't have the reach that Steam does.

 

[DavidGraham]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1744391092680949809

 

[Deleted member 11852]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1744391092680949809

Haven't most of Sony's recent titles supported DLSS? I mean, I know technical expectations for games are super low, but even so. If some rando modder can inject DLSS into Starfield in a few days, there is no excuse for developers to not include it.

 

[chris1515]

EDIT:
Better link

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I'm still amazed Sony doesn't have an account system that links some of the social aspects of Playstation into their PC releases. Trophies, chat, matchmaking for their upcoming live service games, stuff like that.

Sony's backend hasn't come across as that great. They used the user's name as their Index Key and that made account name changes a nightmare to implement. Maybe trying to get crossbuy working would tangle other systems up? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Why would somebody who owns a PC and PS5 be buying Sony first party titles on Steam/PC, but most third parties titles on PSN/PS5? I mean, sure, you're right that the economics probably work out but what situation would drive that kind of buying behaviour?

I don't understand this question? If a PC player is buying their Sony games on PC then they are likely buying their 3rd party games there as well, unless they are absolutely daft. So, Sony loses 30% of the cost of that title, but regain the cost of the console hardware which can now go to a console centric player who likely will buy all of their games on that console hardware platform. Basically higher revenue and profits with significantly higher profit margins. Obviously more important if you can't supply enough hardware to meet demand, but even without a hardware shortage, shareholders love seeing higher profit margins.

I suspect part of the reason that Sony aren't moving to day and date PC releases is twofold, one it spreads out the development cost (tiny as it is) of a port and two it reduces the PR headache from diehard Sony PlayStation fans who are already vociferously roasting Sony over releasing any games at all on PC. I can only imagine how much more vocal they'd be if Sony dared to release their titles day and date on PC ... /shudder.

Regards,
SB

 

[techuse]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1744391092680949809

Was hoping for some extra PC visual features. I suppose the amt of work required given there was no RT support in the engine at all made it an unreasonable expectation.

 

[chris1515]

I don't understand this question? If a PC player is buying their Sony games on PC then they are likely buying their 3rd party games there as well, unless they are absolutely daft. So, Sony loses 30% of the cost of that title, but regain the cost of the console hardware which can now go to a console centric player who likely will buy all of their games on that console hardware platform. Basically higher revenue and profits with significantly higher profit margins. Obviously more important if you can't supply enough hardware to meet demand, but even without a hardware shortage, shareholders love seeing higher profit margins.

I suspect part of the reason that Sony aren't moving to day and date PC releases is twofold, one it spreads out the development cost (tiny as it is) of a port and two it reduces the PR headache from diehard Sony PlayStation fans who are already vociferously roasting Sony over releasing any games at all on PC. I can only imagine how much more vocal they'd be if Sony dared to release their titles day and date on PC ... /shudder.

Regards,
SB

The biggest reason is probably to keep as many player in PS ecosystem. Jim Ryan told PC port needs to be more staggered last time he talked about PC port. If this is like PS plus extra they collect data and discover it have a negative impact on PS business.

Jim Ryan says PlayStation to stay proactive on PC, but those ports should remain “staggered” | Game World Observer

Sony has no plans to give up on its strategy of releasing first-party PlayStation games on PC. The time lag between the two versions will remain, but there will be more PS5 exclusives in the future.

gameworldobserver.com

 

[chris1515]

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I don't understand this question? If a PC player is buying their Sony games on PC then they are likely buying their 3rd party games there as well, unless they are absolutely daft.

Dude, this was your argument. Let's recap.

This started with @orangpelupa posting:

Would be amazing if Sony then move to same day pc and ps5 release. It will bring more money, as I doubt Sony will allow crossbuy like Xbox and windows

And I posted that this would probably lose Sony money:

This is debatable. If you're like me and own both a PS5 and PC, if I decide to buy a game on Steam/PC instead of PSN/PS5, Sony lose their 30% retailer cut which goes to Valve. That's a significant flat loss.

Then you posted this:

But that's a little too simplistic. That first game sale for a PS5 owner might net Sony an extra 30% off the 70 USD price tag, but they are also out, let's say 500 USD for the cost of the console. That makes for a very tiny profit margin and extremely high cost of sales versus the same game being sold on PC.

Now, where it eventually works out is if that PS5 owner is buying all or most of their 3rd party games on PS5. Then Sony is getting 30% of all game's that the person buys. The cost of sales goes down over time as the person buys more and more games.

So I posting asking who TF would demonstrate buying behaviour like that:

Why would somebody who owns a PC and PS5 be buying Sony first party titles on Steam/PC, but most third parties titles on PSN/PS5? I mean, sure, you're right that the economics probably work out but what situation would drive that kind of buying behaviour?

So.. uh.. what?

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Dude, this was your argument. Let's recap.

Yes, Sony would potentially lose a very small amount of console revenue and profits (but that would come with increased profit margin) while at the same time increasing their PC revenue and profits (also increasing their gaming division profit margin).

The devil is in the details. The potentially there is due to whether there is or is not a shortage of PlayStation hardware units.

• If there is a shortage (like say the first few years of the PS5) then any lost console sale due to a PC player opting to buy their Sony exclusives on PC would immediately lead to a far more profitable console gamer immediately buying that console that the PC player would have gotten. This would lead to an overall increase in revenue and profits on the console side of things while also increasing revenue and profits on the PC side of things
• If there isn't a shortage (like currently) then the console side of things would have less revenue (console + Sony exclusive game sale) and an ever so tiny decrease in profit (remember the only profit Sony are making off of most PC players are the Sony exclusive titles that they can't get on PC), but you'll have an increase in PC revenue as well as an increase in profit margins.

On top of that the greatest sales volume is when a game is launched. Day and Date releases on PC would likely see greatly increased sales with little to no additional impact on console game sales as the two markets are mostly seperate. IE - more PC only gamers will buy the game on launch than they will 2+ years after a game launches due to a variety of factors (for example, watching a let's play on YouTube they decide they don't need to buy the game after all).

That was my argument, nowhere did I say that someone buying Sony exclusives on PC would be buying any game on PlayStation (you could substitute Xbox there as well). So, that's where your question confused me. The whole premise of the argument is that vast majority of PC players who buy a console just to play the exclusives do not want to buy or play games on console so it's a revenue and profit win if instead of a PC gamer buying a console, that console hardware is instead bought by someone that actually wants to game on console.

Regards,
SB

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Yes, Sony would potentially lose a very small amount of console revenue and profits (but that would come with increased profit margin) while at the same time increasing their PC revenue and profits (also increasing their gaming division profit margin).

This makes no sense. Let's ignore the profit of PlayStation console hardware sales because for five generations that has been marginal and is not what Sony care about, they only aim to that turn around selling-at-a-loss as quickly as possible. Typically, Sony reach that point with 6-8 months after launch and the explanation to that was PlayStation 3. From that point on, Sony want to sell hardware as cheap as possible without selling at a loss because the biggest the user base, the more software they can sell.

Going back to my original comment, if Sony release day and date on both PS5 and PC, people who own both platforms may buy Sony first party titles for PC instead of PS5 which means Sony lose 30% of the RPP to Valve. How is that good for Sony? Where is this "increasing gaming division profit margin" coming from when this results is Sony taking 100% of the RRP to taking 70%?

The devil is in the details. The potentially there is due to whether there is or is not a shortage of PlayStation hardware units.

Outside of a console's launch period, and this generation because of the semiconductor pipeline shortage, Sony consoles are almost never supply constrained. The OG PlayStation wan't, PS2 wasn't, PS3 wasn't, PS4 wasn't and PS5 hasn't been for a good year. If Sony can't put hardware on shelves they are screwing up and they never have except for factors completely outside of their control.

On top of that the greatest sales volume is when a game is launched. Day and Date releases on PC would likely see greatly increased sales with little to no additional impact on console game sales as the two markets are mostly seperate. IE - more PC only gamers will buy the game on launch than they will 2+ years after a game launches due to a variety of factors (for example, watching a let's play on YouTube they decide they don't need to buy the game after all).

Some games fizzle out in interest quickly do, but rarely is that the case for Sony first party titles. Spider-Man did not sell 20m in its launch period, God of War didn't not sell 20m in its launch period, Horizon Zero Dawn didn't sell 19m in its launch period, Uncharted 4 didn't sell 18m in its launch period, The Last of Us (PS4) didn't sell 18m in its launch period, Mile Morales didn't sell 11m in its launch period, The Last of Us Pt II didn't sell 11m in its launch period. I can't think of a single Sony title that sold more then 3m at launch, the greater sales come after launch as is the same for almost all popular games. - Source: Insomniac leak.

There is no situation where it is beneficial for Sony to sell me their software on Steam over PSN, so for people who own multiple platforms, there is zero incentive for Sony to give me the option for me to buy their new game on PC the same day it launches on PS5. They would much rather I cave in buy it on PS5, or they're just a content that some will wait and buy later on PC. But if that is someone's buying behaviour, it's questionable why they would own a PS5 in the first place. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Cyan]

well, it seems like Sony is going to build an ecosystem to become more like a 3rd party publisher too, not just the 1st party publisher it usually tried to be. Maybe nothing we didn't know of, but it has been said by the CEO, Yoshida.

Sony CEO Says PlayStation's Gaming Future Will Be On PC, Mobile, And Cloud

In a recent interview, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida talked about PlayStation's gaming future, subscriptions, and Xbox.

insider-gaming.com

 

[Karamazov]

maybe the biggest loss would be from people double dipping, console players would not massively switch to PC if games released day one, i'm sure they have been studying the market long enough to know if yes or not, releasing games day one on PC would lead to massive loss in the console sales.
the biggest loss must be releasing games day one on their sub model, like gamepass.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

i'm sure they have been studying the market long enough to know if yes or not, releasing games day one on PC would lead to massive loss in the console sales.

Any idea how that can be monitored without actually testing it? I can't immediately think of any indicators other than comparing how games releasing on GP day one compare to game that don't or didn't.

 

[Karamazov]

they must have run AI simulations !

 

[chris1515]

well, it seems like Sony is going to build an ecosystem to become more like a 3rd party publisher too, not just the 1st party publisher it usually tried to be. Maybe nothing we didn't know of, but it has been said by the CEO, Yoshida.

Sony CEO Says PlayStation's Gaming Future Will Be On PC, Mobile, And Cloud

In a recent interview, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida talked about PlayStation's gaming future, subscriptions, and Xbox.

insider-gaming.com

The interpretation of something Sony said for years if funny. They aren't only first party they release game on PC, streaming service and they will soon release game on mobile and keep Playstation as the core pillar.

 

[Remij]

Until Dawn Remastered is apparently coming to PS5 and PC.

Until Dawn Reportedly Set to Receive New PS5, PC Versions

PS4 horror classic already getting a movie

www.pushsquare.com

 

[Johnny Awesome]

I think Sony are realizing there isn't actually that much PC/console crossover.