PC Versions of PS4 Games are an Incentive to Buy the Console, Claims Former PlayStation Boss
The former head of PlayStation spoke about Sony's approach to PC games. According to him, they will never be a priority for the Japanese company.
- The former head of PlayStation commented on the topic of PC ports of games from Sony consoles;
- He claims this is only an incentive to buy the device of the Japanese company;
- He does not expect PlayStation games to ever debut simultaneously on the console and PC.
Recently, we've been hearing more and more about PC ports of PlayStation games. It would seem that Sony has changed its approach and is slowly moving away from exclusivity. However, the former head of PlayStation Shawn Layden has a different opinion. He claims PC games will never be a priority for the company and will remain only a form of incentive to buy a console.
Layden shared his opinion in an interview with the What's Up PlayStation channel on YouTube. He confessed that he doesn't expect future Sony games to debut on consoles and PC on the same day. So there is no chance of the company using Microsoft's model. Such a move would be detrimental to PlayStation, according to Layden.
However, releasing PC ports a few years after the original console release is another matter. This kind of practice is supposed to be very beneficial for the company, because it is a kind of advertising. Moving the bestselling titles from PlayStation to PC is supposed to show desktop PC gamers what they're missing out on by not buying a console.
To date, Sony has released the following PC ports of PlayStation games:
- Days Gone
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Beyond: Two Souls
- Death Stranding
- Detroit: Become Human
- Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
- Heavy Rain
- Helldivers
Announced PC ports of PlayStation games:
- Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
At the same time, the re-selling the games on PC does not harm PlayStation. This is because by this time, owners of Sony's device will surely have already managed to buy their copy. So there is no risk of a negative impact of PC ports on console game sales.
Although Layden hasn't worked for Sony for two years now, he's probably right in his assessment of the company's strategy. Its actions so far are in line with the reasoning of the former head of PlayStation. Although more PC ports have been announced, their releases actually come only a few years after the original game's debut. It seems, therefore, that Sony is simply making more and more use of this specific form of making us buy a console.
