Thursday, August 22nd 2019

Sony Toys with the Idea of Porting PlayStation-exclusives to PC

Aug 22nd, 2019 01:23 Discuss (32 Comments)

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is opening up to the idea of porting PlayStation-exclusive games to the PC, which is growing in popularity on the backs of titles that play best on this platform, such as Fortnite and Minecraft. At the moment, Shawn Layden, who heads SIE, is interested in putting some its first-party titles (developed and published entirely by SIE) on the PC platform. Compared to arch-rival Microsoft, Sony's garden has had taller walls. Microsoft has interests in both its Xbox console, and the Windows PC ecosystem, particularly the Microsoft Store, and has shepherded many of its ecosystem partners to co-develop for both platforms. Its latest move is the Xbox for PC GamePass, that brings about some coherence between the PC and Xbox.

Sony is gearing up for the next round of the Console Wars against Microsoft, in which its PlayStation 5 console will compete with Microsoft's codenamed "Project Scarlett" console. Both consoles will be designed for 4K Ultra HD televisions, with preparation for higher resolutions, such as 8K. Speaking on the development, Layden said "We must support the PlayStation platform — that is nonnegotiable. That said, you will see in the future some titles coming out of my collection of studios which may need to lean into a wider installed base."

Source: TheNextWeb

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32 Comments on Sony Toys with the Idea of Porting PlayStation-exclusives to PC

Space Lynx

Astronaut

I really don't see this ever happening, same with Nintendo, it's what gives them an edge in console sales/ecosystem.

Crackong

No Bloodborne?
Disappointed.

Chomiq

I doubt it, exclusives are the main reasons for getting PS.

Mephis

I really wish the media would stop saying that the PS5 or Scarlett will be 8K. It might be possible for them to be able to 8K video at some point in their lifetime, although I am very skeptical. There is no chance of them be able to play any games at 8K. We are just now seeing 4K capable GPUs at the high end of the spectrum and 8K is nowhere in sight.

Space Lynx

Astronaut

MephisI really wish the media would stop saying that the PS5 or Scarlett will be 8K. It might be possible for them to be able to 8K video at some point in their lifetime, although I am very skeptical. There is no chance of them be able to play any games at 8K. We are just now seeing 4K capable GPUs at the high end of the spectrum and 8K is nowhere in sight.

it all depends on context, like a lot of VR games are cut down so they can sustain high frames. dragon age origins can run 8k at 60 fps probably easily with a rtx 2070 super or something like that. so it depends what you are willing to sacrifice graphically.

GoldenX

Just give me Gran Turismo already.

Space Lynx

Astronaut

GoldenXJust give me Gran Turismo already.

did you ever do the rubber band mod on gran turismo 3 on both joysticks on a specific track? you could go afk for 8 hours :D

Mephis

lynx29it all depends on context, like a lot of VR games are cut down so they can sustain high frames. dragon age origins can run 8k at 60 fps probably easily with a rtx 2070 super or something like that. so it depends what you are willing to sacrifice graphically.

I get where you are going, but that game was released 10 years ago. Of course you could design a game capable of running at 8K on a PS4 or XBox One (if they had the HDMI capable of out putting it). I'm talking about new games released by major publishers. The GPU inside would need to be at least 4 times as powerful as the GPU inside of the PS4 Pro and One X.

silentbogo

God of War!

lynx29I really don't see this ever happening, same with Nintendo, it's what gives them an edge in console sales/ecosystem.

I doubt they'll be porting upcoming PS exclusives. It's most likely old exclusives which are good but for the reason of obsolescence don't sell well : as with Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls which are both on EGS now. Experiment was successful, so now they are just following up.

#10

las

Highly doubt that. Switch and PS4 sells very good BECAUSE of the exclusives. Which are worth every penny.

"Xbox exclusives" are seriously bad compared to what PS4 and Switch has.

MephisI really wish the media would stop saying that the PS5 or Scarlett will be 8K. It might be possible for them to be able to 8K video at some point in their lifetime, although I am very skeptical. There is no chance of them be able to play any games at 8K. We are just now seeing 4K capable GPUs at the high end of the spectrum and 8K is nowhere in sight.

They never said anything about games running 8K.
It might do native 8K in some indie titles, or it will simply upscale.

The 8K support matters mostly for video playback.
Focus should be native 4K/UHD at 60 fps (and/or VRR)

Actually I couldn't care less about the native part, 60 fps is the most important. I can barely see any difference between native 4K/UHD and upscaled 1440p-1800p on my 65 inch 4K/UHD OLED TV anyway. Only if I get very (too) close to the screen, which I don't when I play games...

#11

Rahnak

The only way I see this happening is with previous gen exclusives (PS3 and earlier titles, such as the original God of War trilogy, first 3 Uncharted games). Definitely not current or upcoming exclusives or they risk losing console sales and all the game sales that would come with them.

#12

Kohl Baas

lynx29I really don't see this ever happening, same with Nintendo, it's what gives them an edge in console sales/ecosystem.

I agree to disagree. Exclusives was never the edge. Not against PC. Agaist other consoles, sure, but not against PC. On that frontier the weapon was always the dirt cheap and maintenance-free hardware and software ecosystem. Hell, as a PC-Gamer, my graphics card alone cost more than a whole console, and I need to pemper the system constantly at least with updates. That is the edge right there.

I never understood why the exclussives are not console+pc exclussives excluding all other consoles. It would made sense, not to mention a lot of extra money. Ask GTA5 about it...

#13

Rahnak

Kohl BaasI never understood why the exclussives are not console+pc exclussives excluding all other consoles. It would made sense, not to mention a lot of extra money. Ask GTA5 about it...

Exclusives boost console sales. The more consoles out there, the more console games sold (potentially). Sony/Nintendo/MS take a cut from every game.

#14

dyonoctis

mmmh, i wonder if it's possible to make an estimation on the gain that they would make. For people who were full console gamers, it will make no difference, but I wonder what % do the people who own both a gaming pc and a ps represent

#15

TheinsanegamerN

It's an interesting idea, but my favorite PS games growing up were all 2nd party, games from insomniac, incognic, and naughty dog. I doubt rathcet and clank, jack and daxter, and war of the monsters/twisted metal will see PC releases. Would be cool though.

#16

64K

imo Sony is looking at the same thing that MS has already looked at. There's a lot of money in PC gaming. More than ever, and it's getting harder to ignore it. Up until several years ago it was easier to dismiss the PC platform as being unworthy of attention from MS and Sony concerning their exclusives and we were mostly pirates anyway. It's true that there is a lot of piracy in PC gaming but there is also a lot of revenue being generated as well. Just ask Ubisoft who in 2012 their CEO claimed that 95% of PC gamers were pirates and now:

Last Ubisoft Annual Report breakdown by platform:

PC 27% up from 18% a year ago
PS4 36% down from 42% a year ago

MS has seen the hundreds of millions of dollars being left on the table and now perhaps Sony sees that as well.

#17

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"

I wonder if No Man's Sky has something to do with this. Sony took a huge risk on it and the studio behind it has basically turned it in to a different sort of Minecraft turning an abysmal launch into a financial success. Consoles don't have turnarounds like that.

Sony is also likely taking note of other exclusives that made the jump and found great success like Yakuza Metal Gear Solid V, and Valkyria Chronicles. The argument that PC sales bastardized console sales is null and void. Sony is sitting on a ton of IPs they could double dip with if they put in a little effort to make them playable on PC.

I wonder if we're going to a Sony emulator/store like UWP.

#18

I No

And everyone keeps forgetting that neither MS or Sony's revenue is based on the actual hardware sold, heck Sony's making ~$18 per unit sold. Their revenue is popping up from the store and subscriptions and I don't see why they would not give the PC market their exclusives, it's money they only have to pay for the port and there you have it, a new market that can generate cash.

#19

Pumper

Would make sense to port the previous gen games whenever the new console is released, especially when they will be offering backwards compatibility with PS5, so they won't be able to milk the "remasters" as console sellers.

#20

JAB Creations

While I'm happy to see consoles finally step up in hardware the only title I'm vaguely interested in that might become a PS5 exclusive is Final Fantasy VII Remake. That being said it's roughly coming out around the same time as Cyberpunk 2077 and I don't get to game like when I was a teenager. I still have the original trapezoid shaped box for the original Final Fantasy VII.

#21

TheDeeGee

As long as they add proper Mouse and Keyboard support.

#22

efikkan

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the long-term future of consoles are likely to merge with the PC platform. This is why both Sony and Microsoft are increasingly focusing on cross-play and integration across platforms, instead of the walled garden they have been protecting for the longest time.

These days the "killer game exclusives" are few and far between, and with the consoles being financed by premium prices on accessories and games, choosing a platform becomes more and more difficult for non-fanboys just looking for good games. For me the last couple of generations of consoles have offered 1-2 games each that I'm interested in, but enough to convince me to buy one. E.g. I'm not going to buy a Switch to play Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but if it was a PC game, I would likely buy it.

#23

kapone32

dyonoctismmmh, i wonder if it's possible to make an estimation on the gain that they would make. For people who were full console gamers, it will make no difference, but I wonder what % do the people who own both a gaming pc and a ps represent

Look at the sales of GTA5 on PC. That game was full priced for about 3 years straight after being released on PC and was one of the highest selling PC games of all time. If nothing else money or the potential to make money has always been the mitigating factor in decisions like these.

#24

goldman

ChomiqI doubt it, exclusives are the main reasons for getting PS.

this. the only reason i have a PS is because of exclusives, else i would play on pc exclusively

#25

danbert2000

I would reward this with purchases. Like, $180 at least spread across Horizon, Spiderman, Last of Us.

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Sony Toys with the Idea of Porting PlayStation-exclusives to PC

32 Comments on Sony Toys with the Idea of Porting PlayStation-exclusives to PC

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