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PlayStation Exclusives on PC Could Serve As a Double-Edged Sword

PlayStation Exclusives on PC Could Serve As a Double-Edged Sword

PlayStation Exclusives on PC is now a possibility. According to the Sony’s 2020 corporate report, more PlayStation exclusive games are expected to be ported to PC. The exact wording of the report makes it sure that this is going to happen. Not only general PlayStation exclusives but first-party titles would also come to PC. In a sense, PlayStation might lose its identity of having amazing exclusive games. It will demolish everything that makes PlayStation different than Xbox. PlayStation has been dominating the console industry for a long time. PS3 could have been turned a lot worse for Sony without exclusives. PlayStation 5 is releasing this holiday along with Xbox Series X. The announcement of NVidia’s 3000 series the making choices all the wider. With the release of PS5 on the horizon, is that really a smart thing to do?

The release of Sony’s 1st party titles on PC also has advantages. Some of these advantages could prove to be extremely beneficial for Sony if everything goes well. There is a lot more to this revelation than mere PC ports. Regardless of its advantages, the decision of porting PS exclusives to PC can act as a double-edged sword that could prove to be disastrous for Sony as well.

Sony Exclusives

PlayStation has some of the most amazing games. Their exclusive games are a critical and commercial success. The moment a person hears the name of PlayStation, the picture of its exclusive games will come to their mind. Just like Nintendo reminds people of its exclusives. Their recent exclusive games Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part 2 were a critical and commercial success. PlayStation exclusives make quite a ruckus on the internet both before and after the release. The quality of their exclusives is amazing despite being relatively new franchises.

PlayStation 2 saw the biggest line of exclusives for any console and it was one of the main reasons for its success. The number of exclusives kept on decreasing and it is an all-time low for PS4. Most of the 2nd party titles of PS4 have already been ported. For the first time, a 1st party title of PlayStation was ported to PC. With the release of Horizon Zero Dawn PC, many were questioning the credibility of PlayStation exclusives. Now that Sony is releasing more 1st party exclusives on PC the promise of PlayStation exclusive is turning into a hoax. Expect all of the old PlayStation exclusives on PC.

Exclusives serve as the staple of the PlayStation brand. If you ask PlayStation owners why you bought PlayStation and not an Xbox then many would say that exclusive games are the reason. They don’t say timed exclusives but rather PlayStation exclusives. With the release of more PlayStation exclusive on PC, the exclusives should be labeled as timed exclusives. PlayStation exclusives on PC would eliminate the term PlayStation exclusives. Labeling timed exclusive games as exclusive games is making PlayStation fans upset.

Losing the Advantage of Exclusive Games

The only advantage that PlayStation has over Xbox is exclusive games. Sony would lose this advantage with the release of PlayStation exclusives on PC. Its name as the bestselling console would decline rapidly to the point of commonness. Exclusive games are the identity of PlayStation and the lack of exclusive games would diminish that identity of the PlayStation brand. Indeed, you can already play PS exclusives through PlayStation Now but it is a cloud service and it is still part of the PlayStation ecosystem. The release of PlayStation exclusives on PC could have a devastating effect on the console.

Certain games are connected to certain consoles and they become the identity of these console. Mario of Nintendo, Halo of Xbox, and God of War of PlayStation. These are just a few examples of exclusive games and the impact of its connection on a platform. Nintendo strongly connects its exclusive games with its platform which is helping it survive. On the other hand, Xbox is losing its connection with Xbox exclusive and they are now called Microsoft exclusives by many. PlayStation was retaining the identity of its exclusive games even after releasing 2nd party games on PC. Corporate report and the release of Horizon Zero Dawn on PC might take away its exclusive games identity. The continuous release of first-party PlayStation will make PlayStation worse than Xbox.

Xbox Has Upper Hand Over PlayStation Without PS Exclusives

Xbox has many advantages over the PlayStation when it comes to consumer-friendliness. The backward compatibility of Xbox makes it a desirable choice for many. You can even play games from the original Xbox on the Xbox Series X. Such an extreme level of backward compatibility makes it a desirable choice for many. Backward compatibility is also the focus of Xbox’s next-gen console.

Xbox exclusive games are available on PC which is one of the main reasons that players ditch the console in favor of PC or PlayStation. Although Xbox exclusive games are available on PC from day one, that wasn’t the case when they started releasing games on PC. Master Chief is one such example that is porting Xbox’s Halo series to PC years after its release on Xbox. PlayStation might start doing the same.

Xbox and Windows are both products of Microsoft this makes them part of the same ecosystem. The main focus of Xbox is now gaming services, not gaming consoles. Xbox is focusing on creating an ecosystem for Xbox players where they act as service providers. With the release of xCloud, Xbox wants you to play games on any system you want regardless of the platform. They have some setbacks with iOS as Apple is not allowing xCloud on the App Store because it bypasses their store transactions.

Microsoft is good as long as you buy games through their ecosystem. Xbox games store and Game Pass is the main part of their ecosystem which lets you buy games for all systems with a single purchase. Xbox prioritizes their store over everything else which gives them total control of their ecosystem. Even though you can buy all Microsoft exclusive games on Steam as well. The availability of PlayStation Exclusives on PC could be beneficial for Xbox.

Sony’s PlayStation Without Exclusives

While buying a new gaming system a person has three main choices, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC I am leaving out Nintendo because it is different than any other platform due to their extreme control over exclusive content. The only advantage that PlayStation has over Xbox and PC is the presence of exclusive games. Many PC players would buy a PlayStation console just to play exclusive games. With the release of PlayStation exclusives on PC, any gamer that has a PC would not buy a new PlayStation. Some would buy due to the late porting of PS exclusives on PC but not most. Sony would lose a lot of royalty that they get by selling games on the PlayStation Store. On the other hand, they would profit by selling older games at full price.

Selling older games at the full price doesn’t necessarily get a lot to Sony. A platform earns more money by selling third-party games and services. Sony has none of that available on PC because there no PlayStation game store on PC other than PS Now. Microsoft has their store which lets them sell games directly to you that’s not the case for PlayStation as they have to rely on PC stores We will explore expanding our 1st party titles to the PC platform, in order to promote further growth in our profitability” This is the exact wording of the report. It is confirmed that PlayStation exclusives would become timed exclusives but it’s a double-edged sword that can have unprecedented consequences. Eventually, all of the PS exclusives would become available on PC.

PC VS PlayStation

After exclusive games become a thing of the past, the PC market will see exponential growth. It might even end consoles as we know it. There is still a market for console due to their lower price because platforms earn most of their money through games and service sales. When you consider that then you will realize that it doesn’t make much sense to sell games on someone else’s store. Even Sony knows that but they want to experiment and earn more money. They want to attract more players to PlayStation and convince them to buy PlayStation by releasing games on PC. It’s a double-edged sword that can result in their demise as well.

NVidia 3000 series is quite powerful and it offers the best price to performance ratio for graphic cards in a long time. 3070 is more powerful than 2080ti but it only costs $499 with storage technology similar to PS5. Such a price to performance ratio makes it a major competitor of PS5 and Xbox Series X. With the release of PlayStation exclusives on PC, the demand for 3000 is quite high. It true that it won’t impact the sale of the next-gen console that much. At the same, it can’t be denied that it will impact the sales of next-gen consoles to some extent.

PC Gaming

When Xbox ported their games to Windows then everyone was angry and when Sony is doing it then everyone is happy. For Microsoft, it makes sense as both Xbox and Windows are owned by Microsoft. Xbox is creating an eco-system and releasing games on different platforms works in their favor. Many of the PlayStation owners are saying that it’s Ok if PlayStation ports older games to PC. Things can quickly change with the practical implementation of this strategy. PC ports won’t have an immediate effect on the sales of PS5 but in the long run, it can have drastic effects on its sales. Imagine having a PC with PlayStation, Xbox, and PC exclusives. PC exclusives are not available on Xbox and PlayStation. Xbox exclusives are not available on PlayStation and vice versa but PC has all the games.

I do agree that a PC is expensive than a console but its certainly not expensive if consider the price of all three platforms. You don’t have to buy Xbox and PlayStation just to play games from both sides while still missing PC exclusive. A single gaming PC would do everything for you. The hardcore PC players would now never buy a PlayStation and some PlayStation gamers would shift to PC as well. Once you get a taste of that sweet open ecosystem of PC then there is no going back. For players like me, there won’t be any platform better than PC if I can get PlayStation exclusives on PC.

PlayStation’s Ulterior Motive

The rapid growth of cloud gaming in recent years is pushing platforms to introduce cloud gaming services. With the release of Google Stadia, the competition is fiercer than ever before. Though it is a disappointment but xCloud shows a promising future. The inclusion of Game Pass in the xCloud is making it the best cloud gaming service. The price to performance ratio is better than any other. Game Pass is not even tied exclusively to xCloud which makes it the best deal of video games. Though the quality of games in Game Pass is questionable but xCloud can give you access to the Xbox store and all the amazing 3rd party games. The release of GeForce Now is making the competition even fiercer due to its openness.

Sony is trying to Expand Even More

Sony has one of the first cloud gaming services in the form of PlayStation Now which also serves are Game Pass to some extent. Maybe Sony wants to introduce as many people to PlayStation as they can before they go all out with cloud service. They would also be earning while preparing a large number of gamers for their Cloud gaming service. There is a chance that PS5 and Xbox Series X might be the last generation of physical consoles before cloud gaming service becomes a norm. The Internet is expected to become a lot cheaper and accessible by the year 2025. Thanks to Elon Musk’s satellites. The introduction to PlayStation exclusives before the internet boom could work out in the favor of Sony.

The introduction of PlayStation Productions makes the entertainment industry part of Sony’s strategy. We know that the Uncharted movie and The Last of Us TV series are already in development. Introducing more people to their franchises would help them gain more audience for their adaptations in other forms of media. Spiderman already plays a big part in the success of Sony Pictures. Sony is trying to expand its audience which would help them with their plans for the PlayStation brand. All that is just speculation at this point but as I said that it’s a double-edged sword so only time will tell.

Verdict

For a long time, Sony has been dominating the console market with its PlayStation consoles. The main reason for its success is exclusive games. After porting 1st party titles to PC in the year 2020 Sony is planning on porting more 1st party titles to PC. 1st party titles won’t be available on PC on day one but the fact remains the end of PlayStation exclusive games is coming. Sony is now testing the water by porting older games to PC in the hopes of making more cash. Their strategy could lead them to destruction as they don’t have a proper ecosystem like Microsoft. The consumer-friendliness of Microsoft gives it an edge over Sony. PC is getting games from all sides which can ultimately result in its domination over other platforms.

The availability of PlayStation exclusives on PC makes PC a desirable choice and it can be devastating for Sony. At the same time, it could also yield good results for Sony. The more people Sony introduces to PlayStation exclusives the more they will be interested in the PlayStation brand. Sony wants to introduce more people to their franchises which will help them in cloud gaming and other forms of media. It’s a double-edged sword that can have an unpredictable impact on the PlayStation brand.

1 thought on “PlayStation Exclusives on PC Could Serve As a Double-Edged Sword”

  1. PlayStation console it’s not going to die because exclusives go to PC. Not everyone have the chance or is willing to pay 2-3k for a gaming pc. Consoles are still a more accessible option for casual gamers or people with less budget. Just see what Xbox is doing, is Xbox console dead? Of course not!! And they have been putting their games on PC for some years… I don’t know what is the problem with people.

    And there are some people that get angry when a PS exclusive goes to PC I don’t know why. Are you enjoying less because the game is in another platform? Is it just to say “oh, I can play this game in my platform and you can’t in yours… what kind of attitude is that? A great game deserves to be enjoyed by all gamers, no matter they platform of choice. Do you think that someone with money to buy a gaming pc, can’t buy a ps5? Of course they can, but they DONT WANT TO, because they have already a very good platform. And finally, stop comparing consoles to PC, that exclusives games that you enjoy on your PS are all made IN A PC. A PC can do a lot more things than just gaming. Compare console to console.

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