Sony is not just bringing its games to PC but also to mobile, as it looks to extend the PlayStation experience beyond the boundaries of its traditional console walled garden. As part of an investor relations briefing, it revealed plans for roughly 20 per cent of its software output to be mobile by 2025 – a significant figure. It’s important to note that this is represented as a percentage of releases, and does not necessarily represent a decline in traditional console games as a consequence.
Nevertheless, this is an initiative that the platform holder has been talking about for some time, but outside of WipEout Merge, we’re yet to really see much activity. The company elaborated a little more on its plans, however, announcing plans to partner with “successful mobile developers” in order to “extend our franchises [to] more players and regions” while still remaining “faithful to the values of PlayStation Studios”.
In addition to development partnerships, it looks like it’s also planning to install specialist teams within some of its first-party studios, and potentially even become a publisher by exploring “strategic partnerships with boutique” developers. This will all come in addition to establishing a centralised mobile team which will lead the entire strategy, fronted by talent from “top mobile companies”.
[source sony.com]
Comments 39
@Happychocobo WipEout Merge is out but they basically dropped it in stealth.
Mobile gaming us trash
Unless I can get trophies, I'm not interested in any mobile games.
This is just smart business.
Billions are made on mobile across games like Fortnite, Genshin Impact, PUBG, LoL, Hearthstone, now big titles like Apex Legends, upcoming series like Diablo... Countless others. Does it stop any of those IPs from getting new entries on their native platforms? Nope.
An investment in mobile doesn't mean they'd stop supporting their own console. It's an expansion. A smart one.
50% Live service
20% Mobile
100% Trash
The more they commit resources to side markets, the more vulnerable they become in the console one. I just hope they know what they are doing.
But, i see they keep spending resources on VR still, and i can't help but think they don't.
I choose not to run
*Jerry Seinfeld
If Sony want the next Fortnite or Genshin Impact then it needs to be on everything, those games are successful because 1. it has a solid gameplay hook and 2. it can be played on very high PCs to midrange phones making it incredibly accessible.
They Should Have Made Another Handheld If They Cared So Much
Im not a fan of the direction gaming has taken in the past 7 years and dread to see how it will be by 2035.
I never like mobile games and will never support that gaming business.
Sweet! I could never decide which one I love more from money sucking live service games or money sucking mobile games. We truly have a bright future ahead of us in gaming 🙂
The death of Playstation.
The world gets worse and worse
sonys going in all the directions i dont like live service, mobile. in chasing more money they could end up leaving behind the people that got them to where they are
So if they plan to invest more than half od their money into GaaS...and 20% into Mobile...
Well, doesnt leave much more for Single Player lol
I hope they support mobile as well as they supported Vita 😆
This is an especially weird proclamation in light of them not supporting PS5 streaming on Premium. I guess this will fix PlayStation abandoning the Japan market. Gravity Rush (match) 3 anyone?
People keep saying Sony should buy square. I don't think it's necessary, they're already emulating them perfectly.
@uptownsoul we may often disagree, but you've definitely got the right side of this one!
@BartoxTharglod I think the issue most have with mobile is that mobile really specifies the business model more than a game type. The whole point of a company doing mobile is the extortionate business practices more than any unique feature of the platform including market reach. I mean I'm playing a lot on my phone lately, more than my Switch..... But I'm mostly playing game pass and streaming from my consoles. Am I playing console? Or mobile? What machine is rendering it doesnt matter. Killzone 3 is running remotely even with premium. But it's not the mobile business model, which is what they're after.
Console is catching up to that business model though, and Jim seems bent on accelerating that.
@trev666 I mention often a modern business axiom I despise: "the ones that got you here won't bring you there". It's one of those mantras the mba spreadsheet loving executive crowd loves, and means that you should abandon the market that built your current success the moment they bring you to a position to instead target a larger more lucrative market. They're not your customers, they're tools to use up to get what you want out of them to use to get more out of somebody else. Loyalty to the customer doesn't matter, they're a disposable commodity used as stepping stones to ever bigger/more desirable markets.
Not every business leader thinks that way, but it's popular new business and investors love it, and clearly Sony leadership, not just Jim but also Ken Yoshida from their finance arm loves it.
And PC 30%. That means that most SIE-published PS5 games will also be ported and published as PC games. I assume that they target China with these PC releases. But most SIE games of today are not unpolitical enough to be acceptable to the Communist Party. So many SIE games of the future will have a different character, less „realistic“, more like Nintendo games. What do you think?
I’m not a mobile game player, because most mobile games are largely manipulative rubbish, but I’m also not opposed to being able to play games on the go if they are designed just like non mobile games (and yes, that means actually paying for them up front). I would need a couple of things though, including trophy support.
When Miles Morales mobile coming?
I couldn't care less for mobile games, but if the 20% of Sony's mobile market helps pay for the exorbitant cost of the 80% of console and PC releases then I'm down for this.
@B_Lindz That's how I see it too.
It's important to remember too that this doesn't necessarily mean they will put less effort and funding in to the first-party AAA stuff just so they can fund mobile development.
Diversification is what keeps companies alive.
They tried this on PS3 and failed (just like all the mp crap) and I hope history repeats.
And by 2025 you're going to lose a lot of your player base because dedicating resources to chasing greedy MTX filled platforms over quality is going to impact your great single player games. And why bother with PC? they're a bunch of thieves. I saw GoW being torrented less than 24 hours after you launched it on Steam.
Your quality first party, single player games are the reason a lot of us stick around. Tread carefully Sony because if the quality is affected then your profit isn't going to matter without customers.
With all your recent ridiculous mind baffling and insane decisions I am a hairline close to switching back to Xbox and dumping my PS5. Even your first party games won't be enough for me to keep forgiving you.
"We want to bring our IPs to mobile"
Yeah, good luck with that, if we are talking about traditional publishers only Nintendo got lucky with mobile, some of their IP can be adapted to that business model without too many problems.
I wouldn't be surprised honestly. I know majority hate mobile games (I personally like them), but the market is there and its massive. So it makes sense to do more mobile stuff.
exaggerated-eyeroll.gif
Well it looks like the ps5 is my last Sony console. Regret buying it more and more every week tbh seeing where they're priorities lie
I wonder what they mean by mobile games. I say that being completely aware of where mobile games are and have been for the past decade. I just wonder if they mean something similar to what is or something new.
@GADG3Tx87 GoW was being torrented within 24 hours after it launched on PS4, I don't really know what you're getting at but from what I can see it's selling pretty well on PC.
@dBackLash
I didn't say it didn't sell. But it appeared on a torrent site within 24 hours of appearing on Steam. Because I reported it to Sony's anti-piracy team.
I kept seeing comments on its page saying "thanks for the free game, Sony".
There are many PC players that don't pay for games which is why I wouldn't give them anything.
@Blaze215
I agree with you. I won't be buying a PS6 and that's if one even comes into existence.
The Series X is in stock right now at my favourite online retailer and I'm so tempted to buy it because Sony are pushing me away.
@BartoxTharglod This could be any number of outputs. The backlash to WipEout Rush has probably put the brakes on that business model.
Mobile could mean Gamepass-style streaming of full titles but it could also mean Sony adopting the Square Enix business model of premium mobile versions of existing games. I'm not sure how many copies of FF SE sell at £18 a pop but it doesn't seem to stop them bringing new titles like Legend of Mana out for the same price. I'd expect FFX before the end of the year.
Sony could just dump some old PSP titles like Locoroco on mobile for free with a £10 IAP for the full game and probably make some decent cash.
@GADG3Tx87 Yeah but what do you want them to do PC is bigger but the spending on consoles is probably bigger because of massive piracy and cheaper prices on PC.
I miss Shawn Layden...
The only mobile games I would like is with a new PSP/Vita
I wouldn't say no entirely if they were proper story driven games like what the PSP and Vita had. Can't see myself buying them though, especially at full price so a PS+ app would be needed.
@GADG3Tx87 I don't understand your logic, because a small group of people pirate a game, you shouldn't release it at all? Even though it makes a lot of profit?
The same logic could be applied for any system. Since there are a lot of emulators and hacked consoles around.
I'm sure a good chunk of people have played a pirated version of GoW back in 2018.
Hard pass myself personally, but I hope players who like mobile games are happy about this news!
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