One of the big talking points emerging as part of Microsoft’s rumoured switch in strategy is that a reduction in competition could result in complacency from PlayStation and its army of first-party developers. The issue, according to some, is that if Xbox were to abandon its own hardware – which, for the record, isn’t what any speculation is suggesting – Sony would have no real reason to compete.
This is nonsense, of course, because PS5 and PS4 will always face intense competition from not just Nintendo, but also all forms of entertainment, like Netflix, Spotify, and so on. Sony is fighting for your free time, and whether Xbox is in the race or not, it’s going to need to continue making compelling products in order to earn it. This is just common sense.
Robert Morrison, an animator at Days Gone developer Bend Studio, certainly doesn’t believe any perceived reduction in competition will affect its first-party teams. “At the developer level, PS Studios don’t compete against Xbox or Nintendo studios,” he said. “We are all driven by an internal desire to create the best work possible.”
In some sense, while PS Studios boss Hermen Hulst has nurtured a culture of shared knowledge, Sony’s first-party teams are competing against each other – in a healthy way, of course. We’ve seen the likes of Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, Sucker Punch, and Guerrilla Games all, quite literally, up their games in order to rival each other – and we don’t see that stopping any time soon.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 70
the quality will not degrade because of microsft going 3rd party. it might degrade by sonys desire to not risk hundreds of millions on a game that is new IP.
with no competitor Sony could do what ever they want raise game prices to $100, raise sub prices. less innovation by having to match competitors offerings. we wouldnt have trophies if it wasnt for achievements, wouldnt have ps+ extra and premium if it wasnt for gamepass, wouldnt have PlayStation stars if it wasnt for Microsoft rewards
I appreciate you calling out the competition entertainment faces every moment of it's existence: it's not just against explicit market rivals, it's competition across literally every other thing you could do with your time.
People seem to not understand that our attention is limited. Companies must do everything in their power to get it and keep it. It's far too easy to switch modes and just do something else entirely.
Sony doesn't only compete with other videogame studios. It's also competing against the movie studios, music, bars, every attention sucking app on your phone, the entirety of the internet, the hiking trail across town, that book you've been meaning to finish... Literally everything.
They need to make compelling product to be worthy of the masses carving out time and sitting down and enjoying their game titles. That doesn't change if Xbox games show up on the PS5, which is all the rumors are suggesting.
Quite the contrary. With Microsoft no longer making hardware, the focus will go back to the software rather than the hardware race. Nintendo is enjoying incredible sucess and i am sure Sony will see that too. No doubt they will want to echo that.
Besides... let's not pretend Microsoft was any competition on the software front.
I don't know why people pretend Nintendo isn't competition. They totally are, especially if MS exits the hardware market. The Nintendo console is strong competition and a viable alternative. If the switch is anything to go by, third parties will put the standard at the Nintendo console. I don't see third parties going for Playstation only.
A little ironic to be saying this after years of radio silence. We know absolutely nothing in terms of what most of these studios are working on aside from cash grab remasters/remakes and live service schemes most people dont want.....
@trev666 No. People will turn to PC if that happens. If Microsoft give up, then Steam is more like a competitor than Nintendo.
@Nowings You really think Xbox andy's are gonna jump on PC after the years they have had to do it and didn't? The PC platform is still daunting and expensive.
No. These people will go to Playstation and Nintendo.
Again, assuming Microsoft does exit the hardware market.
I have to agree with this and I've been saying it for a while. Even if MS completely drops out of the console race, even if Sony becomes complacent, the consumers won't necessarily buy whatever Sony is selling. We've seen plenty of first party games flopping. So Sony has every reason to keep bringing out great exclusives. Otherwise, people may stop gaming all together, may migrate to Nintendo or get a PC.
@trev666 Sony can charge whatever they want. It doesn't mean that consumers will be willing to pay that amount. Look at ps+ subscriptions dropping after the price hike, despite Sony dominating this generation. The price is determined by the consumer, not any company no matter the lead they may have.
@trev666 Ghost of Tsushima didn't have a massive budget either and that's a great game. With less pressure the studios could also be a bit more experimental with their games.
@MrMagic the cost to make games has gone up
horizon zero dawn cost $45 million to make forbidden west $212. the sequel to ghost of Tsushima will cost hundreds of millions to make. even just a spiderman remaster cost (correction) $39 million to make
Well this is good to hear. It was a genuine concern when the news broke about Xbox. Hope what he says holds true.
@trev666 You mean the remaster cost $39 million? There's no need to lie to try and make your point, and TLOU 2 cost $220 million and Ghost cost $60 million and they both released around the same time. Sure they are getting more expensive but that doesn't mean they can't make great games still even if Sony lowers the budget a little from time to time for some games.
If anything Sony won't feel pressured in releasing games as quick to keep up with the competition, they will continue to take their time with their games so they are the best possible.
@Nowings not just PC, I have also bought a steam deck.
Considering Days gone launched in a technical mess and reviewed distinctly average, that is not as reassuring as he thinks it is, but I appreciate the sentiment.
PlayStation currently has a ton of success not due to the fact Xbox isn't doing great but because their game devision spreads out over tv and movies. Above that they are not the only company making games, they still want to be the best in the business and love what they do.
I do expect slightly longer hardware cycles and I think that is a good thing.
@trev666
This is a common misconception but that absolutely wouldn't happen. The competitive market for software on PlayStation would be increasing in competition, with the inclusion of MS games, not decreasing.
Sony can only set the prices of first party games, which is a tiny part of the market. The biggest competitors for Sonys games are other PlayStation games, not games on xbox hardware.
Microsoft aren't leaving the hardware market. They're just going to keep publishing Zenimax games and Activision games on PlayStation.
Xbox fanboys were utterly gleeful at Xbox taking a large chunk of games away from PlayStation players. Now that doesn't look like the case they're throwing their toys out of the pram and overreacting, saying it's the end of Xbox. Kinda pathetic.
Ehh. Nobody is questioning "complacency" of devs to create great games.
But if Xbox really leaves console making, what reason would Sony have to invest in 300+ million big budget SP games? Currently it's huge risk which we saw with Spider-Man 2 that has to sold 7,5 million copies to at least break even.
Answer is none. Currently, Sony is using exclusives to draw people into their ecosystem where people then spend money on third-party stuff where Sony is getting 30% from every transaction. That's basically how consoles are working in past 4 generations. But with Xbox consoles gone, investing 300+ million into SP game is just pitiful investment with low ROI, because your console will be "console of choice" even without those games.
@UltimateOtaku91 I really doubt that.
Every month of delay is 200+ devs (in big AA projects) on payroll without any ROI. And game budgets for big AAA SP games are already on verge of being unsustainable.
Xbox is in no way, shape of form pressuring Sony to release their games in shape that they are not ready. Financial reality of game development is doing that. Spider-Man 2 was released in buggy state (for standards of PlayStation Studios) not because of Xbox, but because game already exceeded it's budget, it was tied with release of PS5 Slim (through bundles), and millions of dollars on marketing was already invested and slated for October release.
@Godot25 that's the thing, though. Even though Spider-man will more than make its budget back, even if it didn't, that's peanuts compared to how much Sony makes from microtransactions from CoD, Fifa, Genshin Impact, Fortnite and the like. So, they need to attract gamers somehow. And gamers have other options. Steam can easily make console-like PCs. Consumers can buy a Switch 2. Someone else can enter the race. Sony has zero reason to stop making excellent first party games. It simply has less pressure to keep making mediocre first party games to fill in the gaps.
It's not about the games but the hardware price too, like how when making ps5 slim sony actually <raise> its price rather than lowering it like previous playstations slim, and that's with competition like the $300 xbox series s 😕
@naruball People will buy console, because they want consoles. They don't want PC. And if their only option for playing AAA multiplatform games would be PlayStation (Switch can't run 99% of AAA multiplatform games), they will buy PlayStation even without exclusives.
And I'm not talking about Spider-Man, because that's somehow safe bet. I'm talking about risky projects like new IP's, studios like Sony Bend that isn't making 100% hits etc.
It's about ROI. If you can spend your investment $ in thing that will bring you more money, you will do that. Instead of giving 300 million dollars to a studio that will bring you back 400 millions.
And let's stop dreaming about "another company entering space." Only two companies have money that are required to enter gaming industry as a platform holder. Apple and Google. And Google already tried.
Competition is crucial. If there wasn't an Xbox 360, Sony wouldn't be in position of need to nurture first-party studios. If there wasn't a PS4, Microsoft would get away with Xbox One DRM policies. If it wasn't for Game Pass, Sony wouldn't make PS Plus Extra/Premium which are 100x better then old PS Now offerings.
Just remember what happened last time when Sony felt that their position on the market is untouchable.
I'm not worried about developers desire to make the best art they can. I am worried about their Sony overlords deciding what is being funded, what isn't, and how much things cost. Make no mistake we need Sony to have stiff competition to have the best Sony.
@Godot25 There will be a Switch 2 which will inevitably be more powerful than Switch (1). I agree about PCs, that's why I said that Steam can release console-like PCs. You will turn them on and they will work exactly like a console. No tweaking, no graphics card not working with x game, just pure console experience without much/any possibility to upgrade. They've already done that with steam deck. Steam console is the next step. Sony has already said that they see PCs as competition.
I think you missed my point about Spiderman. Sony can certainly take a risk with games, because they don't need every single game to be uber successful. Some games can make a huge profit, some a small, some break even, some even lose money. In the end, though, the diverse library will bring in enough players and make the platform popular enough that the masses will get it and buy Fortnite and the rest. That's the end game. Hence why Sony has traditionally sold consoles at a loss. Making a small profit from each console sold is nothing compared to all the money they make from microtransactions.
@trev666 wouldn't have paid dlc or paid online gaming
@naruball Switch 2 is rumored to be even less powerful then Series S. So I bet AAA game devs will have just a great time porting their games on system when they are already complaining about Series S power...
You are literally proving my point. Yes, Sony currently can take a risk with games, because they are competing to create ecosystem that people will prefer over competition. With competition (in hardware space) gone, there is no incentive to bet on projects that doesn't have 100% chance of being successful and bringing huge ROI.
Same thing with consoles. When there is competition (Series X), Sony have incentive to price their console in line with competition and therefore taking loss on hardware. In market where isn't any competing hardware, there is no reason for Sony to take a loss on hardware. So I hope, people are prepared for 700$ PS6
First off, this statement is from an artist, not from anyone who drives the business aspects of the studio.
And I guess I believe him, given this statement comes from an animator at a studio that has traditionally taken forever to produce their games, including the fact we’re about to start the sixth year since their last release and still not a whisper of anything being remotely close to completion over at Bend. Obviously they have their heads down working with no regard to any external pressure to produce.
But taken from an overarching PlayStation system standpoint, I do agree that Sony first party games are unlikely to immediately drop off on quality, no matter what happens. Nevertheless, over time it would almost certainly affect what kind of projects would be greenlit by Sony, what their budget would be, how they would be monetized, and what the support system for such creativity would be like. Not saying it would definitely end up in a massive collapse of quality, but it’s a long term possibility.
If it can happen to EA with the sims and their sports games or 2K with NBA it can happen to Sony, when every game is seemingly a third person (worst perspective) action adventure I'd say it's already happening.
PlayStation makes the best games ever.so they will be good.if Microsoft is doing theyre third party party sony games is still going to be quality.word up son
@KundaliniRising333 Let's agree to disagree all the firstparty titles I own are benchmarks in quality and looks and performance and that takes time. About the radiosilence the people were complaining about things being announced to fast now you, hear about it when it's near completion.
@themightyant You want the best of the best that will cost money. With almost all firstparty singleplayer games with no extra income the money has to come from somewhere or why make the games so expensive if you won't make your money back.
And here i was thinking they would say; 'we will be slacking off, why try when you are number one?'
Playstation Studios does not compete with Xbox because MS side hasn't put up a fight for 15 years, but it does compete with Nintendo and other 3rd party publishers both in sales and in quality.
@trev666 I can only speak for myself, of course, but all of the things you have listed there are things that I could quite happily live without. Sure they are nice things to have but if we didn't have them I would still quite happily enjoy my hobby as I currently do. You also can't say with absolute certainty that we still wouldn't have got them one way or another too, probably just not as soon as we did but Sony may have come up with the idea themselves in the end regardless.
The narrative that Sony would hike up prices to levels that a lot of people couldn't afford and cease to look for ways to innovate or enhance the gaming experience if unchallenged is as ridiculous as the suggestion that Microsoft are going to pull out of the console market altogether.
You know the only competition is the competition in fan boys heads.
Sonys first party ever since the ps1 ha e never degraded.
PlayStation may of played and joked about the competition on a marketing level but reality is they aren't in it for the competition. It's business. Be the best or don't bother.
Just because there isn't competition doesn't mean the quality degrades.
I mean people have been saying this since the PS5 because they are infront.
But I've seen 0 degrading from them.
Yes they aren't talking about what's next from their first party but that's nothing to do with competition that's due to the studios arent ready.
The output from Sony, hasn't slipped since being at the top.
All what's slipped is the amount they talk and reality is to them. It has T done anything to their sales. It's actually grown sales in their eyes.
The only thing any of this will do is give the outsiders more to talk about or say they are doomed like we have seen throughout the ps5.
And yet PS5 have put out more meaningful exclusive games than any of its competitors.
If Sony had no competitors all first party studios would still be doing what they are doing but with more money to spend because PlayStation will be raking in more money due to everyone having to buy a PlayStation.
All 3rd party games will be bought on PlayStation all apps people use on their home console would all be purchased on PlayStation. I mean add the sales of Xbox to PlayStation.
Actually thinking about it. PlayStation would be in a better stance to risk money for new innovations and genres.
Of course all forms of entertainment are competing the same finite amount of time each person has. That's not the issue.
The problem will be that if PlayStation has no competition in the high end console market they will be far less likely to innovate and have no incentive to add value to consumers.
Sony have proven in previous generations that when they feel untouchable consumers suffer. With no alternative there will be no need for them adapt to competitor offerings.
This article almost sounds like zero competition is a good thing and a monopoly within an industry is great for customers.
@XboxistheBestBox I blame Good Old Jim Ryan for this
All eyes have been on Sony vs Microsoft but Nintendo is the one Sony should really be worrying about.
Right now they are seen as a companion handheld lower powered console device.
Soon they could be seen as a more powerful hybrid device that call run all of the 3P AAA games on top of their hugely successful 1P games. The new Zelda game shipped 20 million units in 7 months.
Sony need to focus on software because apart from the new God of War game the software has not been tracking as well as last gen. I'd say the quality has already been lower vs the PS4 gen.
Sorry, but they are hardly going to say we won't try as hard without competition. It'll just happen because they won't need to try as hard...
I don’t doubt that those developers working at Sony studios desire to make the best product they can. Unfortunately for them, they don’t get a say in how much budget they have or how many developers they can hire and how long they can develop for.
I was looking forward to seeing naughty dog’s last of us multiplayer project and I’m sure those working on it were excited to showcase it. Ultimately their desires and passions for were undermined by Sony cancelling the project as they decided it wouldn’t work as a live service title and generate the revenue they required. Frustratingly, the multiplayer in the original last of us was great and I’m fairly sure it was cut from the sequel in favour of being turned into a GaS product which we’ll now never get.
I’m also fairly sure that Microsoft’s decision to release games on other platforms was made by the Company heads rather than the Xbox division. Tom Warren stated yesterday that very few people working at Xbox know what will be announced next week regarding “the future of Xbox”.
@KundaliniRising333 the sales numbers don’t lie though, if nobody wanted them then people wouldn’t buy them. That’s such a weak response, people speak with their wallets. If they don’t sell well then they wouldn’t keep making them.
@trev666 there was in game achivements long before xbox had them , also if you are worried about game prices going up , this has no effect on it as sony doesn't control 3rd part game prices. why would they make their games cost 100$ while other games would cost 60-70?
I feel like the guys at Bend Studios have a lot of heart, they work pr like few studios. Days Gone was just the wrong project with a manchild director.
I really hope they show something great next time.
>and PS4 will always face intense competition
Can't figure out if it's a joke or not. That piece of hardware is turning eleven years old this year.
@MrMagic
Ghost of Tsushima is just a boring repetitive open world game that could've been made by Ubisoft if they had better visual artists.
@ZhuckelDror And yet it was nominated for game of the year and actually won the Gamers choice game of the year award, along with other wins and nominations from D.I.C.E and the Bafta's, plus over 10 million sold. 👍
@MrMagic
And what weight does it all carry? That's right. Zero.
Gotta love people complaining about the next gen console which they would use for the next 7 years potentially costing 700 bucks/euros while at the same time buying 1k smartphones every 2-3 years.
@ZhuckelDror More weight then your personal opinion that's for sure. 😉
@MrMagic
>have no arguments left
>go personal
Sounds like a load of horseshit. Of course they’re driven by competing against with other studios.
Internal desire? Give me a break.
@ZhuckelDror You never had an argument to begin with. It was always just your opinion because games are subjective.
@gymratAmarillo i loved days gone even more on the ps5. it was too ambitious for the ps4 and couldn't run the game properly in how they wanted the game to play. which i think that turned a lot of people off the game. its one of the few games that made me actually care about games running at a solid and locked 60 fps.
Well, there's a fourth competitor already: Valve. Maybe there's really no room for 4 big players in this space.
@twitchtvpat
They had more than enough time to release the game in a proper state.
@MrMagic
Exactly. You have started arguing. And instantly have run out of arguments.
@ZhuckelDror what days gone? the ps4 was out dated at that point. i guess they could have watered down the game to run better. but i'm glad they didn't.
I mean if they hone in sure. Most if not all their first party don't interest me anyway due to direction changes in existing IPs or the new ones don't appeal to me of gameplay. So the competition doesn't effect me really.
They can keep trying and have games or services to have more impact and money outcomes but I mean sure, whatever. They are yes competing with tv, movies, music, many outdoor activities. Always have, always will. Sega had Saturn/PC releases, it's not unheard of if you know about it and do research.
So Xbox games and competition changes can come to PS still and I still don't care because most of Microsoft's IPs don't interest me either due to their various changes too or IPs that are new and I have no interest in them.
So I'm buying up their all variety IPs I never got to experience instead on PS1-3, OG Xbox/360, or focused on Vita 2017/Wii U 2018/3DS 2020/Switch 2021+.
@Godot25 the ancient switch can already run Hogwarts Legacy, the biggest game of 2023. I'm sure switch 2 will be more than fine. If it's popular enough, third parties will make their games work on it. And you completely ignored the part about steam consoles and the possibility that people will reject a 700 USD PS6 the way they rejected the ps3 despite the ps2 ans ps1 destroying the competition. Sony can be the only company left in the race and still fail to attract an audience. The consumer has the final word.
@naruball Hogwarts Legacy is cross-gen game. And it also took almost one year to develop functioning port that is so constrained that I'm baffled somebody bought it.
Switch sold 140 million consoles and is largely ignored by big third parties. Ports are either late or non-existent. So let's not pretend that every big multiplatform game is on Switch.
People rejected PS3 with high price, because they had alternative. Xbox 360 that was cheaper and ran majority of games better. It took Sony to make cheaper and better Slim model to put up fight. So you exactly proved my point that competition is needed.
It's not the 1st party devs I worry about. I worry about Playstation and its arrogant, insufferable attitude when it's leading the pack.
Hmm. So, it's "nonsense" to be concerned about PS potentially losing Xbox as competition because... "all forms of entertainment" have always been as fierce of a competitor for PS.
If that's true, I guess I'm confused as to why PS was so staunchly opposed to the ABK acquisition yet heard nothing from Netflix, Spotify, etc, hear nothing from PS about other huge mergers and aquisitions, and @get2sammyb wrote here "The challenge for Sony is whether it has pockets deep enough to compete on this kind of level" but if all entertainment is as much of a competitor as Xbox, then did the Fox-Disney deal put pressure on PS too?
A business losing it's largest competitor doesn't usually result with happy customers, so I think the concern is valid.
@GKT Wdym
Don't bet on it
Love all the people desperate for Xbox to leave the market so Sony "wins" 😅
@MattBoothDev it's PlayStation people desperately banging on about Xbox leaving the hardware market constantly
@Stickleman For real?
@Stickleman not from what I've seen
Wouldn’t be so sure Matt
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