Sony Plans to Convert PC Gamers Through the Power of PlayStation

The other way around, us PlayStation gamers will eventually be converted to PC gamers with each superior port that releases on PC.

Yeah if PC keeps getting the better version… I think it’s the other way around.

I got a PS5 but what games would I have to get for a PS6? Apparently Microsoft is going multiplat and Sony is going PC after a year. Seems like a gaming pc and a Switch are all you need to play most games now.

I had a PS4. Didn't enjoy it and sold it. I don't plan on getting another playstation in the future. Sony selling on the pc is a win-win. I can play the games I want and sony can get revenue they wouldn't get otherwise. I wouldn't expect much else.

Sony Plans to Convert PC Gamers Through the Power of Friendship and Magic

So they'll be holding some from the platform. That's the only way to do that.

I just say GTA 6

and Sony knows that too. Every PC player (even if they claim otherwise) wants to play this game on the day 1 and not wait and therefore buy a console (primarily a PS5).

@KawakiisaFraud a good price drop close to release date of gta6 would be the perfect storm in converting people over. A lot of PS4 players will upgrade at that time too.

@KawakiisaFraud I am a pc player that wants to play the game at 60fps and a decent native resolution. I have a ps5, but I’ll be waiting for the pc version so I don’t have to compromise on frame rate and image quality. GTA games are a rarity - GTA V released over 10 years ago. I don’t mind waiting a little longer in order to experience the game at its absolute best.

Also, I played Spider-Man remastered on ps5, but I’m waiting for Spider-Man 2 to release on pc. Single player games on ps5 have encouraged me to wait for their pc releases, so I guess their current strategy of converting pc sales into ps5 sales is failing… and I suspect I’m not alone in this regard.

I think the biggest problem will be that pc users will have nothing to put in their footers on gaming forums and dating sites

Ps5
43” 4K tv
Lawn Chair
Sister’s garage

It's a smart strategy. They don't want to cannibalize their sales or they'll end up like Xbox.

He’s probably wrong, but I could see it working a bit if you time it right, ie port the previous game in a series such as Spider-Man, Uncharted, GoW, a few months before the new one comes to console. If you do that, and the game is good, you could get a few people with more money than impulse control who buy a PS5 or PS6.

I can’t think of any game series were they have actually timed it right though, Horizon maybe? Not that I pay much attention to PC ports.

@koffing Did they say PC after a year in this meeting? I didn't watch it but all their other singleplayer games have been about 2 years or more.

So theoretically we could use the PC port choices Sony make to get an idea for what's coming in the future on PS5.

That's right Sony give them a Bloodborne remaster and tell them if they want Bloodborne 2 they need to buy the PS6.

Seriously though people say but console prices are going up but they ignore the fact PC prices are going up as well when people have even less disposable income. It's definitely worth a try to entice some players into their ecosystem, the latest findings from ESA said that Gen Z are likely to choose console over PC anyway.

Charming, but PC is the place to be with Sony and MS games available there for a lower price and with superior versions of the games. PC players can wait for the inevitable port which is also taking less and less time.

Some titles appeal, others don't.

I mean Microsoft went after console because it was a thread to PC. People move over to PC for various reasons.

Yet Microsoft almost still treat their console like a PC yet they have been at it longer than Google yet have similar oh everything we do will apply logic and I'm like wait what did you learn nothing? Besides the audience appeal to certain games issue.

Some of us are fine with our back compat or old consoles but most want current only so us collectors pick up the old.

PC hasn't been an issue for PS5 games it's just you either like them or hate them or upgrade to PC if you REALLY care for those IPs I guess or don't mind waiting.

I don't see a point though but I have no interest in their current games direction anyway the game design bored me I have what Asobi/Astro left, if Media Molecule has another game. I got nothing left with the brand at this point and third parties have been not for me either.

I had partial PS4 fun but no interest in PS5 at all VR/Portal would have been but they disappointed, the studios I cared about are dead.

Sony can try the trophies and PSN data but PC gamers have 10+ launchers to deal with or just Steam or GOG if they want DRM free and certain titles. They know what types of games and what storefronts to deal with.

I think they know competition well and what they seek.

Or just buy Indies/AA if they don't care about AAA. Which you an easily do on console.

Some green team and pc guys are mad that Sony still care about they’re console.

@Savage_Joe I was talking about hardware prices.

They want to convert them when they can't even get them to make a psn account lmao

I think it’s a sound strategy.

PC players who really start liking the franchises may end up getting a PS5 so they can play those day one.

And those on PC who still don’t bother with a PS5 but like the franchises will still buy them, so Sony gets more software sales.

I think as a company that is mostly focused on consoles, this seems like the right strategy to try and solve two issues at the same time. Getting more console sales but also getting more software sales.

@Jamesblob Hardware sales are rarely driving the profits of the big 3. They are meant to get people to buy software and/or subscriptions for their respective user bases. And as far as exclusives, I don’t mind if they wind up available for other platforms, I think it’s ultimately a good thing as it means I’ll get more of what I like if those games sell more. I’m in this for the games. Not the companies.

Also in terms of success Nintendo is far ahead of PlayStation and Xbox.

*Edit changed Sony and Microsoft to PlayStation and Xbox.

I don't quite understand this way of thinking here.

If anything, I agree with the author, this will only incentivize PC players to not even think about buying PS5 consoles, and rather wait for PC ports to continue to release on Steam, or their launcher if it ever comes out (as we are seeing true about Ragnarok being rumored and Forbidden West being brought over). Just wait until they port these games to phones like RE4 Remake or Death Stranding on the new iPhone.

Doesn't help that their game's budgets are also just insanely bloated and take a long period to develop, so obviously they REALLY need to look for other sources of revenue recoupment, i.e. Mobile and PC.

Good luck with that 😂. PC players don't even buy Epic game store exclusives and will just wait for a Steam release, no chance they buy a PS5 instead of waiting for it to come to PC

I'm someone who's always been a console gamer but this recent strategy from Sony has taught me that I don't need their console anymore

@carlos82 while it’s true they are largely on steam, other people in the conversation have pointed to how Sony still gets a cut of those ports. Even if it’s not driving hardware sales, they’re still getting profits that incentivizes them to produce first party content.

@UncleByron absolutely, it's still profitable for Sony and it's a win win for everyone. PC players get their games, albeit after a little wait and it helps ensure Sony can afford to keep making these games in the first place for their console owners

PC really is the future it seems. Glad I bought one.

Sony, you only wasting a lot of time on trying to convince PC players to buy a PS console, especially after all the cry and moan and review bombed for Helldivers 2 and Ghost of Tsushima just because it needs a PSN account.

Just focus on making games for your own console + playerbase and then port the games to PC like 3-4 years later or maybe not at all?
I mean, Nintendo are doing great without releasing their games for PC. If Nintendo can do it then Sony can do it too.

this strategy could possibly be effective if sony teased pc gamers but did not port its sequels to pc...ever. so god of war (2018) on pc but no god of war ragnarok. horizon zero dawn on pc, but no horizon forbidden west etc. unfortunately, sony made the mistake in porting the sequels to pc already so i have no idea what herman is talking about there. i suppose he could prevent god of war (2028) and horizon (3) from ever going to pc??? somehow i don't see that happening due to sony's struggles to remain profitable when its software is exclusive to ps5.

@PuppetMaster They can certainly always go back to smaller budget games like Nintendo, they're doing it with Astro, plenty of IP to do that.

That's the stupidest strategy I've ever heard. They clearly don't understand the PC market if they think they can convert them.

@Gamer_X

Superior ports like tlou part 1?

That's So Herman!

Jim's mini me is backwards as Jimbo himself. Sure, guy, people with $2000 rigs and triple the fps and access to every game in history are going to put it up on eBay to play a $400 PS5 in glorious semi-30fps. These guys are more up their own sphincter than I thought.

@MrMagic The latest findings from ESA say that E3 isn't dead, it's just resting. Are we going by ESA now?

@Porco maybe it's Microsoft's fault maybe it isn't but the 2 power consoles made a mistake to accommodate games and publishers that were otherwise PC games instead of making only console only (and really that means Japanese style) games. As soon as consoles just became budget gaming PCs that play PC series worse, with a walled garden, they aimed right at obsolescence.

@HotGoomba full anime lolz 😆

@Rodimusprime1313 I mean, power isn't the only factor in choosing PC over console.

Free online,better and more frequent game sales, access to a large array of emulators(allowing you to play your ps2,ps3,WII U,Xbox 360 and switch games with a better enhanced experience on PC), and access to the largest games Library( from Steam large Libraries,to Xbox and PlayStation ports).

This could make a person consider a PC than is even weaker than the PS5,over a PS5 itself.

I guess it depends on whether things are released on PC at the same time as PlayStation. If there is a year delay or something then it’s possible some will. But largely those who don’t think twice about spending huge amounts on their rig and would see a console as akin to buying a new graphics card.

Well putting games onto PC hasn't hurt their console sales at all, infact compared to the PS4 console sales are up in the USA during the same time frame. So those saying playstation players are flocking to PC are deluded, us playstation gamers aren't going anywhere.

@MrMagic Console is just a more convenient way to game, easier to play, set up and maintain, and cheaper to. And then there's the casuals who are 100% not getting a PC, same for the die hard Playstation fans who want to play their games on release and not wait two years.

Going PC day one ruined Xbox and obviously Sony don't want to follow their example.

@UltimateOtaku91 PC day & date didn't ruin Xbox. Xbox mismanagement killed Xbox. Xbox one launch killed Xbox's chance to compete against the PS4, little to no 1st party games & poorer 3rd party support to the competition did it. Plus Microsoft is connected to PC so it's a natural shift for certain Xbox users. Where for PlayStation users it isn't.
I bet PlayStation would fair better than Xbox going day & date with PC. As it still has the best 3rd party support of all consoles, 1st party games would still play well on PlayStation hardware, Sony as a publisher isn't the biggest seller on its hardware so to a large portion of the fanbase they wouldn't care anyway. Playstation would still have perks like PS+ & 3rd party exclusives. Xbox games will soon be day & date.
You also have that console is the cheaper option to play games. Which in the economical times we are in is a plus. You also have to factor PlayStation 5 has 62 million shipped to Xbox Series 33 million so again PC support hasn't killed Xbox hardware altogether . A lot jumped to PlayStation as well as PC.

If PC gamers were starved of great games then it could work.

But they're not. In reality they are massively spoiled for choice.

Thinking that a few sequel console exclusives will make PC gamers convert in anything close to a meaningful number is fanciful. They'll make more money continuing with the ports.

Sony over estimating their own importance on this one.

@TheTraditional The only question is are enough people gonna buy those smaller budget games?

Last time i check, many of those small budget games was a flop. No one buy Tearaway, Puppeteer, Patapon, Concrete Genie, Loco Roco, Tokyo Jungle, and even Astro Bot: Rescue Mission was a flop (although part of that was because the game exclusives for PSVR) despite they got positive reviews.

I'm wondering if Push had the numbers to backup their clickbate headline.
I guess they didn't. Who did? PlayStation. They see growth after a release of an older game on PC and after a show or movie hits. When that is a recurring trend you can make this statement.

If they released just a few games and stopoed, then i cannimagine a lot of people would buy console, but they mady it a rule that all games will come out eventually. They will just wait for it

Will this strategy work? I don't know, but I jumped ship from PC to PS5, main reason being a lot of PC ports that i was buying were just bad and i couldn't be bothered to keep buying them anymore on PC. I was reading and posting on a few forums on Steam last week about this very issue. Some users were experiencing stutters on Sekiro, Elden Ring and DS3 on PC, just like i did, and i "solved" this issue by playing them on my PS5 (except ER has to be the PS4 Pro version). Same goes for The Evil Within 2, FF7 Remake, Steelrising and more recently, Hogwarts Legacy. I've seen at least two users on Steam that dropped the PC version of HL and started playing on PS5 because of the stutters. You obviously won't have high end graphics, this is not the console's goal, but at least you can play these games without too much hassle. Will this always be the case? No. I'm pretty sure some people never experienced such issues on their PC, but I'm talking about my experiences. And at least i can buy these games while not being forced to keep upgrading my GPU and CPU, so that helps me financially a lot. I'm a very specific case, but i don't see myself using PC as my main gaming platform anymore, even if Sony keeps releasing their games on PC on the next generation. It's just not worth the effort and money for me, at least. To each their own, though.

One thing that people have to accept is that PC releases since the modern era have and will always be superior to console releases. Expect for bad ports of course. It's just what happens when their CPUs and GPUs are constantly evolving. Stupid argument that that's the reason to go to PC. It will always be the reason to go to PC. It's nothing new.

Go spend 1k on a new rig if that's what you want

I suppose I will continue to wait then. I've enjoyed every Sony game that came to PC thus far but not enough to buy a console

I used to be a PC-only guy. That was in my EverQuest and WoW years. Around 2018 I started playing console games again and got hooked on Sony’s single player games. Now I don’t even have a gaming PC anymore.

@Aladin_Run : I personally prefer to game on consoles, but it's actually cheaper to game on PC in the long run as their games go on sale far more often that it does on consoles.

With that said, the more PlayStation gets to release their superior ports on PC the more people are going to hold back to play them on PC instead.

Before it used to be years before the PlayStation PC ports now we have them being announced months later eventually it will be Day and Day simultaneous releases.

Yeah, it doesn't work that way Heman.
You won't convert anyone, people who have a PS5 also have a PC for gaming and probably a Switch too, and people who use PC as their main platform play games way different than what PS Studios offer right now.

@ProfessorNiggle @Aladin_Run I mean, there are already rumors about the ps6... what's the difference in buying a $1-2k computer or buying a new console every 5-8 years (with an additional $400-640 for the BASE ps plus price tacked onto that). It's actually more cost effective in the long run to have a decent PC. Plus you get access to mods and free games. Kinda a no brainer

@NEStalgia yea. it remains to be seen just how detrimental their move to pc will be in the future as more players jump ship from ps consoles (and sony loses all associated revenue that they provided to the ecosystem). it appears that sony anticipated the razor thin margins and needed pc sales to subsidize its 1st party output, but was that the right call?

If pc players weren't willing to pick up a ps4 before they started this pc port strategy, why would they start now? And only the single player games? If I was only on pc I would not jump into ps5 for single player games that I know are coming less than a year down the line. There really isn't a reason to have fomo for a single player narrative game that I know will be the same experience whenever I get to it. I already hit the point where I won't pay more than $30 for a narrative game.

I think we have our first quote from the new CEO that we can look back on in a couple years and say what a 180 they did.

@Savage_Joe helldivers 2 also fits the live service model that they are saying will continue to be day 1 on pc. But I think single player games would do much better as a day 1 too. They aren't going to convince very many people to buy a console to play a narrative game that will come to pc 1 year or less later and you risk something else being the big narrative experience when it does get to pc and suddenly pc gamers aren't very interested in that game from last year.

Sony is struggling to get ps4 users to convert to ps5 (half of playerbase are on ps4). Convincing pc users is going to be harder.

PC gamers are eating better than anyone. They have so many games and exclusives that will never, ever come to any console. To think they’ll spend another $500 a PS5 just to play a few additional games is laughable. Ain’t going to happen. They’ll wait it out or just live without them.

Good one Hermen!

@8bitOG I hear that but the convenience factor plus just couch gaming goes a long way. I am going to upgrade my PC and enjoy singleplayer games on my PS5 and online, sim and strategy games on my PC. Best of both worlds

@ProfessorNiggle @Aladin_Run fair enough. There's something to be said for the convenience of a plug n' play system. There is certainly more tinkering with a PC, but I also am tech driven and like gadgetry. I'm simply pointing out that the cost is similar, but one is more money up front while the other is trickle feed