98 comments

Sony Have No Games Left in 2015, But That’s Genius

by on July 9, 2015
 

In many people’s eyes, Sony won E3. Incredible announcements such as the Final Fantasy VII remake (and the fact that PS4 is getting it first), Shenmue 3 being a thing, and The Last Guardian not only existing, but coming to PS4 in 2016 (though I’ll believe it when we have it in our cold, clammy hands), meant that people were hyperventilating with excitement. But as the dust settled on a generally fantastic E3, people were slowly coming to the realisation that Sony have absolutely no games of note left in 2015.

But that’s genius, it really is.

See, last generation, the Xbox 360 was the dominant hardware. Fanboys be damned, it just was. It sold so well that many argue the hardware generation was lengthened simply because of its success. But the tables have turned, and while Microsoft themselves had a great E3, the figures don’t lie. Sony and their PS4 are way ahead his generation, and that is why they can have “no games” for the remainder of this year.

Batman Arkham Knight interview

Lost in the haze of all those huge announcements, Sony revealed that Activision are now a partner, with Call of Duty maps coming first to PlayStation. Think back a few short months, and you may recall that Star Wars: Battlefront also appears to have a co-marketing deal with Sony. What about Batman: Arkham Knight? Notice anything about the TV ads for that game? PlayStation 4 has the Red Hood edition, yet more co-marketing between Sony and a third party.

In fact, if you think about it, can you remember many third party games that have gone Xbox recently? No, thought not.

Releasing Bloodborne earlier in the year to high scores is one thing, but first party obviously needs to have a stream of games throughout the year. Talk is that Sony lose to Microsoft every holiday because they have little to no games. While Microsoft do indeed have lots of games this holiday (Halo, for starters), the trouble for us is that Sony don’t need to have any.

??????????????????????????

They’ve become so dominant that they can afford to rest on their laurels. Like it or not, they have become the defacto third party choice for both gamers and publishers. Deals are done on PS4, and gamers are buying on that platform too. The Call of Duty deal, though half-forgotten already, is a far bigger deal than people realise. The CoD Championships are a massive money-maker for everyone involved, and due to the deal with Microsoft, every game played during them was on Xbox One. That’s hardly going to be the case now, and you have to assume that Sony will now be the involved party, thus making the event Sony-sponsored, and forcing every competitor have to learn on the DualShock 4. As Adam Orth once said, they’ll just have to “deal with it”, probably.

So this year, while you and I may complain about having nothing to play on our PS4s, Sony will be biding their time. 2016 is set to be huge for them, with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and The Last Guardian set to appear on the PS4, while in the meantime they have a plethora of third-party games continuing to help them sell consoles. Microsoft are looking back at the success of the Xbox 360 by adding backward compatibility, while Sony are looking to the future. Medium term success can be had with Halo, Forza and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, but the PS4 is unlikely to slip behind, not least because it’s also got Destiny on its books, and is the best media player of the two consoles thanks to Sky GO, Spotify and now DLNA media streaming support. And let’s not also discount the huge games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, that take a hundred hours or more complete. The truth is that nobody is hurting for games to play this year.

The_Witcher_3_Wild_Hunt_Getting_paid-best_part_of_the_job

Somewhere, a few years ago, a Sony marketing executive sat in a conference room and pitched this idea. He or she laid out plans for a the next few years, detailing how they get out in front (christ, they probably even used the words “let’s make the PS4 like the Xbox 360”), and stay out in front. The room fell silent for a moment when they said “We’ll delay Uncharted 4 until 2016”, and then erupted when the full plan unraveled before their eyes. “Let’s pepper the year with a few HD remakes of games people loved on PS3, and let’s throw money behind third parties”, they said. “Then we’ll finally bring out our big guns for 2016, giving us extra dev time to make them the best they can be!” Rapturous applause, and some whooping.

Microsoft still have a mountain to climb, despite one of their best E3s in years. The fact Sony have no games for 2015 may seem incredibly shitty to you or I, but it’s a genius plan, and it’s working perfectly. That marketing person must be incredibly proud, and rich.