Sony's U-turn - Should first party games be cross-gen?

[The_Liquid_Laser]

the-pi-guy said:

The_Liquid_Laser said:

"- A lot of MS's games are either still going to be coming to Xbox One or are a year and half out, so why are cross gen games bad for Sony, but not an issue for MS?"
I have to wait about a week or so to answer this question.  June 13 is when Microsoft has their E3 presentation.  Sony has left themselves vulnerable.  Microsoft may take advantage of this opportunity or they may not.  We'll see.

"- On the whole, Vita isn't relevant.  Sony was convinced handhelds weren't relevant, and they basically ensured it failed. And market dynamics are very different between the console and portable, you even admit that Japan has more of a preference for one over the other."
Whenever someone thinks the Playstation brand is valuable, then the Vita becomes relevant.  The Vita tells us exactly how much the Playstation brand is worth.  The Wii U tells us exactly how much the Nintendo brand is worth.  That is how much a crappy system can sell just by putting the brand name on the console.  It's the games that have the real value and not the name on the box.

"-Vita also isn't the same scenario. The Vita got very little support, first or third party. It wasn't just an issue it didn't have exclusive games. It didn't get any of the mountain of multiplats that the PS5 will get, let alone exclusives like Ratchet and Clank, Final Fantasy XVI, and all the others."
Wikipedia says PS Vita got 1299 games.  That is a decent amount of support.  The N64 only got 393 games and sold about twice the hardware of the Vita.  Most N64 games were exclusive though.  Very few Vita games were.  Exclusives matter.  Making Rachet and Clank a PS5 exclusive is a smart move.  Making their other first party games cross-gen is a dumb move (Spider-Man, God of War, Horizon, etc...).

"- PS5 is going to be selling for the forseeable future, regardless of exclusives. There is a lot of demand for consoles, despite a lack of exclusives on PS5/XSX both, and it's not likely to catch up until next year or possibly the year after. At which point, both console makers have said that's when to expect more exclusives."
-This is wishful thinking.  Software is what sells hardware.  Hardware doesn't sell by magic.  It is true that when a system first releases it will sell for a few months to the most hardcore fans.  Even the Wii U sold pretty well at first.  This only lasts for so long though.  Most gamers actually want new games to play.  PS5 cannot be successful by resting on its laurels.  Console makers never get a free ride.

On top of that Sony is basically wasting it's first two years by releasing cross-gen titles.  Even if we find out that Microsoft is doing the same dumb thing, they could actually widen their lead over Microsoft.  Instead, it is Sony that is being dumb.  They are releasing all of these cross-gen titles and making themselves vulnerable to Microsoft.  Who knows, maybe we'll find out on June 13, that they'll be dumb together?  Or maybe Microsoft will have some killer reveals that will sell hardware over the next year or two.  Sony is definitely giving Microsoft a great opportunity. 

> It's the games that have the real value and not the name on the box.

Of course games matter.  No one said otherwise.  The issue is exclusives probably don't.  No one is likely to switch to Xbox, just because PS4 is getting subpar versions of new games. 

>Wikipedia says PS Vita got 1299 games.  That is a decent amount of support.  The N64 only got 393 games and sold about twice the hardware of the Vita.  Most N64 games were exclusive though.  Very few Vita games were.  Exclusives matter.  Making Rachet and Clank a PS5 exclusive is a smart move.  Making their other first party games cross-gen is a dumb move (Spider-Man, God of War, Horizon, etc...).

What matters is quality. Grand Theft Auto by itself is a bigger deal than all 1299 Vita games combined. That's what the Vita lacked. It basically had 3 even remotely notable games. 

>Even the Wii U sold pretty well at first. 

No it didn't. It had a decent launch, then it dropped off. PS5 is the fastest selling console ever, and it is still selling out in minutes or less. And it is likely to outsell the Wii U and the Vita this year.

> Even if we find out that Microsoft is doing the same dumb thing

MS literally was the one who said they were going to be making all games cross platform for the next two years, it's possible they changed their minds on that, but they're the ones who started the conversation.
Additionally, every one of their games is so far coming to PC.

"Of course games matter.  No one said otherwise.  The issue is exclusives probably don't.  No one is likely to switch to Xbox, just because PS4 is getting subpar versions of new games."

People are very likely to switch to X|S if these same games are on PS4.  They can say "hey I don't need a PS5 to play Spider-Man and God of War.  I'll buy an XBox for Gen 9 games so I can play those exclusives too."  I.e. people can alternate from one generation to the next.  Console loyalty is not really a thing, especially not in North America.  In North America, we pick a new company to win almost every generation.

"What matters is quality. Grand Theft Auto by itself is a bigger deal than all 1299 Vita games combined. That's what the Vita lacked. It basically had 3 even remotely notable games."

Every console has quality games, and that includes the Vita.  The Vita has Minecraft.  That is even bigger than GTA.  However Minecraft is not even remotely exclusive.  I know, personally, that the Vita has about a dozen games I'd enjoy if you ignore the fact that I can play these games on systems I already own.  The Vita lacks quality exclusives.

>Even the Wii U sold pretty well at first. 
"No it didn't. It had a decent launch, then it dropped off."

I think you just disagreed with me and agreed with me at the same time.  The PS5 will take longer than the Wii U to drop off, but it can drop off too.  It can't rest on its laurels.  No console can.

"MS literally was the one who said they were going to be making all games cross platform for the next two years, it's possible they changed their minds on that, but they're the ones who started the conversation.
Additionally, every one of their games is so far coming to PC."

You should know better than to take Microsoft at face value.  They lie about stuff all time time, especially to screw with their competition.  We'll see on June 13 if they "changed their mind" or not.