Sogreblute said:
Sony loses money on each PS5 sold (except the Pro). Yes they make 100% of the software sale on their system but they need to try to make the loses on their console back per purchase. Each store on PC has their own cuts. Steam has 70% then 75% after $10 million has been made then 80% after $50 million. Epic Games has 88%, GOG 70% and Xbox PC 88%. Also, as I stated Sony would make more money from all PC gamers if they put their games day one on PC than trying to sell to the select few PC gamers that will buy a PS5 to play the one or two games they want. |
Sony's games sell a few hundred million per generation on consoles, with potential to near-double the amount if their output is improved. They had a crazy momentum from PS4, but the shortages and GaaS initiative messed them up. Gradually, they may return to shape. Hundreds of millions will sell tons of consoles to customers who will end up buying more 3rd party games on their platform.
Exclusivity is done by everyone except new Microsoft. Counter Strike 2, Dota 2, and even small games like Half-Life Alyx remain Steam exclusive. Fortnite on PC is exclusive to the Epic Games Store. Why isn't anyone throwing a tantrum about what's going on there? Is Valve ran by a bunch of dumbasses or do they get a free pass?
Exclusive content sell. And platform holders still make exclusive deals with 3rd party titles that are much smaller than their own tentpole titles, meaning "exclusives of all kinds add value to platforms", because why else are they still a thing? Even games that barely sell a single million like Bayonetta are exclusive to Nintendo's platform, because Nintendo understands that quality titles constitute their brand's image and reputation.
Nobody sells as many combined exclusives as Nintendo. This doesn't make smaller software deals "pointless". Sony's top games are more significant than Bayonetta or Metroid Prime lol. Not everything needs to be on Mario Kart's or Animal Crossing's or Pokemon's tier.
As for hardware profitability... Nobody knows how much anyone is making or losing from hardware at the moment. So why do you pretend to know? PS5 (disc drive edition) was profitable a few months into the generation, but the chip prices kept rising and Sony adjusted their hardware pricing accordingly. The "timeline" of their hardware profit/loss is not known to anyone.
