By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Gaming - Sony: We Are Moving Away From A Hardware Centric Model

redkong on 08 August 2025

PC is a much better choice then PS5 right now. If someone has a powerful PC very few reasons to own a PlayStation console.



Around the Network
JackHandy on 08 August 2025

As soon as this happens, it'll be down to one console per-gen for me. Currently, I own a PS5 and Switch 2. The Switch 2 is for Nintendo games, and the PS5 is for Sony exclusives and third parties, since I don't like digital games or key cards and want the best versions with the best frame rates etc. But if Sony does this, that's over. And then when/if Nintendo does it, it's game over entirely. I'll just stick to my retro consoles at that point.



Qwark on 08 August 2025
xboxgreen said:

Makes sense to me. More money to be made from software than hardware. Sorry everyone, but cloud gaming and subscriptions are the future.

In an pretty sure PS+ brings in a shit ton of money though. It would make much less money of there are only 40 million PlayStations out there at the end of the PS6 era.



Please excuse my (probally) poor grammar

EricHiggin on 08 August 2025
SvennoJ said:
curl-6 said:

As I said in other threads about this, I think people are catastrophising a bit if they think this means PS is about to go off the rails.

Sony will probably be more cautious in their multiplatform approach than Microsoft, they're not dumb enough to just dump their biggest games on PC/Xbox/Switch 2 day and date, at least not in the short term.

What we'll probably see is older, smaller, and live service games make their way across first, probably with a timed exclusivity period on PS5.

Playstation will be fine, they're still the go-to brand for AAA console gaming, so I think fears about this being their doom are jumping the gun.

Sony is facing a shrinking console gaming market just like MS and Nintendo.

The market for console gaming will still be there but efforts need to be made to get the younger generations off their phones and off ftp gaas games into more traditional games or those will slowly vanish.

Just go 3rd party, publish on more platforms isn't a long term solution. The pie is still shrinking even though you make your games available to more of the pie. And it's a fact GAAS is dominating "free-to-play titles generated 85% of all game revenue".

So no wonder Sony wants to chase that to prop up their revenue. Nintendo has the handheld market swooped up (will be interesting to see where Switch 2 lands after Switch 1, Switch 1 is already smaller than Nintendo console+handheld audience was before), MS is propping up revenue with acquisitions (also combined revenue is smaller than before the acquisitions) and gamepass + games on PC.


https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sony-cfo-says-its-live-service-shift-is-not-entirely-going-smoothly-but-pledges-to-carry-on-and-learn-from-mistakes/

Tao had earlier noted during Sony’s results presentation that live service games accounted for around 40% of first-party software revenue for the past quarter, and cited this again in her reply.

“For Q1 the live service ratio was about 40%, for the full year it’s a little less, probably between 20-30%,” she said. “So in terms of the transformation, it’s not entirely going smoothly, but from a longer-term perspective, if you look at the changes over five years you see that there’s definitely been a change.


That seems to be the transformation they're talking about for gaming. Not ditching the console, but trying to follow the younger generations with ftp / gaas games, aka community based engagement business. Play hours that translate into buying MTX... And yeah for those multiplatform is key to reach more player hours and thus more MTX sales.


Our beloved story driven RPGs, action adventures etc will still be made, but don't expect any leap next generation. With the user bases shrinking for those kind of games, budgets will also shrink and thus won't be able to keep up with tech advancements. Removing the 'need' to buy expensive new hardware, which will lead to an even longer cross gen period next gen with PS5 staying on the market. 

Maybe AI can help reduce the costs enough to keep chasing the graphical/fidelity edge, but otherwise PS6 will the higher fps machine with just a few rare juggernaut releases that make full use of the system. 

^This^

SNY isn't giving up the walled garden. That would be stupid at this point, especially when it will be so much more easy to protect with XB moving away from hardware and more towards digital online gaming and services.

SNY realizes the walled garden can only hold about 120M. They sold about 120M PS4's. They fully intend to sell about 120M PS5's. They fully expect to sell about 120M PS6's.

Future growth will have to come outside of the walled garden because of that, so more of a focus on software sales and IP. New software sales on XB and SW2. More software sales on PC. More IP being turned into TV shows and movies.



PS1   - ! - We must build a console that can alert our enemies.

PS2  - @- We must build a console that offers online living room gaming.

PS3   - #- We must build a console that’s powerful, social, costs and does everything.

PS4   - $- We must build a console that’s affordable, charges for services, and pumps out exclusives.

PRO  -%-We must build a console that's VR ready, checkerboard upscales, and sells but a fraction of the money printer.

PS5   - ^ -We must build a console that’s a generational cross product, with RT lighting, and price hiking.

PRO  -&- We must build a console that Super Res upscales and continues the cost increases.

Jumpin on 08 August 2025



I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.

Around the Network
rapsuperstar31 on 08 August 2025
BraLoD said:

I was expecting this thread, I knew we would have one with no context, and here it is, az expected.

We have threads about Australian wildlife, jeans, but not about a 8+ year old console getting a price increase... but we sure would get a single quote no context thread about this.

Never change, VGChartz.

I'm pretty sure that is covered in the thread titled. 

The Road to 160m+ for Nintendo Switch.



Manlytears on 08 August 2025

You see... If this means "day 1 one on PC", i'm ALL for It.

I think this would be a very stupid move from Playstation, but i would love to have Nintendo/Xbox/Playstation, ALL on my PC.

Please, do It Sony! Free me from the "i need to buy a console to play X". Please, i would love It!



G2ThaUNiT on 08 August 2025

Who knows how everything is going to play out, but I thought Shawn Layden's response was pretty funny lol. And he was President of SIE when they were first mentioning the concept of moving away from prioritizing sales units for engagement metrics in 2017.



You called down the thunder, now reap the whirlwind

redkong on 08 August 2025

Ratchet and clank rift apart and Astro bot coming to Xbox and Switch 2 would get some great sales.



Soundwave on 08 August 2025

I think PS6 is going to be expensive too. Like $600 is probably the floor, maybe $700+ even.

The PS5 Pro is $700, I don't think you're going to get significantly better hardware is just a few years for much lower of a price if at all.

Nodes becoming massively more expensive because of giant companies like Apple (for their phones) and Nvidia (for AI servers) buying up all the high end node production which makes everything extremely expensive.

I read a report that says Sony really doesn't even make a profit on the base PS5 and that system is almost 5 freaking years old. So if they figure PS6 is going to track behind the PS4 and PS5, that's a good excuse to make about not wanting to focus on hardware sales.