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Sony has revealed more about its long-term strategy for the games market. Despite problems with some live-service projects, the company does not intend to abandon that segment and still plans to invest in titles focused on long-term support. At the same time, the president of Sony Interactive Entertainment hinted that the future of the PlayStation brand could include new handheld devices. The remarks have generated considerable interest, because many gamers have long been waiting for a successor to the PlayStation Portable. It appears that Sony is indeed preparing for the next stage in the development of its platform.
Live-service games remain an important part of PlayStation's strategy
The president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Hideaki Nishino, confirmed in an interview with Famitsu that the company still intends to develop live-service games. It is a surprising statement, because in recent years Sony has had considerable problems with some of those projects. Titles such as Concord and Marathon did not achieve the expected results, yet according to Nishino live-service games still have enormous potential to attract players worldwide. The company wants to develop both its own titles and collaborate with third-party studios. Sony also plans to support older titles for longer rather than focusing solely on new releases. MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls is due to be released later this year and will be another title developed as a live-service game. Nishino emphasised that this segment is still evolving, so the company intends to experiment and seek the best solutions. The head of PlayStation also addressed platform matters. Live-service games are to launch simultaneously on PlayStation 5 and PC so that as many players as possible can play together online. The situation is completely different for narrative-driven titles. Sony intends to continue treating its biggest single-player games as a key part of the PlayStation console offering, although over time some of them will also come to PCs. The company believes that high-quality narrative games remain its greatest advantage in the market.
PlayStation Portal may be the start of Sony’s bigger plans
The second important topic of the conversation proved to be the future of PlayStation hardware. Hideaki Nishino noted that the way people play is changing with users’ lifestyles, so Sony wants to offer more ways to enjoy games beyond the traditional television. In this context the success of the PlayStation Portal device was mentioned, which, according to the president, was only the first step in carrying out this strategy. Although Nishino did not officially confirm work on a new handheld console, his remarks were taken as a clear hint towards a portable PlayStation 6. Sony says it will continue to experiment with new forms of play and devices adapted to different ways of using games. The company is also working on monitors and speakers designed to make it easier to play away from the living room. Everything suggests that the next generation of PlayStation will not be limited solely to a single classic console. The industry increasingly talks about ecosystems that include both home and mobile devices. A further challenge remains the rising prices of components, which affect the cost of producing new electronic devices. Sony will therefore have to find a way to reconcile new technologies with the ever higher costs of manufacturing them. There is still no official information about PlayStation 6, but further statements from company representatives show that work on the brand’s future is ongoing. Gamers can expect that the coming years will bring a much greater variety of devices and ways to play than before.
Sony has confirmed that it does not intend to give up on games-as-a-service despite earlier problems in that segment. At the same time, comments from the PlayStation CEO suggest the company is working on new portable devices that could become part of the PlayStation 6 ecosystem.
source: wccftech
