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Sony has revealed more about its long-term strategy for the gaming market. Despite issues with some live-service projects, the company does not intend to abandon that segment and still plans to invest in titles designed for 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 generated considerable interest, as many players have long been waiting for a successor to the PlayStation Portable. It appears 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's a surprising statement, because in recent years Sony has had significant problems with some of those projects. Titles like Concord and Marathon did not meet expectations, but according to Nishino live-service games still have huge potential to attract players around the world. The company wants to develop its own titles as well as work with external studios. Sony also plans to support older titles for longer instead of focusing solely on new releases. Later this year MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls is set to launch, and it will be another title developed as a live service. Nishino stressed that the segment is still evolving, so the company intends to experiment and look for the best solutions. The PlayStation chief also addressed platform issues. Live-service games will be released simultaneously on PlayStation 5 and PC so as many players as possible can enjoy online play together. The situation is completely different for story-focused titles. Sony still intends to treat its biggest single-player games as a key part of the PlayStation console lineup, although over time some of them will also come to PC. The company believes that high-quality story-driven games remain its greatest advantage in the market.
PlayStation Portal could be the start of bigger plans from Sony
The future of PlayStation hardware was the second major topic of the conversation. Hideaki Nishino pointed out that the way people play is changing along with their lifestyles, so Sony wants to offer more ways to enjoy games beyond the traditional TV. In this context, the success of the PlayStation Portal device was mentioned, which, according to the president, was only the first step in implementing this strategy. Although Nishino did not officially confirm work on a new handheld console, his remarks were taken as a clear hint toward a portable PlayStation 6. Sony says it will continue experimenting 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 gaming outside the living room easier. Everything indicates that the next generation of PlayStation will not be limited to a single classic console. The industry increasingly talks about ecosystems that include both home and mobile devices. A further challenge, however, is rising component prices, which affect the cost of producing new electronic devices. Sony will therefore have to find a way to reconcile new technologies with the increasing costs of manufacturing them. There is still no official information about PlayStation 6, but further comments from company representatives show that work on the brand's future is underway. Players can expect that the coming years will bring far greater diversity of devices and ways of playing than before.
Sony has confirmed that it does not intend to abandon games-as-a-service despite earlier problems in that segment. At the same time, remarks from PlayStation's president suggest the company is working on new handheld devices that could become part of the PlayStation 6 ecosystem.
source: wccftech
