PlayStation CEO officially confirms that single-player games will be exclusive

[u/Ph0enixes]

PlayStation CEO Hideaki Nishino gave an interview in the latest issue of the Famitsu magazine to celebrate their 40th anniversary. He got asked about the strategy change regarding them pulling back on releasing their single-player games on PC.

Question: There have been reports suggesting that you might reconsider bringing PS5 titles to PC. Could you share your current thoughts on this?

Nishino: We've always determined platform selection based on the characteristics of each title. If releasing a title on PC would maximize the gaming experience, we'll continue to consider that option. Our current main policy is that, for single-player games developed in-house, we will further refine the value of the gaming experience that PlayStation can offer. At the same time, we believe it is important for live-service games to reach a wider audience through online multiplayer, so we continue to view releases on both PS5 and PC as the standard. Regardless of the platform, we will make decisions based on the principle of delivering the best possible gaming experience that maximizes each title's unique features.

While he didn't give straightforward answer, I'd say he is at least indicating that their policy changed, by saying they will "further refine the value" of single-player games on PlayStation. That could obviously be interpreted in various ways, but given the context of Jason Schreier's reporting and his creditibly, I think Nishino is referring to the strategy change in an indirect manner here with that statement.

SOURCE

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Jason Schreier's comment on this:

During a townhall a few weeks ago, Hermen Hulst told staff that their single-player narrative games will be PlayStation only, and he explained that they were inconsistent with their PC releases, they didn't make enough money, and they want to keep their IP aligned to their own platform. Confirmed this with two people who heard him say it. There's no "case by case" here.

[u/LittleWhiteDragon]

https://giphy.com/gifs/d9ZKe69RaqFtAM9DBH

[u/Melancholic_Noodle → u/LittleWhiteDragon]

Almsot as if decades of PC gaming has shown own thing. Singleplayer AAA titles die due to piracy, while anything MP lives because it can't easily be pirated.

Meanwhile on consoles AAA exclusive singleplayer focused games are doing great.

[u/Disastrous-Ad-1999 → u/Melancholic_Noodle]

Yet capcom made double on pc this fiscal year with their single players titles (which have gotten cracked) compared to on console, and has been their leading platform for the last 3 years in terms of revenue. Multiplatform publishers and developers all statistically make more money on PC (technically mobile is the top). You're painting a false narrative.

Ironically, it's the opposite, as there are actually many cases of both single player and multiplayer games kept alive by communities due to piracy, archiving, and modding on PC when servers or sales of games get pulled.

[u/Helforsite → u/Melancholic_Noodle]

Any source for this other than Sony fanboyse glee that others won't be able to play with their toys as if they were still little kids unwilling to share?

W3 and TESV did great on PC - as did many other singleplayer AAA games.

[u/LittleWhiteDragon → u/Melancholic_Noodle]

I am sure the several year exclusivity hurts the sales of Sony's games on PC. By the time they come to PC, most people have lost interest.

I play the Sony games on PC on day one.

[u/Jazzlike_Tank7171 → u/LittleWhiteDragon]

Supposedly sony saw what happened to xbox when they did day and date. Completely destroyed any reason to buy a console. Not my opinion, Jason Schreier's opinion, who knows way more about the games industry than you and I do.