COG Considers: Should Sony Put Their Games on PC Day One?
Should Sony put their first-party titles on PC on day one? Yes, I think they absolutely should. With Microsoft going on a buying spree, Sony needs to make sure they continue to spread their games to as many people as possible. This means putting their titles on PC day one or at least very shortly after.
Sony has been releasing some of their titles as PC games recently, and it has worked out very well for them so far. Days Gone, Horizon Zero Dawn, and recently God of War have all had great success on PC. Now imagine if they were released when the hype surrounding these games was still high. Instead of waiting for four years or so, wait no longer than six months, and I think they will sell even more copies.
Now, the concern, of course, is that Sony putting their games on PC would hurt the sales of the PS5. However, I really doubt this to be true for a couple of different reasons.
One big reason is that getting a PC that is capable of playing Sony’s games is expensive. The PS5 will always be the cheaper option to play these games. With the graphics card backlog, it isn’t like getting a new, gaming capable PC is any easier than getting a PS5 right now. I hope both of these eventually become possible.
Another big reason is people use consoles and PCs for different reasons. I’m fortunate enough to have a powerful gaming PC and a PS5. They are used pretty equally for different reasons and when I’m in different moods. For me, any game that I feel works best with a controller, such as God of War, I will usually just purchase it on a console. If it works best with a mouse like Horizon Zero Dawn, then I go with PC.
My point? PC and consoles are still different beasts. Sony making their games for the PC market doesn’t mean they won’t sell consoles. When it comes to sales, I think the only thing that will happen is they will sell more games. It’s clear that PC gamers want to play these games. I’m sure they would rather not wait four years to play them.
We also know them putting their games out on day one won’t harm console sales as Xbox has started doing that, and they are having a revival this generation. Xbox went from basically a non-factor last generation to having a fantastic showing. This is the fastest-selling Xbox generation of all time despite supply constraints. It’s clear that PC gamers having access to games doesn’t actually hurt console sales.
Sony is missing out on the PC market by waiting so long to put their games on PC. Releasing them on day one or close after release won’t harm console sales. Sony puts out some incredible gaming experiences that deserve the largest audience they can get. Releasing on day one on PC will allow Sony to sell more titles and let more people play incredible experiences.
Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.