Former PlayStation boss doesn’t think Sony will ever release on PC

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden doesn’t think Sony Interactive Entertainment will ever choose to launch its console and PC games simultaneously.

While Microsoft opted to bring Xbox Game Studios titles to console and PC at launch, Sony has taken a more cautious approach to releasing its games outside of console.

It tested the water with Horizon Zero Dawn, which released for PC in August 2020, more than three years after its PS4 debut.

Days Gone then hit PC in May, more than two years after its PS4 release, while 2016’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and 2017’s Uncharted: The Lost Legacy will make the jump to PC in 2022 – “few time after “they arrive for PS5.

Former PlayStation boss US Layden, who was chairman of the company’s global studio group when he left Sony in 2019, discussed the origins of the company’s PC gaming strategy in a recent video interview with What’s Up. PlayStation.

“The idea of ​​going PC – and I don’t think you’ll ever see PlayStation have a day and a date with PC, but you know, never say never – but the strategy as we were developing it when I ‘was there was that we have to go where these new customers are, these new fans could be, ”he said.

“We have to go where they are because they decided not to come to my house, so I have to go to their place now.

“And what’s the best way to get to them?” Why not take one of our best selling games, which has already blown the market, it’s been around for 18 or 24 months already, there is no real retail activity against this title, I don’t not sell one sale for another, and take it to the personal computer platform and let them have an idea – you choose not to come to PlayStation, but let me show you what you miss.

For Layden, “there is no loss in this transaction” because PC game sales do not come at the expense of console software purchases, and ideally, they could encourage PC gamers to buy a console on any console. line.

“It’s a means of raising awareness, that’s how I see it – trying to reach the people the platform isn’t currently talking to,” he said.

PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst said in June that the platform owner was “still early in our planning for PC,” but consoles would remain the priority for new releases.

“Horizon Zero Dawn has been very successful [on PC], “he said.” I think this shows that there is an appetite from gamers outside of the PlayStation ecosystem to experience the incredible portfolio of games that PlayStation fans have enjoyed for years.

“But I want to stress that PlayStation will continue to be the best place to play our PlayStation Studios titles at launch. But we value PC gamers and will continue to look for the right times to launch each game. Bend Studio just released the PC version of Days Gone on May 18th. So that’s about two years after the PS4 release.

“And I hope a new group of fans can and enjoy this title. And that’s the goal: we want to reach new players who haven’t yet experienced the great stories, characters and worlds we’ve built. The release of PC games will never come at the expense of creating an exciting lineup of great console games.

PlayStation recently acquired Nixxes Software, which is best known for its work on PC versions of Square Enix properties, including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Hitman, and Thief, to help bring its games to the platform.