PlayStation’s Jim Ryan wants hundreds of millions of people to play his games, frustrating console model

The PlayStation 5 has been a success in every way since its launch last year, but it looks like the ambitions of PlayStation boss Jim Ryan are even bigger than you might think. Not only does he expect the PS5 to be the greatest PlayStation of all time, but he seems to envision a future beyond the traditional console model as he admits that mega-hits like Spider-Man are selling out. 20 to 30 million copies “frustrate” him. You can check out Ryan’s somewhat annoying comments, thanks to a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz, below.

I don’t see any reason why gaming is as ubiquitous as music, movies, or TV shows. When you think about the implications of that for people who make games and people who play games, it’s potentially really amazing and really powerful. […]

I truly believe the PlayStation 5 will be Sony’s biggest, best, and most loved PlayStation yet. Hope this will happen. I would also like to see a world where the games we make on PlayStation can be enjoyed by tens of millions of people. Maybe hundreds of millions of people. Right now, the success with the current console model, a very big PlayStation success, you’re talking about ten or 20 million people who can play this game.

We’re talking games stacking up against music, we’re talking about games stacking up against movies. Music and movies, they can be enjoyed by almost unlimited audiences. And I think some of the art that our studios do is some of the best entertainment that has been done anywhere in the world. And kind of attracting audiences for the wonderful art, the wonderful entertainment that our studios do … I would love to see a world where hundreds of millions of people can enjoy these games.

While it is often a mistake to read too much precise meaning into what Ryan says, it does seem like he is looking a bit jealously at Xbox Game Pass and Microsoft’s obvious plans to go beyond the restrictions of traditional retailing. consoles. Still, even if they weren’t tied to a specific console, hundreds of millions of players for PS exclusives is a pretty ambitious goal. If you’d like more Ryan-isms, you can scroll down for the full GamesIndustry review.

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What do you think? What is the end goal of PlayStation under the leadership of Jim Ryan?