Things finally went into motion for the PlayStation 5 this week as pre-orders opened up for the next generation console following Sony’s latest digital event. While the pre-order situation has been much more chaotic than most fans would have liked, the digital event seems to have been a hit with players thanks to high profile reveals like Final Fantasy 16 as well as new looks at anticipated gamed such as Demon’s Souls. Sony even showed off a new service for PlayStation Plus subscribers, giving them access to all sorts of PS4 games, though it specifically falls a bit short compared to what Microsoft is doing with the Xbox Game Pass Service.
According to Sony, that’s by design. When asked about whether or not the company is looking into competing with Microsoft in this area, PlayStation chief Jim Ryan quickly shot down the idea and displayed a strategy that is quite different from Microsoft’s Phil Spencer. While Microsoft is seemingly trying to blur the generational gap by giving players access to all games and accessories across numerous devices, Sony is taking a different approach.
To Ryan, technology has changed quite a bit in the seven years since the PS4 launched and for Sony, they’re looking to offer fans a level of certainty that they’re buying a “true next-generation console” and that “the only difference between a PS5 digital edition and a PS5 is the disc drive.” Part of that is also aimed at developers with Ryan confirming that with the PS5, the company attempted to avoid compromises in the architecture of the systems, something he confirmed has pleased studios.
That also applies to a Game Pass-like service, something Sony is very much against and confirms that the company won’t be adding new release titles to a similar service. Considering the high cost to make games, Sony doesn’t see a service like Game Pass as sustainable in the long run. Instead, Ryan aims to continue making games bigger, better, and more persistent in order to continue growing the player base. As it stands, the PS Plus Collection is as far as Sony is willing to go.
“For us, having a catalogue of games is not something that defines a platform. We have had this conversation before — we are not going to go down the road of putting new releases titles into a subscription model. These games cost many millions of dollars, well over $100 million, to develop. We just don’t see that as sustainable.”
Based on these comments, it’s clear that Microsoft and Sony are now on very different paths this generation. Microsoft is all in on its Game Pass service, attempting to strengthen its appeal even further by bundling in other premium subscriptions like EA Play in addition to day one first part games on PC and Xbox. It can also be argued that Game Pass makes the appeal of the XBox One S even stronger due to its digital only format, lower price, and reduced hardware specs. In addition, with the rising cost of games this generation, fans could look to Game Pass to save even more money, paying a flat rate per month rather than $60-$70 per game each time.
PlayStation 5 launches
Source: Games Industry
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