One of the biggest differentiators between PlayStation and Microsoft over the past two generations of consoles has been the exclusive games that have defined them.
Microsoft followed the PC route of focusing on co-op and multiplayer shooters, MMORPGs and ‘games as services’ which were all about DLC, microtransactions and loot boxes – great revenue generators for developers but a bane for customers who understandably revolted in 2017 starting with “Star Wars: Battlefront II”. Sure “Halo” and “Gears of War” had single-player campaigns, but really they were all about the MP and co-op respectively.
PlayStation, on the other hand, kept alive gaming’s core – big-budget single-player narrative-driven games, and in the process delivered some of the best single-player games ever made like the “Uncharted,” “God of War,” “Metal Gear Solid” and “Infamous” franchises along with “The Last of Us,” “Journey,” “Marvel’s Spider-Man,” “Horizon Zero Dawn,” “Shadow of the Colossus,” “Bloodborne,” “Heavy Rain,” “Demon’s Souls” and more.
It’s a strategy Sony won’t be changing for the upcoming PlayStation 5 with Sony Worldwide Studios lead Hermen Hulst saying PlayStation will remain committed to its vision. He tells PS Blog:
“We’re very committed to dedicated hardware, as we were before. We’re gonna continue to do that. And we’re very committed to quality exclusives. And to strong narrative-driven, single-player games. At the same time, we’re going to be very open to experimentation, to new ideas. Just trying things out to see what works. I think that’s also very much part of the DNA of Worldwide Studios.”
The comments come as many still wonder when Sony will unveil the upcoming PlayStation 5 which will likely be done with via a ‘virtual event’ broadcast in coming months. The console’s main rival, the Xbox Series X, was expected to be revealed at E3 in early June but instead will launch via an “Xbox digital event” according to Microsoft’s Phil Spencer. Said event hasn’t set a date as yet.
