Sony
Indeed, several offers, and one in particular, leave no doubt as to the ambitions nurtured by Sony for the mobile sector. On this offer, we learn that the manufacturer of the PS5 is looking for a Mobile Manager linked to PlayStation Studios. Very concretely, this means that Sony is seeking to create a real structure dedicated to mobile games, which would be managed like the other first-party studios. On offer, it reads:Do you want to lead the development and strategy of mobile gaming and help shape the future of gaming for a world-class studio? As Head of Mobile, you will own and develop the mobile gaming strategy for PlayStation Studios and help lay the groundwork for future growth opportunities. (...) Partner with the management team at PlayStation Studios to develop a roadmap (...) over a period of 3 to 5 years. (...). Join the company's development team to drive the M&A strategy with long-term plans.
We even discover that the future manager will be responsible for adapting the PlayStation franchises the most popular . Live services, that is to say monetization, are also mentioned, which indicates that Sony thinks it can increase its turnover by bringing licenses such as God of War, The Last of Us or Uncharted on our smartphones through internal development. In addition, we note that Sony does not rule out buying studios to achieve its ends. Obviously, to qualify for this position, you have to be extremely experienced, with at least 15 years of experience in commercial functions.
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The Last of Us: coming soon a PS5 remake? A new Uncharted in development? Days Gone 2 canceled in favor of other Sony games?What Would A Sony ‘Counterpunch’ To Xbox Game Pass Actually Look Like?
SonyThis year, Microsoft has continued to make headlines with millions of new Xbox Game Pass subscribers, and big deals for launches on the service from Destiny 2: Beyond Light to Outriders to now the Sony-made MLB The Show 21.
While Sony is still in a very strong position with the PS5 continuing to sell out at every turn, it stands to reason that Game Pass is becoming an irritant, and PS Now, with something like nine times fewer subscribers than Xbox Game Pass by last count, isn’t getting the job done.
This past week, former God of War director David Jaffe went on YouTube to say that everyone is underestimated PlayStation’s Jim Ryan and that a response to Game Pass is coming, in some form:
“We had the guy on the show yesterday that had made the petition to fire Jim Ryan and I was like, ‘dude, that’s way premature’ because Jim Ryan doesn’t owe anybody, Sony doesn’t owe anybody, the truth about what’s coming and what their counterpunch to Game Pass is…There will be a response to Game Pass.'
The question, of course, is what that would actually look like. Obviously if Sony simply announced all first party games would launch day one on PlayStation Game Pass/PS Now, copying Xbox, that would be a huge deal. It’s also extremely unlikely, given that Sony has previously said they don’t see that as sustainable for their big-budget games, and they do not want to forgo tens of millions of box sales for series like Horizon, God of War and others.
So, what could a “counterpunch” be, then?
More First Party Games On PC
Xbox has been doing this for a while now, but Sony has seemed more open to bringing its first party hits to PC. Granted, this is happening usually years after the fact, but I could see Sony starting to bend and bringing more of its first party games to release on PC more quickly, bringing that aspect of things on par with Xbox without sacrificing too much.
Returnal
SIESelect First Party Games Launching On PS Game Pass
While it’s hard to imagine say, Horizon Forbidden West launching on a PlayStation Game Pass on day one, it’s possible Sony becomes more open to doing this with other games, showing PlayStation players that it’s worth signing up for the service. I could see for instance, Ratchet and Clank as a potential “middleground” first party release on a service like that, or it could be a way to debut new IPs to get them an expanded playerbase like Returnal.
Merge PS Now And PS Plus
With just a few million subscribers to PS Now after all this time, and PS Plus being effectively “mandatory” for most PlayStation owners, I could see Sony benefitting from losing the PS Now brand entirely and just rolling up both services together as a way to undercut Xbox, which still separates XBL and Game Pass unless you combine them into a somewhat expensive bundle. PS Now’s library is solid, and PS Plus is constantly adding free monthly games that are always hugely attractive, along with things like the PS Plus Collection, a massive list of free, first party hits. With Now failing to take off in a meaningful capacity, I might just blend these two into one streamlined offering.
All of this does raise the question though, is there anything Sony really can realistically do to match Game Pass if they’re not going to A) launch every first party game there and B) do massively expensive deals with third parties to launch games there, which are the two main staples of Xbox Game Pass, and why everyone is so drawn to it. Both of those ideas seem just too costly for Sony, and while they can improve their current services, I remain skeptical about what that will actually look like in the end.
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