Sony Interactive Entertainment Platform Business Group CEO Hideaki Nishino doesn’t believe that gaming consoles will be going anywhere in the future. Speaking to Famitsu, Nishino talks about the future of the gaming console market, and what we can expect to see in the future.
Nishino points to the success of PS4 games and the constant expansion of titles available on PS5 as signs of consumer interest in gaming consoles.
“As of today, many PS4 games are being played, and the number of PS5 games is increasing rapidly,” said Nishino. “It is unlikely that this will suddenly change tomorrow, so there is no doubt that home video game consoles will remain at the center of our business for some time.”
Nishino also goes on to talk about the form factor of gaming consoles changing as time goes on, pointing to the wide variety of gaming PCs becoming available in forms as well as the rise of cloud gaming, thanks to things like the PlayStation Portal, as a sign that people are still interested in having bespoke gaming hardware.
Taking this into account, Nishino also considers the rise of players using their PSN accounts on PC for titles like Helldivers 2 as a way for Sony to grow the audience for its titles.
“However, we are also seeing an increase in the number of PCs and other different styles, so we are in the process of thinking about how to increase the number of PlayStation users overall, including those on the PSN,” said Nishino.
“Some people may misunderstand me when I say this, but if you have cloud gaming on PS Portal and PS5 games running, some people may think that we have already entered the era of cloud gaming. However, you still need a controller and a screen in your hand, and we believe that hardware will not disappear just yet.”
Over the last few years, Sony has made quite a bit of effort in bringing some of its older titles to PC, including major tentpole releases like God of War Ragnarok, Ghost of Tsushima and Horizon Forbidden West. The company has also been experimenting with simultaneous cross-platform release of multiplayer titles like Helldivers 2 from last year, which came to PC and PS5 at the same time. Shortly afterwards, however, the co-op third-person shooter was the subject of a controversy regarding the requirement for PC players to link PSN accounts (which Sony later backtracked on).
It is worth noting, however, that Sony avoided bringing its more current PS5 games to PC, choosing instead to wait for a year or two. We saw this with the release of games like God of War Ragnarok, which came to PC two years after its original PS5 release. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the latest example, launching on January 30th, roughly 15 months after the PS5 version.
When it comes to cloud gaming, on the other hand, the PlayStation Portal has proven to be successful for Sony, since it allows players to stream titles from their PS5 on to the Portal without having to compromise on various aspects such as DualSense features and a sharp display. The company also offers PlayStation Plus subscribers the ability to stream some of the older games from previous console generations.
