Sony comments on risk of losing PS5 users to PC

Summary

  • Sony isn't worried about losing PS5 users to PC.

  • Historical PS5 sales are largely on par with PS4, even if the new console doesn't have the promise of permanent exclusives.

  • Sony plans to get more “aggressive” with PlayStation PC ports in the future.

Sony does not believe there is a major risk of losing PlayStation console users to PC, according to a company official. This revelation was shared as part of a recent overview of how PC fits into the PlayStation maker's publishing strategy.

Sony started bringing its first party titles to PC in 2020 with Horizon Zero Dawn being the first game to receive such treatment. The company's efforts on this front have intensified since then, especially after Sony acquired the PC porting powerhouse that is Nixxes in 2021.

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While porting PlayStation exclusives to PC expands their reach and revenue-generating potential, it also diminishes the unique proposition of buying Sony's hardware, at least in theory. In practice, the gaming giant isn't too concerned about losing PS5 users to PC, as a company representative said during a late 2024 Q&A session with investors. “As far as user loss to PCs is concerned, we have neither confirmed that any such trend is underway nor do we see it as a major risk, so far,” the official said.

PS5 sales are apparently unaffected by Sony's PC porting efforts

Sony's outlook aligns with the company's recent performance in the hardware space. The latest official PS5 sales figures reveal that the company's current-gen console has sold 65.5 million units in November 2024. That puts it roughly on par with the PS4, which sold just over 73 million units in its first four years on the platform. market. The minimal difference in sales of the two consoles can be more easily explained by the pandemic-induced PS5 shortage, rather than the console's lack of permanent exclusives. With Sony's console sales remaining flat across generations, it's no surprise that the company sees PC ports as having minimal impact on the PS5's overall value proposition.

As for losing users to PCs, we have neither confirmed that any such trend is underway, nor do we see it as a major risk, so far.

Not only is the PlayStation maker expected to continue its PC port efforts, but it might do so with greater intensity. In 2024, Sony president Hiroki Totoki stated that the company plans to become even more “aggressive” with PlayStation PC ports, meaning that they would close the gap between their PS5 and Steam releases. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 reflects this strategic shift, being scheduled to hit PC on January 30th, just 15 months after its original launch. The previous entry in Insomniac's series, Spider-Man: Miles Moraleshas been a PlayStation exclusive for over two years.

Apart from Spider-Man 2PC gamers have another current PlayStation exclusive to look forward to this month, ca Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is scheduled to hit Steam on January 23rd. Sony still has a few high-profile PS5 exclusives that have yet to be announced for PC, including Gran Turismo 7, Rise of the Ronin, Star Bladeand Demon souls redo

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