While some believe in ‘once beaten twice shy,’ others believe that when you try and fail you should try again, and harder. PlayStation appears to be among the video game publishers that embody the second ideology. In a recent interview with Japanese video game media Famitsu, PlayStation’s Co-CEO Herman Hulst confirmed Sony will continue to invest in live service games, notwithstanding the unfortunate outcome of Concord.
PlayStation’s Co-CEO Herman Hulst
“We are also continuing to grow our live services division, with Helldivers 2 being a huge success,” Hulst said when asked how PlayStation evaluates its recent performance and current structure. “In forming a strong portfolio, the Studio Business Group is focused on rigorously selecting games that provide great experiences to players.”
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Garson Yajo of Famitsu was curious to know how PlayStation analyzes the cause of the rapidly changing gaming business since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hulst was asked if there would be changes in PlayStation’s strategy for live service and mobile games following the closure of Firewalk Studios and Neon Koi.
“The game business is constantly changing due to various factors, including technological advances, new genres, and ways of playing,” Hulst said. “However, one thing that remains constant is people’s desire for great entertainment experiences, and attention to games continues to grow.”
“However, this has also created competition, and like many companies in the industry, we have had to make changes to our business to solidify a more sustainable operating base. Going forward, we will continue to focus on developing live service titles along with the story-driven single-player titles that our players want.
“We are learning a lot as we establish the ability to develop high-quality live service titles within SIE. HELLDIVERS 2 attracted many players through continuous content provision, and achieved results that support the potential of live service titles.”
Future PlayStation Games may be released on PC and Nintendo Switch but not Xbox
In the live service genre, the success of any game depends on how many players it can attract and keep. Therefore, it is always important that publishers release such games on multiple platforms. This strategy was re-echoed by Hulst in the interview.
“Live service titles are released on multiple platforms, so attracting new players and increasing the number of players is key to their success,” Hulst said. “Therefore, maintaining the momentum at the time of release and penetrating a wide range of players is especially important in the live service field.”
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“Single-player games are an important element in enhancing the appeal of the PlayStation platform, and we set strategic sales periods for each title. While consoles remain our core business, expanding to platforms such as PC will enable us to offer our games to more people.”
Sony launched LEGO Horizon Adventures on PC and Nintendo Switch which is a gradual shift from its previous business model of launching first-party titles only on PlayStation consoles.
Hulst said, “For other titles, we consider and decide the policy based on whether it is the best sales format for the players and the company.”
