Hearing the news about Killzone is a step in the right direction for Sony. Say what you want about their actions of late — they do have the IP to really keep fans tied to their platform if they are willing to utilise it. It certainly looks like they are, as recent reports have linked this franchise to returning in a big way.
When I was predicting the industry, I stated that content would be incredibly important moving forward. If you look at the back catalogue that PlayStation has, it’s immense. The question is: with them now moving away from ambitious projects on the scale of the PS4 era, do they have room in their budgets to take the kind of risks on franchises that could keep those who enjoy PlayStation games on the platform?
Recently, Sony has been taking much longer to complete their games. PlayStation fans, after all, are still waiting for that Naughty Dog game. It’s been in development for so long now, but it’s likely it will be released sometime next year. However, in terms of PlayStation Studios projects, they have been few and far between.
Yes, PlayStation are fully capable of gluing their fans to their screens with their exclusives. The question remains: how committed are Sony to doing it when they’re already dropping big-profile PS6 games like Kojima’s Physint that are now being invested in over at Xbox? That’s simply something Sony wouldn’t have allowed to happen back in the previous generation. We can talk about monetising PlayStation fans with Plus subscriptions. At the same time, though, and going into a PS6 generation that could effectively be completely digital, are 30-plus-year fans willing to stay on course with the platform if its direction isn’t clear?
In the past, we talked about how Sony’s games are increasingly becoming more expensive to make. The likes of Shawn Layden have even come out and said something has to give. So is this entire new direction of reining in on the most important franchises something that makes sense to them?
I mean, we have no idea what form Killzone could take under this new Sony. It doesn’t inspire a level of confidence, but at the same time, I do understand why they’re making some of the moves they are. Because as financially viable as Sony are, games are only getting more expensive as time goes on.
Saying that, though, to be the best place to play, you really need to have the content there that fans are invested in. This live-service nonsense direction isn’t going to cut it going into the next generation. And if fans start to see them lapse on PlayStation Studios titles and they start getting fatigue from the constant sequels, it could land Sony in an awkward place moving forward if they do not do right by their IP — something that the previous leadership of PlayStation never missed and were dependable on.
Craig Clark
From gaming industry headlines to all things Manchester United and entertainment, Craig covers the stories everyone's talking about — alongside his own published works.