Whatever you say about the last few months, I think we can all come to the same conclusion about the gaming industry: we’re living in insane times right now. Yes, Sony has taken a lot of heat for its approach to physical media. However, we have to cut the bull and see things for what they are. The numbers are wrong, and they’ve been heavily skewed in the direction of digital media. We all know this favours PlayStation, and we all know why they want to keep you in their ecosystem. But there comes a time when you have to read the room—especially when others are starting to look at you in a slightly weird way and asking, quite rightly, just what you’re doing that’s going to actually position you favourably going into the next generation.
There’s a lot we can take from the physical versus digital debate. It doesn’t always come down to who is using what anymore. We can see that Xbox is entirely digital, and they’re supporting that ecosystem with the right kind of balance. Then you look at Nintendo, and you see what they’re doing—they’re doing right by their audience. It’s up to Sony now to do right by theirs.
And there’s been a lot going on since I’ve been away—to the point where Sony is now offering some of the best things in gaming to its fans on a plate. I said before that they would need to do more to convince some of their fanbase. Let’s face it: they have the games to compete with anyone, they have the content, they have the backlog. They simply haven’t used it. It was always in their armoury, locked away until the day they actually messed things up quite badly publicly—and only then could they unleash the firepower. That’s what we’re seeing now.
Xbox has returned to growth. That’s great for the gaming industry, but it isn’t going to go unnoticed how much momentum Xbox has right now. Sony certainly had to do something to convince the vast majority of their fanbase to upgrade to a PS6, and the launch titles are going to factor into a lot of that.
When we look at how the gaming industry is right now, the hardware pricing is ridiculous—which makes me think many will stick with what they have. There isn’t going to be the same level of uptake as in previous generations, not at the prices these consoles are going to be at. Yes, there will be multiple hardware bundles with differential pricing, but when I look at these consoles and they say they’re offering this, that, and the other—I’ve heard it all before, and I know for a fact that after the last few generations a lot of people will be feeling the same way. So essentially, software is going to be key, and that’s where exclusives factor in again. That’s why Xbox has gone back to it, and that’s why Nintendo never left.
The gaming industry needs growth across the board, and you do that by doing right on the balance sheet—but also by what’s actually favourable to the audience, where most of your money is coming from. If you don’t give people a product they’re excited about, or content they actually want as an exclusive, well, you might as well go home. Your platforms aren’t going anywhere, but many of your fans are.
I think reading the room is the right thing for Sony to do—but so is bringing back some of the games that have been absent for years. When you talk about how to make games faster, you have to look at what Capcom is doing there. I think there is purpose in what AI can do when it’s utilised in the right way—improving the productivity and profitability of a business. You’re still going to need people; it’s about getting that balance right. We cannot just kill the creative prowess of the whole industry. When things are going stale, some of these companies have to look within and figure out how to make it right for their audience. I feel we will get there in time, and we’re certainly on a trajectory where creativity is needed en masse for the gaming industry to flourish again at the rates it wants.
PlayStation being back in the picture is important for the whole industry—competition brings the best out of everyone. When people say “pick a lane” to Xbox, as Shawn Layden proclaimed, it’s really about what level of risk-taking in creativity is still there, delivering to fans across the board and aligning your brand with something they can actually get behind. We need to see the gaming industry back at its very best, in terms of both back catalogue and new things. That’s the only way you sell the next generation to people who might not even be that sold on it right now.
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.