980°

Microsoft announces layoffs at gaming division

Microsoft is laying off hundreds of employees at Xbox, with 1900 jobs cut across Activision Blizzard, Xbox Game Studios, and ZeniMax Media.

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Vengeance1138129d ago

What's this? The Trillion dollar empire company isn't profitable?? *gasp*

darthv72129d ago

The ship is sinking... everyone into the life boats.

Eonjay129d ago (Edited 129d ago )

This actually pissed me off. I keep thinking of how Microsoft's PR was claiming that they had gotten the support form several workers unions... Everyone should have seen this coming. Also, people have a baby about Sony laying off 50 people. Those same people will now explain why laying off thousands of people is a good thing.

Vengeance1138129d ago

@Eonjay
Also what's scary is this is on top of the 10 000 layoffs Microsoft announced in January 2023 as well as the additional layoffs they had in June 2023. The instability is palpable!

InUrFoxHole129d ago (Edited 129d ago )

@Eonjay
Sure, let me help you out, bud. MS is a company. A companies sole purpose is to make $ in exchange for providing a service or goods. MS recently made a huge purchase. In that, they have to A: recoup the outgoing $ they just spent and B: Get rid of overlapping positions. Thats life. Sure it sucks and you hate to see it happen but move along and find another job

Rocketisleague129d ago

Wonder when Bethesda will get the cuts

Eonjay129d ago

@Vengeance

Obviously the separations are a result of the acquisitions but I personally think this is being accelerated by AI.

Eonjay129d ago

@InUrFoxHole

What you described is not the purpose of a company, but rather a corporation. The point I was making is that Microsoft was saying this purchase would benefit all involved. People were claiming that the purchase is what the workers needed to create a better work environment. This was all BS.

TiredGamer129d ago

@Eonjay

What is the purpose of a company or any other business?

northpaws129d ago

@Eonjay

Microsoft has created a better workspace by making them work somewhere else. /s

Cacabunga129d ago

Start with their boss.. his ideas are broken

Eonjay129d ago

@TiredGamer

A corporation is a specific type of company. And within that you can actually have a non-profit corporation. What makes for profit corporations (and specifically traded for profit corps) unique is that they are companies who exist primarily to maximize the returns for investors. So when InUrFoxHole says this is characteristic of 'companies'.. I am just saying that his statement isn't technically accurate. It doesn't apply to ALL companies in other words.

InUrFoxHole128d ago

@Eonjay
I hear ya man. But if you're MS you can't just blurt out... we're gonna make cuts. Again I know it's scrappy and I side with the workers but they had to know this was gonna happen. I can't remember the last purchase where 100% of the workers stayed.

dcbronco128d ago

Adults understand this is how acquisitions work. If n4g wasn't mostly children, and worse, fanboy children they'd understand this. When companies acquire another company thousands of jobs often get cut. Adults understand this. Microsoft even talked about creating a large team that could be used throughout the gaming division back when they acquired Bethesda. A team like that eliminates multiple positions from a new company. The people who lost their job will receive 6 months compensation and will most likely be in a new job 3 months in pocketing 3 months or more of pay. Learn how the world works kids. It is crashing down around you.

jznrpg127d ago

@Eonjay acquisition then downsizing is a product of greed.

+ Show (10) more repliesLast reply 127d ago
sagapo129d ago

See how hilarious you would find it if you lost your job…

Sonic1881129d ago

@sagapo
I was laughing at Vengeance comment

sagapo128d ago

@Sonic: In that case I take my words back. Apologies.

notachance129d ago

the woe of day-1 subscription service, for every studio they own they have to either get a proportional number of new subscribers, increase the subscription fee, or just outright cutting jobs to offset additional hiring costs. At least with delayed library like PS Plus you can get release window profit from early buyers.

OptimusDK129d ago

Are you a gamer or shareholder

Charlieboy333129d ago

@Optimus If you think this cost cutting won't trickle down and affect the games they produce ( you know, the stuff you allegedly play as a NON-SHAREHOLDER ) then you are an idiot.

Christopher129d ago

***Are you a gamer or shareholder ***

Ignorance of the industry will only lead us to where they want us, not where we want.

notachance129d ago

@optimus well I mean it’s simple enough.. additional studios means additional salaries to be paid, but because of day 1 gamepass the game purchases are severely impacted. You need to fill that gap in the normal product cycle somehow..

Einhander1972129d ago

People always have the option to not support Microsoft.

I didn't buy Starfield even though I was excited for it. I don't buy game pass even though it has games on it I want to play.

People do get to decide where the industry goes, that's why there aren't loot boxes in single player games and kinect got kicked to the curb.

129d ago
TiredGamer129d ago

To be fair, there are probably millions of MS stock shareholders.

Christopher128d ago

***that's why there aren't loot boxes in single player games and kinect got kicked to the curb. ***

But there are SP games with loot boxes...

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 128d ago
crazyCoconuts129d ago

Counter argument is that the textbook reason for acquisition is economies of scale. You can make more money by reducing overhead in redundant PR, HR, Legal, etc...
Will be interesting if we get visibility into what types of roles were impacted, that will be more telling I think. I'm not surprised there's post merger layoffs though...

dumahim129d ago

Eliminating redundancies

EvertonFC129d ago

Low paid workers no doubt.

crazyCoconuts129d ago

And now we're starting to get that visibility. Physical Xbox games appear to be on the chopping block... This is a big deal if true
https://twitter.com/JezCord...

darthv72128d ago (Edited 128d ago )

Physical games in general is going the way of the dodo. Im seeing less and less physical media in stores where they sold movies and music... games was next. Why have a division whose job it is to make something on a disc when discs are going away? PC havent had discs for over a decade... consoles and handhelds are heading the same direction and will take people with them, kicking and screaming, regardless.

I cant really recall when the last time i inserted a disc into any of my systems. I swapped out the lasers in my saturn, dreamcast, and gamecube for ODE. I have a modded og xbox with tons of games ripped to it, same with a PS2 modded with a hdd also with games ripped to it. I use the PS Portal to play 4/5 games and my steam deck to play PS1/NES/SNES/N64/NeoGeo/Genesi s/TG16 as well as Xcloud. Im practically all digital now anyway. Convenience is a hell of a drug, maybe even more addicting than collecting shelf candy was.

PS3 is prob the only one I still use discs for but that will change soon enough.

dumahim128d ago

@darth
Even if that so, why start shifting away from physical in the middle of a console generation?

crazyCoconuts128d ago

Beyond the actual impact to those that DO buy physical and happen to have an XSX, bigger deal is the perceived retail presence of the brand compared to it's competition. Xbox would be taking the L in every retail outlet in every country. Kinda a big deal if this is really happening. Obviously we don't know anything concrete yet though

darthv72128d ago

@dumahim... because, by the time the next one starts, people will already be acclimated to it. Sony was already doing their part little by little with the current trend of collector editions not including discs even though they may include steelbook cases. This is their way of saying it is inclusive to those with and without the optical drive on their PS5.

By making them disc neutral will make it easier for people to accept the inevitable change over to no more discs and they will be happy with all the other stuff those editions do come with as a trade off. It starts with the CE but then it will progress into the standard games as well. Getting cases with just a DL code instead of a disc. We already know Nintendo switch games like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic128d ago

@crazyCoconuts
Looking at stores in my own area, Xbox doesn't even have a section anywhere near as big as Nintendo or Playstation, it's almost non-existant. I wouldn't be surprised if they had been planning this for a while because that would explain the lack of presence in stores.

@darthv72
I cannot think of any Nintendo Switch case I've picked up that didn't have a physical disc/cartridge in it, that must be an incredibly small number of games, then again, I'm only buying their first party games and exclusives because I can't buy them anywhere else.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 128d ago
-Foxtrot129d ago

Gotta help pay that $375 million in compensation to Bobby Kotick when he left in late December somehow /s

1Victor129d ago (Edited 129d ago )

Time sure flies it’s 2027 already?
.
Edit: I guess in Microsoft eyes it’s better to cut them down in batches than 100,000+ on 2027 🤦🏿

darthv72129d ago

...but they ARE profitable. They also don't need X amount of overlapping employees. This is pretty standard stuff with mergers. The employees who are doing the same jobs as others already in the company are the first to go. I had it happen to myself several years ago. I went and got another job.

Chances are these people will be fine and who knows... they may form a new company and get right back to making games, or cleaning toilets, or filing HR paperwork. It all depends on the job they performed before being laid off. Not all of those affected were game developers, many of which just worked for the company doing non developing stuff... keep that in mind.

fr0sty129d ago

Activision/Blizzard has 13,000 employees, Bethesda has approx 2300. So 15,300 total... They laid off 1,900. That's almost 12.5% of the total workforce of both Activision and Zenimax/Bethesda combined. More than 1 out of every 10 heads got cut...

darthv72129d ago

^^its over 22,000 employees across the totality of MS/ABK/ZB and losing another 1900 will still leave them with over 20k. And like I said, not all of them are game devs but other overlapping employees. It sux when it happens (I know personally) but it is what it is.

fr0sty129d ago (Edited 129d ago )

That's still nearly 1 out of every 10 heads (8.6%)... that isn't a small number. It's such a large number, that it is unlikely that they're all just janitors and office workers like you seem to be trying to imply.

Darkegg129d ago (Edited 129d ago )

The abuse goes on both ends. The answer is that Microsoft offers some tools but tradeoff is that whatever tools are available will reduce need for human labor. This deals with many lives so it’s based on the metric as well as implementation of those metrics, watching those who implement it, to portray an accurate ratio of labor and productivity.

I don’t like corporate greed but being on the workbench I have seen slackers too for whom I just want to work harder and self-initiate.

itsmebryan129d ago

I know. It's like having the number one selling console by a large margin and laying off people. "Clutching my pearls"

Zeref129d ago

What does profitability have to do with any of this? Out of all the layoffs happening recently. This was the one that was most expected. Layoffs almost always happen after a big acquisition. It's not because of finances. It's because there's a lot of overlap in the job positions.

I was hoping it wouldn't be too bad because they want to keep Activision Blizzard as a separate entity.

But I guess when it's a 70 billion dollar acquisition. There's inevitably going to be a lot more overlap than normal.

Sucks for those that were affected. Hope they land on their feet quickly.

Einhander1972128d ago

How many years do you think it would take to pay off 70 billion with the salaries of the people who lost their jobs?

And let's not even bring up the fact that Microsoft was getting all these games anyways, so these people lost their jobs for essentially no reason.

Zeref128d ago (Edited 128d ago )

@Einhander1972

The layoffs were gonna happen regardless. Have you seen industry news lately? Everyone is having layoffs. They Would it have been as bad as this? Who knows. But they were against unionization while Microsoft supports it and it turns out, None of the Union workers were affected. So I'm gonna say it would have been just as bad if not worse.

Activision Blizzard was on a downwards spiral. In the next few years we'll see if MS can turn it around for them.

RhinoGamer88128d ago

You can bet Phil and his boys are getting nice and fat bonuses this year.

FreeFallFrenzy128d ago

Yet it's considered the "most valuable" company in the world! 🙄

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 127d ago
shadowT129d ago

Blizzard president Mike Ybarra and Blizzard’s chief designer Allen Adham also departing, according a new report of Tom Warren.

RaidenBlack129d ago

The Blizzard's untitled survival game is also cancelled

Lightning77129d ago

Typical MS. 5 steps forward..... 100 steps back lol.

Hofstaderman129d ago (Edited 129d ago )

Ybarra was a plant all along to ease the acquisition.

zaanan129d ago

It’s entirely possible. Remember Nokia?

This raises the total Xbox layoffs since ACTI announcement to 11,900.

“Move along, nothing to see here”

Hofstaderman129d ago

@zaanan Nokia is exactly a case where MS spent a substantial amount on an acquisition and then proceeded to pull the plug.

Gamingsince1981128d ago

Nah Mike Ybarra only just said in November they would have to drag him out to make him leave, he's in for the long haul...... now 3 months later he has left its fishy

Hofstaderman129d ago

Have to make that 70-80 Billion Dollars worth of acquisitions back. Why so surprised? The writing was always on the wall for everybody to read. Wonder how much of the restructuring is geared towards their third party publishing plans?

Aloymetal129d ago ShowReplies(4)
Hofstaderman129d ago

Take this with a grain of salt; according to Jez Corden Microsoft has also shut down departments dedicated to bringing Xbox games to physical retail ... which if you've seen the digital-only Xbox console leaks ... well, you can get an idea of where Microsoft is going here.

darthv72128d ago

Things are changing across the board for physical media... Its been declining for movies and music, games were next.

128d ago
Redgrave129d ago ShowReplies(2)
gold_drake129d ago (Edited 129d ago )

its absolutely horrific for those1900 people.

the 3 trillion dollar company "has to" fire so many people, and for what?. for a "sustainable cost structure"

thats almost 10% of their staff lol

Tacoboto129d ago

There is no justification for it. They have the money to afford literally anything in the world.

To cancel Blizzard's game six years in development is the twist of the knife when everyone's already down.

For smaller companies that are running with tight costs, layoffs are one thing. What Microsoft did today is a complete other and benefits the big wigs at the expense of everyone else.

Good on Mike Ybarra for leaving. Phil Spencer should follow his example and look at everything that's happened to the developers impacted by his decisions.

frostypants129d ago

Deep sixing an acquisition's game deep into development is the most MS move ever.

Tacoboto129d ago

They Fable Legends'd themselves again.

They're the WB-cancelling-finished-movies of the gaming industry.

porkChop128d ago

"To cancel Blizzard's game six years in development is the twist of the knife when everyone's already down."

I'm really surprised by that. Spencer doesn't usually cancel anything already in development. Even Redfall, even though the devs wanted them to cancel it. But then again, Redfall. Maybe that game's failure made them change their mind. With it being 6 years deep in dev though it doesn't make sense to cancel it. Pretty stupid decision.

dumahim128d ago

That's what happens when you buy a company that's in the same business as you. There's a lot of people doing the same job, so they're going to save money by getting rid of people that aren't needed anymore.

Profchaos128d ago

@dumahim Ive heard that before and worked in a job where they merged with another company let go of their newly acquired staff and expected me to take on a whole host of extra work but I was already at 110 percent capacity and not the only one the outcome was morale dropped to an all time low and good staff left in droves.

The Wood128d ago

I make you right Taco. What this hammers to me is that sustainability issues are due to weak hardware sales and weak gamespass concurrent subs. Something has to give. I definitely see them pivoting to becoming a 3rd party publisher.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 128d ago
MrDead129d ago

The results of industry consolidation, the only people that benefit are CEO's and shareholders... gamers and the workforce gets ****ed

I can see way more cuts in the short term too as parts of what where competing publishers in the industry merge, and lets not forget the introduction of AI, MS is set to be a big pusher of that.

porkChop128d ago

Yeah this is terrible. MS has the money and resources to support that staff. None of these large companies need to do any of these layoffs.

blackblades128d ago

People said this was going to happen after they acquire them but not this many. Makes you think that Sony is doing a better job with not acquiring but just partnering up with studios and funding the games.

darthv72128d ago

Oh it was happening with Sony too... Bungie, Media Molecule, insomniac... all of them lost people after being acquired by Sony. And it will happen again because its inevitable when you bring on another company that has people like you do. No need for multiples of the same job.

porkChop128d ago

Huh? Sony has not only laid off plenty of employees, they've also shut down 1 or 2 of the new studios they just bought.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 128d ago
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190°

Take-Two CEO Doesn’t Think AI Will Reduce Employment or Dev Costs; “Stupidest Thing” He’s Heard

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick doesn't think AI will reduce employment or lower development costs, and calls it "stupidest thing" he's ever heard.

lodossrage8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

They already have AI trained to do coding.......

How he thinks it's stupid is beyond me, Especially since we see it happening in real time.

CS75h ago

Company A has 300 employees and lays of 200 to replace them with AI to release the same quality game.

Company B has 300 employees and keeps all 300 but instead uses AI to release a game with dramatically larger scale, scope, complexity, short dev cycle etc.

Company B would release a dramatically better product by using humans + AI and consumers would buy the better game.

I actually agree with this concept.

Huey_My_D_Long5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

This is key facet. Its how the AI is used. It's actually is impressive as is and really would make an amazing addition to alot of people in their jobs, not just tech. It also has the potential for businesses to use to lay off large amounts of people, as much as they could to save money on labor. I hope too many companies don't go with the latter. But since usually companies are worried about bottom line over people...we will see some try and hopefully fail. But yeah, if its to help workers like in your company B scenario I'm totally down...Just scared Company A may be too enticing to some ceos and businesses.

Darkegg5h ago

Value of AI and value of humans will both be increased with human-AI complex. Each, by themselves, will not be independently better than the other. Whether AI will ever be independent from humans is the fear question of humans, ironically because of our doing. At this stage, most of the doing is because of humans, not because of AI. AI is doing exactly that by our design, until we have failed ourselves with an AI development that went awry. The biggest take is that humans have only ourselves to blame when things become wrong, and we have to decide what is the ultimate goal with AI we want to accomplish. It would take a person with high morals and high ethics to make right of AI. I would not want businessman to decide what AI should do or what capabilities it can have. AI should be in the hands of people with high moral fiber, or those operating on love, kindness, and compassion.

BlackOni4h ago

AI is SUPPOSED to be used as a tool, not a replacement. It's designed to do two important things artists can take advantage of immediately.

- Make the ideation/reference imaging process much quicker and easier (basically using it as a google search)
- Make mundane and time consuming tasks faster and easier so more time is spent on creation.

Unfortunately, what many have done is used it as a way to replace rather than supplement.

Einhander19721h ago(Edited 1h ago)

CS7

In the ideal world yes.

In the real world where companies have shown little desire to innovate and spent every effort to maximize profits the end result will be the same quality games (if were lucky) made by less people and more AI.

Company Real World: Fires 200 people and makes the same game cheaper using AI and the executives get record bonuses.

Edit:

Lets look at history, specifically auto manufacturing.

In the 70's and 80's the auto unions tried to oppose automation of jobs (robots) stating that they would take peoples jobs. And the people in charge who wanted to make more money said the exact same types of things that are being said about AI. But we can look at history and see that countless types of jobs were in fact replaced by automation, that was of course even compounded upon by computers.

The net effect was that the rich got richer less jobs were needed so wages were forced down by competition for the jobs that were left.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1h ago
Number1TailzFan5h ago

You can already make your own SFX with text prompts now as well, of course it will lower development cost and time

1Victor5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

WARNING WARNING ‼️ SARCASM AHEAD
Sure Strauss and robots didn’t take jobs from car factories.
Edit:Sad thing is he believes it and unfortunately he won’t be replaced for a long time by AI

senorfartcushion4h ago(Edited 4h ago)

He doesn't, he's just lying. These people lay people off so they can get bonuses. If AI takes jobs, their bonus goes bigger and the workforce goes smaller.

porkChop2h ago

Because he sees AI as a tool to aid development. He wants to use AI to help make bigger and better games in the same timeframe. Other CEOs want to replace devs with AI to cut costs and make lifeless games faster for a quick buck. Strauss has the right idea, this is how AI should be used. To extend and expand the capabilities of devs.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 44m ago
jambola8h ago

Ceo says stupid thing
Part 5837384

Zeref6h ago(Edited 6h ago)

I think maybe sometimes we give people in these positions too much credit when it comes to intelligence.

romulus236h ago

As long as it doesn't effect his inflated executive salary or his ridiculous bonuses I'm sure he's fine with it.

RNTody5h ago

Hahaha yeah trust the CEO suit over the actual developers making the games. Good one.

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100°

Every PlayStation Studios game available now on Windows PC

Windows Central writes: "Many PlayStation Studios games that are ported to PC get dedicated PS5 DualSense support, which allows users to experience haptic feedback and adaptive trigger support without actually having to own a PS5.

According to Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, it's still the company's intent to launch the bigger single-player games on PS5 first, before later bringing the games to PC. This might not be the case for multiplayer games however, which are considered okay to launch simultaneously on console and PC."

Read Full Story >>
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ocelot071d 14h ago

My guess is after god of war. Probably last of us 2 that's a almost 4 year old game now and by the time it's released on pc it will be more than 4 years old or close to 5.

Elda1d 8h ago

Every old Playstation game that is now on PC.

shinoff218323h ago

Right. I definitely see what a headlined from a website named windows central was trying to do though. It's cute little wordplay to help out the green box

Flewid63821h ago

Are PlayStation games no longer good or worth playing once they are old?

Elda21h ago

I'm guessing my comment went over your head.

XiNatsuDragnel1d 7h ago

Good at least they can sell hardware

340°

Trying to push players over from PC to console is a terrible idea, PlayStation

As PlayStation announces its new strategy to encourage PC users to choose PS5 it is a bitter-sweet moment for PC gamers.

Christopher2d ago

I mean, it's a business based on hardware market. Do we expect them to not even try? It's not like Nintendo doesn't do the same by not putting any games on PC and Microsoft until recently did the same. I don't care what they attempt, as long as they don't abuse the community or lie about their goals/requirements.

Will it work? Not likely. Should we care? No. Let them waste their time, it doesn't affect anything.

RaidenBlack2d ago

let them try ... at the end of the day, we get few extra PC games ... yay ... and also promotes game preservation via PC ... so double yay.

LordoftheCritics1d 11h ago

If only Playstation games provided the ease of pc gaming features.

Primary being very few PS games support m/kb.

Christopher1d 3h ago

If only PC games supported controllers more. Main reason I play primarily on console. So many games have shit support on PC. Playing Dark Envoy now, and it's quite frustrating since I have to switch to keyboard during cut scenes just to make sure advancing conversation doesn't also auto-select a decision. Let alone it's quite rough to select between characters and inventory screens are bad bad bad.

Anywho, similar complaints for both I find. But, I 100% agree that both PC and consoles should support both as best as possible.

crazyCoconuts23h ago

PS may push more kb support in the future to get more PC converts, we'll see.

Flewid63821h ago

As someone with a high end PC, I feel like the ease is on PS5. Too many PC games are a troubleshooting nightmare, which few people have the time for when all you want to do is pop in a game & play it.

Yui_Suzumiya14h ago(Edited 14h ago)

I just use an Xbox controller on my laptop for everything 😆 .. I haven't used a keyboard / mouse combo for PC gaming since 1996

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 14h ago
LordoftheCritics1d 2h ago (Edited 1d 2h ago )

I don't think you understand what I mean by the lack of m/kb support on PS.

Over a thousand titles have PS controller support on PC.

Not even 30 titles have m/kb support on PS5.

Once you are done with the single player title, you'll go back to playing your daily shooter/looter/mmo etc which the pc gamer has mastered with their mouse and keyboard.
Why would any pc gamer make the switch?

jznrpg18h ago(Edited 18h ago)

PC is secondary to PlayStation for them. Mouse and keyboard would affect development. Live service will have it but most single player games aren’t going to have it as PC is not the focus

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 14h ago
Fishy Fingers2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I wish them the best of luck.

But PC players are often a patient bunch, many will even wait for Epic launcher exclusivity to end until a game comes to Steam.

If they didnt buy the console when its games were exclusive, why would they do it now theyre not?

MrNinosan1d 13h ago

Way more do than you probably think.

ravens521d 12h ago

All you need is that one game that'll make a few switch at a time. Like a game a PC player REALLY wants.

porkChop1d ago

It just doesn't work that way though. Plenty of the best games ever made were never available on PC. That didn't make PC gamers buy consoles to play them. This kind of strategy has never worked in the past and it won't work now. It's fine for PS to hold their games back and release on PC later, but to think that will boost console sales is wishful thinking. All this will accomplish is some double dipping, which is obviously good for business.

JackBNimble23h ago(Edited 23h ago)

People aren't going to switch from pc to ps5, why would anyone do that for a game?
Most sony exclusives aren't all that to begin with, and pc has the option to upgrade what they want when they want it. Having access to some ps5 games, gamepass and steam.

Thinking this would happen is naive

outsider16241d 9h ago

I mean if there's 10 million pc gamers out there...getting atleast just 1 million from there is probably a good thing..right?

romulus231d 6h ago

PC players are not a monolith, I don't know why people keep thinking they speak for the entirety of all PC gamers like they all know each other personally. You think out of the millions of PC gamers not one single person will be impatient?Well Sony is willing to bet there will be. Why would they do it now? People's feelings change and new PC gamers come along all the time that may also feel different about waiting, that's why.

Yui_Suzumiya14h ago

Just like how I'm waiting for Alan Wake II to hit Steam 😆

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 14h ago
-Foxtrot2d ago

PC gamers are just too patient and loyal to their gaming set ups, something they've spent a lot of money on to perfect. They have backlogs of games which many never get round to finishing or get round to at all and will always have other multiplatform releases to keep them going.

Over the many years Sony has published so many awesome titles such as The Last of Us, Uncharted, Heavenly Sword, Infamous, Killzone, LittleBigPlanet, Dreams, Puppeteer, Resistance, Heavy Rain, Gran Turismo, Motor Storm, God of War, Horizon, Ratchet and Clank, Spiderman, Ghost of Tsushima, Bloodborne

If none of those games BEFORE all these PC ports convinced a hardcore PC gamer to get a PS5 console then why on Earth would porting them them to PC now make any difference? All PC gamers now know 100% is that they just have to be patient, which they are good at anyway to get a PS5 game 2 years later.

I get GaaS games or multiplayer focused titles but if people really want to play these games they'd have gotten a PS console years ago.

Crows901d 9h ago

Not sure they're aiming to convince the hardcore PC gamer.

Not sure why people are obsessing over his comment...it seems pretty simple to me.

He will do all he can to entice gamers to move to his ecosystem. As you say....exclusives existing hasn't moved many gamers over. But if they get to try them and love the games then they might change their mind about waiting 2 years.

We're in an echo chamber on this site...I've Personally seen people with Xbox and PC setups but no PlayStation. I've also seen people with small PC setups but no console. Not every pc gamer invests thousands and many may decide to put one in the living room.

They're not looking to convince all of players to buy a PlayStation...just a few...and really it is just a PR statement after all...they have to give a reason why single player won't release day 1....not to mention they also have to ensure current PlayStation gamers don't jump ship to PC. It goes both ways and they're ignoring the big L by putting any of their games off their platform.

anast1d 8h ago

"Not sure they're aiming to convince the hardcore PC gamer."

Right here

Kakashi Hatake1d 9h ago

PC gamers think tomorrow is promised. Sorry, don't have time for that.

Michiel19891d 8h ago

it's not just about loyalty or sunk cost, pc is an open platform while consoles are closed platforms. If you for example want to mod, you will play on pc, no question about it. Also if you like indie games, steam is a fucking goldmine for that. I've been playing a lot of indie games over the last years and there just seems to be an endless amount of them on steam. Also not having games locked to a certain fps is a prettty big deal for me and I assume a lot of other pc players.

Walalon1d 6h ago

And don't forget steam sales, you can get a ton of games on an awesome price.

badz14922h ago

@Walalon

Sony has been doing sales constantly on the PS Store nowadays.

jznrpg18h ago(Edited 18h ago)

@Walalon Steam sales are basically the same as PS sales. I was going to buy a Steam Deck and I heard about these Steam sales but the games I was interested in were not any cheaper. Indie games were cheap and older AAA were cheap but the same can be said for PS store sales. I didn’t end up getting the Steam Deck as there weren’t any games that I wanted to play that wasn’t already on PS and prices aren’t much different

romulus231d 6h ago

And how do you know out of the millions of PC gamers that not one single person ever went ahead and bought a PlayStation console for one or more of those games? People keep speaking for the entirety of millions of PC gamers like they know them all personally. Here's one example for you, I'm currently typing on a recently purchased PC that cost me over twenty five hundred dollars and is more than capable of running any game including Sony exclusives that come to PC and yet I still bought a PS5 so apparently I'm not patient or loyal enough to my set up, hope it's not mad at me for not being loyal.

jznrpg18h ago

Some of those people will consider getting a PS5 some wont. I was a PC gamer for a long time and I’m a console only gamer now. Everyone’s different.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 18h ago
helicoptergirl2d ago

Who cares? Then just stay on PC and play the waiting game. No big deal. Sony wins in the end anyway.

Number1TailzFan2d ago

I mean if there's any single player Sony games that I actually want that aren't on PC then I would buy said console to play them on. But the ones that I like that aren't on PC are few and far between anyway so no loss for me.

If I game, it's usually multiplayer titles, otherwise I like playing around with some other software.

Amplitude1d 3h ago (Edited 1d 3h ago )

Astro Bot is the game that just did it for me. I'm gonna have to grab a PS5 again for that.

I did this for Ratchet Rift Apart too but ended up selling the PS5 after getting my plat. Rebought it on PC and other than GoW Ragnarok and Horizon FW (which eventually I could get anyway), I haven't had a reason to downgrade my graphics, controller features, ease of recording, and increase my game costs and monthly subscriptions throughout this entire generation.

I play on a TV with a controller but this has been the absolute worst console gen for both consoles. Never in my life thought I'd be a PC gamer but I've been spoiled by the cheap costs, cross-platform controllers and mostly the unbelievably useful Steam controller config.

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