Sony is looking to significantly expand the multiplatform availability of PlayStation exclusives as part of an “aggressive” plan to increase profit margins, according to comments made by PlayStation chairman Hiroki Totoki.
During a recent Q&A with investors, Totoki acknowledged the challenges of reducing costs in PlayStation hardware manufacturing. Instead, he pointed to multiplatform releases of first-party games as a more viable growth opportunity.
“In the past, as you all know, we wanted to popularize [our] console, and the first-party title’s main purpose was to make the console popular,” he explained. “But there is a synergy to it. So if you have strong first-party content, not only with our console but also other platforms like computers, a first party can be grown with multiplatform – and that can help operating profit to improve.”
Under previous PlayStation leadership, Sony adopted a model of releasing major exclusives on PlayStation first, followed by a PC port at least one year later. Live service games were sometimes excluded from this rule. However, Totoki’s recent comments suggest Sony aims to accelerate and expand multiplatform launches to capitalize on title hype and reach wider audiences.
While specifics remain unclear, analysts say closing the release gap between PlayStation and PC could signify a seismic shift for the company. Others believe it simply reflects an extension of Sony’s previous commitment to make half its first-party games available on PC and mobile by 2025.
So far, several former PlayStation exclusives have seen success on PC, including God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. Sony’s biggest recent multiplatform triumph was last week’s simultaneous launch of Helldivers 2 on PlayStation, PC, and Steam.
Overall, Totoki said, “I personally think there are opportunities out there for improvement of margins, so I would like to go aggressive in improving our margin performance.” Greater multiplatform support of PlayStation IP seems to be the keystone of this aggressive growth plan.
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