For Sony, to follow the exact model of Xbox Game Pass is to deteriorate the quality of first-party games

In just a few weeks, Sony Interactive Entertainment will deploy the new formula of its PlayStation Plus which will integrate the streaming features of PlayStation Now. A logical mutation when you see how consumption patterns are changing and the success of the Xbox Game Pass continues to grow with each passing month. However, on the PlayStation side, we are not yet ready to adopt the same strategy and during the reveal of the new PlayStation service, many people were disappointed not to find first-party games in day one, such as this is the case with the competition. This is what makes the success of the Xbox Game Pass, namely being able to play the latest novelties, even the AAA ones as soon as they are released, at launch, without having to pay a surplus in their subscription. A highly advantageous strategy for the customer, but which continues to be debated within the players and the market who are trying to find ways to remain profitable, while being competitive. Because it is true that despite the success of the Xbox Game Pass and this formula which attracts a lot of support, you have to have the necessary finances to support such an economic burden.

Hiroki Totoki, who holds the position of director of the subsidiary Sony Financial Group, expressed himself on this subject during the last financial results of the Japanese group and the latter did not hesitate to express his disagreement with this strategy of day-and -date, and therefore to include all games, even first-party ones, in a subscription service. According to him, opting for such a strategy would deteriorate the quality of these games, the fault of lower production investments:

If we take the decision to release AAA-type games on PS5 in subscription services, we will undoubtedly have to reduce the investment necessary for them and this will deteriorate the quality of the game and this is our main concern.

So we want to make sure we’re spending the right development costs to have solid products to deliver in the right way. The games we make are bigger and bigger, they get better, they get better, they get richer, the story gets stronger.

Putting these games into a subscription service as soon as they come out would break that virtuous circle, and we wouldn’t be able to invest like we currently can. So we don’t.

Hiroki Totoki therefore aligns himself with the words of Jim Ryan, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, who had already spoken last month on this subject, also specifying “that he refrain from commenting on the strategy of competitors”before adding that “our current thinking is to have development costs [et] proper R&D investments for quality products, and it will improve the platform and also improve the business in the long run.Mr. Hiroki Totoki took the opportunity to reveal that Sony was considering spending an additional 40 billion yen (approximately $308 million) on its first-party games through the studios they own today. It was also clarified that deploying its games first -party on other media (the PC of course, editor’s note) is still part of their strategy, knowing that mobile also remains an interesting platform as well.

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