Sony President and PlayStation Chairman Hiroki Totoki recently discussed the strategic opportunities inherent in expanding the availability of first-party games onto PC platforms. He described the company’s proactive efforts in this direction as part of an ambitious plan to drive profit margins.
Totoki’s remarks came during an investor Q&A coinciding with the release of Sony’s latest financial earnings report. Responding to inquiries about strategies to enhance profitability within the gaming division, he addressed the challenges associated with reducing costs in PlayStation hardware due to component pricing.
However, he emphasized a shift towards a “multiplatform” approach to releasing first-party games as a potentially lucrative avenue for growth.
“In the past, our primary objective was to popularize our console through exclusive first-party titles,” Totoki explained. “While that remains true, there’s also a synergistic effect. Strong first-party content can bolster not only our console but also other platforms like computers. Embracing a multiplatform strategy can contribute to improving operating profit. This is an area we are actively pursuing.”
Expressing his belief in the existence of opportunities for margin improvement, Totoki expressed a desire to aggressively pursue enhanced margin performance.
Under the leadership of former PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, Sony traditionally released its games as console exclusives initially, with PC releases following “at least a year” later, with some exceptions for live-service games.
It remains unclear whether Totoki, who assumed the interim CEO position following Ryan’s departure, intends to narrow this gap to leverage the initial excitement surrounding PlayStation releases. Alternatively, his statements may align with Sony’s previous assertion that PC and mobile platforms would represent 50% of its first-party portfolio by 2025.
While Sony has experienced notable success with PC releases of PlayStation games, including titles such as God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves, its most recent major PC success was Helldivers 2, which launched simultaneously on PC and Steam last week.
