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[winjer]

These ports of old games, being re-released on the PC, are not meant to break sales records.
They are meant to be a cheap ports, with a very nice return on investment.
Investing a couple million bucks, to do port that sells 2-3 million copies is an excellent result.
The only issue with Sony 's strategy is porting games, that have little to no appeal to the PC audience, like Sackboy. Or releasing the 4th Uncharted unto the PC audience, without releasing the 3 prior games first.

 

[Gaiff]

Without knowing what their pc strategy is? Maybe profits are tiny but they have pc for their longterm strategy. Set all the framework and be more aggressive on pc in the future we don't know. Saying they don't immediately stop so it must be highly profitable is jumping to conclusions.

That's very unlikely.

That was as of March 2021. By May 2022, HZD had sold 2.3M and by now, over 3.3M. GOW was mainly ported by a team of four engineers in two years. Those ports cost a pittance.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I think a lot of you have a really poor conception of what the PC market looks like, particularly games released well after their initial release.

PC games have far more longevity than console games tend to (not including Nintendo). Their unit sales are also heavily tied to price, and many games will rack up units sold while on sale for as little as 5 dollars.

Selling a million copies at like 30-40 dollars goes a long way towards recouping development costs of the original game, but the reality is a game like Spider-Man will keep selling on PC. It'll sell in waves. When Spider-Man 2 is released on PC, when a new Spider-Man movie comes out, when the game goes on sale e.t.c.

That people are ignoring the dates of these releases is hilarious.

 

[DavidGzz]

But if old games don't sell why would Bloodborne be any different?

That's a perfect double dip game for that sweet 60fps+. PC gamers also LOVE Souls-likes. It would sell better than all the games in the OP.

Edit: just read your spoiler. Yep, games that PC gamers like will sell good regardless.

 

[Schmendrick]

Sony releases minimum effort ports of old games for chump change and still rakes in hundreds of millions and somehow that`s bad for them.....

Some salty fanboys in this thread need to revisit elementary school math.

 

[Clintizzle]

At first I was like damn that's some low numbers and then realized that unless you have some higher end rigs, these games will always look better on the PS5.

PS5 and PC is probably the most common setup among gamers as well so there wouldn't be much double-dipping.

 

[Fabieter]

That's very unlikely.

That was as of March 2021. By May 2022, HZD had sold 2.3M and by now, over 3.3M. GOW was mainly ported by a team of four engineers in two years. Those ports cost a pittance.

Does this include all the QA after release and all the resources needed to make the port great that took like a year?

Gow also didnt need any plastering. Again you might be right but its still just assumptions.

 

[Senua]

Without knowing what their pc strategy is? Maybe profits are tiny but they have pc for their longterm strategy. Set all the framework and be more aggressive on pc in the future we don't know. Saying they don't immediately stop so it must be highly profitable is jumping to conclusions.

Well we're just discussing based off the info we have right? But how much do you think a PC port costs? HZD and GoW had to have made a bucket load based on those sales. These are full priced games remember

At first I was like damn that's some low numbers and then realized that unless you have some higher end rigs, these games will always look better on the PS5.

What on earth does this have to do with anything lmao

 

[Mibu no ookami]

These ports of old games, being re-released on the PC, are not meant to break sales records.
They are meant to be a cheap ports, with a very nice return on investment.
Investing a couple million bucks, to do port that sells 2-3 million copies is an excellent result.
The only issue with Sony 's strategy is porting games, that have little to no appeal to the PC audience, like Sackboy. Or releasing the 4th Uncharted unto the PC audience, without releasing the 3 prior games first.

I think Sackboy was probably ported to achieve a few different objectives. Potentially fill a quota for agreements on Steam/Epic, but also test Sumo Digital to see if they could be trusted with other ports.

They were in a tough spot with Uncharted. They wanted a PC port when the movie was coming out, but the original games aren't in good shape, especially Uncharted 1. They couldn't remake them in time, so it made more sense to go with Uncharted 4, but obviously, that had limitations in sales, because most people don't want to jump into a game on the 4th chapter.

It's why Santa Monica was really smart and soft-rebooted God of War, and escaped the ceiling on the 13-year-old franchise. As a result, God of War 2018 sold more than the first 3 games combined. That's saying something since it was already one of Sony's biggest IP.

 

[Midn1ght]

why would Bloodborne be any different?

Because From Software's games sell extremely well on PC?
40% Dark Souls Sales were on PC, 44% for Elden Ring.

Source 1: Dark Souls Series Has Sold Over 8 Million Copies, 40% of Which Were on the PC
Source 2: Elden Ring is the biggest new IP since The Division | European Monthly Charts

 

[Gaiff]

Does this include all the QA after release and all the resources needed to make the port great that took like a year?

This was a few months after the game's release, so yes.

And no, it didn't take even close to a year for the port to be great. It took less than two months. Hell, they patched it so damn fast that within a few weeks, most of the major issues had been addressed and fixed.

 

[DonJimbo]

Jimbo what did you have in mind to port exclusives to PC

 

[Senua]

Jimbo what did you have in mind to port exclusives to PC

Extra revenue which is exactly what he got.

 

[Doctor Hades]

The problem is that all of these games are 'old' and I would wager that a big chunk of PC gamers already own a PS5 where they will likely have played the originals. That is true in my case although I did double-dip and buy them again for PC as I am utterly and completely insane like that.

Sony will never do it but I suspect sales would be far higher on PC if the game was released at the same time as the PS5 version. However, this does mean that for anyone with a moderately decent gaming PC that the console then effectively becomes obsolete, something that I have certainly found to be true of my increasingly disappointing and underwhelming Xbox Series X, which I bought one year after it launched and before I upgraded to a new i5-13600KF / 32 GB / RTX 4080 / Windows 11 Pro PC so it was good initially. The problem is that I now own a PC which is significantly more powerful than the Xbox Series X so I barely use it now, not that it has been decent first party games anyway (Forza Motorsport and Starfield were both letdowns for me).

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Considering it's unlikely these ports cost a lot, they are probably all profitable (excepting Sackboy lol) and so Sony's strategy makes sense and they will probably continue with what they have been doing.

2+ years later PC ports of Playstation games which have already sold 10+ million copies on PS consoles is basically free money which extends the profitability window for their first-party titles.

 

[Clintizzle]

What on earth does this have to do with anything lmao

just meant that people would rather play these games on a PS5 as it would just work. No need to wait for game ready drivers etc.

PS5 easier access to game so no need to buy for PC.

 

[winjer]

I think Sackboy was probably ported to achieve a few different objectives. Potentially fill a quota for agreements on Steam/Epic, but also test Sumo Digital to see if they could be trusted with other ports.

They were in a tough spot with Uncharted. They wanted a PC port when the movie was coming out, but the original games aren't in good shape, especially Uncharted 1. They couldn't remake them in time, so it made more sense to go with Uncharted 4, but obviously, that had limitations in sales, because most people don't want to jump into a game on the 4th chapter.

It's why Santa Monica was really smart and soft-rebooted God of War, and escaped the ceiling on the 13-year-old franchise. As a result, God of War 2018 sold more than the first 3 games combined. That's saying something since it was already one of Sony's biggest IP.

I think the reason why the ported Sackboy is because it uses UE4. So 99 % of the work was already done.
So they just took the PS5 project, added a PC menu, imported a couple of plugins like DLSS, and pressed the button to compile for PC.
Probably not even a months work. And very cheap to make.

 

[Senua]

just meant that people would rather play these games on a PS5 as it would just work. No need to wait for game ready drivers etc.

PS5 easier access to game so no need to buy for PC.

DRIVERS? Some of you guys are genuinely stuck in 2004 land, such outdated views.

 

[Gaiff]

just meant that people would rather play these games on a PS5 as it would just work. No need to wait for game ready drivers etc.

PS5 easier access to game so no need to buy for PC.

What year is this, 1995?

 

[T-Cake]

Sackboy is a damn brilliant game though. It's a shame it's so underlooked. I dismissed it until I actually sat down and started playing it with the kids for something to try.

 

[Fabieter]

Well we're just discussing based off the info we have right? But how much do you think a PC port costs? HZD and GoW had to have made a bucket load based on those sales. These are full priced games remember


What on earth does this have to do with anything lmao

Well i dont know and you don't find anything on the internet from any publisher.

I found this quote "The short answer is that it costs in the mid-to-upper five figures (straightforward project, single platform) to the low seven figures (extreme case – multiplatform AAA). ".

i couldnt find any numbers to any publisher or game tho.

Well do you think all those sales are done at 60? Lets use europe for example. 60 buck and for some countrys there are 20% tax already included. From there 30 to steam gives them 30 bucks for a game sold in europe as revenue.

 

[Astray]

DRIVERS? Some of you guys are genuinely stuck in 2004 land, such outdated views.

PC gaming got to the point where at least %98 of games work with zero issues on a modern-ish PC, but man that last %2 can reaaaaaally make you tear your hair out in frustration.

I'm looking at you, AI: The Somnium Files.

 

[Fabieter]

I think the reason why the ported Sackboy is because it uses UE4. So 99 % of the work was already done.
So they just took the PS5 project, added a PC menu, imported a couple of plugins like DLSS, and pressed the button to compile for PC.
Probably not even a months work. And very cheap to make.

This must be the reason we see so many seriously bad unreal engine 4 games on pc that are optimized like absolute trash.

This was a few months after the game's release, so yes.

And no, it didn't take even close to a year for the port to be great. It took less than two months. Hell, they patched it so damn fast that within a few weeks, most of the major issues had been addressed and fixed.

Alright but i wonder why sony necer talked about theirs super high profit margins never again with their shareholders or did they?

 

[Whitecrow]

This is gonna hurt the souls of Sony bros who think their games are crown jewels.

Sony will just be happy at the extra millions of dollars they get for minimum effort.

Life will go on, as it always does.

People use Playstation to play playstation games, and when the time they release on PC, most of the games already sold millions.
Steam sales have nothing to do with its quality.

I understand PC bros may have a hard time understanding that.

 

[winjer]

This must be the reason we see so many seriously bad unreal engine 4 games on pc that are optimized like absolute trash.

Yes, because Sackboy did have a ton of stutters at launch. They didn't even bother with creating shader compilation at the start of the game.
And it had issues with frame pacing and other things. I think they eventually fixed most of it. But it shows how cheap and lazy some of these ports are being made.

 

[Physiognomonics]

Seems not terribly great

But eh, the bean counters probably got an extra 40M or whatever so they’ll still consider it free money

That's not free. Those games being on PC also devaluates games on PS5 and potentially reduce Playstation console gamers invested in the ecosystem as a whole. It's a bad strategy, from the start. There is a reason Nintendo don't port their games on PC. There is no 'free' money.

Besides what are those millions compared to the billions they are making on console games and services? Peanuts.

 

[Fabieter]

Yes, because Sackboy did have a ton of stutters at launch. They didn't even bother with creating shader compilation at the start of the game.
And it had issues with frame pacing and other things. I think they eventually fixed most of it. But it shows how cheap and lazy some of these ports are being made.

So like 99% of all unreal engine ports including some pc focused titles like ark are also really cheaply made got it.

 

[yurinka]

Maybe profits are tiny

If the leaked image of the OP and other with the costs too, Spider-Man Remastered PC port generated enough money to recoup not only its PC port, but the whole Spider-Man Remastered project and to post profits (on top of the revenue it generated on PS).

These PC ports are highly profitable. They may cost under a handful millions to be ported and the best selling ones generated (until now, the'll continue selling for years) over $100M-$150M each.

That's very unlikely.

That was as of March 2021. By May 2022, HZD had sold 2.3M and by now, over 3.3M. GOW was mainly ported by a team of four engineers in two years. Those ports cost a pittance.

This is a good example. But the 3.3M chart mentions Spider-Man PC was released "around 6 months ago", meaning the chart is from around february. So HZD must have sold more since then.

Even the Sackboy port must be profitable.

 

[Midn1ght]

Besides what are those millions compared to the billions they are making on console games and services? Peanuts.

Not every games is breaking the bank. Returnal, Ratchet and Sackboy didn't perform well on console. If the leaks are real, they even lost money with Ratchet.

Those games being on PC also devaluates games on PS5 and potentially reduce Playstation console gamers invested in the ecosystem as a whole.

PS5 sets record-breaking quarterly sales​

PS5 is fully stocked for first time and on track for record sales this year​

Sony's flagship console breaks sales records while pushing against economic currents​

It's a bad strategy.

Clearly.

 

[existensmaximum]

I never said that. I was against Sony putting their games on pc. It devalues the pull of console

You and me both

 

[peish]

pc gamers do not care about single player QTE games trying to pass off as a movie.

 

[Senua]

People use Playstation to play playstation games, and when the time they release on PC, most of the games already sold millions.
Steam sales have nothing to do with its quality.

I understand PC bros may have a hard time understanding that.

^ See.

 

[Doctor Hades]

Sackboy was a mess at launch and it took them months to fix the stuttering completely. I love the game despite its simplicity but I avoided playing it for weeks due to the stuttering and that is definitely not a good thing to have hanging around your neck when you are a new IP on PC.

I remember years ago being impressed by Unreal Engine 4, back in the early days of the PS4/Xbox One and DX11 on PC, but now it feels like a curse on PC gaming, shwocasing a weakness in its design that consoles do not have (i.e. the need to pre-compile shaders after every new graphics driver or game update), and even Unreal Engine 5 doesn't completely fix all its issues...

 

[Laptop1991]

Well i've always been a PC gamer and while the Playstation games are good for PS gamers, they are not the games i'm use to or wanted to play, and that would apply to most older PC gamers as well, we mostly preferred 3rd party games and devs. although they've become an endangered species of late, so the low sales don't really surprise me

 

[Guilty_AI]

Pretty shit ass sales. Might as well keep them exclusive, JIM

Here, forgot your meds

 

[Physiognomonics]

Not every games is breaking the bank. Returnal, Ratchet and Sackboy didn't perform well on console. If the leaks are real, they even lost money with Ratchet.

PS5 sets record-breaking quarterly sales​

PS5 is fully stocked for first time and on track for record sales this year​

Sony's flagship console breaks sales records while pushing against economic currents​

Clearly.

But what about the software sales? PS5 is a desirable hardware, yes (thanks to mainly Cerny, not Jimbo). But what about the Sony games? Ratchet didn't sell a lot for starters. Have you seen the state of software sales in Japan? They clearly didn't break record with 1st party sales too, did they? Last time I checked they were down with 1st party sales even compared to multiplat sales (which are thriving), why would they sell less 1st party sales on their console? I wonder. Why is Xbox games selling badly on their console?

 

[RoboFu]

Yikes, low but expected. The PC gaming market is very different from the console space.

Not that it’s different but it’s the same people who own consoles. The Double dipping scam doesn’t always work. if the games were released day one the ps sakes would be bigger for sure but ps numbers would be down a bit.

 

[TGO]

Been saying this for the longest time, this is no surprise.

 

[Midn1ght]

But what about the software sales? PS5 is a desirable hardware, yes (thanks to mainly Cerny, not Jimbo). But what about the Sony games? Ratchet didn't sell a lot for starters. Have you seen the state of software sales in Japan? They clearly didn't break record with 1st party sales too, did they? Last time I checked they were down with 1st party sales even compared to multiplat sales (which are thriving), why would they sell less 1st party sales on their console? I wonder. Why is Xbox games selling badly on their console?

The big boys are still doing insanely good?

God of War Ragnarok Reaches 11 Million Units​

Horizon Forbidden West Has Sold 8.4 Million Copies​

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Sells More Than 5 Million Copies in 11 Days​

It's not like Japan has switched to PC in recent years so the poor sale in Japan might be due to Sony closing most Japanese Studios in the last 10 years?

Xbox selling badly? Bad games and Gamepass, probably.

 

[Guilty_AI]

But what about the software sales? PS5 is a desirable hardware, yes (thanks to mainly Cerny, not Jimbo). But what about the Sony games? Ratchet didn't sell a lot for starters. Have you seen the state of software sales in Japan?

Cause they don't make games for them japanese.

They clearly didn't break record with 1st party sales too, did they? Last time I checked they were down with 1st party sales even compared to multiplat sales (which are thriving), why would they sell less 1st party sales on their console?

Cause their latest games suck ass and their formula is growing stale. They're still selling well all things considered tho.

I wonder. Why is Xbox games selling badly on their console?

Cause their games also suck.

 

[Senua]

Not that it’s different but it’s the same people who own consoles. The Double dipping scam doesn’t always work. if the games were released day one the ox sakes would be bigger for sure but ps numbers would be down a bit.

No it's not lol, gaf is so console biased and completely out of touch when it comes to the PC audience.

 

[kyussman]

Is it really worth it?.......I think the 'if you want to play our games you need our hardware' thing does give the brand a more quality feel to it tbh,it certainly never hurt Nintendo.I think if I was in charge I would have kept things exclusive.

 

[SenkiDala]

Not surprised by the numbers. PC gamers I know all says about every Sony game coming to PC "well I'll buy it at 5€ or on the grey market"... Well, when I say PC gamers like to spend money on PC parts, 300$ for a keyboard but not more than 10$ for a game... Or 3$ for the pack of 20 indie games...

 

[Midn1ght]

it certainly never hurt Nintendo.

They have complete dominance on the kids/families console market thanks to their cost friendly hybrid console.
Had they failed again like they did with the Wii U, porting games might have been an option though to be honest, they're still a Japanese company at heart where PC isn't really a thing. Their games also cost a fraction of what Sony's games cost.

 

[64bitmodels]

The blandest game is the highest seller on that chart.

it's the oldest one and it's been around for the longest, doesn't mean gamers like it the most. God of War almost has the same amount of sales in 1 year as opposed to 2 years for horion

 

[Fabieter]

They have complete dominance on the kids/families console market thanks to their cost friendly hybrid console.
Had they failed again like they did with the Wii U, porting games might have been an option though to be honest, they're still a Japanese company at heart where PC isn't really a thing. Their games also cost a fraction of what Sony's games cost.

No reason not to get the free money. Would be a geat way for nintendo to capitalize on the steamdeck user base.

 

[64bitmodels]

Only 3rd person animated movies.

Can we get an eyeroll react for terrible posts like these?

 

[Portugeezer]

I mean these games are all old hat by the time they are released on PC. What do you expect? If you are hardcore into Sony games you have a PS5. I actually think they would sell a lot more copies of their games if they launched day one on PC as well, but it would probably hurt PS5 sales and take dollars out of their storefront

Horizon was literally given away for free during COVID to all PS owners and it still sold the most out of any game.

 

[alucard0712_rus]

Can we get an eyeroll react for terrible posts like these?

Sequels, Triqiels, Off-spins of same franchises because it's only way to survive. Is it looking good to you?

 

[RoboFu]

No it's not lol, gaf is so console biased and completely out of touch when it comes to the PC audience.

What!? lol you don’t think of pc gamers who love gaming own consoles but that they have completely different taste? That’s absurd.