Maybe the Marvel licenses aren't worth the damn money, Sony. Maybe the Hollywood writers and VAs aren't worth the asking price, either.
Their current drop in gaming profits is down to budget and licensing costs, but if they get too aggressive with multiplatform releases they're going to make demand for PlayStation consoles decline the same way Microsoft made demand for Xbox consoles decline. And PlayStation hardware is where Sony have complete control of the vertical stack; unless they have plans for PS Store on platforms like PC where that is where they prioritize PC releases, it doesn't make a lot of sense.
The key things Sony need to address with software development:
1: Costs. Trim down the fat leading to AAA games costing $350+ million going forward because that apparently isn't sustainable. Cut out the crappy consulting agencies that just want to collect fees while making work less creative. Cut back on the amount of Hollywood writers who in some cases aren't worth anywhere near their prices. Cut back on the Marvel licenses especially if the MCU continues to suck ass at the BO. And get more experimental with AI solutions to parts of the development pipeline.
2: Budget Variety. You need AA games, Sony. Not everything 1P-wise needs to be AAA $200 million-a-pop epics. Bring back your Parappas, your Ape Escapes, your Locorocos, your Dark Clouds, your Jet Motos and keep them sensibly budgeted. $20 - $50 million per game, tops. If you took some of that PC port money and put here instead, you'd get better numbers.
3: Mobile > PC. It's crazy how much Sony are prioritizing PC for multiplatform growth and not mobile, when there is both MUCH more money in mobile, AND there's less risk in devaluing the value perception of your own console that way. Literally just take the Nintendo approach, with mobile-centric spinoffs of IP like MLB The Show, Rachet & Clank, etc. And do a bit like Apple did with the Fantasian game in Apple Arcade, for something like a Legend of Dragoon or Dark Cloud. Some of these games you could even release on the console and PC as well.
I dunno. I still feel the current strategy is to prirotize GaaS for both console & PC Day 1 or at least so with most of those games. And while I think it's stupid, probably sticking to a 2-year window between console & PC for the non-GaaS titles. Really the window should be at least double that, but I'm worried Sony are forgetting that the console should always be at the center of the ecosystem experience, same mistake Microsoft made, and they aren't correcting for it before the rot begins to set in.
We'll get a better indication of what their strategy is for multiplatform support going forward. They just better hopefully be mindful that they aren't Microsoft; they aren't a $3 trillion megacorp whose gaming division is basically a write-off. Gaming is a core component for Sony and it's PlayStation consoles that are the center and biggest share of it.
Don't go forgetting that, Sony, or you'll regret making the same mistake as Xbox.
