Truly exclusive games are becoming harder and harder to come by. The truth is, while exclusive titles are a great way to get gamers to invest in one particular console over another, game development is becoming increasingly more expensive. Giving more players an opportunity to experience those games is one way to offset development costs, and it seems to be the reason Microsoft has pushed to add more games to the Xbox Play Anywhere program. In a surprise move, Sony has similarly announced that the formerly PlayStation exclusive title Horizon Zero Dawn is also coming to PC. In an interview with Gaming Bolt, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter discussed Sony’s move.
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“I think Sony is hopeful that the PlayStation audience will continue to buy consoles and buy their first party titles, but they recognize that there is a market beyond console software sales,” Pachter said to Gaming Bolt.
It will be interesting to see if more Sony exclusives follow suit. As of right now, it’s just one title, but it’s impossible not to see Microsoft’s influence on the move. If Sony decides to bring more first party titles to PC, it could open up a whole new market, allowing Sony to hit one of Microsoft’s greatest current advantages.
That said, Microsoft has quite a bit more experience with PC gaming, and there are still a lot of advantages that the company has in this department. For one, there is no indicator that buying Horizon Zero Dawn on PlayStation 4 will also allow players to enjoy the game on PC. At this time, it’s unclear whether or not Sony will do the same with PlayStation games that release on PC. Even if Sony does follow a similar approach, the Xbox Play Anywhere program offers a very large number of games. It would take Sony quite some time to catch up.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions about Sony’s decision to put Horizon Zero Dawn on PC. The game has proven to be a massive seller on PS4, and will likely find some interest on PC, as well. If the game is a success on the platform, will that mean more ports? Will the goal be day and date releases on both platforms? Or will the releases be staggered, so that there’s less of a chance that PlayStation sales will be impacted?
PlayStation fans clearly feel strongly about the decision. How do you feel about the Horizon Zero Dawn port? Do you think this is a smart move on Sony’s part? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
