Two Years Later, the Last PlayStation Showcase Hasn’t Aged Well

Two years ago today, PlayStation held what is currently the most recent PlayStation Showcase. Plenty of State of Play presentations have taken place since then, but this was Sony’s last truly big blowout full of first-party announcements, AAA game reveals, and more. It had some bright spots, like confirmation of a Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater remake and an extended look at Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 gameplay. But in retrospect, it hasn’t aged well at all.

This was the first PlayStation livestream where you could feel the company’s push into live service in full force. Its biggest new reveals were live service games: Fairgame$, Helldivers 2, Concord, and Marathon. Looking back, only one of those games was a success, while all the others were failures or seem poised to be dead on arrival. PlayStation Showcase 2023 is one of Sony’s most infamous showcases of the past decade and will serve as a signifier of all the live service bets Sony tried to make this generation.

This PlayStation showcase got off on the wrong foot by starting with Fairgame$. It’s a purely cinematic trailer meant to highlight what the loop of the PvEvP shooter would be like. While it does that, nothing about Fairgame$ world or aesthetic was particularly eye-catching or original, just that this would be a shooter with a somewhat cringeworthy hacker-humor undertone. Considering Sony had games like Astro Bot, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, and Stellar Blade in development at this time, it’s shocking that a CGI trailer for an unproven multiplayer new IP is what it chose to kick things off with.

Fairgame$’s situation hasn’t improved since then, either. The only times we’ve heard about it since from Sony are when it’s promoting the use of machine learning and AI, something a hardcore gaming fanbase isn’t too fond of. A recent report from Bloomberg also suggests Haven Studios co-founder Jade Raymond left the studio after Fairgame$ playtested poorly, suggesting that even two years later, Haven itself still hasn’t found the fun. For that reason, I don’t have too much faith in Fairgame$ making a splash whenever it comes out.

PlayStation immediately followed Fairgame$ up with the reveal of Helldivers 2. In retrospect, this is the live service game of the bunch that became a hit, which makes it a little embarrassing for Sony that it got second billing after Fairgame$. Helldivers 2’s reveal trailer is entertaining, but it feels like Sony didn’t know it had a hit on its hands with this sci-fi shooter. That’s almost as damning as the live service misfires Sony showcased during this stream.

The next first-party game to be shown off during this PlayStation Showcase was Bungie’s Marathon. This reveal trailer actually made Marathon pretty cool-looking at the time, but the situation has only worsened around this game. Learning it was an extraction shooter with hero shooter elements deflated excitement, and once hands-on with the game arrived, the general sentiment was that it didn’t do enough to stand out in the live service crowd.

Then, we learned that the aesthetic, which was already on full display in this reveal trailer, allegedly used concepts and designs from an artist who did not work at Bungie. Because of that, I can no longer look back at this reveal trailer and appreciate it as a piece of gorgeous animation or have faith in Marathon’s success when it comes out.

If I’m going to discuss proven Sony live service failures, we can’t ignore the final new first-party game revealed in this livestream prior to Spider-Man 2’s gameplay reveal: Concord.

At this point, Concord’s disastrous launch and delisting needs little introduction. Even then, there were warning signs from its reveal. Even though it was the most imminent shooter outside of Helldivers 2, all it was teased with here is a cinematic that mainly focuses on a spaceship entering warp speed. Maybe Sony knew its uninspired character design and game modes wouldn’t do much to captivate interested players. However, that should’ve raised alarms about the project if that were the case. It’s the final red flag planted in what should’ve been a triumphant showcase for Sony.

Looking back, the bright spots were for single-player games or indie titles. This was our first true indication of how amazing Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 would be, and I love the reveal trailers for games like Phantom Blade 0, Sword of the Sea, and Revnant Hill. But for the most part, Sony seemed to want to use this showcase to promote the live service games it was working on, and even then, did not do the best job at that.

Helldivers 2 was the only one to show any gameplay, and I think that confidence and transparency are reasons why it was received well, whereas the other live service games shown off haven’t been. Many of these games weren’t ready to be revealed, and have only brought Sony bad publicity and player sentiment since.

PlayStation Showcase 2023 attempted to define Sony’s live service efforts but didn’t provide a flattering definition. One has to wonder if that’s why Sony has taken a step back from holding full-blown PlayStation Showcases in the two years since, and if this format will ever return.