Why did PlayStation, which lost power gradually, fall into this state? Could the chip crisis have hit a brand that hard? Or are there other reasons behind it?
While Sony was the undisputed biggest winner of the last generation, it suddenly started to go upside down. With the PlayStation 5, the company’s vision has also changed. Let’s take a look at the reasons behind this and the current situation of the company.
I’m a little biased on this subject, but I’ll explain the information as objectively as I can and as soon as I can.
The debut of PlayStation radically changed the gaming industry
The launch of PlayStation on December 31, 1994 marked another irreversible step in the gaming industry. We met and even loved the concept of console-specific games. Among the PlayStation 1 launch games, productions such as Kileak The DNA Imperative, NBA JAM Tournament Edition, Power Serve 3D Tennis, Raiden Project, Rayman, Ridge Racer Street Fighter The Movie showed us how bright the future of the device is.
The games mentioned were exclusive to PS1. Many players had bought the console specifically for Ridge Racer and Rayman. The PS1, which was offered for sale with a price tag of $ 299, sold like cheese and showed that its future was very bright. With the strong brand and company support behind it, it has been an indispensable addition to our televisions for many years.
The PlayStation 2, which came out after, secured its place in the console market with solid nails. He then continued on his way with PS3 and PS4. Our topic today is not the past of PlayStation. We will talk more today. However, the effect of the company’s changing vision confusion is great in its regression.
PlayStation’s top spot
Andrew House When we announced the PlayStation 4, we understood that the company would evaluate all the know-how and user feedback it has achieved so far. In line with this information, they planned the new game console they will present. More powerful, with more custom gameplay, and above all with usable accessories.
As a matter of fact, it happened. The firm solidified its position with incentive tactics like Apple. Sony, which supported its brand with the special edition consoles it released, continued on its way happily. Under House, PlayStation sold three times the number of its rival XBox, reaching 78 million units. PSVR The separation of the name behind the emerging innovative products such as PS did not seem to be a serious problem at the first stage. His successor, Kaz Hirai, continued his legacy for a long time.
The decline that started with Jim Ryan
While things were going rosy on the Sony side, Ken Kutaragi took over from Hirai. His background in the firm was quite old. Kutaguri, who took part in PS2, PSP and PS3, could not stand his new position in the company for a long time and continues to be CEO today. Jim RyanHe handed over the task to .
The fall of PlayStation also coincides with the Ryan era. Although his biggest misfortune seems to be the decrease in chip production that occurred during the pandemic process, it is certain that he has very big mistakes. The most important of these was the move away from the perception of PlayStation, which always prioritizes bone mass.
Describing himself as an “actor”, Ryan also needed to know how real actors adhere to their unique productions.
Think about it, with platform-specific productions for years, those who defend PS everywhere no longer have any weapons and they have started to become a laughing stock. Even the volunteer brand ambassadors defending the company are gone. This is one of the biggest problems that can happen to a company.
On the other hand, as repulsive as Jim Ryan is, Phil Spencer, who happened to be the head of XBox, is also constantly making decisions that will make the players happy on that side, one after the other, with his sympathetic personality. Ryan, on the other hand, does not offer any opinions, products, etc. in return, as if he is hiding in his shell, watching the collapse of the console with the Imperial March playing in the background. It even seems to cause unrest within the company in order to speed it up.
In order to see the communication difference between the two CEOs, you can search by typing their names in the search engine of our site. Even the amount of reporting about both indicates Ryan’s failure to communicate.
Ryan drew the reaction with his latest e-mail to company employees. Upon the respect of abortion rights in America, the CEO, who sent an email to his employees, showed his disrespect towards the subject by mentioning his cats’ birthday and wanting to get a dog for five paragraphs in the content of the message, rather than this subject. He is quite right in his reaction with his state.
Microsoft’s resurgence
Another important mistake of Sonyn is the attitude taken or not taken for XBox Live. Microsoft laid the foundations of XBox Live, which we are talking about a lot today, 20 years ago. Although it didn’t seem that interesting at the time, it evolved over the years to take its current form. Although it was not possible for Sony to see this at the time, it did not see that a system that had been worked on for years would eventually work.
Since PlayStation has been an introverted console for years, if the word is right, the company, which ran as it wanted, ignored many user requests. The most important of these was backward compatibility. Players who wanted to play the games they bought in previous generations with their new consoles could not reach their wishes.
Instead, we are faced with a PlayStation that is constantly trying to extract money from the pockets of the players for the same games with remakes. At this point, it is impossible not to get angry with the players. If they want to play a lot, they don’t see that they can get an old generation console and play it at a much more affordable price instead of buying a remake game. Games don’t always mean better graphics. The pleasure it gives is always the same no matter what generation it is.
PlayStation exclusive games coming to PC
More than 1.5 years have passed since the release of PS5, the newest console in the series. Many games have been released on the platform. However, what has come out so far will make us happy. custom made for console The number does not exceed the fingers of one hand. In addition, players have completely abandoned their commitment to the platform by saying “It will come to PC anyway”. Yes, there are a lot of games released for PS5. However, all of these exist on other platforms and continue to come. As long as Sony continues to offer its exclusive games to other platforms, this decline will continue.
There is also the issue of company acquisition. It is not such an easy task. Behind it, there is a structure that brings along long-lasting negotiations, obstacles by competition institutions and many other problems. However, Microsoft should not have been afraid of this because it continues on its way by including very important companies such as Activision-Blizzad and Bethesda.
The arrival of this situation was evident from his purchase of Minecraft. It is regrettable that Sony did not see what lies in the future of this step of Microsoft, which spent 2.5 billion dollars only for a single game. Or not making a counter move even if they saw it from the other side…
Then maybe he hired Bungie to silence the audience. However, I can’t help but wonder if it was a very necessary move, just as it is not a move that can save.
State of Play that fails to meet expectations
State of Play is an event organized by the company periodically to show what it has to offer to gamers. What we all expect from this is the new productions to be announced. However, in the last few events, let alone meeting the expectations, most of the audience can’t even make it to the end of the event. Even if they only reflect the excitement of the players, they will get much more impressions.
It is necessary to sit crookedly and speak truthfully. Of course, it is not right to blame all of Sony’s failures on the PS side to one person. However, we should not forget the saying that the fish stinks from the head. In order for PlayStation to tidy itself up, either Jim Ryan needs to draw a different path for himself or he needs to be changed. Otherwise, it will enter a path that is too difficult to return.
The fact that he closed the Japan Studios without forgetting is the spice of the matter…
Of course, not all the reasons are just the ones I listed. Besides, there are many more factors. If I try to include each one individually, my blog post will get longer. These are the first things that come to my mind. We would be happy to publish your ideas under this article. Do you think I am right in these thoughts or am I just panicking?