Life is cycles, and on PlayStation they are usually a little over ten years. In June 2011, more than a decade ago, we wrote to you in Extra Life about the PlayStation 3D Display, a television with cutting-edge technology with which Sony joined the 3D trend and, incidentally, eliminated the split screen by sharing a controller. We are in 2022 and Sony repeats the move by presenting to the world two new monitors accommodated to PS5 technology. Feeling of déjà vu? maybe the line INZONE It may not be as outrageous in terms of features, but it is part of the next big move from PlayStation: its unstoppable assault on the PC field.
Sony’s new monitors and headphones have been designed to play on both PS5 and PC. In fact, the Japanese company already tells us that will offer exclusive benefits that will take advantage of its new generation console technology, although for practical purposes there are a whole variety of self-styled gaming brands that offer a similar or similar experience on PC. And yet, the similarities between its finishes and the PS5 design do not go unnoticed. As Josue Yrion said, it is not a coincidence.
PlayStation Studios began with Horizon Zero Dawn a progressive landing of its games on PC. Days Gone, God of War, Uncharted, and Spider-Man continue that trend, and by the time The Last of Us remake is playable, an essential part of its legacy will officially go multi-system. Especially considering that the titles under their label are verified and optimized for use on the Steam Deck. The experience with Death Stranding is simply impeccable.
The announcement of the monitors and headphones comes at a very well calculated moment: five PlayStation bombs will land on PC only in 2022 (as far as we know) and the new PS Plus model opens the door to play the best of its legacy on desktops through through the streaming of the Premium plan. Which brings us to the key question: is Sony shooting itself in the foot? Quite the contrary.
How the landing of PlayStation on PC benefits PS5
Let’s start from the essentials: despite the fact that, in a very staggered way, it is a little less complicated to get hold of a new generation PlayStation, the truth is that empty shelves have been a blow to fans and even more so to Sony and developers. of games, whose sales forecasts do not quite square with the budgets of the blockbusters. As a side note, the creator of Oddworld: Soulstorm himself tried to play this situation to his advantage and ended up getting scalded.
The collateral effect of the above implies, on the part of third parties, various solutions that go through raising the output on new systems, including PS4, or accelerating its launch on PC. And despite the fact that desktop computers have experienced their own crises for different reasons – fundamentally, related to graphics cards – we come across another reality: for some time now the great releases of Xbox, Electronic Arts and even the next Call of Duty are coming to Steam. The PlayStation sagas they couldn’t stay behind.
A lethal blow in the face of fans of the PlayStation brand and those who took the DualSense out of the box three days ago? Not at all: the way Sony is handling its releases goes through give PS5 users an intentional priorityso the releases will always be console first and the games chosen to date have been chosen with some very unique patterns:
- Its sales cycle on consoles was more than fulfilled, so its entry into a new showcase is a boost not only commercially but also for the versions that had been on sale for years.
- Most of the games that have made the jump to PC are included in PS Plus as game of the month or subscription.
- If improvements are added to the games, PS5 players will also receive an update or a new improved version. And, as we will see, they will play it first.
PlayStation Studios is extending on a second platform what is very present in the new PS5 and its subscription service. What do the new INZONE monitors and headphones add to the equation? Well, PlayStation is one of the most powerful divisions of Sony, if not the most, and that there is “playstation monitors” gives a huge tactical advantage for the general public who is not too familiar with other brands.
Because, perhaps, it is still early to talk about the acceptance of the INZONE brand itself, but its shapes and designs are an extension of the PS5 aesthetic. And that is an additional attraction when it comes to choosing a screen for those who have a console or those who play on PC and plan to get one.
In other words: the arrival of PlayStation Studios games on PC is a success and benefits us all, but the big plan is that in the end this works both ways. In a subtle but very successful way, and without turning its back on console gamers, Sony is bringing the PlayStation brand to PC by making key moves to associate everything with PS5. And it does good. It’s more, she is not the first to do so.
Sony is more than hardware and PlayStation is its flagship, but Xbox is ahead
PlayStation Studios’ plan is not the same as Microsoft’s– One of the boldest turns of the Xbox brand was moving away from the idea that its acronym revolved around a console and allowing games from the current Xbox Game Studios to be played on all possible systems. First on PC via Play Anywhere, then on Steam and by extension the Steam Deck, and now on almost any device with a web browser. Coincidence or not, the PS5 and Nintendo Switch browsers are restricted to very specific and limited uses.
Although it is natural that we associate Sony’s image more with hardware than with services, the truth is that is a colossus of the entertainment industry that goes beyond video games: we have the movie studios, its music division and its own service platforms. But when it comes to video games, until recently everything has revolved around two axes: PlayStation consoles and peripherals and the PS Plus subscription services and the already discontinued PS Now.
There were and still are mobile games, of course, but they were still a claim to establish console brands. And despite the fact that the arrival of PlayStation games on PC has a bit of that, Sony’s reformulated strategy goes much further: its landing on PC and the weight of its acronym make it a titan in its own right in a market different, almost closed to digital and much more complex in all its nuances.
A market in which Sony is not only taking its games, but also its brand and, by extension, your accessories.
The good thing about INZONE is that under this new label it is possible to reach two different audiences without causing confusion. You know they’re PlayStation monitors and headsets because their design gives them away, but even if you don’t intend on gaming on desktop they still have their own appeal. Not to say that Sony is an absolute authority in both screens and sound, which is worth bearing in mind.
Thus, INZONE is an exceptional bridge with which both worlds, that of consoles and that of PCs, are reconnected, in a very different way from what Microsoft does. Not through the services, but through the hardware, and competing head-on with other well-established manufacturersIt is within what we can consider as gaming peripherals and accessories. Another very different thing is that the DualSense has options to take the throne from the Xbox controller when it comes to playing on PC. For its part, you only have to look at the proportion of games for Mac and Linux to get an idea of the presence of Microsoft in PC video games.
That which, the philosophy of Xbox and its studies is quite different. It is clear that the Game Pass is a claim for us to choose to get an Xbox, especially if we have exceeded 100 hours of play in Sea of Thieves or we look with eyes at the future Forza Motorsport, but its starting point is different: if you buy You have an Xbox Game Studios game on digital on PC without paying again, and you also get all your progress. In Marvel’s Spider-Man you will start again on PC and its price will be that of a premiere game.
Where is the difference? Sony’s plan is structured on units sold and Microsoft’s on subscribers. And the best thing is that both models can coexist perfectly.
What we can expect from the future of PlayStation on PC, beyond games
That Sony establishes itself within the video game on PC is something that benefits us all. Above all, to console fans: the more resources you have, the better sequels and franchises we can expect. And not only that, what sagas as Uncharted Y The Last of Us go beyond console players will allow them to establish their own brands with the general public. It is no coincidence either that there is a movie already released from the first and there is so much expectation around the HBO series.
The number of units of new generation consoles and, in direct proportion, of games for this has been a brutal setback for a Sony whose high demand for PS5 has taken its toll. Not in terms of the company’s image, quite the opposite, but the machinery that is running to sustain interest in the new PlayStation. delay the next God of War or launch it in the face of 20 million distributed consoles? For reference, the first God of War (2018) sold throughout its history the same number of copies. It is a must, of course, but you have to take into account the proportion of players.
And that is precisely where its arrival on PC or the announced God of War series comes into play.
The PC has been much more than a solution: it is a new market in which to give new value to PlayStation Studios games, but also the perfect place to apply advances in monitors, headphones, peripherals and, who knows? even future components. Above all, when we count and take for granted that PlayStation VR 2 will arrive at the end of this year. And we do not rule out at all that the new virtual reality headsets can be used on PC taking advantage of the INZONE headset.
SPlayStation’s assault on PC is getting more and more interesting, and the way it connects fans of desktop gaming to desktop and back further cements Sony’s future. INZONE is a new brand designed to serve as a bridge between both worlds, and we are sure that it is only the beginning of something bigger. But, of course, as usual with everything related to PlayStation, we will have to be patient to have more details about it.