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When the PlayStation 5 show ended, with aggressive pricing for both the PS5 and its digital edition, a staggered release date (we get it a week later than the US, which is a shame, but in the current circumstances I understand), and the announcement of Final Fantasy 16, the upcoming God of War, and most exciting of all, a decent look at the wonderful Demon’s Souls running on PS5, I was feeling pretty good about all of this. Pumped, even.
And then almost as quickly as the show ended, the reality was a bit. In just a few tweets, Geoff Keighley became a better Sony spokesperson than anyone on the company’s PR team, announcing that actually some of these fantasy games that we thought were exclusive to PS5 .. . They were not.
First, the reveal that Spider-Man: Miles Morales, who looked great on PS5 during the show, is also coming to PlayStation 4. Huh.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales is coming to PS5 and PS4 this holiday season. .99 pic.twitter.com/P5DvaEsqNI
– Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 16, 2020
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So Biggest Bomb: Horizon: Forbidden West, the long-awaited Guerrilla showcase for PS5, is also coming to PS4. Hey!
Horizon: Forbidden West will also ship for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. pic.twitter.com/rvwexN10Bn
– Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 16, 2020
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Then an uproar over Demon’s Souls, which the PS5 showcase event told us was not available on “other consoles” for a limited time, and was also available on PC. Did that mean it was set up for PS4?
Surprisingly, Sony pulled its trailer from the PlayStation YouTube channel and uploaded it again to remove the mention of PC. This was “human error”, we were told.
Last night, there were a lot of human errors at Sony, right?
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What happened to all the Sony bullshit about believing in generations? It looks like it was a pile of old trash. Whether you believe in Microsoft’s philosophy of releasing their games across generations (I worry that the Xbox One will slow down games, as I know some in the development community do), at least the company was honest about it.
Here’s what Sony’s Jim Ryan told our sister site GamesIndustry.biz in May:
“We’ve always said that we believe in generations. We believe that when you go to the trouble of creating a next-generation console, it should include features and benefits that the previous generation doesn’t. And that, in our opinion, people should create games that can take full advantage of those features.
“We believe in the generations, whether it’s the DualSense controller, the 3D audio, the multiple ways the SSD can be used … we’re thinking it’s time to give the PlayStation community something new, something different, just you can enjoy on PS5 “.
The suggestion at the time was that the PS5 exclusives announced by Sony were just that: PS5 exclusives. Sony, we were led to believe, was taking a different approach than its rival, Microsoft, which for months had been criticized for its cross-generation strategy. Today, Ryan’s quote comes across as a misleading statement designed to win a cheap PR victory in the war with Microsoft. If Halo Infinite is hampered by Xbox One, shouldn’t we now voice our concern that Horizon: Forbidden West is hampered by PS4?
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In August, Sony confirmed that the PS4 Dualshock will not work with PS5 games. Explaining its decision, Sony said it believed that “PS5 games should take advantage of the new capabilities and features that we are bringing to the platform, including the DualSense wireless controller features.”
Well, if Spider-Man: Miles Morales comes out for PS4, why can’t you play it on a PS5 with DualShock?
Is this all a communication error? I wouldn’t put it beyond Sony, given its track record over the years. Even the announcement of Final Fantasy 16, an old-school megaton fit for an E3 setting, hasn’t been without controversy. Square Enix will not adequately answer questions about the nature of the game’s exclusivity, despite Sony pointing out the exclusivity of the scheduled console during its event. According to an analyst I’ve spoken to, Final Fantasy 16 is six months exclusively for PS5 and 12 months exclusively for console. That suggests it will be out on PC six months after its release on PS5, and on Xbox Series X a year later. Why not be honest and say that? Because video games, apparently.
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But worst of all is Sony’s broken promise on PS5 pre-orders. In August, Sony said it would not be surprising to reveal pre-orders for the PS5. “I think it’s safe to say, we will let you know when pre-orders will take place,” said PlayStation’s head of global marketing Eric Lempel.
“It’s not going to happen a minute in advance. At some point we’ll let you know when you can pre-order a PS5, so don’t feel like you have to run and queue anywhere until you get the check on how it will work.”
Last night, shortly after Sony’s PS5 presentation ended, pre-orders opened at select retailers and fans were quick to put their money in. The pre-orders were launched literally before Sony made an official announcement that they would be launched. That doesn’t sound like a minute notice to me.
PS5 pre-orders will be available starting tomorrow at select retailers.
– PlayStation UK (@PlayStationUK) September 16, 2020
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Last night’s events soured what should have been an exciting and enjoyable time for video game fans and for PlayStation. Sony now seems insincere, even devious. I don’t believe for a minute that Sony’s actions will materially harm the success of the PS5. Just look at how pre-orders are flying off the virtual shelves! But I’m concerned that we’re seeing a return to the “arrogant Sony” we saw when the company launched the launch of the PlayStation 3.
I have absolute faith in all the wonderful developers at Sony, who I am sure will create fantastic PlayStation games that I will be desperate to play on PS5. But I find it increasingly difficult to trust a word that comes out of the mouth of executives. Is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart a PS5 exclusive? Is it Gran Turismo 7? Despite Sony’s insistence that it’s a PS5 exclusive, is Demon’s Souls coming to “other platforms” too?
Sony, we can handle the truth, even if it hurts.
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