5 Ways PlayStation Can Win Back Fans Ahead of the PS6 Release
PlayStation almost seems like it is trying to throw in the towel. Obviously, it truly isn’t, but a company hellbent on losing would do a lot of what PlayStation is doing right now: it spent years and countless millions chasing live service games very few wanted, shut down beloved studios, lost a Kojima Productions exclusive, is closing down the PS3 and Vita storefronts, and is stopping the production of physical games. Xbox’s decade of blunders has been one of the few things saving PlayStation from a more grim fate. This does not bode well for a company that is allegedly about to sell another console sometime in the near future.
PlayStation needs to work to get players back, so here is an unranked list of five things in the realm of reality — so no free console giveaways, resurrecting old studios, or ignoring the capitalistic urge to focus purely on profits — that the company could do to dig itself out of the hole it keeps digging.
5) Remake or Remaster Bloodborne
Remaking or remastering Bloodborne would be an easy win, albeit a cheap one. Out of all the games PlayStation has upgraded that have people have scoffed at — like Marvel’s Spider-Man, Days Gone, The Last of Us, and The Last of Us Part 2 — Bloodborne is perhaps one of the few games people are actively begging for a remake of. It doesn’t run particularly well when played on a regular PS5 and was never ported to other platforms, meaning those wanting to experience it have to deal with middling technical performance unbecoming of a genre classic.
People are so desperate to play a better version of Bloodborne that they are willing to either go through arcane steps to mod PS5s or pay up for one capable of playing the RPG. The demand is clearly there.
FromSoftware has been asked about this multiple times, too. President Hidetaka Miyazaki said the he “wasn’t opposed” to a PC port of it but noted he would get in trouble if he said he wanted one. He did, however, say he was happy to hear about the demand from fans. He even explained that it wasn’t his place to talk about Bloodborne since From doesn’t own the IP (and is a sentiment he’s repeated in past interviews). Former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida theorized Miyazaki was “too busy” to do it himself and “doesn’t want anyone else to touch it” and that PlayStation “respects his wishes.”
Whether it’s just a patch or a full-blown remake, either would be probably good enough. This further makes the decision to close Bluepoint Games look silly, as that studio was renowned for its remakes and had already remade a From game before with the 2020 Demon’s Souls remake. Bluepoint reportedly pitched a remake, but it was shot down. A Bloodborne remake or remaster wouldn’t fix the deeper rot within PlayStation, but it is at least something players want.
4) Remaster or Port More Old PlayStation Games
Bloodborne is the remake to get, but this should be part of a whole strategy to bring back older games, since so many of them are stuck on earlier hardware. PlayStation has been doing a semi-acceptable job getting some PS1, PS2, and PSP games on the PlayStation Store in an effort to boost PlayStation Plus Premium, but, while plenty more games from those three systems still need to make the jump, it need to go bigger.
PlayStation has to start bringing over the PS3 and Vita slates to modern systems. The PS3 has plenty of games that aren’t natively playable on modern hardware, like the core Resistance trilogy, the first three Infamous titles, a few Ratchet & Clanks, ModNation Racers, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Tokyo Jungle, and more. And while it would be a weird thing to pursue the Vita’s library, it also has more than a handful of titles that shouldn’t be lost to time, such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Wipeout 2048, and Resistance: Burning Skies.
If the console maker is going to kill those digital storefronts, the least it could do is port over the games it has control of. Ideally, these would just be emulated and not need to go through the laborious process of being fully remastered. Regardless of the method, PlayStation has too important of a legacy to leave behind, especially as Xbox has done a rather great job keeping old games playable on modern systems.
3) Diversify Its Portfolio
PlayStation used to develop games in a variety of genres from first-person shooters to RPGs. It had a wide portfolio and that helped it establish it within the console market; there was something for everyone.
Now, PlayStation seems keen on just one type of genre: third-person action games. Sometimes those action titles favor one subgenre over another — Saros is a roguelike, while Horizon Zero Dawn is a open-world RPG — but they are cut from a similar cloth, at least comparatively to what PlayStation used to put out. It’s about time the company started venturing out of its confines and explored more genres and styles. Astro’s Playroom and Astro Bot were such fresh breaths of air precisely because they felt so different from the other parts of PlayStation’s slate.
Its stable of teams undoubtedly have other ideas, so it would be great to see said studios doing something unexpected. PlayStation has put out some great games over the years, but there is a reason so many deride the publisher for making “sad dad” games.
2) Let Other Studios Experiment With Old PlayStation Franchises
God of War Sons of Sparta isn’t necessarily a great game. It’s repetitive, a little ugly, has a lackluster story, and doesn’t stand out in the highly competitive search action platformer genre. But it is notable in one way: It’s evidence PlayStation is willing to lend out its library to other smaller teams. PlayStation also did this with the Bandai Namco’s Patapon remasters and Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots, and it is something the electronics giant should be doing more of.
PlayStation has a wealth of old franchises that would likely do well in the hands of creative indie teams that don’t need hundreds of millions of dollars and seven years of development time. Imagine Slitterhead developer Bokeh Game Studio taking a crack at Siren or the Rhythm Doctor team, 7th Beat Games, taking the reins of PaRappa the Rapper. It’s unlikely its current batch of first-party studios would go into the publisher’s back catalogue — although, a new Syphon Filter from Bend Studio sounds appropriate — so working with smaller or indie teams seems like the way to go.
PlayStation could use more games and independent studios could probably use the boost that comes with an established franchise. Konami and Ubisoft have had similar thoughts, as both worked with Evil Empire to develop new 2D Castlevania and Prince of Persia installments, respectively. PlayStation should learn from these two publishers by doing the same, with or without Evil Empire.
1) Bring Back Physical Discs
Reversing its decision to stop making physical games would probably be the biggest thing PlayStation could do to win people back. Not only would this help the medium preserve its history and allow players more freedom in how they play — both of which are extremely important — it would also signal that PlayStation is indeed listening to feedback.
This is key here since this would get at the heart of PlayStation’s issues: It just seems to not care what players think and is just betting they won’t abandon ship. Xbox’s total collapse over the last 13 years has allowed PlayStation to get complacent, and this attitude has gotten even more malignant as the economy as taken a nosedive. There’s a level of arrogance here that almost tops how the company acted during the PS3 era. Such arrogance meant PlayStation had to cater to players, which led to the PS4’s staggering success.
By committing to physical media once again, it would demonstrate that the company cares at least a little about customer sentiment, even when it allegedly isn’t the most profitable decision. PlayStation may be rethinking its choice to stop making discs, according to a recent report about a potential survey it is sending to third-party developers. It would be a major mea culpa, and isn’t terribly likely to happen, but it would surely be a way for the Japanese console maker to prove it is trying to change for the better.
Will PlayStation actually bend to the whims of the players? Or will it continue down this stubborn path? Shoot us a comment below with your thoughts.