Jim Ryan says PlayStation has been ‘quietly investing’ in PS5 exclusives
SIE boss claims the PS5 generation will have ‘more exclusives than ever before’
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has claimed PS5 will be home to more exclusive games than any previous PlayStation console.
Speaking to Nikkei (paywall, translated by VGC), the PlayStation boss said the company has been “quietly” investing in the creation of first-party software, and that it could pursue further M&A opportunities to bolster its in-house development capabilities.
“We have been quietly but steadily investing in high-quality games for PlayStation, and we will make sure that the PS5 generation will have more dedicated software than ever before,” Ryan said.
“We have repeatedly engaged in mergers and acquisitions, including Insomniac Games in the US. We will not rule out that option in the future.”
In terms of upcoming exclusives, SIE is currently gearing up to release Housemarque’s Returnal on April 30 and Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart in June 2021.
Guerrilla’s Horizon Forbidden West is slated for release in late 2021 and God of War Ragnarök was announced via a brief teaser last September for release on PS5 this year, although nothing more has been heard of Santa Monica Studio’s sequel since.
In February, Gran Turismo 7’s release date was delayed from this year to 2022 due to “Covid-related production challenges” experienced by developer Polyphony Digital. Naughty Dog is also reportedly developing a remake of the original The Last of Us.
PlayStation recently closed its oldest first-party developer, Sony Japan Studio, but Ryan told Nikkei the company remains “committed to the Japanese market”.
He said: “It is important for us to provide software that fits the Japanese gaming community, and PS5 has included a lot of software from Japanese developers since its early stages.
“We will continue to strengthen our ties with Japanese developers and release content for PS5 that fits the Japanese market.”
Ryan also commented on the current supply of PlayStation 5 consoles in the market, and claimed that Sony had asked manufacturers to increase production.
“There are several reasons why PS5 was hard to come by,” he said. “Supply under the new coronavirus was very complicated, and we had to limit distribution to online. The supply and demand for semiconductors is also tight worldwide. We are asking our suppliers to allow us to increase production, which will flow into the market this year.”
Further reading
Is Sony’s blockbuster obsession really a bad thing? | VGC Off the Record
As well as heavily investing in PS5 exclusives, Ryan recently said Sony was planning to bring “a whole slate” of games to PC.
Following Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition’s PC release in August 2020, Days Gone will be released for PC on May 18, 2021.
SIE is also opening a new business unit to adapt its biggest franchises for mobile.
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