PlayStation’s co-CEO insists consoles will remain the core of its business

PlayStation’s co-CEO has said that consoles will remain at the core of its business in future, even as it looks to expand its audience on PC and mobile devices.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has recently made expanding to PC and mobile devices a priority for its business, though console users continue to receive the majority of its releases well in advance of other platforms.

In a new interview, Hideaki Nishino, head of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Platform Business Group, was asked by Japanese publication Nikkei (paywalled) if he could summarise the value of consoles.

“I think that with mobile devices, there are many games that show advertisements, and PCs are difficult to set up, but with PlayStation, once you turn it on, you can experience the content you bought straight away,” he replied.

“The store where you purchase software also offers an intuitive experience because the products are laid out in an easy-to-understand manner.”

He added: “We are trying to increase our share of the overall game market by developing content for PCs as well. There is no doubt that consoles will be at the core of our business, but by offering titles for platforms other than consoles, we will reach a wider range of customers.”

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While PlayStation’s live service games have been released simultaneously for PS5 and PC, console players will continue to receive Sony’s narrative-driven titles first, with PC releases coming later, according to the company.

Sony hopes this will tempt some PC players to purchase a PlayStation 5. However, Helldivers 2 recently showed that there is a huge audience on the platform for the platform holder, with the majority of its record-breaking sales coming on PC.

Nishino said during a business briefing earlier this year: “Console is a technology stack that we develop from the bottom up so we can provide a very, very good excellent experience. The value of console will continue to remain and our mission is to continue polishing that.”

He added: “Of course some customers will move from PC to console. Customers who are focused on PC, if they find value, then they will go to console, so rather than cannibalisation, I think this is an opportunity for growth.”