When is a PS5 exclusive not a PS5 exclusive? Sony isn’t being fair to those who’ve forked out for the next-gen console.
The PS5 was supposed to be a console that proved that Sony believed in generations – at least that’s what the company initially said back in May 2020. In case you forgot, here’s a reminder of what Sony Interactive Entertainment’s CEO Jim Ryan said to Gamesindustry.biz when asked specifically whether PS5 games would be playable on PS4, just like Microsoft proposed with Xbox Series X games like Halo Infinite: «We have always said that we believe in generations. We believe that when you go to all the trouble of creating a next-gen console, that it should include features and benefits that the previous generation does not include. And that, in our view, people should make games that can make the most of those features.” Ryan went on to add: «We do believe in generations, and whether it’s the DualSense controller, whether it’s the 3D audio, whether it’s the multiple ways that the SSD can be used… we are thinking that it is time to give the PlayStation community something new, something different, that can really only be enjoyed on PS5.» Sony’s stance on console generations was widely interpreted as this, then: PS5 exclusives were important, necessary even, and that developers who wanted to make games for PS5 wouldn’t need to worry about being held back by older hardware. Today, Ryan’s statement in May 2020 doesn’t quite line up with Sony’s actions. Shortly after the PS5 Showcase Event, which took place in September last year, Sony began to backtrack on its idea of not bringing PS5 games to the PS4. It started with Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Horizon: Forbidden West – all three titles were positioned as PS5 exclusives, until Sony revealed that its trio of high-profile exclusives would be cross-gen after all. It didn’t make an announcement during the PS5 Showcase Event, though, which was watched by thousands of eager PlayStation fans. Instead it chose to reveal the news discreetly in a post on the PlayStation Blog. In response to the news, which came as a surprise to many, Ryan had this to say: “We know that the PS4 community will transition to PS5 at different times, and we’re happy to announce PS4 versions of some of our exclusives,” Ryan told the PlayStation Blog. “While these three games were designed to take advantage of PS5 and its unique next-gen features like the ultra-high-speed SSD and DualSense controller, PS4 owners will also be able to enjoy these experiences when they launch.
