PlayStation is not what it used to be; some of that, of course, is for good reason. You'd be hard-pressed to argue that Cloud Strife looked better when he was a pile of polygons, or that stealth-game controls peaked with 1998's Metal Gear Solid. Technology has evolved, bringing us not necessarily better games but games offering visuals and overall experiences that were previously unfathomable. And just as technology has changed, so have the companies implementing it--companies like Sony.
Originally a home for RPGs and platforming mascots, PlayStation has spent the past few decades intensely focused on cinematic single-player games, with narratives that eschew early-aughts whimsy in favor of morally conflicted anti-heroes. Despite the incongruity between those two styles, both were hugely successful for the company. But now, PlayStation is changing its focus yet again, only this time into an arena so competitive that there's no guarantee even this titan of video games will see any measure of success: live-service games. So far, the company's path to success has been bumpy, but it quietly might have just taken a big step in the right direction towards achieving its goal.
Back in 2022, Sony decided to be up front about its vision for the future of PlayStation, revealing to investors that PlayStation Studios has "an aggressive road map with live services" and was aiming to launch "more than 10 live-service games by the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026." Sony executive deputy president and interim CEO Hiroku Totoki stated that this was part of the company's overall plan to "expand into the live-game services area," which was yielding success for studios like Epic, MiHoYo, and Bungie, the latter of which was already in the process of being acquired by Sony.
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