http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...nys-next-step-on-the-long-trek-to-100-million
Quite a few articles have popped up this week noting that Horizon widens an already dramatic gap in exclusive software quality between Sony and Microsoft's rival platforms - the implication buried in the wording being that, while it's a great game, Sony can afford something of a nonchalant "meh, put it over there with the others" reaction to its success, the platform holder equivalent of the moment when Usain Bolt slows down and looks behind him before crossing the finish line with a big dirty grin on his face.
I'd argue, though, that Sony will be very, very happy and relieved to see Horizon Zero Dawn do so well (critically, with commercial success very likely to follow) - far more so, in fact, than you might expect from a company so far ahead of its competitors. That's because for all that the PS4 has outperformed its competition and even its illustrious predecessors, Sony knows better than to rest on its laurels;
The second 50 million is much harder than the first 50 million; you have certain advantages (a bigger software library, including discounted titles; hardware revisions; price-cuts) but the consumers you're trying to attract are simply a tougher crowd. There's a combination in there - those who aren't hugely into games, but would like a console in order to play the occasional big title, and those whose tastes in games are niche. The most successful consoles are those which manage to provide to both of those groups, delivering consistent big mainstream hits to please the former, and packing out the schedule with high quality but more niche software to appeal to the wide and varied set of consumer groups that make up the latter.
Looking at the release schedule for this quarter, you can see how that's playing out, with the PS4 receiving first- and third-party exclusives ranging from a big, commercial hitter like Horizon to hardcore darling Nioh and eagerly anticipated RPGs Persona 5 (honestly brilliant - probably my favourite game of the generation so far) and NieR Automata. None of those are about Sony thumbing its nose at Microsoft; they're all about the company pulling out the stops to find the next wave of PS4 owners and consumers (as well, of course, as keeping its existing installed base happy and satisfied).