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[GI.Biz] Sony's third-party plan to make PlayStation the best place to play

3liteDragon

Member
Shawne Benson lays out SIE's third-party portfolio strategy and how it changes between console, VR, and PC.
As Sony Interactive Entertainment's head of third-party portfolio and acquisitions, Shawne Benson is in a good position to trace the platform holder's evolving strategies when it comes to – in her words – "making PlayStation the best place to play." Benson has been with Sony in a portfolio role since early 2017, and took over her current title in 2021. Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz ahead of this month's DICE Summit, Benson says she's seen a significant change in what her role entails as part of the larger PlayStation strategy, in part due to where the company has been in the console generation lifecycle.

"In the time that I joined, and I was watching my predecessor manage the team, he was really focused on driving value for the masses in our PS4 audience, and also really focused on PSVR. And a lot of the partnerships were really about driving engagement on the platform, so the types of games we brought would tell that 'breadth and depth' story and also showcase some of the innovations on PS4. "Since then there have been other people who have taken that role and I've seen the evolution within that time frame, and the shift really focused and moved over to content acquisitions from a future technologies perspective. So we were really focused in trying to drive a lot of excitement around the launch of PS5 and making PS5 be the best place to play. A lot of the content we would focus on evolved based off of that."

Different business models and kinds of games coming to market have also changed the way Sony thinks about partnerships. "In the past we would look at things that were closer to release because they were known quantities and so forth," Benson says. "The way I lead my team now is a lot more future-thinking and thinking about 'What does the next three to five years look like, from a gaming perspective?'"

One of the biggest splashes a platform holder can make on the third-party front is exclusivity. And while we rarely see fully exclusive third-party games in the AAA space these days, and Benson says that's partly because it wouldn't be a good fit in a lot of cases, for a variety of reasons.

"There's room for exclusives where it makes sense, obviously, but really the focus – especially with a digital distribution model that is more prevalent than in generations past – is that there are different types of gameplay out there," Benson says. "For example, a free-to-play game's business model is most successful when it's on as many platforms as possible and brings the biggest audience possible."

So as Sony assess opportunities, it's often less about securing exclusivity as it is about making the PlayStation version stand out as the one to get.

"So that's thinking about it less around exclusivity than what kind of technologies could they adopt that really make PS5 sing," Benson says. "What kind of innovation can they apply with the haptics in the DualSense or the adaptive triggers? What could they do with 3D audio in the sound design of a game, etc? So there's a lot of things we could do and then create marketing stories around, and that's where some of these partnerships for multiplatform games really focus."

Benson notes that Sony doesn't specifically pay for adoption of DualSense features, for example, but if the team believes "it's a good PlayStation story," then they would work on a partnership that could include marketing or development support.
When Benson is looking at Sony's third-party strategy for the next three to five years, she's also looking at the PSVR 2 over that span. And while competitive concerns about other consoles may help shape the PS5 strategy, Benson says it's a very different situation in VR. "We definitely are still in this 'raising tide helps all ships' mindsets for the VR ecosystem, so it's not the same kind of competitive landscape as it is, say, in the console space, kind of 'flat' gaming experience," Benson says.

That's not to say the PSVR 2 strategy is the same as that of its predecessor. Benson joined PlayStation in the original PSVR's launch window, and says she can see how clearly it has evolved.

"[In the original PSVR launch window], it was still trying to sell the promise of why to develop for VR," Benson says. "Now we have this community of much more seasoned creators – teams like Polyarc, NDreams and so forth that are dedicated studios to the VR space. I think both sides, Meta and PlayStation, have really put a lot of investment into these studios to make sure we still can tell that story from a technology perspective, because there's still a lot of belief in that experience."

The goal now is to keep that developer community thriving, and that means the company takes a different angle toward its VR partnerships.

"It's around how we can best support you to be able to bring that content over to PSVR2, and that can be development funding support to marketing support because a lot of these studios don't necessarily have the same kind of marketing infrastructure as a bigger publisher would," Benson says. "And if you look at the two platforms, they're very different experiences and they all kind of have their own space for it."

That's different again from the way Sony views the PC as a platform for third-party relationships and exclusivity purposes. The PC ecosystem is obviously more developed than that of VR, but Sony isn't taking the same competitive approach to it as with consoles when it comes to its third-party deals. "When we look at partnerships, we're looking at how we can support both the partner and the platform," Benson says. "Our mindset is we want to make sure the partner can keep the lights on and generate revenue in other channels.

"And from my perspective, it's really important for gamers to have choice and variety of opportunities in places to play, and PC is really not in the same kind of competitive space for us, at least currently. So it's not really a thing we focus on when we look at partnerships. If you look at a lot of our indie partners, that's a great opportunity for generating revenue on their side, and our side as well."

While AAA partnerships might get the most attention from the outside world, Benson stresses the importance of smaller developers to Sony. "They're the lifeblood to our platform," she says. "I certainly have a lot of personal attachment to it. If I'm not even wearing a Sony hat, that's my community. Those are the people I was born and raised in the game industry with. I have a huge affinity for that and it's what got me into the game industry in the first place.

"From a content strategy standpoint, it is absolutely a priority for us. The AAA obviously has a lot of commercial return and value, and the indie games also offer innovation and things that influence AAA down the line because they take more risks and there are more types of mechanics they incorporate." She mentions Before Your Eyes, which relies on eye-tracking and uses blinking as a game mechanic. The game has been released on PC and mobile, and is expected to launch for PSVR 2 later this month.

"These types of things are so imaginative, and so different, and so important to the ecosystem of gaming and the types of content we create on our platform, so it's very important," Benson says. "Also our audience is becoming more and more diverse than ever, and having a more diverse creative pool bringing content to our platform is very much a focus for me and our team at large." She adds, "We see value in all those types of games and it is a wide spectrum. We don't try to relegate them to an indie corner; they are sitting alongside the biggest of the games. Look at Stray, look at Kena, look at Sifu. Those games are revered as some of the biggest types of IPs for PS5 and those were created by indie teams so it's very much a priority for us and continues to be."

This isn't the first time Sony has wooed and showcased indie developers. They were also a key part of the PS4's early success, from Sony featuring Jonathan Blow at its PlayStation 4 reveal and devoting a segment of its 2013 E3 show to indies ahead of the system's launch.

But Sony's relationship with small developers frayed over the course of the PS4's lifespan, with indies in recent years pointedly criticizing the company for poor communication, lack of promotion, and not letting them participate in sales events. In a session at GI Live: London last year, Sony's chief indie liaison Shuhei Yoshida acknowledged the company had shifted its focus too much to the AAA side of things late in the PS4 generation. Benson is confident Sony won't repeat that this generation, in part because Sony restructured its PlayStation business a few years back to replace regional US, European, and Japanese branches with a single globalized operation.

"There is a bigger bench than ever in terms of the dedicated support and team," Benson says, adding, "One of the differences in the PS4 generation was we were a regionally-operated team, so there wasn't this cross-functional level of care and support that we were even equipped to do because there weren't resources available to support it." She says now there's a significantly sized team of people devoted to indies, one led by Yoshida, Greg Rice, and others who are demonstrably passionate about small developers and the games they make.

"They are constantly advocating for partnership opportunities as well as – even without deals – ways to amplify and advocate for support within our channels, whether it be [PlayStation] Store, or our content communications team working on the blog, or events and so forth," she says. "I would say there's a lot more levers we have to pull to be able to support these creators, and there are a lot of tools being put in place to support these creators. It's much, much more evolved than where we were when I started in 2017."
Reminded me of this image, looks like they have some sort of marketing deal/arrangement for the Avatar game as well.

FTDG2ShXoAI9-hB.jpg
 
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They do have a compelling ecosystem which is why it's my primary place to play. Hard to beat the value proposition if you enjoy their first party games, third party titles, and by extension now their PSVR2 platform. There's not too many gaps there in the breadth of their lineup.

This article does suggest that "VR exclusives" aren't really going to be a thing, by and large. That's encouraging because it's such a small market that the "rising tide lifts all boats" makes sense for both Meta and Playstation, so hopefully that's a sign of them playing nice in the future. They are going after different markets with their VR approach.
 
They do have a compelling ecosystem which is why it's my primary place to play. Hard to beat the value proposition if you enjoy their first party games, third party titles, and by extension now their PSVR2 platform. There's not too many gaps there in the breadth of their lineup.

This article does suggest that "VR exclusives" aren't really going to be a thing, by and large. That's encouraging because it's such a small market that the "rising tide lifts all boats" makes sense for both Meta and Playstation, so hopefully that's a sign of them playing nice in the future. They are going after different markets with their VR approach.

It sucks if everyone shakes hands and agrees to play nice and alyx continues to be a steam exclusive
 

feynoob

Banned
Sony is doing everything they can to lock down that console Space.
As for general platforms? I dont think so.
PC is the best place to play those games. Not just in term of power, but the content (Mods) and long term library. That is where the consoles are weak. You cant carry your long term library to the next gen, unless they support BC.

Sony needs to work on their long term plan, and not do stupid mistakes like PS3 which ended Ps1-PS3 library connections.
 
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BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
This has nothing to do with that.
Sony is focusing on getting 3rd party devs like they did in the past, before MS/X360.

This is them expanding their reach.

the timing is suspect to me. i remember when all those Epic emails got exposed when they took Apple to court and it made everyone involved look slimy. That will be child's play compared to what we're about to see.
 
Sony is doing everything they can to lock down that console Space.
As for general platforms? I dont think so.
PC is the best place to play those games. Not just in term of power, but the content (Mods) and long term library. That is where the consoles are weak. You cant carry your long term library to the next gen, unless they support BC.

Sony needs to work on their long term plan, and not do stupid mistakes like PS3 which ended Ps1-PS3 library connections.
I don’t think we are ever going back to a system where backwards compatibility isn’t a thing. If nothing else it allows Sony to make money of older game sales and by and large is goodwill for consumers. If you can take you library with you then you are likely to stay in the same ecosystem.
 
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feynoob

Banned
the timing is suspect to me. i remember when all those Epic emails got exposed when they took Apple to court and it made everyone involved look slimy. That will be child's play compared to what we're about to see.
You wont see those documents, since they are confidential. also, the date is around august (unless I am wrong). So this has nothing to do with that.
I don’t think we are ever going back to a system where backwards compatibility isn’t a thing. If nothing else it allows Sony to make money of older game sales and by and large is goodwill for consumers. If you can take you library with you then you are likely to stay in the same ecosystem.
Having my library with next gen console is the only reason, why I am enjoying consoles these days.

I hope Sony can do a remake for infamous. It shouldnt be a ps3 exclusive. That series is good.
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
You wont see those documents, since they are confidential. also, the date is around august (unless I am wrong). So this has nothing to do with that.

Having my library with next gen console is the only reason, why I am enjoying consoles these days.

I hope Sony can do a remake for infamous. It shouldnt be a ps3 exclusive. That series is good.

the documents are gonna be presented in open court, dirty laundry will be aired and it's going to be hilarious
 

feynoob

Banned
the documents are gonna be presented in open court, dirty laundry will be aired and it's going to be hilarious
It wont happen. If anything, it will have black bars, and sensitive information will only be shown to a few people.

This isnt Epic vs Apple.
 

Nocturno999

Member
The article sounds more positive than expected from Sony. It seems they want to rely solely on hardware features and capabilities to make them stand out.
I don't think the PS5 reallly does anything different unless you buy the VR2 headset, and even then PC does it too.

Also "securing deals" in plain English is just cockblocking third party titles going to other platforms.

Most recenlty is FF16 stuck @30FPS. They made it not the best way to play but the only one.
 
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Poltz

Member
The article sounds more positive than expected from Sony. It seems they want to rely solely on hardware features and capabilities to make them stand out.
I don't think the PS5 reallly does anything different unless you buy the VR2 headset, and even then PC does it too.

Also "securing deals" in plain English is just cockblocking third party titles going to other platforms.

Most recenlty is FF16 stuck @30FPS. They made it not the best way to play but the only one.
FF16 will be 60 FPS at launch.
 

Damigos

Member
The article sounds more positive than expected from Sony. It seems they want to rely solely on hardware features and capabilities to make them stand out.
I don't think the PS5 reallly does anything different unless you buy the VR2 headset, and even then PC does it too.

Also "securing deals" in plain English is just cockblocking third party titles going to other platforms.

Most recenlty is FF16 stuck @30FPS. They made it not the best way to play but the only one.
FF16 will have 2 modes, one of them being 60fps
 

Topher

Gold Member

That tweet is wrong. The documents will not be made public.

From OT thread…


The court hearing will in all likelihood be public - probably good to fall asleep to.

But the data used in the hearing will be confidential - so there’ll be a lot of “refer to doc X” and redacts and whatever.

But we may get some leaks - maybe some smeary intentional ones …

This is the original confidentiality order
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ft...-governing-confidential-material-public_0.pdf

And the important bit :

7. Confidential material shall be disclosed only to: (a) the Administrative Law Judge presiding over this proceeding, personnel assisting the Administrative Law Judge, the Commission and its employees, and personnel retained by the Commission as experts or consultants for this proceeding; (b) judges and other court personnel of any court having jurisdiction over any appellate proceedings involving this matter; (c) outside counsel of record for any respondent, their associated attorneys and other employees of their law firm(s), provided they are not employees of a respondent; (d) anyone retained to assist outside counsel in the preparation or hearing of this proceeding including consultants, provided they are not affiliated in any way with a respondent and have signed an agreement to abide by the terms of the protective order; and (e) any witness or deponent who may have authored or received the information in question.
 
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I wonder if Sony is done with Studio acquisitions now.
While their third party exclusive strategy worked well for them, the direction seems to be more about owning the IP and possibly the studios.
 

supernova8

Banned
this feels like a fluff piece to preemptively damage control for those subpoenas on exclusive deals. gonna be juicy.

giphy.gif
Sure all Playstation has to do is say "hey will give a little lump sum up front, you guys don't even want to develop for the Series S anyway, right?"

Plus I kinda wonder how attractive Xbox even is for developers who are (1) not massive publishers who release on all the consoles anyway and (2) not interested in putting their stuff on Game Pass.

Ever since I got Game Pass the feeling of "I'm happy to buy a single game for $60 or around that price" has dropped from almost zero to pretty much zero.
 
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vivftp

Member
I wonder if Sony is done with Studio acquisitions now.
While their third party exclusive strategy worked well for them, the direction seems to be more about owning the IP and possibly the studios.

They're not done with acquisition by a long shot. They've still got a mobile branch to build out and so far only have 1 studio with Savage. Sony's always had a massive network of third party partners they've worked with on exclusive games. Lately some of them have become first party like Insomniac, Bluepoint and Housemarqie. They seem to be in overdrive mode to build more relationships, which is why we're seeing deals with Deviation, Firewalk, the China Hero Project and more. No doubt some of these relationships will turn into additional acquisitions, like we saw with Haven.
 

gimmmick

Member
Sony is doing everything they can to lock down that console Space.
As for general platforms? I dont think so.
PC is the best place to play those games. Not just in term of power, but the content (Mods) and long term library. That is where the consoles are weak. You cant carry your long term library to the next gen, unless they support BC.

Sony needs to work on their long term plan, and not do stupid mistakes like PS3 which ended Ps1-PS3 library connections.

It’s going on 2.5 years and the value is still better to get a gaming console than building a gaming rig for 499.99.

Sony has complete BC with all ps4 games, and majority of the titles I have purchased were off psn.
 

Ar¢tos

Member
I guess PSVR2 will force Sony to become ultra friendly with indies again, since psvr2 AAA games (outside of VR modes in flat games) will be very few.
 
It's the market share that's the biggest pull. That's what these 3rd party publishers want and why sony seem to be able to make these deals easily. They always get marketing for the big games. Hogwarts being the most recent. They've also had fifa, cod and GTA marketing all at the same time.
 

vivftp

Member
I guess PSVR2 will force Sony to become ultra friendly with indies again, since psvr2 AAA games (outside of VR modes in flat games) will be very few.

They've been very friendly with indies for years now. Shu and his team have been doing a great job since 2019.

As for PSVR2 and dedicated AAA or AA VR games, we can only speculate. It seems likely that hybrid games will play a large role in their strategy, as was rumored pre-launch. That's perfectly fine by me, give me extra bang for my buck when the game I've bought to play on my TV can be played in a completely new way. It offers a great unique selling point for the PlayStation version of games
 

feynoob

Banned
It’s going on 2.5 years and the value is still better to get a gaming console than building a gaming rig for 499.99.

Sony has complete BC with all ps4 games, and majority of the titles I have purchased were off psn.
What value compared to PC?
That 500$ rig has more games from different consoles.
From 3rd party games to Xbox games, PS games, emulated Nintendo games and timed exclusives from other consoles.
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
The article sounds more positive than expected from Sony. It seems they want to rely solely on hardware features and capabilities to make them stand out.
I don't think the PS5 reallly does anything different unless you buy the VR2 headset, and even then PC does it too.

Also "securing deals" in plain English is just cockblocking third party titles going to other platforms.

Most recenlty is FF16 stuck @30FPS. They made it not the best way to play but the only one.
Get over it, if you want to bitch about exclusive or non-exclusive stuff, find an IP that is not already synonymous with a particular platform.

It's only been 25 years.
 

Calverz

Member
I am loving Sonys strategy at the minute because it allowed me to sell my ps5 at profit and just buy their games if I want them on pc with higher frame rates and resolution. It would be good if they make psvr2 pc compatible. I think it’s just a matter of time
 

Thirty7ven

Banned
the documents are gonna be presented in open court, dirty laundry will be aired and it's going to be hilarious

You will find out that only weird console fanboys have an adverse reaction to third party exclusives. The same who think buying a publisher is more consumer friendly than timed exclusives.

It’s standard industry practice. Hell it’s standard industry practice in subscriptions from other markets too.
 
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Pop

Member
I am loving Sonys strategy at the minute because it allowed me to sell my ps5 at profit and just buy their games if I want them on pc with higher frame rates and resolution. It would be good if they make psvr2 pc compatible. I think it’s just a matter of time
So you sold the machine that plays those games on day 1. To only wait another 2 years or so to play them at higher frames

I'll never understand that logic. Now selling your xbox console for pc gaming makes total sense, not ps5 console.
 

Topher

Gold Member
So Sony is trying to make devs release worse versions of the same game on other platforms? And yet we're supposed to believe they're the good guys?

That's some serious yoga reaching you are doing there.

"So that's thinking about it less around exclusivity than what kind of technologies could they adopt that really make PS5 sing," Benson says. "What kind of innovation can they apply with the haptics in the DualSense or the adaptive triggers? What could they do with 3D audio in the sound design of a game, etc? So there's a lot of things we could do and then create marketing stories around, and that's where some of these partnerships for multiplatform games really focus."
 
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Topher

Gold Member
I am loving Sonys strategy at the minute because it allowed me to sell my ps5 at profit and just buy their games if I want them on pc with higher frame rates and resolution. It would be good if they make psvr2 pc compatible. I think it’s just a matter of time

Well they are releasing those game on PC so people will buy them there so sure, why not? Personally, I prefer not having to wait.
 

Calverz

Member
So you sold the machine that plays those games on day 1. To only wait another 2 years or so to play them at higher frames

I'll never understand that logic. Now selling your xbox console for pc gaming makes total sense, not ps5 console.
Yea pretty much. I like the choice and freedom they hve offered. I’m happy to wait to play higher quality versions. I’m not really a massive fan of all their first party output. The time between console release and pc release will only decrease in time. I mean look at tlou remake.
 

Calverz

Member
That's because it is a remake. GoW:R and HFW both came out before TLU R and no PC release date in site.

So are you just gaming on PC and Switch now?
Predominantly PC now as I got rid of an old ultrawide monitor for an LG 42C2. I tend to avoid switch where I can tbh lol.

Its not to say I wouldnt consider a PS5 again (keeping one eye on these revision rumors) but none of their announced games have me desperate for day 1. The biggest thing for me really is Factions 2. But Im convinced that will be PS5 and PC day one. Especially if its multiplayer GAAS focus.
 
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