How PlayStation Devs Convinced Sony to Port Games to PC

PlayStation’s shift to allowing its exclusives on PC has taken many by surprise. Previously, PlayStation guarded its IP closely, recognizing the value that a strong exclusive lineup can bring to a console ecosystem. Now, however, the floodgates are open, and PlayStation is allowing its major games on PC, like with today’s God of War release. According to Sony Santa Monica’s Cory Barlog, that shift is thanks to the efforts of PlayStation developers.

Speaking to Game Informer, Barlog commented on how PlayStation developers convinced Sony that it should put its exclusive games on PC. Sony apparently caved to advice from developers across its studios, which Barlog likened to stuffing suggestions in a suggestion box. “We had sent so many suggestion box suggestions that they were like, ‘I’m tired of hearing all this. Fine, we’ll do this,'” Barlog stated.

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Barlog went on to state that, as a company, PlayStation is still figuring out the best practices for putting its games onto PC. It seems that there’s no single strategy that has surfaced yet, which may explain the varied timing and approach that fans have seen with PlayStation exclusives on PC thus far. However, it’s hard not to see the ports to PC as a positive thing, as they often come with technical improvements like ultra-wide monitor support.

Image from God of War on PC showing Kratos about to chop a tree down.

For those looking ahead to PlayStation’s next big releases, Barlog doesn’t have a solid answer. When asked if God of War: Ragnarok would come to PC more quickly than God of War did, Barlog simply stated that he wasn’t sure yet and that the decision is ultimately up to Sony. Barlog also commented that it depended on if Ragnarok is done right in the first place, which could have an impact on the process.

There are other, smaller nuances that Barlog and Senior Manager of Technical Production Matt DeWald commented on throughout the interview, diving into some smaller, grittier details of porting God of War to PC. For instance, one somewhat funny aspect of the PC port is that players can use an Xbox controller to play it, which the studio supports. DeWald stated that the team even put in Xbox’s button glyphs so that players wouldn’t get confused. Even Switch controllers are supported.

With both PlayStation and Xbox exclusives coming to PC, the platform is largely becoming exclusive agnostic for those that are willing to wait for games to make the leap. It marks an interesting new era for the PlayStation brand, especially if it starts moving its new games onto the platform at a faster pace.

Source: Game Informer


Source: Gamerant

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