Sony promises more PS5 exclusives ‘than ever’ to beat Xbox Series X
PlayStation boss vows 'more dedicated software than ever before' for PS5
If you're lucky enough to get your hands on a PS5, you'll ultimately wind up with a lot of exclusives for your new console. In a recent interview with Japanese outlet Nikkei (translated by Video Games Chronicle) Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan claimed Sony has been "quietly but steadily investing in high-quality games for PlayStation" in an effort to make sure "the PS5 generation will have more dedicated software than ever before."
This is significant because competing console maker Microsoft has been on an acquisitions tear in recent years, buying up big studios like Bethesda and Obsidian and bringing their game catalogs over to Xbox — with the expectation that console editions of their future games will be exclusive to Xbox.
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Exclusive games are historically a key part of console makers' marketing strategies, and Sony has had a great deal of success in recent years launching big-budget PlayStation exclusives like Naughty Dog's The Last Of Us, Sony Santa Monica's God of War, and Guerrilla Games' Horizon Zero Dawn.
But the flow of critically-acclaimed PlayStation exclusives has slowed recently, and in the wake of Microsoft's aggressive acquisitions campaign, Ryan told the Nikkei that Sony remains open to acquiring more game developers.
"We have repeatedly engaged in mergers and acquisitions, including Insomniac Games in the US," Ryan reportedly said, referencing Sony's 2020 purchase of Marvel's Spider-Man developer Insomniac Games. "We will not rule out that option in the future."
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The company currently has a number of PlayStation-exclusive games slated for launch this year, including Insomniac's Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Guerrilla's Horizon Forbidden West, and Sony Santa Monica's God of War Ragnarok. Whether those games will all hit their release windows remains to be seen, given that many titles have been delayed due to problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The pandemic has also been partly to blame for the scarcity of PlayStation 5 consoles, which launched in November of last year and was quickly crowned the fastest-selling console in US history by the NPD Group. Ryan reassured the Nikkei that the company is working to address its PS5 supply problem.
"Supply under the new coronavirus was very complicated, and we had to limit distribution to online. The supply and demand for semiconductors is also tight worldwide," Ryan said. "We are asking our suppliers to allow us to increase production, which will flow into the market this year."
In the meantime, we have the latest PS5 restock update today to help you find the best place to buy a PS5.
Alex Wawro is a lifelong tech and games enthusiast with more than a decade of experience covering both for outlets like Game Developer, Black Hat, and PC World magazine. A lifelong PC builder, he currently serves as a senior editor at Tom's Guide covering all things computing, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice.