The CEO of PlayStation once again defends the cross-gen nature of future development.
The PS5 is finally here after a considerable amount of hype and marketing. In many ways it’s probably the best launch lineup we’ve ever had for a PlayStation console launch, but it was different in the sense that very little of what was released was exclusive to the upcoming gen. Really Demon’s Souls was the only major next gen-exclusive title (unless you count the pack-in Astro’s Playroom, but it’s largely a tech demo for the DualSense). The amount of cross-gen development was something many weren’t expecting from Sony just a few months ago, but the CEO of the division says they have a responsibility to the community they have built beforehand.
In an interview in the latest issue of EDGE (issue 353), Jim Ryan was asked about cross-gen development, specifically about the fear that it would ‘hold back’ games coming to new systems. He emphasized that they had built a huge community with the PS4, saying it also probably has a longer tail end than the PS3 did, which Sony also supported for a good while after the PS4 launched. He did say, however, that obviously the PS5 will become the emphasis as time goes on (thanks to the folks at ResetERA for transcribing the below):
“We do feel that we have a responsibility to that very large community, and an opportunity to carry on making great PS4 games for as long as the need is there. And I think that is the right thing to do, it’s the rational thing to do, and I think you will see a tail with PS4 that you did not see with PS3. But that said, as time passes, you’re going to see more and more emphasis on PS5 development and the PS5 SKU will be the lead SKU.”
It’s common sense really considering just how successful the PS4 ended up being. Still, Sony seemed very bullish in the early marketing for the PS5 on the idea of generations, and it was something of a shock when Horizon Forbidden West, Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was revealed to be coming to PS4 when they had originally only be unveiled in the context of the PS5. In the end, however, it is what it is. Sackboy and Miles Morales came out and both their PS4 and PS5 versions were solid without any major issues one way or another. Regardless of how you feel about it, I’d say you should at least strap in for cross-gen for a bit longer than maybe expected.
