It’s no secret that the PlayStation 4 has had a great time ever since it launched back in the end of 2013. A clear message, tons of games, and a perfect price point (when compared to the competition) made it the go to platform for those looking to upgrade to the next generation.
The problem is that Sony is no stranger to hubris. You need only look at the launch of the PlayStation 3 and all of the recovering that the company had to do there to see that. After a phenomenal first year out of the gate, there was a bit of a worry that Sony would rest on its laurels and just try and sail through the year. It wouldn’t have been a completely bad move as it would have allowed them to focus on prepping their next strategy, but fans would have probably been less than happy.
So, the PlayStation team had to do something to get through the year and have a repeat of their previous success. This wouldn’t be easy though because their competition decided to kick it into high gear. The Xbox One was not trying to have another slow year and that meant showing off tons of exclusives, dropping the price, and introducing some impressive features for the console. Features like remote access from Windows 10 devices and legitimate backwards compatibility.
PlayStation’s first year was all about games and setting up a new ecosystem that included the Vita and Virtual Reality. They were going to have to show and prove if they were to keep up with the rising phoenix that was Microsoft’s console.
Their approach would come from several fronts, and while the year can be considered slow in some aspects, the company did an excellent job of selling the platform.
By the way, check out our Xbox One year in review over here.
The Future Is Here
One of Sony’s big pushes in 2015 has been PlayStation VR (formerly known as Project Morpheus, a much cooler name). With Oculus rising in popularity and several other companies throwing their hats into the VR ring, the PlayStation brand needed to make a mark, and they needed to do so quickly.
The peripheral was announced early 2014 although very little was shown off. There were some live demos to give everyone an idea of what to expect, but it was clear that PlayStation VR was very much under development. Fast forward to 2015 and you have something much more solid, something a lot closer to what players can expect to use in 2016 when it finally releases.
That it has a huge lineup of games, is comfortable to wear, and has a focus on delivering the best in VR technology shows that Sony is serious about bringing this experience to the PlayStation 4 and beyond. This was a message that was made clear at every single event of 2015, and it was one of the driving forces of their shows and popularity.
What many have been taking as just a fad or unfounded hype, the engineers that are part of the PlayStation team have turned into a bright future.
Strategic Deals
If you look at the PlayStation 4 exclusive lineup in comparison to that of the Xbox One you may notice that the former is a bit light on major AAA exclusives. Even if you look at the year before, you will see that Sony’s latest console was a bit light on content. Aside from Bloodborne and Until Dawn, none of PlayStation’s exclusives made major waves. Sure, games like Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture and SOMA (console exclusive) were incredible, but they just didn’t carry the weight of smaller titles released by the competition like Ori and the Blind Forest. Then you had The Order 1886 which didn’t have the best reception.
How was the PS4 going to survive 2015 (especially the holiday season) if it didn’t have its own major games to put out throughout the whole year? The answer was strategic partnerships with huge third-party games. The PS4 came into the year with the largest install base of the current generation of consoles, so that was used as an advantage. The year’s biggest third-party titles did amazingly well on Sony’s console, and a few deals were made to keep things interesting.
The PS4 maintained its Destiny deal leading to exclusive The Taken King content, and also managed to snag advertising and early DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops III, as well as a neat bundle for Star Wars: Battlefront. Whether you’re a fan of shooters or not, those were three of the biggest releases of the year and those partnerships helped to push the PS4 over 30 Million sold.
And let us not forget E3 and that amazing showing. Final Fantasy VII Remake, Shenmue 3, and the return of The Last Guardian helped tie up even more of the future. Just perfectly timed announcement after perfectly timed announcement to shift everyone’s focus to next year as they rode this one out.
Securing exclusives in markets outside of North America has helped out tremendously, as well. JRPGS are something that the Xbox One is seriously lacking in, as is a foothold in the Asian markets. Microsoft’s console has started to make some big moves in NA, but the PS4 securing its spot worldwide is definitely a major factor in why it was able to have such a strong year.
The leveraging of other developers in order to give their own stable time to do what they do best was a smart move pulled right out of Microsoft’s book and it definitely payed off.
Selling a Bright 2016
2015’s offerings may have been saved by third-party games but Sony is wise enough to not use the same strategy in back-to-back years. Fans need to know that their patience will be rewarded because why else would they stick around when brand new experiences are being promised on every other platform available? It’s a good thing that the PlayStation team used every stage opportunity to show of all of the games that you’ll be able to play next year. (Fingers crossed.)
Games like Uncharted 4, No Man’s Sky, Horizon: Zero Dawn, WiLD, Grand Turismo sport, Matterfall, Street Fighter V, and Gravity Rush 2. That’s not to mention whatever else their other studios are working on as well as some other third-party deals that they may have hidden up their sleeves. Like Microsoft, Sony had plenty of games releasing in 2015 (first party and third party combined) so there was no need to pack so much into this holiday season. That means things are able to be stretched out over the coming months.
The platform has managed to keep its momentum by just mentioning these upcoming games, so the fact that they’re pretty much right around the corner will keep the PS4 sailing smoothly for the foreseeable future.
PlayStation Experience (PSX)
Closing out the PlayStation 4’s year was PSX, an event for fans of the platform and its games to go and meet their heroes as well as have some fun. In a year filled with events to sell you things, something focused on community is special. It helps to shine a flattering light on the company and it pushes the message across that the PlayStation 4 and all of Sony’s gaming divisions are truly “for the players” mantra.
It isn’t as full of blockbusters as E3, Gamescom, or TGS, but it is something that is focused purely on the PlayStation brand is is shared around the world. Sort of like a, “Hey everybody, we’re here for you.” It may seem pretty trivial, but it’s a nice way to garner attention and get more people wondering just what it is you offer.
Sony may not have had an answer for everything Microsoft was able to do with the Xbox One. That backwards compatibility is pretty neat and right now there’s nothing like it on the PS4; but even without shaking up the features scene, the PS4 and the PlayStation brand managed to remain on top throughout the year. Intelligent use of a smartly earned momentum and the setting the stage for 2016 was a great use of their time. Sony may not have had the same wow-factor as Xbox One’s turnaround year, but they certainly showed how to stay on top and gave plenty of reasons to remain excited.
Published: Dec 8, 2015 09:48 am