Hideaki Nishino says it’s not so easy to build PCs, defending PlayStation’s console business and saying it will be a focus for the future.

In Sony Interactive Entertainment’s strategy, we can see PC and mobile platforms (iOS, Android) appearing alongside PlayStation consoles to appeal to a wider audience, but Nishino also answered how he would summarize the value of consoles in his behind-the-paywall interview with Nikkei (quoted by VGC):

“I think with mobile devices, there are a lot of games that show ads, and PCs are difficult to set up, but with PlayStation, as soon as you turn it on, you can experience the content you bought right away. The store where you buy software also offers an intuitive experience because the products are laid out in a way that is easy to understand. We are trying to increase our share of the overall game market by developing content for PC as well. There is no doubt that consoles will be the core of our business, but by offering titles for platforms other than consoles, we will reach a wider range of customers,” said Nishino.

Live service games will be released simultaneously on PlayStation 5 and PC (Concord has already failed with this, and interestingly, Until Dawn Remake won’t, but it’s coming to console and PC at the same time), but single-player, narrative-centric titles will come to console first and then to PC later. This is Sony’s way of trying to drive gamers to PlayStation 5 and keep the console at the forefront of their minds:

“Console is a technology stack that we are building from the ground up to deliver a very, very good, excellent experience. The value of the console is here to stay, and our job is to keep polishing it. Of course, some customers will move from PC to console. Customers who are focused on PC, if they find value, they will go to console, so rather than cannibalization, I think this is an opportunity for growth,” Nishino added.

Hopefully they don’t shoot themselves in the foot with this.

Source: VGC, Nikkei