So many things happened around Sony that we can’t even fit them into one place.

Famitsu interviewed Jim Ryan, the president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. We’ll quote relevant questions and answers. „Astro’s Playroom was developed by Team Asobi, but many Japanese game fans are looking forward to new titles from SIE Japan Studio. Do you have any information about the studio’s new titles?”, Famitsu asked. Unfortunately, Ryan’s answer wasn’t satisfying: „Nothing I can comment on at the moment. However, Team Asobi’s Astro’s Playroom was truly outstanding. I’ll have more to say about this at a later date.” New DLC? A sequel? Revealing how many people played it?

Then Famitsu asked, „SIE has other Worldwide Studios in various countries, but are you considering game development centred around these studios in the future?” Here’s Ryan’s answer: „We’re really happy with and proud of the PlayStation Studios titles released by our Worldwide Studios. Some have already been announced, and others are in wait to be announced in the future. Also, SIE has strong ties with Japanese licensees, so going forward we would like to continue to strengthen that cooperation and develop titles made in Japan for PlayStation fans around the world.” If that is the case, then why censor Japanese games in the West? Meanwhile, Nintendo, which was previously the company with the censorship, doesn’t have such an issue on the Switch. And finally, the third Famitsu question: „COVID-19 continues to have a big effect on the industry. Are you planning to still mainly announce new information through live streams such as State of Play?” Ryan’s answer follows, „Right now, we anticipate we’ll be doing online events. As 2020 has shown us, online events are the safest and most efficient.”

Speaking of State of Play, Sony announced on the PlayStation Blog that a new State of Play will occur on February 25, at 10 PM UTC. You can watch it on YouTube or Twitch, and the broadcast will feature new updates and deep dives for 10 games coming to PlayStation 5 and/or PlayStation 4. There will be new game announcements and updates on some of the third-party games featured in the PlayStation 5: The Future of Gaming showcase from last June. However, don’t expect new PlayStation hardware or business-focused updates. (The former did happen, though. We’ll get back to it later today.)

Ryan confirmed to GQ Magazine that more PlayStation games will launch on PC, and the next one will be SIE Bend’s April 2019-launched Days Gone, which already has its Steam page. „We find ourselves now in early 2021 with our development studios and the games that they make in better shape than they’ve ever been before. Particularly from the latter half of the PlayStation 4 cycle, our studios made some wonderful, great games. There’s an opportunity to expose those great games to a wider audience and recognize the economics of game development, which are not always straightforward. The cost of making games goes up with each cycle, as the calibre of the IP has improved. Also, our ease of making it available to non-console owners has grown. So it’s a fairly straightforward decision for us to make,” Ryan said. The PC version’s features include „ultra-wide monitor support, unlocked framerates, and improved graphics (increased level of details, the field of view, foliage draw distances).”

Sony announced on the PlayStation Blog again that its Play at Home initiative will return this year, and it will be available until June. In 2020, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey were offered as free titles to keep. This year, starting March 2 at 4 AM UTC, all PlayStation users will be able to redeem and keep the 2016-released Ratchet & Clank for PlayStation 4. From March 25, Funimation (a joint venture of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Aniplex of Japan) will offer extended access for new subscribers to Funimation or Wakanim in the countries they are available. More games and offers will be revealed in the next weeks.

And finally, SIE and Polyphony Digital decided to delay its upcoming PlayStation 5 title, Gran Turismo 7, to 2022. „Gran Turismo 7 has been impacted by COVID-related production challenges and therefore will shift from 2021 to 2022. With the ongoing pandemic, it’s a dynamic and changing situation and some critical aspects of game production have been slowed over the past several months. We’ll share more specifics on Gran Turismo 7‘s release date when available,” an SIE representative told GQ.

Source: Gematsu, Gematsu, Gematsu, Gematsu, Gematsu