The PlayStation 5 is just around the corner. While we don’t have a release date set in stone as of yet, there is a “Holiday 2020” timeframe attached to the system’s rollout.
That hasn’t stopped the gaming world from discussing the upcoming system, from guessing what titles will be released at launch, to debating whether or not it will feature backwards compatibility.
We don’t yet know what the console even looks like, but Sony executives have been dropping some hints as to what we can expect from the system.
On the official PlayStation Blog, Sony executive Hermen Hulst, who heads up PlayStation Worldwide Studios, was talking about Sony’s exclusive network for game developers. He noted that they will be focusing more on single-player titles over other formats.
“We’re very committed to dedicated hardware, as we were before,” Hulst said. “We’re gonna continue to do that. And we’re very committed to quality exclusives, and to strong narrative-driven single-player games.”
That should come as no shock to anyone. Narrative-driven single player game experiences have been Sony’s bread and butter since the early days of the PlayStation 4.
It started with the re-release of The Last of Us. That title actually came out first for the PlayStation 3, but was given an HD makeover for the PlayStation 4. Eventually, it became more associated with the PlayStation 4 than any other console.
Then, fast forward to two years ago, when two of the most popular exclusives in the history of PlayStation were released. First, you had 2018’s God of War. It was a complete and total reinvention of a classic floundering franchise that wove a rich, emotional story.
Then you had Spider-Man, the Sony exclusive super hero title that remade everyone’s favorite web slinger in an open world instant classic. The superior web swing mechanics, coupled with a phenomenal story and stellar voice acting carried this game on a wave of success.
Outside of exclusives, you had games like Death Stranding, which also came out on PC. Then, there was the highly acclaimed Red Dead Redemption 2.
With Hulst’s statement, it is obvious that Sony was paying attention to the success of those games and the floundering of some newer multi-player experiences like BioWare’s much panned Anthem. The pendulum has definitely swung in the gaming world, and Sony seems ready to go all in.
He also noted that the studio will be, “very open to experimentation,” meaning that multi-player games are not out of the question. However, Sony seems prepared to deliver on a more cinematic gaming experience.