October 1st 2023.
I was taken aback when I read this week of the unexpected departure of PlayStation boss Jim Ryan. He's been in the job for four years and, due to the pandemic, had rarely been seen, so I expected him to be around for a long time. I'm not sure if he was forced out or not, but I guess we'll never know.
From an everyday gamer's perspective, there's not much difference since he's already gone. The question is, who will replace him and what will their approach be? Because we've seen so little of him– even though he used to be quite accessible when the GameCentral crew interviewed him– it's hard to know his views on anything.
We know he wasn't too keen on Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard, but since Sony couldn't match the bid, we'll never know how he would've handled the situation if he had the chance. We also know he was a fan of live service games, although maybe he's had a change of heart recently, which explains why we haven't seen any? It's hard to tell when that became a big thing at Sony and whose idea it really was.
One thing is certain though: it was Ryan's choice to create such a divide between the company and its fans. The lack of announcements, the lacklustre State of Plays, and the blog posts– these weren't a coincidence. That was a general policy and I'm assuming it was Ryan's call or at least someone he trusted.
It would be wrong to say this was a disaster, because despite the fans' grumbling, sales of the PlayStation 5 have been strong. But this was only possible because Xbox had provided nearly no competition. Starfield may not have been the success Microsoft hoped for, but there was more hype and enthusiasm for the game than for an Xbox exclusive since the Xbox 360 era.
Now, it's only going to get worse. It doesn't matter if the games are actually good or not– as long as they look exciting and Microsoft makes them free on Game Pass, they will be a draw– especially because the number of exclusives on Game Pass is increasing.
It's clear that Sony needs a counter to this. Ryan's current approach won't work in the long run. They need to be communicative and show off their games, to prove that there is a steady supply coming in the future. Things they've been refusing to do for years.
If the new boss keeps the same plan, then PlayStation risks losing its market dominance as competition increases. It's time for Sony to make a change and show its fans that they're going to be around for a long time.
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