Microsoft has shared an interesting insight to the average PlayStation gamer, and they have the evidence to back it up.
In their response to the CMA’s provisional findings, they revealed this:
“As shown in the YouGov Survey, when identifying titles that are likely to influence past and future console choice, PlayStation gamers placed no special significance on CoD and instead identified a range of first-and-third party titles. These include:
Assassin’s Creed, Grand Theft Auto, The Last of Us, The Witcher, Gran Turismo, God of War and Spiderman.”
Microsoft cites the same YouGov survey that found that only 3 % of PlayStation owners would consider switching to the Xbox if Call of Duty became an Xbox exclusive.
Now, we understand that these survey respondents knew exactly what games they preferred.
What’s notable from these survey findings is how many of PlayStation users’ favorite games are PlayStation first-party games. Now, many of these games are no longer strictly PlayStation exclusive, as Sony themselves have taken the initiative to bring these games to PC as well.
Nonetheless, Sony has engendered a loyalty for their PlayStation brand, such that most PlayStation gamers still prefer to buy their games on PlayStation, and pay for PlayStation Plus to play them online with their friends. And their friends do the same thing as well, or at least that’s theoretically how Sony sells PS Plus.
Sony does seem to have recently put more focus on single player offerings. The Last of Us, God of War, and Spider-Man are all franchises with multiple games under them, and are also playable on PC as well as on PlayStation. These are also all sold primarily as single-player games, and designed around that idea.
These choices have played to Sony’s strengths, and also to how they see themselves. Sony as an
entertainment company, in music, movies and shows, as well as video games, has a particular regard for creatives. They may not all fit the definition of auteurs, but Sony treats their own creatives like auteurs nonetheless.
What this means is a game like The Last Of Us or Gran Turismo 7 has a huge focus on the studio’s vision. Sony sells these games on the notion that their fans follow Neil Druckmann’s or Kazunori Yamauchi’s vision.
Third party games, including multi-platform games, have their place in this as well. The YouGov survey named The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and Grand Theft Auto, all games that have appeared on PC and Xbox, and PlayStation owners won’t miss out on if they switch platforms.
The companies behind these games also don’t break up the parity for their games between platforms, which is the opposite of how Activision sells Call of Duty on PlayStation.
This all really bolsters the findings from the YouGov survey. Call of Duty players may be loyal to PlayStation, but those hardcore fans do not represent the PlayStation fanbase. In 2023, Call of Duty is a niche in itself, and most PlayStation gamers look at other games as the reason they are on Team PlayStation.
