PlayStation 5: exclusive games 'more important than ever', says Sony

Happily for anyone who struggles to summon much interest in raw tech specs, last week’s PlayStation 5 broadcast was heavy on games. Having seeded details about the console’s hardware and performance throughout the year, Sony opted to show what developers have been doing with that speed and power.

Of the 28 games shown, nine were from Sony’s own studios, meaning they will be playable only on PS5. A further 14 were what’s known as timed exclusives, meaning that they’ll be available on PS5 first and may also launch on PC.

Exclusive games have always been the shining beacons that attract players to an expensive new console, but arguably their role has been diminishing for at least a decade. Microsoft, particularly, has completely changed its approach to its own studios’ games in recent years, offering up all of them on PC and Xbox and packaging them up as part of a £7.99-a-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass instead of charging £50 for each. Xbox bosses have even repeatedly stated that, in their ideal world, Xbox games would be playable on any screen or device. Meanwhile, the biggest game publishers, including 2K, Ubisoft and EA, almost never make a game for a single platform any more, instead selling them across PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.

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However, Simon Rutter, PlayStation’s EVP for Europe, says that for Sony exclusive games are “hugely important. More important, I think, than they’ve ever been. Through their proximity to the system’s designers, PlayStation’s studios are able to really extract the most out of the system performance and that’s a really valuable attribute for a platform holder to have. [PlayStation] can rely on a studio network that can really show off the innovations that we’re trying to put across … when the exclusives are as powerful as Marvel’s Spider-Man or Horizon, they are important games that people want to play.”

Take Gran Turismo, the hyper-realistic racing game that has been synonymous with PlayStation since the 90s. “Gran Turismo 7 is going to benefit from almost every single technological enhancement that we have in PlayStation 5,” says Rutter. “The loading times will be next to nothing compared to what they have been in the past. Sitting in the cockpit, the 3D audio allows you to hear the thunderous roar of a Ferrari behind you or in front of you, and you can recognise the difference between that and the engine noise of a Maserati. Driving the car using the DualSense controller, you’ll have a different feeling in your hands from the smooth undulating tarmac of a racetrack, compared to the gritty sensation on a gravel track. Pressing a soft accelerator will feel very different than pressing on a stiff brake pedal or gear paddle.”

Sony’s approach is a reminder that games consoles are about more than tech specs; their features, and the selection of games that their manufacturers curate, create a culture around them. Nintendo specialises in consoles that are portable, flexible, family friendly and fun. Xbox, historically, has always put connectivity at the forefront, centring games such as Halo and Forza that you play online with friends. Sony, meanwhile, likes to invest in a diverse portfolio of games to attract players who like to feel as if they’re on the cultural cutting edge.

That comes at a cost, however – £50-60 per game – and, in the conspicuous absence of pricing details for the PlayStation 5, there is speculation that the console could push £500. Add in a monthly online-play subscription and you’ve got a very expensive hobby. For players, the games have to be pretty great to justify it.

Exclusive games on PlayStation 5

Horizon: Forbidden West (Sony/Guerilla Games)
Gran Turismo 7 (Sony/Polyphony)
Demon’s Souls (Sony/FromSoftware/Bluepoint)
Returnal (Sony/Housemarque)
Destruction All Stars (Sony/Lucid Games)
Astro’s Playroom (Sony/Japan Studio)
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (Sony/Insomniac)
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (Sony/Sumo)
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Sony/Insomniac)
Bugsnax (Young Horses)
Deathloop (Bethesda)
Ghostwire: Tokyo (Bethesda)
Godfall (Gearbox Publishing/Counterplay Games)
Goodbye Volcano High (KO-OP)
JETT : The Far Shore (Superbrothers)
Kena: Bridge of the Spirits (Ember Lab)
Little Devil Inside (Neostream Interactive)
Oddworld Soulstorm (Oddworld Inhabitants)
Project Athia (Square Enix/Luminous Productions)
Solar Ash (Annapurna Interactive/Heart Machine)
Stray (Annapurna/Blue Twelve Studio)
Tribes of Midgard (Gearbox Publishing/Norsfell)
The Pathless (Annapurna Interactive/Giant Squid)