PlayStation’s second ‘State of Play’ event of the year brought a lot of new announcements. The 30 minute presentation featured a total of 14 games, including Monster Hunter Wilds, Astro Bot, and more. Sony also took the opportunity to announce the arrival of God of War Ragnarok on PC. Normally I would’ve been super hyped about a God of War game, but I’d be lying if I said I’m excited about Ragnarok on PC.
I’m tired of Sony drip feeding its games onto PC this late
I don’t understand the whole point of keeping its singleplayer narrative-focused titles from launching on PC on day one. The company said its live service games will come day and date on PS5 and PC, but, for some reason, it’ll continue to drip feed its singleplayer games onto PC over the course of a few years.
It’s nothing but a feeble attempt to get more players to pick up a PS5 over PC, even when it clearly knows that there’s lot of money with day and date launches on the PC. I mean, that’s why it’s launching its live service games and even singleplayer narrative-focused titles there eventually. Duh!
It’s true that gamers tend to spend a lot of money on things they probably don’t need in the long run, but dropping $500 on an entire console just to play a few exclusives each year is a big ask, in my opinion. While I don’t see myself selling my PS5 that I don’t use as much as I thought I would, I certainly don’t see myself splurging on a PS6 — or whatever decides to call it — if this is where things are headed.
I’d rather wait for a couple of years to play the exclusives on the superior gaming platform. And simply knowing that Sony will eventually bring its exclusives over to PC, albeit a bit late, itself doesn’t get me excited about its blockbuster exclusives anymore. It’s almost as if the company has lost its only unique selling point that made me pickup a PS5 in the first place.
PSN login requirement
The news about God of War Ragnarok arrival on PC was further watered-down by the fact that it’ll also require a PSN login. That’s right, you will need a PSN account to play God of War Ragnarok later this year on the PC. This particular requirement is highlighted in the footnote at the bottom of various God of Ragnarok PC’s promos, which clearly reads “Account for PlayStation Network is required.”
Both Steam and the Epic Games Store listing for the game also highlights this requirement, making it very clear that it’s a necessity to play the game. That also means that God of War Ragnarok will be unavailable in the 177 countries and territories where PSN can’t be accessed. This particular requirement caused a huge ruckus that lead Sony to subsequently back down from its decision to make it a necessity for Helldivers 2.
What I fail to understand is why God of Ragnarok — which is an entirely singleplayer game — requires a mandatory PSN account login. I get the idea of wanting to save progress and trophies on the cloud, but what if I’m willing to let go of that “luxury” and work with local saves? At least it’ll make the game playable in those 177 countries and territories where PSN can’t be accessed? I guess we’ll never find out.
Other announcements were simply more interesting
Another reason why I’m not visibly excited about God of War Ragnarok PC port is because, well, the other announcements were simply more exciting. I’m honestly more pumped for the multiplayer PvP FPS Concord and Monster Hunter Wilds. They both looked like games that’ll keep me hooked to my PC next year. If you don’t know what I’m talking about then check out the trailers below.
Not so exclusive anymore
I’m not necessarily mad about PlayStation exclusives making their way to PC, but I can’t say I’m a fan of how Sony is handling this whole thing, either. All these recent incidents surrounding the PSN requirement, and how Sony is adamant about keeping its singleplayer narrative games to its consoles at launch has just rubbed me in a wrong way, and I know I’m not alone in saying that.
