During an investor call, CEO Hiroki Totoki acknowledged the company had "gained valuable insights" from the situation but emphasized the need to ensure player safety. This statement is likely to draw immediate criticism.
"Our PlayStation account offerings have sometimes met resistance," Totoki explained through an interpreter. "However, for live service games, we must create an environment where everyone can enjoy gaming safely while maintaining order. This approach allows players to fully experience the games."
It's worth noting that Totoki was specifically discussing the unsuccessful first-person shooter Concord during this part of the call, focusing solely on live service games.
However, this doesn't explain why single-player titles like Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and God of War Ragnarok, which lack online interactions, require account linking. It's evident that Totoki isn't being fully transparent about Sony's goals. In reality, the company aims to integrate PC users into its ecosystem to monitor their gaming habits and boost its monthly active user statistics.
We have mixed feelings about this situation.
Firstly, almost all games nowadays require some form of account, and we've never seen such widespread pushback before. The Helldivers 2 community nearly imploded when this requirement was introduced, and while we acknowledge the poor handling of the situation, it seemed like an overreaction from our perspective.
On the other hand, we understand that PSN isn't officially available in every country, making Sony's sales restrictions seem odd. Wouldn't a better solution be to streamline the sign-up process and officially launch the service in more regions?
Aside from that issue, this largely appears to be an overblown controversy. We recognize that Sony isn't being entirely forthcoming about its objectives, and we understand that account linking adds an unwanted layer of complexity for players. But is it truly a significant problem – especially when almost every other publisher is implementing similar practices?
Sony boss admits forcing PC gamers into PlayStation accounts can "invite pushback," but insists they have to keep games safe – which doesn't really track in single-player
Horizon Zero Dawn remastered is the latest PC game to require a PSN account
