Sony enters the PC gaming market with a bang

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Sony is expanding its horizons within the gaming market. The Japanese company, which previously focused almost exclusively on products for its consoles, is also starting to look at the PC gamer audience.

This expansion reached new heights last week when Sony launched the Inzone brand. The new product lineup debuts with three headphone and two monitor models designed for computer gaming — although they’re also compatible with the PlayStation 5.

Despite entering the PC gaming equipment market only now, the company has already been waving at these consumers since at least July 2020, when it launched the computer version of “Death Stranding”, a game by Hideo Kojima (creator of the ” Metal Gear”) which, until then, was exclusive to the PlayStation 4.

After that, other major PlayStation exclusive releases gained PC versions:

• Also in August 2020, the computer version of the open-world action game “Horizon: Zero Dawn” was released;

• In May 2021 it was time for the zombie game “Days Gone” to hit PCs;

• In January of this year, one of the greatest PlayStation 4 classics, “God of War”, arrived on computers.

And it won’t stop there. The computer version of “Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered” is scheduled to be released on August 12 and, later in the year, “Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves”, a remastered version of the last two games in the series starring Nathan Drake, will also come to PCs.

In an interview with GQ magazine, Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, which controls the PlayStation brand, explained the decision to invest in this market.

“We have the opportunity to put great games in touch with an even wider audience, and you have to recognize the economic reality of game development, which isn’t always simple. The cost of making games increases with each generation.” [de consoles]as the importance of IPs [propriedades intelectuais] increases,” said Ryan.

With the new distribution strategy for its main games, Sony expects to more than triple its revenue from the sale of PC games. In a report for investors published at the end of May, the company estimated revenues of US$ 300 million (R$ 1.6 billion) by the end of 2022 against US$ 80 million (R$ 420 million) in sales in 2021.

Sony, however, does not seem willing to follow in the footsteps of Microsoft, which releases its main games simultaneously for consoles and PCs. At least in the short term, the Japanese company will maintain the exclusivity of its main releases on PlayStation, if only for a few months.

Still, for video game fans, this is still good news. The more platforms that receive great games, the more democratic access to them will be.

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game tip, new or old, for you to test

Phobia – St. Dinfna Hotel

(PC, Xbox One/X/S, PS 4/5)

It is not common to find a Brazilian game with the quality of this release from Pulsatrix Studios. “Phobia” is a tribute to great horror and survival games like “Resident Evil”, “Silent Hill” and “Outlast”, with an immersive story and very well thought out puzzles. Despite lacking in combat sequences and sometimes being a little frustrating, it’s worth testing this game and finding out what the national game industry is capable of.

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news, launches, business and what else matters

• Last Thursday (30), Samsung launched the “Samsung Gaming Hub” application that makes it possible to play games directly from the cloud on the 2022 versions of the brand’s TVs. Through the app, subscribers to services like Xbox Game Pass and Nvidia GeForce Now can play state-of-the-art games without other peripherals — other than a controller.

• After receiving toxic comments criticizing the visuals of “Return to Monkey Island”, series creator Ron Gilbert stated that he will no longer talk about the game online. In a post on his personal blog, the game’s director expressed disappointment and said that his “joy in sharing has died out”.

• Nintendo has announced the release of “Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope” for October 20th. The company also announced the arrival of Switch versions of two successful RPGs on other platforms: “Persona 5” and “Nier: Automata”.

• “Crash Bandicoot 4”, the latest platform game from Sony’s mascot, and the interactive drama “Man of Medan” are among the games that will be made available for free to PlayStation Plus subscribers in July.

• The BIG Festival, which starts next Thursday (7th) in São Paulo, will have as one of its attractions a special “Pokémon GO” event. Visitors to the fair will be able to win rare pets like Porygon and Unown in special field research.

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games that will be released in the next few days and promotions that are worth it

July 7th

• “Matchpoint”: BRL 166.45 (Xbox One/X/S), BRL 249.50 (PS 4/5), price undisclosed (Switch, PC)

July 8

• “Arcadegeddon”: BRL 37.99 (PC), BRL 104.90 (PS 4/5)

• “Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series”: BRL 249.90 (Switch), price not revealed (PC, Xbox One/X/S, PS 4/5)

• “Madison”: BRL 134.95 (Xbox One/X/S), price not revealed (PC, PS 4/5, Switch)

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