[TheGameBusiness] "Bringing your games to other platforms is how you’re going to win" - Circana

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"Bringing your games to other platforms is how you’re going to win" - Circana

The US charts firm talks multi-platform launches and Switch 2 sales, while we reveal the biggest Donkey Kong launches of all time
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The games industry's multi-format future is working, says Circana
We're "way beyond" the point where people will swap game consoles for exclusive games, says Circana games boss Mat Piscatella.

Speaking on The Game Business Show after the release of the latest Circana market data for the US, Piscatella discussed the success of Forza Horizon 5 and Stellar Blade.

Microsoft's Forza Horizon 5 was published on PS5 in April, having initially launched in 2021 for Xbox and PC. The PS5 release helped the game reach No.3 in May in the US, and was still going strong at No.6 in June. It's now the 11th best-selling game of the year in the country and one of the best-selling PS5 games of the year worldwide.
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Meanwhile, Stellar Blade was a PS5 exclusive from 2024 that transitioned to PC in June this year. As a result, the Sony game rose from No.185 in May to No.5 in June in the US charts.

"We've been seeing this now for about a year or so," Piscatella said. "Every month you're seeing a game pop up that's been gone for a while. And you're like, how did that happen? Well it came out on another platform.

"People who buy a hardware system these days, they're doing it because of the ecosystem, because of their friends list. You're not going to get people to transition consoles because of exclusives anymore. We're way beyond that point.

"People are entrenched into their systems. And bringing the content to them is the only way to win. And that is what everyone is doing, except for Nintendo they tend to do their own thing. Even they could benefit from it, but of course they won't, that's not their MO."
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Although Nintendo sticks with exclusives, it's worth noting that The Pokémon Company is increasingly releasing its games across mobile and Switch platforms, including the upcoming Pokémon Champions and the newly released Pokémon Friends.

Piscatella believes that in a market as competitive as this one, going to where players are is proving essential.
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"In the US at least, the Top Ten live service games suck up half of all gaming time every month, and every other game has got to fight for the remainder. So, bringing that content to where people are is the only way you're going to be able to win in an environment like we're looking at right now.

"Forza being this strong… that's great. That really bodes well for its next iteration, if they come out day one across systems. Every game finding its way to more stores and ecosystems… that is how you're going to survive and win."

Xbox is expected to announce more game ports to other platforms, including Nintendo Switch 2 and PS5, in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, PlayStation is bringing its hit shooter Helldivers 2 to Xbox in August.
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And then there's Nintendo who makes it clear their games are exclusive to only one platform and they benefit from it.

As someone who owns a PC and PS5 alongside my Switch 2, Sony should be treating PC as their competition and consolidating everything back onto their own consoles.
 
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Scrawnton said:
And then there's Nintendo who makes it clear their games are exclusive to only one platform and they benefit from it.

As someone who owns a PC and PS5 alongside my Switch 2, Sony should be treating PC as their competition and consolidating everything back onto their own consoles.
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But why? If the ports to PC run better, and they should if utilising the hardware properly. As a PC owner, why would you not be able to use the hardware you've purchased to make your games you want to play run better?

Sony have already made this decision, they shouldnt pull back on it now.
 
Scrawnton said:
And then there's Nintendo who makes it clear their games are exclusive to only one platform and they benefit from it.

As someone who owns a PC and PS5 alongside my Switch 2, Sony should be treating PC as their competition and consolidating everything back onto their own consoles.
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While I agree with this from Sony's perspective, as they need a reason for people to join their ecosystem, exclusives are bad for gamers. If Sony went fully multiplatform, it would instantly be beneficial to their studios. Sales revenue would be substantially more, which would allow for bigger budgets and potentially more innovation. But Sony and Nintendo need to sell their consoles or they are screwed. They depend on their stores to generate the vast majority of their revenue
 
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drganon said:
Win what? Xbox's sales have cratered. Meanwhile Nintendo is doing gangbusters.
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Poor xbox salesmen, they don't know wich way to go anymore. The instructions are unclear.

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It's working for Microsoft because no one wants to buy their console and the few who own their console have been trained to buy games.

See how the Switch 1 and 2 continue to sell like hotcakes with exclusive games.

Sony can either try and be like Nintendo or Microsoft. Of course, it's a bit different as with Xbox dead, the PlayStation platform is the only viable console that plays AAA third party games at release.
 
coachmcguirk91 said:
While I agree with this from Sony's perspective, as they need a reason for people to join their ecosystem, exclusives are bad for gamers. If Sony went fully multiplatform, it would instantly be beneficial to their studios. Sales revenue would be substantially more, which would allow for bigger budgets and potentially more innovation. But Sony and Nintendo need to sell their consoles or they are screwed. They depend on their stores to generate the vast majority of their revenue
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How are exclusives bad for gamers? Exclusives have typically made full use of the hardware they are being developed on and fully showcase the hardware.
 
coachmcguirk91 said:
While I agree with this from Sony's perspective, as they need a reason for people to join their ecosystem, exclusives are bad for gamers. If Sony went fully multiplatform, it would instantly be beneficial to their studios. Sales revenue would be substantially more, which would allow for bigger budgets and potentially more innovation. But Sony and Nintendo need to sell their consoles or they are screwed. They depend on their stores to generate the vast majority of their revenue
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Exactly this!

TheMule1983 said:
How are exclusives bad for gamers? Exclusives have typically made full use of the hardware they are being developed on and fully showcase the hardware.
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Since when, on Playstation or XBox?
 
Totoki/Nishino's point of view seems different than the previous SIE under Jim Ryan.

They have stated that they would think their platform strategy onwards hinting to keep exclusivity closer to the PS consoles.

We'll see how it goes.
 
The problem with these claims is that they often treat an isolated case as absolute truth. It's possible to succeed with a multiplatform strategy. It's possible to succeed with a strategy focused on exclusives. There is no superior strategy — it all depends on context.

Microsoft is finding success with a multiplatform strategy, and that's the natural path for them, given they haven't managed to launch a globally successful console.

Nintendo is succeeding with a strategy centered on exclusives. The brand is stronger than ever, and the Switch is positioned in a market where it effectively has no competition.

Sony is succeeding with a mixed strategy, focusing on select exclusives while expanding its titles to new audiences without compromising its installed base.

In the end, everyone is finding a way to win — in their own way, in the way that makes sense within their context.
 
SomeNorseGuy said:
Yeah, he does seems a bit overexcited. I for one sure as hell will get a Switch² for exclusives down the line.
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Me too (I already have one) but I think he's talking about the market at large especially the more core gamer market who buys a PS5 for Warzone, Apex or FIFA, NBA, NFL etc and who won't buy a Switch 2 for its exclusive games but would absolutely buy the latest Mario Kart and Smash were they on say a PS5 where their digital library and friends already are.

Nintendo are a one off case a bit like Disney in terms of the strength of their IP. They're doing great by doing what they always have. Appealing to a huge mass market of kids, families and older enthusiast customers which will now feed into theme parks and movies. It's a winning formula so they will not change any time soon.
 
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Once your game goes big, like Forza Horizon 5, Mario Kart and even Helldivers 2.

Exclusivity is simply hindering them, while offering a small help to platform sales.

It needs to be on case to case basis. Release games that make more sense as multiplatform everywhere.
 
Chris Dring isn't doing a very good job here. If you are going to quote someone then it should really be what was said exactly.

"In the US at least, the Top Ten live service games suck up half of all gaming time every month, and every other game has got to fight for the remainder. So, bringing that content to where people are is the only way you're going to be able to win in an environment like we're looking at right now."

Of course, Piscatella doesn't define what he means by "win". Win what?
 
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Yet again... stupid person takes Microsoft's unique situation that is a result of their own horrible decisions and tries to act like it is universal for everybody. Nobody claimed on Xbox 360 that Microsoft should port Halo 3 to PS3. Well, port beggars did and they were just sad.

But why is this, because Halo 3 was on a platform that MS built that was valuable and MS made it valuable by putting games like Halo 3 on it. Putting Halo 3 on PS3 devalues the platform. But that is what MS did, they torched their platform and now have no choice but to move the games to other platforms. It doesn't mean everyone should do this.
 
I wholeheartedly disagree.
This is something the losing competition would say and the reason they are in the predicament they are in today- well part of the bigger problem anyway. If you are in the business of selling hardware, you need things you cant find anywhere or atleast for an extended period of time. Porting games late in their cycle for a quick last minute buck is very different to day one on other consoles or "free" on Gamepass.
 
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coachmcguirk91 said:
While I agree with this from Sony's perspective, as they need a reason for people to join their ecosystem, exclusives are bad for gamers. If Sony went fully multiplatform, it would instantly be beneficial to their studios. Sales revenue would be substantially more, which would allow for bigger budgets and potentially more innovation. But Sony and Nintendo need to sell their consoles or they are screwed. They depend on their stores to generate the vast majority of their revenue
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Sony's bread and butter comes from third party sales and micro-transactions. By putting all their games on PC day and date, you start losing some of the crowd who buys for first party and stuff like fifa and cod. If Sony loses those players and their money, they take a huge hit on revenue and each first party game selling 2mil on PC isn't gonna make up for that.
 
vaibhavpisal said:
Once your game goes big, like Forza Horizon 5, Mario Kart and even Helldivers 2.

Exclusivity is simply hindering them, while offering a small help to platform sales.

It needs to be on case to case basis. Release games that make more sense as multiplatform everywhere.
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Mario Kart is bigger than the other two combined, while being exclusive?
 
coachmcguirk91 said:
While I agree with this from Sony's perspective, as they need a reason for people to join their ecosystem, exclusives are bad for gamers. If Sony went fully multiplatform, it would instantly be beneficial to their studios. Sales revenue would be substantially more, which would allow for bigger budgets and potentially more innovation. But Sony and Nintendo need to sell their consoles or they are screwed. They depend on their stores to generate the vast majority of their revenue
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The Sony fanboy paradox. "Consoles and PC's are different markets" "playstation is the best, PC is too hard I want plug and play" "dont port the games to PC, it'll make Playstation devalued and dead". Lol
 
diffusionx said:
Yet again... stupid person takes Microsoft's unique situation that is a result of their own horrible decisions and tries to act like it is universal for everybody. Nobody claimed on Xbox 360 that Microsoft should port Halo 3 to PS3. Well, port beggars did and they were just sad.

But why is this, because Halo 3 was on a platform that MS built that was valuable and MS made it valuable by putting games like Halo 3 on it. Putting Halo 3 on PS3 devalues the platform. But that is what MS did, they torched their platform and now have no choice but to move the games to other platforms. It doesn't mean everyone should do this.
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The game market has matured since 7th gen.
 
DenchDeckard said:
What do consoles game do that innovates vs multiplatform games? the touchpad is literally a button and all games work fine on every platform from Playstation. Xbox just uses a standard controller.

I'm just trying to see what Im missing here??
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While I too would prefer games being made multiplatform where possible, what T TheMule1983 isn't wrong. The appeal of consoles was the fixed hardware that companies could then design their games around, with a degree of low level optimization (including and up to "to the metal"/assembly coding!) that was not possible for PC games. That was how and why we got consoles punching above their weight, with games such as Metal Gear Solid 4 back in the day. Today, we no longer get exclusives that are tailored to the specific hardware they are targeting, except for with Nintendo (Tears of the Kingdom was the last major such exclusive). Microsoft's developers have all integrated PC into their pipelines, meaning variable hardware and scalability is part of the project scope from the get go, and even if they had not, they would have to accommodate Series S and Series X. Similarly, Sony is increasingly developing games with the awareness that they will eventually be released on PC, so they no longer leverage the unique hardware in the PS5 (such as the at the time cutting edge SSD which was beyond anything most high end gaming PC builds would have had) – but if Sony was still developing exclusives, they very much would be.

I also want to point out that developing for one fixed hardware configuration has one other benefit that often gets overlooked, and that is the level of polish that that can allow for. The more variable hardware you have to accommodate, the more potential for issues and errors arise, and we often see multiplatform games with less polish than exclusives because of this.

While I do want multiplatform games, pretending that there are no merits (and I haven't even listed all of them yet!) to exclusives would be dishonest (not necessarily saying you are doing this).
 
Xbox 360 slim said:
Nintendo has an endless supply of nostalgic adults and kids who love mario.
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And what this have to do with porting to any plataform?

The way I see, is just a bunch of salty port begging wanting Nintendo games into their plataforms.

Let me tell you, not gonna happen.
 
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corgiix3 said:
Yet all the playstation 5 sequels are selling less.... probably cause now alot of people assume they can just wait for the port
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Which games?

  • Marvel's Spider-Man sold 13.2 million units in 11 months.
  • Marvel's Spider-Man 2 sold 11 million units in 6 months.
  • God of War (2018) sold 10 million units in its first year.
  • God of War Ragnarök sold 11 million units in just 3 months.
  • Horizon Zero Dawn sold 7.6 million units in its first year.
  • Horizon Forbidden West sold 8.4 million units in its first year.
 
DenchDeckard said:
But why? If the ports to PC run better, and they should if utilising the hardware properly. As a PC owner, why would you not be able to use the hardware you've purchased to make your games you want to play run better?

Sony have already made this decision, they shouldnt pull back on it now.
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Yes, they should. They don't sell PCs.
 
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