PlayStation's focus on megahit franchises doesn't bode well for its longevity

This story about relying too much on the past, boiled down, in 1:39 minutes.

What's the fuss?

It's understandable that media companies focus on their biggest franchises in order to rake in surefire cash, but that comes at the cost of reduced creativity and the risk of boring your audience by restricting choice.

The situation

If PlayStation was a museum, it would be comparable to the Louvre in Paris or the MoMA in New York - the video games giant has such a storied catalogue that has been engrained in our cultural fabric. Megahits such as The Last of Us, Gran Turismo, and God of War are large reasons why gamers keep coming back to PlayStation, much like how art nerds keep coming back to the Louvre for the Mona Lisa.

Sony wants to keep gamers hooked inside the PlayStation museum by focusing on exclusive blockbusters. This means that more resources are being assigned to Sony's larger studios that are largely responsible for creating remasters and sequels for these tried-and-true franchises. Reportedly, the company has communicated to its smaller developers it has no interest in helping produce these smaller indie hits, leading to many employees packing it in.

Boiling it down

Game developers are artists. By restricting their freedoms, the unrest that follows won't bode well internally. This has been evidenced by high turnover for these smaller teams which may get more serious if Sony stays true to this path.

Blockbuster IPs aren't born overnight. Often times, it's the first game that does something new, but it's when that idea gets polished and refined in future games that the IP really blows up. If Sony doesn't give these games the time to incubate, how many promising new franchises will be cut short? History is important, but it's in the future that ensures longevity.

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