17% of all PS4/PS5 games sold in the last year were First Party

nib95 · Apr 28, 2021

Of all the information following Sony's sales data drop, this tweet from Zhuge is one of the ones I found most enlightening.

Given these systems library's are overwhelmingly compromised of third party titles (of the 3,186 PS4 games listed on Wiki, only 58 are Sony published (meaning 1.8% of games released on the system were first party), I think this statistic really highlights how consumers are most likely increasingly investing in PlayStation systems for the first party content/software.

In other words, compounding the notion that exclusives really do (increasingly) matter, and that it's not just multiplatform titles like COD and FIFA that consumers care about (a common argument I see brought on up on this forum regarding PlayStation systems).

TheHunter · Apr 28, 2021

Well yeah.

Why do you think MS just snatched up Zenimax?

Mister_X · Apr 28, 2021

Exclusives have and will always matter.

Jarod McChicken · Apr 28, 2021

Also important point : they expect the sales of first party games to grow this fiscal year.

Needless to say that Returnal and Ratchet & Clank will be followed by a couple of other big exclusives hits before March 2022.

vivftp · Apr 28, 2021

Sony's first party are on fire and show no sign of slowing down given the titles we already know are coming and whatever else may be waiting to be revealed.

From the news today it's good to hear that they plan to aggressively invest in their first party even more.

Thiago · Apr 28, 2021

And they expect it to increase for FY2021.

I'm really looking forward to their June event!

Deleted member 36578 · Apr 28, 2021

Makes sense to me. Exclusive games keep me buying every console.

DieH@rd · Apr 28, 2021

TLOU2 and Ghost of Tsushima did the heavy lifting in 2020, with Demons Souls and Miles giving a bump at the end of the year.

This year they would need to have at least Horizon2 or GoW2 to surpass last year. Hopefully they will confirm what will actually come out in 2020 by the summer.

PandemicOdin · Apr 28, 2021

Jarod McChicken said:
Also important point : they expect the sales of first party games to grow this fiscal year.

Needless to say that Returnal and Ratchet & Clank will be followed by a couple of other big exclusives hits before March 2022.

This is really interesting to me because last year they released Miles, TLoUP2, Ghost of Tsushima, Sackboy, Demon Souls, etc. All (Not Demon Souls) of those games go to a bigger player base (PS4), and among Sony's biggest hitters. Even if Returnal/Ratchet have a decent attach rate, there are only 7.8M PS5s in the wild. HFW will launch late this year, Miles will have legs, GoW maybe early next year, all of that can't be enough to top last year so I am really intrigued to see what else they have up their sleeve

PintSizedSlasher · Apr 28, 2021

Only 17%? People really are sick of these 3rd person Dad simulators huh?

/s

PianoBlack · Apr 28, 2021

58 million first party sales on an install base of 120 million PS4s is lower than I would have guessed. Don't they have like 3 or 4 different 15+ million sellers? Lmk if I misread the data.

Since a lot of people have bought more than one, it seems clear the majority of PS owners never buy a single first party game despite the hype/accolades.

Morrowbie · Apr 28, 2021

Factions? (help increase 1st party sales next FY)

nib95 · Apr 28, 2021

Thiago said:
And they expect it to increase for FY2021.

I'm really looking forward to their June event!

That's really interesting given they've had such massive tentpole first party releases last year. I guess they're expecting Horizon Forbidden West and Ratchet to do big numbers, and the existing first party library to continue to sell really well.

tophu · Apr 28, 2021

DieH@rd said:
TLOU2 and Ghost of Tsushima did the heavy lifting in 2020, with Demons Souls and Miles giving a bump at the end of the year.

This year they would need to have at least Horizon2 or GoW2 to surpass last year. Hopefully they will confirm what will actually come out in 2020 by the summer.

their FY's end in March so Miles did most of the heavy lifting judging by the recent thread of it outselling both.

GoW2 should hit before March next year unless covid completely wrecked their 2021 release plans but we'll see.

Deleted member 68874 · Apr 28, 2021

Who the heck is saying exclusives dont matter?

Basically every from of media is having content wars at this time.

Rosebud · Apr 28, 2021

PianoBlack said:
58 million first party sales on an install base of 120 million PS4s is lower than I would have guessed. Don't they have like 3 or 4 different 15+ million sellers? Lmk if I misread the data.

Since a lot of people have bought more than one, it seems clear the majority of PS owners never buy a single first party game despite the hype/accolades.

This is just in one year

Aliand · Apr 28, 2021

Well deserved.
They have been steadily providing solid output and it pays off.

nujabeans · Apr 28, 2021

PianoBlack said:
58 million first party sales on an install base of 120 million PS4s is lower than I would have guessed. Don't they have like 3 or 4 different 15+ million sellers? Lmk if I misread the data.

Since a lot of people have bought more than one, it seems clear the majority of PS owners never buy a single first party game despite the hype/accolades.

58 million only in fiscal year 2020, not the entire generation.

nib95 · Apr 28, 2021

Shellshock said:
Who the heck is saying exclusives dont matter?

Basically every from of media is having content wars at this time.

You'd be surprised at the number of times numerous posters have told me exactly that over the years, including fairly recently lol.

A common retort to speaking on the importance of exclusives is that casuals really only care about multiplatform games like COD or FIFA, but that clearly is not the case based on factual statistical data.

Bundy · Apr 28, 2021

PianoBlack said:
58 million first party sales on an install base of 120 million PS4s is lower than I would have guessed. Don't they have like 3 or 4 different 15+ million sellers? Lmk if I misread the data.

Since a lot of people have bought more than one, it seems clear the majority of PS owners never buy a single first party game despite the hype/accolades.

lol....

slider · Apr 28, 2021

That digital ratio is interesting. I always feel really lazy and entitled when I think it's a drag to pop Miles Morales in (the only non-digital game I have for the new systems).

But it seems a significant proportion of people are going with the digital route. Of course, there's more to understand there but for now that's my takeaway.

Crayon · Apr 28, 2021

That is pretty high. I guess about a fifth of my ps4 games are sony games, tho.

nib95 · Apr 28, 2021

slider said:
That digital ratio is interesting. I always feel really lazy and entitled when I think it's a drag to pop Miles Morales in (the only non-digital game I have for the new systems).

But it seems a significant proportion of people are going with the digital route. Of course, there's more to understand there but for now that's my takeaway.

Yeap. I wonder if there's any change to that once lockdowns end and things go back to normality following Covid, or if these sorts of percentages are now here to stay or continually increase.

dom · Apr 28, 2021

Thiago said:
And they expect it to increase for FY2021.

I'm really looking forward to their June event!

This doesn't technically mean they expect to sell more software. Their software for the most part cost $70 now. 17% more than it did for PS4. They can end up with more revenue with less software sold.

Xando · Apr 28, 2021

I mean they released TLOU2, Ghost and a new Spider-Man in the last year. If those didn't sell well might aswell close shop

VermillionA · Apr 28, 2021

PandemicOdin said:
This is really interesting to me because last year they released Miles, TLoUP2, Ghost of Tsushima, Sackboy, Demon Souls, etc. All (Not Demon Souls) of those games go to a bigger player base (PS4), and among Sony's biggest hitters. Even if Returnal/Ratchet have a decent attach rate, there are only 7.8M PS5s in the wild. HFW will launch late this year, Miles will have legs, GoW maybe early next year, all of that can't be enough to top last year so I am really intrigued to see what else they have up their sleeve

Don't forget they said they'll be releasing a slate of games on PC. This would be factoring in the sales of those as well.

behOemoth · Apr 28, 2021

nib95 said:
of the 3,186 PS4 games listed on Wiki, only 28 are Sony published

That sounds way too low. Sony is publishing a ton of games for independent studios or even studios from other publishers.

Deleted member 68874 · Apr 28, 2021

nib95 said:
You'd be surprised at the number of times numerous posters have told me exactly that over the years lol.

A common retort to the speaking on the importance of exclusives is that casuals really only care about multiplatform games like COD or FIFA, but that clearly is no longer the case from the perspective of factual statistical data.

People sure are silly.

Are CoD and FIFA vital games? Yes of course, but you can buy those on PC, Xbox and PS. Exclusives and friends are probably the 2 biggest reasons as to why people choose where to play.

I think every single one of my PS4 games is an exclusive.

jaymzi · Apr 28, 2021

I mean are there still people that deny the importance of exclusives?

FIREKNIGHT2029 · Apr 28, 2021

Makes sense. People love good exclusives. It's always been this way with gaming, and with Sony's increased commitment to making more world class exclusives this number will continue to grow.

I only see naive or silly people denying the importance of exclusives. Neither Sony nor Nintendo would be where they are now without exclusives and MS also realizes the importance of exclusives that's why they are investing heavily in their first party.

GhostTrick · Apr 28, 2021

FIREKNIGHT2029 said:
Makes sense. People love good exclusives. It's always been this way with gaming, and with Sony's increased commitment to making more world class exclusives this number will continue to grow.

I only see naive or silly people denying the importance of exclusives. Neither Sony nor Nintendo would be where they are now without exclusives and MS also realizes the importance of exclusives that's why they are investing heavily in their first party.

People didn't buy those games because they are exclusives though. But because they're high profile AAA releases. Hence why we're hearing words about Sony moving even more toward that cinematic 3rd person AAA release model, because it's really popular.

FIREKNIGHT2029 · Apr 28, 2021

GhostTrick said:
People didn't buy those games because they are exclusives though. But because they're high profile AAA releases. Hence why we're hearing words about Sony moving even more toward that cinematic 3rd person AAA release model, because it's really popular.

Like I said in my OP "good exclusives" meaning high quality exclusives (that could read to mean any type of desired exclusive from AAA to critically acclaimed or BOTH)

nib95 · Apr 28, 2021

GhostTrick said:
People didn't buy those games because they are exclusives though. But because they're high profile AAA releases. Hence why we're hearing words about Sony moving even more toward that cinematic 3rd person AAA release model, because it's really popular.

I appreciate that is likely a big part of it, but I also do believe simply being Sony exclusive (along with the marketing that comes with it) plays a role too. I think a lot of consumers these days from a mindshare perspective, potentially link Sony first party with a certain level of quality, experience or polish, and thus are more likely to invest in their big AAA exclusives.

I also believe this is one of the reasons Marvel approached Sony regarding an exclusive IP, presumably wanting one of their major IP to become a part of that Sony AAA marquee.

JigglesBunny · Apr 28, 2021

DieH@rd said:
TLOU2 and Ghost of Tsushima did the heavy lifting in 2020, with Demons Souls and Miles giving a bump at the end of the year.

This year they would need to have at least Horizon2 or GoW2 to surpass last year. Hopefully they will confirm what will actually come out in 2020 by the summer.

They have Returnal and Ratchet & Clank coming down the pipe, the latter of which seems to be generating lots of attention from a wider audience than usual for Ratchet titles. If a PS5 version of The Last of Us 2 dropped alongside the new Factions mode, they'd have last year's numbers topped. Hell, that's not even taking some other titles into account that may or may not drop this year.

In any event, this is great news for Sony. Their titles continue to set benchmarks for quality and the sales and critical reception show that audiences are responding.

Bigjig · Apr 28, 2021

I would've thought Nintendo's continued existence is counter argument enough against the "exclusives don't matter" line of thought

Simba1 · Apr 28, 2021

FIREKNIGHT2029 said:
I only see naive or silly people denying the importance of exclusives. Neither Sony nor Nintendo would be where they are now without exclusives and MS also realizes the importance of exclusives that's why they are investing heavily in their first party.

Exclusives are important, but there is big difference betwine Sony and Nintendo in that matter.
Sony consoles would be still selling very well even without strong exclusives, for instance PS4 was selling great right from start even it start getting strong exclusives only around 2 years after PS4 launch, also PS console always have plenty of multiplatform games among its best selling games.
On other hand Nintendo consoles wouldn't sell at all without exclusives, I mean look at any list of best selling Nintendo hardware and you will see that top 10 best selling games are always exclusives.

FIREKNIGHT2029 · Apr 28, 2021

Simba1 said:
Exclusives are important, but there is big difference betwine Sony and Nintendo in that matter.
Sony consoles would be still selling great even without strong exclusives, for instance PS4 was selling great right from start even it start getting strong exclusives only around 2 years after PS4 launch, also PS console always have plenty of mulitplatform games among its best selling games.
On other hand Nintendo consoles wouldn't sell at all without exclusives, I mean look at any list of best selling Nintendo hardware and you will see that top 10 best selling games are always exclusives.

I agree the importance of exclusives varies between both companies. Exclusives are clearly more important to Nintendo but even with all that they are also still very important to Sony as well. A large part of Sony's success last gen was built on the back of their first party studios. Yea people spend a lot of money on multiplats on Playstation which makes up a huge portion of their sales but their exclusives still make their consoles very desirable as well.

People enjoy both multiplats and exclusives on Playstation consoles that's why they are in such a dominant position. Without exclusives, PS consoles would still sell but I doubt they would be as dominant as they are right now without games like Uncharted, GOW, TLOU, Spiderman, etc.

The Praiseworthy · Apr 28, 2021

Well, this what makes certain console shine more than the other... it's exclusives and Sony has been killing with it since mid PS3 generation.

I want more or at less same high levels of the ones we got in the 2010s.

Decarb · Apr 28, 2021

Shellshock said:
Who the heck is saying exclusives dont matter?

Basically every from of media is having content wars at this time.

There was a short but bizarre period last year when some people were like cross-gen doesn't hold back next-gen and exclusives are anti-consumer. I'm glad that discussion is over.

Alex840 · Apr 28, 2021

1 in 6 games. I think that's about what I would have expected.

I'd be interested to see what Nintendo's % is like as so many people buy their systems for first party, but end up buying loads in of indies too.

Delusibeta · Apr 28, 2021

Alex840 said:
1 in 6 games. I think that's about what I would have expected.

I'd be interested to see what Nintendo's % is like as so many people buy their systems for first party, but end up buying loads in of indies too.

I think a large part of the reason why there's a perception that non-AAA games sell better on Switch compared to PlayStation is that there's way fewer third party AAA games on Switch. It's basically Nintendo's first party titles and, what, Monster Hunter Rise? Meanwhile, PlayStation gets basically every other major game from basically every developer not owned by Microsoft (or Nintendo), and so they'll command a larger proportion of revenue from the PS userbase.

PianoBlack · Apr 28, 2021

Rosebud said:
This is just in one year

nujabeans said:
58 million only in fiscal year 2020, not the entire generation.

Derp I misread then, thanks!

Bundy said:
lol....

See above for an example of useful replies :)

fourfourfun · Apr 28, 2021

nib95 said:
You'd be surprised at the number of times numerous posters have told me exactly that over the years, including fairly recently lol.

It was a fairly common comment around the mid to end 360 cycle, when Microsoft decided to stop making games and rest on being the multiplatform console of choice. That worked out well for them.

They're currently in the recovery phase strategy that the PS3 went through.

Pryme · Apr 28, 2021

Decarb said:
There was a short but bizarre period last year when some people were like cross-gen doesn't hold back next-gen and exclusives are anti-consumer. I'm glad that discussion is over.

Anyone saying exclusives are anti-consumer is weird. They're very important not just for sales, but the narrative around a console. Everyone I know who's waiting for a PS5 is In that camp on the strength of games like GoW, Horizon and TLOU2.

I still maintain that cross-gen doesn't necessarily have to hold back next gen. We've seen studios manage last gen releases in the past in ways that haven't hampered current gen development.

Alex840 · Apr 28, 2021

Delusibeta said:
I think a large part of the reason why there's a perception that non-AAA games sell better on Switch compared to PlayStation is that there's way fewer third party AAA games on Switch. It's basically Nintendo's first party titles and, what, Monster Hunter Rise? Meanwhile, PlayStation gets basically every other major game from basically every developer not owned by Microsoft (or Nintendo), and so they'll command a larger proportion of revenue from the PS userbase.

Yeah for a lot of people Switch is their 2nd console. It's such a great complementary system to a PlayStation/Xbox/PC.

Hrodulf · Apr 28, 2021

PlayStation has always been synonymous with "third-party" for me (and still is, which is why I don't own a PS4 anymore or intend to buy a PS5), but it's very clear that their first-party titles are well-regarded by the mass market and they're smart to capitalize on that as the days of third-party exclusives are largely over.

Soap · Apr 28, 2021

Time was that console infrastructure was so different that you could see a wide gap in third party content, but these days the power gap is so close that the only differing factor between Xbox and PlayStation is exclusives.

Ricky_R · Apr 28, 2021

Sony has done incredibly well cultivating their current FP studios to what they have become today.

janusff · Apr 28, 2021

... 58 million first party software sales in 2020 alone? Fuck me that's huge.

Logan Hardy · Apr 28, 2021

How much of that is last of us though Sony?

17% of all PS4/PS5 games sold in the last year were First Party

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