PlayStation Classic Struggles on Steam Despite Positive Reviews

In the ongoing console wars between Sony and Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony has continued to maintain its dominance. Both companies offer similar hardware, and games, and attract a similar customer base. Recently, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard, adding to its gaming arsenal and bolstering its position in the console market, particularly with the popular game franchise Call of Duty. This development has increased the pressure on Sony, as Microsoft has traditionally been stronger in the PC gaming space. Sony has faced challenges in gaining significant success in the PC gaming market, as evidenced by the release of Rift Apart. However, the Ratchet & Clank franchise has been a key success for Sony over the years, with the latest PlayStation 5 release receiving critical acclaim and achieving impressive success.

However, it now appears that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is unable to translate its success on PS5 to Steam. The release of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on Steam has raised questions about Sony’s PC port strategy. Despite receiving strong reviews, the game has failed to gain decent traction on the platform. On July 26th, the game officially hit Steam but according to Dexerto, it managed to peak at only 8757 active gamers. According to Crast, the game has a very strong positive review of 84% based on 670 user reviews. However, it appears that this is not enough to convince PC gamers to try it out.

Sony PS top games on Steam

The numbers on Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on Steam is quite poor compared to some of the top games that the company has released on Steam. Check out the list below from PlayStation Studios featuring the games with the highest number of players on Steam at once.

• God of War – 73,529K
• Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered – 66,436K
• Horizon Zero Dawn – 56,557K
• The Last of Us Part I – 36,496K
• Days Gone – 27,450K

The number of active users for the above games far exceeds 9000. Thus, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart which currently has only around 9000 active users, is relatively low. Nevertheless, this is not the first time Sony has struggled to gain success for its PC games. According to Sirus Gaming, the PlayStation Classic, a mini console that features 20 pre-loaded games, was also released on Steam but failed to gain significant traction.

Gizchina News of the week

According to The Verge and Game Rant, there were high expectations for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on Steam due to its success on PlayStation and its critical acclaim. The game was also Steam Deck verified, which means it was expected to run well on the upcoming handheld device. However, the game has struggled to attract a large audience on its recent PC release. Because of its very high success on PlayStation, the low number of active gamers on PC is quite disappointing.

Possible Reasons for the Flop

Even Sony’s most active players don’t rank in the top 100 on Steam, where the 100th-ranked game ‘Tom Clancy’s The Division has an all-time peak of 114,228 according to SteamDB. Speculation regarding PlayStation’s shortcomings has mainly revolved around the poor transfer of console games to PC. However, early reviews for the PlayStation Classic, Ratchet and Clank suggest otherwise, with players praising its gameplay. The recent low sales figures indicate that Sony’s strategy may be targeting new customers who are not familiar with PlayStation’s popular games. As a leading console and game developer, Sony may need to reconsider its approach to PC releases if they want to continue bringing their exclusive titles to the platform.

There are several possible reasons why Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart has failed to gain traction on Steam despite strong reviews. Here are some that we can think of

Late Release

One possible reason is the late release of the game on PC. The game was released on PlayStation on June 11, 2021. This means that it is taking just over two years for the company to release the same game on PC. This delay may have caused some PC gamers to lose interest in the game. This is likely because the game is already available on another platform.

Competition

Another reason could be the competition on Steam. The PC gaming market is highly competitive, and there are many other games available on the platform. This means that even a highly-rated game like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart may struggle to gain traction if it is released alongside other popular titles.

Lack of Marketing

Sony’s lack of marketing for the PC release of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart may also be a contributing factor. The company did not promote the game heavily on Steam or other platforms, which may have resulted in low visibility for the game.

Console Exclusivity

Finally, the fact that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was originally a console exclusive may have also contributed to its poor performance on Steam. PC gamers may have been hesitant to purchase a game that was not originally designed for their platform.

Conclusion

The poor performance of Playstation Classic, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on Steam despite strong reviews raises questions about Sony’s PC port strategy. While the company has had success with some of its PC releases, it seems to be struggling to gain traction with others. Sony may need to re-evaluate its approach to PC gaming if it wants to succeed in this highly competitive market. If Sony really needs PC gamers, then it should consider the timing of the release of its games on PC. The company also have to market the games, perhaps more than it does on PlayStation where it already has a grip on the market.

Author Bio

Efe Udin is a seasoned tech writer with over seven years of experience covering a wide range of topics in the tech industry. From mobile phones to tablets, Efe has kept a keen eye on the latest advancements and trends, providing insightful analysis and reviews to inform and educate readers.

Sumber =”https://www.gizchina.com/2023/08/01/playstation-classic-struggles-on-steam-despite-positive-reviews/”

Location:

Berbagi :