PlayStation Exec Says 2015 Wasn't a Great Year for First Party Games

At the PlayStation 20th anniversary event in Sydney, Australia, Michael Ephraim, Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia spoke to GameSpot about how Sony has mainly been focusing on third-party partnerships for the PlayStation 4 throughout 2015.

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“Games that have been released this year, from Destiny, Call of Duty, Star Wars — most of them we have a collaboration with for additional content if you play on PlayStation 4, so we’re pretty confident with the way Christmas is going. The demand is strong.” Ephraim said.

He added: “We have worked very closely with third parties this year because our first party lineup was not as a strong as we would have liked.”

The PlayStation 4 did have some exclusive games this year. Bloodborne was a huge hit whilst The Order: 1886 and Until Dawn weren’t quite as popular. The PlayStation’s main rival, the Xbox One has certainly had a great year for exclusives with titles such as Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rare Replay, and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.

However, Ephraim was very optimistic about 2016, saying: “Next year, our first party lineup looks incredible. You’ve got Street Fighter, Uncharted 4, No Man’s Sky, The Last Guardian, Gran Turismo. These are all exclusives, and two of them are new franchises.”

There have also been rumours that Sony will launch VR next year, though Ephraim was hesitant to give solid details.

“We’re still in the planning stages of PlayStation VR, and clearly based on the responses we’re getting so far: it’s very solid. But our core business right now is PlayStation 4 and the offerings we have on there. Disc, digital, downloadable season passes, and endless entertainment. So, it’ll be another component.”

“In 12 months time, PlayStation 4 is still the primary business because it’s the foundational device. PlayStation 4 will still be our primary objective to grow the install base. PlayStation VR is new, everyone wants it, there are a lot of publishers developing for it. But whether it’s going to just go completely nuts early, or if it’s a slow build, time will tell.”

It looks like 2016 is going to be a really interesting year for Sony.