Summary
PlayStationisn’t really in fans' good books at the moment. WhileXbox Game Pass continues to knock it out of the parkwith titles likeStarfield,Lies of P, andTexas Chain Saw Massacre, PlayStation is starting to flail a little, recently announcing a huge price hike for all of its PlayStation Plus tiers which has, naturally, sparked a pretty big backlash from fans. PlayStation needs a big win right now, and the only way to do that is by hosting another large-scale PlayStation Showcase.
While fans are incredibly excited forthe upcomingMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, that title alone isn’t going to be enough to convince PlayStation fans to stick around for the long haul. PlayStation - more than it has for a long time - really needs to come out of the gate swinging with a slate of top-notch first-party exclusives, and that puts quite the pressure on the next PlayStation Showcase.
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For the last few years, PlayStation has been unrivaled when it comes to stellar showcases. WhileNintendo Directsoften have one or two exciting announcements, they also tend to have a lot of filler that doesn’t appeal to the vast majority of fans watching, and while Xbox’s showcases are paced really well, they don’t always have the biggest reveals. For a while now, PlayStation has struck the perfect balance, delivering a showcase packed with all-killer, no-filler reveals, all presented in quick succession. But PlayStation’s streak has ended.
Back in May,PlayStationhosted its annual Summer showcase, and the hype behind this one was greater than ever. Aside fromSpider-Man 2, fans had no idea what to expect from PlayStation over the next 12 months, and that was incredibly exciting. Unfortunately, fans were left pretty disappointed with the showcase, still not really having any clue about PlayStation’s upcoming first-party slate aside from a handful of live-service multiplayer titles that are already proving to be divisive among fans. Though it was a fine event overall, May’s PlayStation Showcase had so much fan hype going into it, and it failed to deliver on those expectations by quite a wide margin.
PlayStation’s Release Calendar Is Still Looking a Little Bare
Almost four months later, and fans still don’t really know what PlayStation has on the horizon. Again,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2is one of the most anticipated releases of the year, but beyond that, PlayStation fans don’t know what to expect.The Last of Usmultiplayer has reportedly been put on ice,Marathon,Concord, andFairgamesare probably all still a ways off, andMarvel’s Wolverinehasn’t received any new information for quite some time now. There are currently no PlayStation first-party exclusives with confirmed release dates, and that doesn’t give fans much to look forward to.
The next PlayStation Showcase - or alternativelya smaller State of Play- now has a great deal of pressure on its shoulders already. Fans will now be paying very close attention to whatever Sony event is up next, and they will be expecting some pretty major announcements about what they can expect to play in 2024. It isn’t a competition, but Xbox already has quite a strong 2024 line-up ready to go, and in comparison, PlayStation’s slate is looking a little weak. PlayStation has always set itself apart by having some of the best first-party exclusives out there, and it simply can’t afford to lose that reputation. It’s a tough task, but the nextPlayStationShowcase definitely needs to bring the big guns.
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