Sony's studios continue their winning streak
The success of the PS4's excellent first-party experiences belie the commercial challenges single-player titles still face
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"Sony's big games are tied together by a single clear thread: they are extremely polished, expensively developed titles that stick to a concept of the single-player experience with something that borders on ideological purity. They're straight down the line traditional console titles. They might almost be crafted as a direct answer to consumers who complain about no longer getting the complete experience when you buy a game, as they pointedly feature no new business models, no microtransactions, no season passes.
"The reason for this expanding gulf is, simply put, that Sony's economic incentives are different. Sony's blockbuster single-player games are both commercial products in themselves, and incredibly powerful marketing tools for PlayStation. Their existence is justified not just by their sales, but by the halo effect they create for the platform as a whole. Horizon, God of War, The Last of Us, Uncharted, The Last Guardian; these aren't just great games, they're intrinsic parts of what PlayStation is to consumers and to Sony itself.
"Sony is presently operating on a level that's simply out of reach to most third parties. It's great news for Sony and its studios; but for those wishing that the commercial logic of single-player games will find a healthy balance, Sony's blockbusters are a false hope."
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/amp/2018-04-20-sonys-studios-continue-their-winning-streak