A little earlier today Sony announced some big stuff. Like, big, massive stuff. Prices. Release dates. When you can pre-order. But a few things kind of fell under the radar as we all sat mesmerised by fancy trailers for games we can’t wait to play.
The first one was the Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales won’t be a PS5 exclusive as it will also release on PS4 this holiday season. Digging a little deeper into the PlayStation Blog post reveals that a few other games are also going to be on PS4, too.
Horizon Forbidden West has been touted as a must-see game on PS5, but it will also release on PS4 when it comes out next year. Likewise, Sumo Digital’s Sack: A Big Adventure will also release on PS4 and PS4 this November.
The reasoning, according to Sony, is that the company recognises that players will upgrade to PS5 at different times, and the firm doesn’t want anybody left behind. The platform holder also notes that while the games have been designed around the PS5 and its high-speed SSD and the fancy new DualSense controller, the games will also work on PS4 when they launch, and that players who do buy the games on PS4 will get free upgrades to the PS5 versions when they do finally enter the PS5 ecosystem.
It’s a little strange but it may also be indicative of the current situation that Sony is in when it comes to console production. According to recent reports, Sony has had to cut its production by four million consoles, meaning four million fewer opportunities to sell these expensive next-gen games to players. It makes sense, then, that Sony would want to keep sales up by offering PS4 versions of these big-name releases.
Today’s PS5 showcase brought more than a few announcements, too. The big one that had many gasping for air as the show hit its final notes was the tease for God of War: Ragnarok. Sony also announced that Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales would be available on PS4 as well as PS5, a sharp turnaround from the previously held line of “next-gen only.” Of course, we also got the good news that PS5 players who have an active PS Plus subscription would be treated to some free games available on day one. This has been dubbed The PS Plus Collection, and it carries with it a selection of the best PS4 games, including The Last of Us Remastered, God of War, and Battlefield 1.
