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30 years ago, a little grey box changed the world forever.
For starters, with some truly excellent games.
There’s no denying that.
From first-party big wins to canny third-party partnerships, ourbest games of 2024list is stacked with console exclusives.
At the same time, it’s been a year absent of PlayStation’s most bankable franchises.
Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Even so, it’s not been a year of only successes for PlayStation.
How could it be given how rocky the industry has been?
Mass layoffs and studio closures have continued across the industry, affecting many at PlayStation directly.
Meanwhile, some game releases even those backed by truly massive licensing have tripped and fallen.
How did we get here?
And boy doesn’t it look shiny?
It was just one of many PlayStation studios affected by a big round of layoffs that would continue.
And then Jim Ryan was out of the door by March.
Surely things would settle, right?
As Concord began to ramp up for an August 23 release, cracks started to show.
And it… was actually quite good!
Still, a fine foundation to build on if not the instant phenomenons that Helldivers 2 orOverwatchwere.
But what’s this?
Two weeks after launchConcord was shut down, and players refunded.
Then, just under two months later,Firewalk Studios was closed.
This, despite an eight-year development cycle, and amassive budget.
No attempt to save it, to try a new angle, to even go free-to-play.
It’s not the only high profile live service failure.
It doesn’t paint a pretty picture for PlayStation’s live service hopes.
Hardware holdout?
It’s not so much that PlayStation’s problems in 2024 have been due to massive disasters.
Instead, it’s a case of frustratingly near-misses.
After all, I’d love to be able to jump back into Concord, I just can’t.
And it’s been the same for hardware.
True current-gen exclusives have been few and far between.
This year, it’s been crickets for first-party support, with the publisher reportedlydropping support for the platform.
Something you could already do on other devices.
The PS5 Pro has been the big release for the year.
Not to mention the console upgrade didn’t launch alongside any particular shiny game meant to show it off.
For the players
But, hey, you have to take the bad with the good.
All the above things are really weird and often not great at all.
You truly couldn’t make me go back.
It’s a simple fact that can often be overlooked.
I’ve even been really enjoying the steadily-growing Classics Catalog of PS1 and PS2 games too.
It all came together for Astro Bot in particular.
So many games are multi-platform now that it feels pointless and exhausting to get too twisted up in it.
So what’s next?
2025 will be pivotal, then.
But in what direction?
Curious about the other end of the spectrum?
We’ve alsodived deep into what 2024 has looked like for Xbox.
What to add to your gaming watchlist?
We’ve got theupcoming PS5 gamesfor you to look through too!
