First off, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t as disappointed as the majority of people expressed themselves to be on yesterday’s PlayStation Showcase. Personally, I thought it was just mediocre, not brilliant, but not terrible, and maybe somewhere in the 6 out of 10 region. Still, despite my feelings toward the showcase on an individual basis – It was definitely a bad showing in the grand scheme of things.
It’s been 20 months since the last PlayStation Showcase in September 2021, where the likes of Wolverine and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 made their debuts, and God of War Ragnarok had a strong showing. When you look back, the 2021 showcase feels a lot more prestigious and this time around, Sony fell flat on delivering that same experience because of its lack of 1st party showings.
It’s not like PlayStation is short on first-party exclusives either. Wolverine, Death Stranding 2, Rise of the Ronin, The Last of Us Multiplayer, and Horizon Multiplayer are just a few titles that I can think of off the top of my head that didn’t make an appearance. Although it’s possible that some of these games (The Last of Us Multiplayer and Death Stranding 2 in particular) could make an appearance at the Summer Games Fest on June 12, it made Sony’s future lineup seem rather weak. To be honest, this showcase didn’t set up “the next phase” of the PlayStation 5 that was rumored and instead felt more like a 12-month slate presentation.
Speaking on the hardware front with Project Q, CEO Jim Ryan said, “we look forward to sharing more information in the near future”. Whilst this doesn’t necessarily suggest another PlayStation Showcase is on the horizon, Sony could be looking at the negative perception of this showcase and decide to create. Understandably, the new PlayStation 5 which sports a detachable disc drive also didn’t make an appearance and is yet another piece of Sony hardware that will need to be announced before its expected release in September.
Updates and reveals on PlayStation’s new hardware, in addition to focusing solely on 1st party titles would be the showcase that PlayStation needs to set up the next phase. It’s understood that a lot of the games we’re waiting on seeing are pretty much ready, so I’m not sure why Sony decided to wait this time around.
Heck, where on earth is Spider-Man 2’s release date, too?
What do you think? Do you think Sony needs a second showcase this year? Let us know in the comments below.
For more Insider Gaming news, check out our coverage of the Helldivers 2 reveal.