PlayStation Is At Their Best When They DON'T CHASE TRENDS
406Concord’s massive failure did more than just cost PlayStation a ton of money, it sullied their image as a leader in premium first-party games. Sony has always had a solid lineup with its first-party studios, and most of those games didn’t follow trends or force itself into a crowded genre.
Naughty Dog was faced with the ultimatum to either be a live-service studio or continue making rich narrative single-player experiences when they were developing TLOU Online. Thankfully, they shut the project down and focused on the latter, though most of those seem to be remasters and remakes at the moment but that’s another discussion.
Sony should follow in their footsteps. The AAA live-service market is overcrowded, and players have more than enough options for their wants and needs. What players want is fresh new experiences that nobody else is providing. This is where Sony has always excelled in the past with marque titles like Bloodborne, and Horizon drawing in new audiences and keeping them around for years to come.