Why Sony's PlayStation 30th Anniversary is bittersweet for longtime fans like me
PlayStation has reached an impressive milestone, but it's lost some of its soul along the way
🥳 PlayStation celebrated its 30th anniversary on December 3
📆 The PlayStation was released in 1994 and established Sony as the market leader
😪 However, with each new generation, some of the magic that made PlayStation special has been lost
😣 Sony has relied heavily on remakes, remasters and safe sequels too often
One fateful night, my father returned home from work carrying an ominous black plastic suitcase from Blockbuster. Hidden inside, packed snugly in between bits of yellow foam, was Sony’s new console: the PlayStation.
Growing up in a time before the Internet existed, I didn’t really know what to expect from the large, rectangular gray box. But once I picked up the controller and popped in a copy of Namco’s Cyber Sled, I was hooked.
The future is now
After years of playing my beloved Sega Mega Drive, the 3D, 32-bit graphics and gorgeous pre-rendered cutscenes the PlayStation delivered blew me away. But it was the breadth of unique titles that really kick-started my love affair with the PlayStation brand.
The original PlayStation established itself as not just an exciting newcomer in the console market, but the industry leader
Over the years, I amassed a vast library of PSOne games that spanned almost every genre, each one as memorable as the last. From global hits like Final Fantasy 7, Gran Turismo and Metal Gear Solid to more obscure games like Firo & Klawd and Wild 9, the original PlayStation established itself as not just an exciting newcomer in the console market, but the industry leader.
Sony’s success continued with the release of the PS2, and even though there were a few missteps with the PS3 in its early years (Sony will never escape the 599 dollar memes) it was still home to some of the best games and most exciting IP.
Greatness Awaits
However, with the 30th Anniversary of PlayStation now upon us, it feels like Sony isn’t the same company I grew up with, which makes this milestone bittersweet.
Sony’s new direction of churning out third-person, narrative-driven games, safe sequels and remakes and remasters wasn’t what I expected
The shift started with PS4 – at least for me. Yes, it was another wildly popular console for Sony, which was partly helped by poor competition from Nintendo and Microsoft, which fumbled big time with the Wii U and Xbox One, respectively. But I played those two consoles far more than the PlayStation 4, simply because there was more variety on offer and a willingness to try new things.
Sony’s new direction of churning out third-person, narrative-driven games, safe sequels and remakes and remasters wasn’t what I expected, and you can see that shift with the PS4 and PS5 by analysing the first four years of Sony’s output on each console.
I’ve marked games that are sequels, remakes and remasters with different emojis to illustrate my point. (Sequel: ✌️ Remake/Remaster: 👴 New release/IP: 🆕)
First four years of PS4 software
Killzon Shadow Fall ✌️
Resogun 🆕
Knack 🆕
Infamous: Second Son ✌️
Infamous: First Light ✌️
The Last of Us Remastered 👴
Driveclub 🆕
LittleBigPlanet 3 ✌️
The Order 1886 🆕
Bloodborne 🆕
Helldivers 🆕
Tearaway 👴
Uncharted Collection 👴
Gravity Rush 👴
God of War 3 Remastered 👴
Uncharted 4 ✌️
Ratchet & Clank 👴
The Last Guardian 🆕
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy ✌️
Matterfall 🆕
Horizon Zero Dawn 🆕
Everybody’s Golf ✌️
WipeOut Omega Collection 👴
Nioh 🆕
Gravity Rush 2 ✌️
Knack 2 ✌️
Total new titles: 10
Total sequels: 9
Total remasters/remakes: 7
First four years of PS5 software
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales ✌️
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered 👴
Astro’s Playroom 🆕
Sackboy: A Big Adventure 🆕
Demon’s Souls 👴
Destruction AllStars 🆕
Nioh 1 and Nioh 2 👴
Returnal 🆕
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart ✌️
Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut 👴
Death Stranding: Director’s Cut 👴
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection 👴
Horizon Forbidden West ✌️
Gran Turismo 7 ✌️
The Last of Us Part 1 👴
God of War Ragnarok ✌️
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 ✌️
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered 👴
Helldivers 2 ✌️
Rise of the Ronin 🆕
Stellar Blade 🆕
Astro Bot ✌️
Until Dawn 👴
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered 👴
LEGO Horizon Adventures 🆕
Total new titles: 7
Total sequels: 8
Total remasters/remakes: 10
Here we go again
Even though the number of sequels has almost remained the same on PS5, the amount of remasters and remakes has increased. Genuinely new titles and IP have also dropped, which shows that Sony is playing it safe for this generation, despite establishing an unassailable lead over the competition.
It’s this lack of risk taking that has made the PS5 feel rather boring and overly familiar. Aside from the DualSense controller, arguably the most innovative aspect of the PlayStation 5, not much has changed from the PS4. Most games are iterative sequels or remakes and remasters, most of which I’ve already played and paid for before.
It doesn’t help that the Japanese company isn’t willing to create any new IP
Sony’s CFO Hiroki Totoki recently said the company doesn’t have enough original IP that it fostered from the beginning, and while that might be true to a certain extent (I doubt a Vib Ribbon sequel would do anything for Sony’s bottom line, though I’d love to see it) it doesn’t help that the Japanese company isn’t willing to create any new IP. Instead, it continues to push the same properties repeatedly or pay for timed exclusives like the excellent Stellar Blade. It feels like the well that was once overflowing with ideas has run dry.
End of an era?
It pains me to say it, but I think the creative and exciting Sony I grew up with has gone. And it’s why, as nice as the PS5 30th Anniversary console and the retro-themed matching accessories are, so much has changed in 30 years for the PlayStation brand I feel like I’m mourning over what has been, rather than celebrating what we have now.
For anyone who experienced the heyday of PlayStation and is longing for Sony to return to its inventive roots, all the nostalgia in the world can’t mask what PlayStation has become
Seriously, it’s hard to get hyped about the prospect of playing an Horizon MMO or another superfluous remake no one asked for.
Ballooning budgets, a pandemic, and more informed consumers can all be blamed for Sony's safety-first approach. But for anyone who experienced the heyday of PlayStation and is longing for Sony to return to its inventive roots, all the nostalgia in the world can’t mask what PlayStation has become: boring and predictable.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.