The first news and subsequent details about The Last of Us Part 1 haven’t really filled all parts of the internet with joy. A remake that’s basically a graphical overhaul just nine years after the original game? It seems brutal, and big question marks linger over whether the beat-by-beat iteration of the original game – just with nicer graphics and all – really deserves to call itself a remake, as all the changes are strictly technical.
But while Playstation gamers are rightly a little saddened that Sony clearly expects them to pay for the third time for the first Last of Us game, it’s possible that Sony’s real target audience for the remake isn’t really the console crowd, but PC. Naughty Dog and Sony are of course required to release the PS5 version first, but they’ve already said the PC version will be out “very soon” after that. It’s important because it’s the first time Sony hasn’t emphasized its exclusivity with a first-party game. Sony has made huge strides on PC in recent years, speaking out about their future plans for the platform, saying at an investor meeting in May that they plan to have “a third” of their Playstation games available on PC by 2025.
At the same time that people are rightly questioning Part 1’s credentials as a remake (and that rather terrifying $70 price tag), PC gamers are gearing up to play it outside of a Playstation platform for the first time, with all the graphics adjustments, modding and other freedoms that this entails. The Last of Us, one of the jewels in Playstation’s IP crown, is coming to PC. That’s a big deal – in fact, it’s a bigger deal than coming to PS5.
The Last of Us Part 1 appears to be the briefest turning point between the launch of a first-party Playstation game on console and PC, revealing in some ways the reality of how Sony really views the game. Despite saying they rebuilt the game “from the ground up” and trying to push the idea that they’ve put a whole game into things like improving the AI, the facial animations and shattering glass a bit more make when it shatters, if they? For real saw this as a new game, then there’s no way it wouldn’t come to PC so soon after the PS5 version.
A long lead time between the console and PC releases of a first-party Playstation game is one of the last frontiers of exclusivity for Sony – one of the few remaining things that set it apart from Xbox and its ‘Day One on Game Pass/ PC/Xbox approach. Sony’s guys in blue will hold that position for as long as possible, and Last of Us Part 1 shouldn’t be an indication that Sony is moving towards some sort of ‘Day One’ model with PC. In any case, it shows that Sony is aware that it’s re-releasing a nine-year-old PS3 game (albeit an incredible one that’s ahead of its time) that’s more cross-platform at the moment than as an exclusive. Sony knows it’s an updated version of the original game, not a platform pusher like God of War: Ragnarok or Horizon: Forbidden West, for example.
Not that the importance of the game coming to PC should be underestimated. If all goes well, this will be the ultimate version of a classic Sony game, and the ability to play it at any absurd framerate you want with all the dirty Nvidia tricks like DLSS is cause for celebration. Even the name of the game – Part 1, rather than ‘Remake’ – feels like it clears the way for The Last of Us Part 2 to not make it too far to PC. It’s as if Sony already has the organization of our Steam libraries in mind, so that when we finally add Part 2 to Part 1, they’ll all sit snugly and in synch next to each other on our digital bookshelves.
Given the previous success of Playstation games on PC and the near-simultaneous release this time around, it wouldn’t be too surprising if the PC version of the game ended up outselling the PS5 version. There’s the worldwide shortage of PS5 hardware for starters, but also the fact that The Last of Us Remastered is perfectly playable on console, and it still looks damn also fine. While we shouldn’t ignore the fact that many PS5 owners are also PC gamers, the arrival of the Last of Us series on PC for the first time is much more of an event than the third iteration of the first game on Sony consoles. . If the PC version surpassed its PS5 counterpart, it would be a hugely symbolic moment for the Playstation to PC migration.
There’s a lot to be frustrated by with The Last of Us Part 1, but one thing should make everyone happy (aside from the overly excited Sony exclusivists who cry “betrayal” every time a former Playstation game makes its way to PC). thinks) is that it is another big milestone in Sony’s cross-platform ambitions. The Last of Us Part 1 may be coming to PS5 first, but make no mistake, the PC release margin is tighter than ever and the game will mean a lot more to a PC audience than a PS5 audience.
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