Horizon: Zero Done – How Sony’s Surprise Move can grow their Customer Base

With the next generation of gaming consoles expected to launch in November, Sony has pulled an unexpected move in an attempt to grow their install base.

They’ve made one of the PlayStation 4’s biggest exclusive titles available on PC.

Horizon: Zero Dawn, developed by Guerrilla Games, was a brand new IP for the PS4. The game itself was a risk – a studio moving away from a well-established series to create something new to drive hardware sales – and it paid off spectacularly, having sold over 10 million copies.

A PC version is a surprise. It’s certainly an unusual thing to happen with an proprietary title. But it looks like a shrewd move by Sony, despite the predictable gnashing of teeth by some fanboys.

The company is giving non-PlayStation owners an opportunity to play one of their best first-party games (that is, developed by a studio which Sony actually owns). And look at the timing. They’re doing it on the eve of the PlayStation 5 being officially launched.

One of the most anticipated titles for the PS5? The sequel to Horizon: Zero Dawn, named Forbidden West.

In the world of video games, PC gamers are the self-proclaimed ‘master race’. Their machines are more powerful than mainstream gaming consoles, and able to be upgraded as and when the user wants to. As consumers, they see console gaming as a step down.

But give them a chance to play Horizon: Zero Dawn and they may just love it.

This is a clever move by a business to squeeze more profit from an old asset.

As a revenue-driver the game is effectively done. Sales from here for Sony are predominantly latecomers to the PS4 ecosystem and the game is often available at a deep discount. So this is a clever move by a business to squeeze more profit from an old asset.

And by inviting non-users into the Horizon: Zero Dawn universe, they stand to grow their user base as the new hardware looms ever closer.

The next challenge is to migrate them to the PS5 with the game's sequel as the lure.

(Original published at communicationsforyou.com.au in Jan 2020. Reproduced to coincide with the game's PC release)