After dominating the single-player gaming scene for years with the PlayStation 4's library of AAA titles, a top official from Sony said they just might introduce more multiplayer experiences with the upcoming PlayStation 5.
In an interview with Business Insider, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) Worldwide Studios President Shawn Layden said fans "will likely" see Sony "make more noise" in the multiplayer area of gaming.
Layden admitted that despite Sony's effort and obvious success with all the story-driven, single-player titles they have released, they aren't really giving as much time and effort to multiplayer.
He said Sony, and the gaming industry, in particular, should look at the local multiplayer category he calls "Couch co-op" -- where more than one persons play on the same console. Aside from friends, local multiplayer, Layden notes, get more family members to join in on the fun.
While some of the PS4's games feature local multiplayer, Layden says these are limited to sports and racing titles. Perhaps they'll be looking into that.
Moreover, Layden says that when he was talking about multiplayer, he was thinking about titles such as "GTA 5 Online," "Call of Duty," or "Fortnite." He said they have been focusing on story-driven gaming, while not giving as much emphasis on multiplayer. He said they will look into that.
Success
With their tremendous success in the single-player genre, Sony doesn't seem to show interest in pursuing current popular trends like Battle Royale.
Sony has seen success in the titles "Uncharted 4," "Horizon: Zero Dawn," "God of War," and "Marvel's Spider-Man." GamingBolt notes that these titles, along with others, seem to imply that the company keeps going in that direction.
Layden's replies to the interviewer from Business Insider, however, imply that they want to expand their horizons, and get the best out of both single- and multi-player worlds. The PlayStation 3 has had several multiplayer titles such as "Starhawk," "Warhawk," and and "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale."
Sony did try PS4 multiplayer with titles such as "Drawn to Death" but didn't succeed as much as they did with other titles, ComicBook reported.
Still, it would be exciting to see what Sony could do if they tried to create more multiplayer experiences using the insights and experiences they gained from their successes with single-player titles on the PS4. After all, it would be great to play multiplayer games with a quality that surpasses some of Sony's top AAA titles.
