In bygone days, what really set the Xbox and the PlayStation apart was the slew of iconic Xbox exclusives that PlayStation fans simply couldn’t get their hands on. Popular titles such as Halo, Left 4 Dead, Gears of War, and more all stood out, especially since PlayStation didn’t have a ton of iconic exclusives. Now though, Sony has branched out and built a massive portfolio of great PS exclusives including Marvel’s Spider-Man, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and the upcoming Demon’s Souls remake. Though that title is confirmed for PS5, there’s no release date as of yet. Still, including this as a PS5 launch title would do wonders for sales.
The console wars between Sony and Microsoft fans have been rekindled in recent months as the release of next gen consoles draws near. Many fans already know which system they are buying as a product of brand loyalty, but there are still many that are undecided. The Xbox Series X is technically more powerful than the PS5, but numerous auxiliary features like the custom SSD or 3D Audio are making the PS5 more attractive to some. Finally, exclusive titles such as the Demon’s Souls remake are a big deal when making decisions as well.
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Demon’s Souls is already announced as a PS5 exclusive, but moving its release date up and launching it side by side with the PS5 would likely dramatically impact sales. Players are going to make their decision on which to purchase within the first few weeks of the consoles finally releasing, so Sony and Microsoft will need to pull out all the stops to draw those undecided consumers to their side. Because the consoles are so similar in terms of technical specs, exclusive games are no doubt going to be a deciding factor for many players.
Historically speaking, PlayStation consoles have always outperformed in terms of sales when compared to Xbox consoles, but the gap is getting smaller with each new generation. If Sony wants to maintain the lead, consumers will need a reason to stick with it and buy PlayStation again, and Demon’s Souls could be that reason. Of course, this goes beyond just the reach of Demon’s Souls, as this game’s performance on PS5 will likely inform FromSoftware of how it should proceed with the rest of its games in the future.
This is just speculation as nothing has been confirmed by FromSoftware, Bluepoint Games, Bandai Namco, or Sony, but many fans believe that if Demon’s Souls does well on PS5, FromSoftware may continue to work with Sony on creating exclusive content. If that were the case, the future of the Soulslike genre as a whole could find its home on PlayStation consoles, creating yet another incentive for players to buy a PS5 over an Xbox Series X. FromSoftware quickly went from being a relatively unknown developer to one of the most recognizable names in the industry after Dark Souls exploded, so its loyalty would be a huge boon for Sony.
Anticipation for Demon’s Souls is high right now, and putting this as a PS5 launch title will only work to benefit both the PS5 and Demon’s Souls. Of course, there’s no guarantee that it will even be ready for release by then, as Bluepoint Games hasn’t given many updates about its development status. If it does come out later, it is most likely because it is still in development and couldn’t be finished in time for the launch of the PS5 this holiday season.
Demon’s Souls is in development exclusively for PS5.
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