It has been very obvious that Sony continues to be one of the strongest performers in the video game market. Analysts note that the PlayStation 4 and its variants have continued to dominate the console market since it was released. One of its competitors, Nintendo, has already released the Switch to recover its ground after the Wii U failed to take off. Meanwhile, Microsoft is set to release its new flagship platform called Project Scorpio. However, it seems like Sony continues to attract the hype as it prepares for E3 2017.
In the meantime, industry experts pointed out that despite the Japanese electronics juggernaut's overwhelming success, it has started to lose consumers in their homeland. Japan is evidently one of their biggest markets and it is surprising to know that consumers are starting to lose interest on the PlayStation 4 and its variants. Instead, most gamers have shifted to gaming on their mobile devices, says Game Rant. Nevertheless, the company believes it can draw Japanese players back to console gaming, especially this E3 2017.
Speaking ahead of their E3 2017 press conference, Sony executive Shawn Layden said, "I think a lot of Japanese developers lost their way chasing the mobile games yen." He also hinted that these game studios are "coming back to the console in a major way." Finally, Layden announced that they will "have some big announcements at E3 in that precise vein," according to a report from Gematsu.
Financially speaking, it is understandable why a lot of Japanese game developers shifted to mobile game development. Hit games like Pokemon Go and Candy Crush are prime examples of revenue generating mobile games. The market for mobile games is currently super saturated with different developers and their games. Meanwhile, Sony has revealed that it has over 26 million PlayStation Plus subscribers, which could attract developers back to console games development. It remains to be seen what Sony will showcase at their E3 2017 press conference.
