Well, this weekend was one hell of a ride. First, Sony forced Arrowhead Game Studios to implement the PlayStation Network required login and mandate when it would start, which didn’t sit well with the PC gaming community. Then, that same community review bombed Helldivers 2 to heck and voiced its displeasure with Sony. I’ll admit, as a PC gamer, that wasn’t affected. I even joined in the effects by uninstalling Helldivers 2, and I’m waiting for my refund. Yet, just as I woke up on Saturday morning to find out that all hell was breaking loose, I then woke up on Monday morning to find that Sony had “decided” to reverse course. It’s over. Democracy wins is all I see on Twitter and various other social networks. However, I am concerned about this.
Helldivers fans — we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.
We’re still…
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 6, 2024
First and foremost, this should have never happened. For all the launch of Helldivers 2 on PC had shown Sony, one would think the company would do its best to maintain that streak. Sure, Sony launched several once PlayStation-exclusive titles onto the PC, including Spider-Man Remastered, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and God of War, among others. But it was Helldivers 2 that set the PC gaming world on fire. Not only did it do massive numbers, but it was said that this game was Sony’s 7th highest-grossing game in history. Think about that for a moment.
PC has been a huge part of the success of Helldivers II in the US. With PC, Helldivers II is already the 7th highest grossing Sony published game in history. Without PC it wouldn't currently rank among the top 20.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) May 1, 2024
Yet, one single move threatened the status of Helldivers 2, and it didn’t need to happen. I get it. Sony wants those MAU (Monthly Active Users) numbers. Why wouldn’t it? It’s a company, and a company’s goal is to make money; that concept isn’t lost on anyone. Yet, as PC gamers have shown time and time again, they don’t tend to take crap from companies. If it deems something is bad, it will kick and scream until someone listens. Sony isn’t the first company to feel the wrath of PC gamers taking to Steam to review bomb a game, ask for refunds, and, in some cases, act like children and demand a change. And it won’t be the last, which is a strength of not being governed by a single platform holder or walled garden.
Yet Sony isn’t innocent in this situation, not one bit. It’s not the first time they tried to get PC gamers to sign up for a PlayStation Network account, and I’m assuming those attempts didn’t go well. Again, with Spider-Man Remastered and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sony offered anyone who created an account a few perks, including exclusive outfits. Sure, these are single-player games and didn’t possibly help Sony’s figures as much as a game that has broken records on the PC, but what stopped Sony from implementing a mandatory login with those? Was it just because those didn’t involve MAU numbers? Or was it something completely different?
Look, I understand Sony’s viewpoint on all of this—I really do—but the way this was handled was utterly wrong. And for the people who are saying that PC gamers don’t have an issue creating and logging into an Xbox account, Rockstar account, Ubisoft account, or others, I get what they are saying. Still, at the same time, it tells me that they don’t understand the situation. Xbox Live accounts are pretty much worldwide; it’s not an issue. The same goes for most services. The big concern with Helldivers 2 was that the PlayStation Network was heavily restricted to where people could access it. The service was restricted in more places than where it was available, and that was a big issue with why PC gamers were upset.
Picture this if you may. You purchased a game that originally required a PSN account, but that was pushed off for a number of reasons. So, you buy the game and enjoy days, weeks, or even months of enjoyment. Then, you’re told you have a month to comply, or you can’t play the game anymore. Ok, sure. Let’s make a PSN account and keep on playing. Wait. What’s this? I can’t create a PSN account because the service isn’t available in my country. You will be forcibly locked out of the game, but not due to your own doing. You want to create the account, but you can’t. What are you to do? You get mad. You take to Twitter. You email everyone you can. You connect with others who feel the same way. You make your voice heard. That, my fellow gamers, is precisely what happened.
Then we have these toxic PlayStation fanboys who are still scared that their precious games will end up being released onto the PC on the same day as the PlayStation consoles. But instead of reading the room, they talk some nonsense about why games shouldn’t be released on the same day as PC, which has nothing to do with the situation. It struck me as odd how they managed to swing that narrative into something that wasn’t remotely the same. I really wish this wasn’t the case, and people would take a few seconds to understand what their fellow gamers are going through instead of praising their favorite plastic box.
Trust me on this. If PSN was available in at least more than the handful of countries that it is currently available in and not arbitrarily region-locked, none of this would have happened and would be a moot point. But it isn’t. So, people got mad and did what they thought was right. When we see bad actions, we need to call them out. It’s as simple as that. If we just put our heads in and ignore everything that comes our way that needs addressing, what does that say about us? That can be applied to anything, not just a video game.
There also had to be someone in the PlayStation office who could have spoken up regarding the lack of PSN availability around the globe. It’s hard to believe that not one single person realized that this would be an issue. That this would not be doing the right thing for it’s massive consumer base. Still it happened, and requiring outrage to cause Sony to revert its plans. Plans that, once more, should never have been implemented.
While many consider Sony not requiring Helldivers 2 to require a PSN login going forward, I feel that this is merely a delay tactic. Don’t be surprised if you see news about PSN being rolled out to more companies in the upcoming months. Sony isn’t going to just let this go; it can’t. This is just a band-aid; trust and believe this will be revisited down the road, and who knows what the outcome will be.
But until that happens, go back to playing Helldivers 2 now that we have a short reprieve. Also, go back and remove those negative reviews from Helldivers 2, as Arrowhead Game Studios doesn’t deserve to be punished, all due to a bone-headed decision by PlayStation.
