E3 2014: Sony Commits To F2P For PS4

“We're committed to making PlayStation the best destination for free-to-play games.”

Those were the bold words spoken by Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Shawn Layden during Sony's presentation at E3 on Monday.

“Free-to-play offers a great way to discover new worlds and experiences and we think this category will explode on PlayStation in the coming years. Right now, we have more than 25 free-to-play games coming to PS4 in the next 12 months, including Kingdom Under Fire II from Blueside, PlanetSide 2 from Sony Online Entertainment, and Guns Up! from Valkyrie Entertainment.

“And on PlayStation, at point of entry, free-to-play means free-to-play.”

A montage of games followed, with the interesting disclaimer “Certain features available for a fee,” which I'd imagine refers to the presence of microtransactions – free-to-play ain't totally free, after all.

Still, Layden's and Sony's message seems to be that you shouldn't have to pay a fee to access free-to-play games, which has been a strength for Sony and a stumbling block for Microsoft. It takes a little more effort than just selling a game for $60 and moving on, but free-to-play is a viable path for consoles to take. Sony realizes this and is looking to corner the market early while their console competitors spin their wheels.