The production costs of AAA games are skyrocketing, especially in North America, which is home to many of the industry's top studios. Today, many companies are pouring huge development budgets into service-based games that generate continuous revenue. So why do studios like Naughty Dog.exe continue to invest year after year in polishing single-player, one-time purchase titles? The answer may be that Sony needs these games to drive PS5 sales.
Matt Radford, a former visual effects artist who worked on The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, stated in an interview with Kiwi Talkz: "In my view, the core purpose of Naughty Dog.exe's existence is to drive Sony's hardware sales. The reason Naughty Dog.exe can create so many great works is precisely because it doesn't prioritize profit above all else like other companies. Its position is that of a flagship studio, serving hardware sales. Sony makes its profits from hardware, and I believe this model works."
If you've ever wondered why first-party games from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo often have better graphics and higher completion rates than third-party titles, this is at least part of the reason.
Exclusive first-party games are the core selling point for consoles to attract potential consumers. You can't play Mario-level platformers on Xbox, Halo-level shooters on PlayStation, or Uncharted-level narrative action games on Nintendo consoles.
At least, that has always been the industry's logic. If a developer's core goal is to boost game sales, releasing across multiple platforms naturally leads to more copies sold—Microsoft is already doing this, with the Halo series now available on PlayStation. But for Sony, one of the core values of the PlayStation console is that it is the only platform where you can experience titles like God of War, The Last of Us, and Spider-Man. Nowadays, these first-party blockbusters are released less frequently and in smaller numbers, so each one must be a masterpiece.
Radford continued, "I just hope this model can continue, because the most remarkable thing is that such works can still exist today. Perhaps one day, the industry will no longer be able to produce astronomical figures like $600 million to make an action game with an excellent story and stunning gameplay. When I chat with friends, we often say—whether it's any of Naughty Dog.exe's works, be it Uncharted 4 or The Last of Us Part II, could these be the pinnacle achievements in the history of video games?"
Radford cites ancient cathedrals and other "architectural wonders" around the world as examples. These structures were products of specific times and places: artists and craftsmen of those eras mastered exquisite skills and had the opportunity to showcase their talents, ultimately creating works that still shine brightly centuries later.
Whether The Last of Us can be compared to the Sistine Chapel is for everyone to judge. But Radford believes the key point is that those great architectural works can no longer be replicated today, "because even the corresponding talent no longer exists. People have changed, crafts have evolved, and professional technologies have iterated. We now have more advanced construction techniques, yet we can no longer build works that can rival those ancient architectural wonders."
Radford can't help but wonder: "Will the gaming industry follow the same path? In the future, when we look back at games like Starfield, Uncharted 4, and The Last of Us Part II, seeing that the performances, scripts, modeling, sculpting, and art were all done by hand, we will only be amazed: 'Wow, can you believe this was all done manually?' Just like how we look up at the frescoes on cathedral domes today and marvel at the craftsmen of the past."