Sony had to make PC gaming monitors because the PS5 isn’t enough

It’s no secret why Sony created a PC gaming monitor that can also work well with the PS5. The PC gaming business is too big to ignore, and it’s just money on the table that is otherwise up for grabs by other monitor makers.

Sony didn’t say those exact words, but it wasn’t necessary for me to know that it’s one of the reasons it decided to announce two gaming monitors this week. Another reason is that Sony’s increasing focus on services means the PS Plus will eventually overtake consoles. Over the past few years, getting your games in front of more people, rather than exclusively off, has become a welcome change in strategy.

Sony is late to this particular party, though. Nintendo’s Switch and Valve’s Steam Deck can be run anywhere by design, and while you don’t see Microsoft making gaming monitors (in fact, that will rule), it has helped improve PC compatibility and expand its cloud capabilities. Flexed its focus on the growing Xbox. Choose more devices, such as phones, tablets, and yet, Samsung TV. The bar for anyone joining Xbox Game Pass, giving them instant access to a wide range of games from the couch, phone, or desk, for a reasonable monthly fee is incredibly low. You’re almost too stupid to even try it.

Sony’s new gaming monitors see the company expanding in a fairly limited way. This is a big deal because Sony has historically cared most about dominating the living room, not the office or wherever you set up your PC. But it’s strangely unlike Nintendo, Microsoft, and Valve, which are now focused on giving you ways to play your games.

Despite the success of Sony’s new M9 monitor, it’s interesting to consider This, the $899 display (and a $529 model coming this winter), is Sony’s next big step in reaching more gamers. will surely reach some Gamers: Those who see value in a 27-inch monitor with a 48-inch OLED or less impressive specs when buying something bigger at around $1,000. But it looks like Sony is trying to make the most of (and possibly improve) the embarrassing but ultimately fixable issues in its console strategy to date.

To be clear, Sony isn’t sad in any way because of the PS5. It sold 17.3 million consoles from the end of 2020 to the end of 2021. The PS5 became the first console to break the Nintendo Switch’s 33-month bestselling streak in the US. And it’s been almost a year since Sony announced that its $499 PS5 per console was bringing in a profit rather than a loss.

Sony’s game business is doing just fine… but there are components of its business that Sony needs to improve to better meet gamers where they are: playing everywhere, on every device.

Sony’s new multi-tiered PS Plus subscription currently can’t compete directly with the price, simplicity, and wide availability of Xbox Game Pass. I’m sure it’ll improve over time, but both its new interface and game library feel full of information selling me on a service I already pay for and certainly lacking experience. There is – at least for the PlayStation-uninitiated .

While Sony works on that, I’d also love for this full service, complete with PS5 game streaming, to come to PC, Mac, and mobile as soon as possible. Heck, maybe Sony can clean up its messaging, because in addition to using the console, it’s pretty confusing how you can and can’t play Sony’s large library of console games. It currently has Remote Play apps for PC, Mac, and mobile, but it requires you to own a PS4 or PS5 and be on the same network. On PC, Sony is actually halfway there with its current PS Plus app, which lets you stream games to PC, but it only supports the older DualShock 4 controller, not Sony’s PS5 DualSense controller. Plus, PS5 games are completely missing from the PC app — it’s just PS4 games with some older console classics in the mix.

To spread to places other than the couch, Sony really needs to explore cloud game streaming. It smothered that potato long ago and still hasn’t really figured out where it sprang from, though, ironically, Microsoft itself powers Sony’s streaming technology. I’ve heard others report good experiences with streaming PS3 and PS4 games through the PS Plus, but despite my PS5 being wired to a more than capable network via Ethernet, it’s very slow to start games. and lags behind compared to the excellent xCloud experience.

Photo by Amelia Holovaty Crales/The Verge

Cool Monitor won’t fix Sony’s games anywhere, but it’s doing the next best thing: It’s providing Sony’s own solution to the demands of gamers who don’t want to sit on their couches to play on consoles. . People are working remotely. He sits at his home office desk all day. Selling a monitor to people that will handle gaming as well as regular computer tasks, while including neat features for PS5 owners, puts Sony in the places people want to play games — where Sony thinks they should. should do. Or, at least that’s the plan.

I’ve had a lot of fun using the M9 monitor so far. I’m still testing it, but it ticks a lot of boxes – for both PS5 and PC players. It has a 4K IPS panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, and its full-array local dimming with 96 zones is immediately striking, which helps its HDR look even brighter. We’ll have to see if it’s really good enough to compete with the current best gaming monitors in that price range. But its existence will not be confusing. Sony is no longer just competing for time on your TV; Now, it wants to be where you are playing anywhere else.