Sony won't give up the PSN account requirement: The company president claims it's needed so people can play their games'safely.'

It's fair say that Sony's requirement of a PlayStation Network account to play PC versions of their games is not popular. Sony is unlikely to change its mind anytime soon. Hiroki Totoki, Sony's president, chief financial officer, and chief operating officer, said that PSN integration was necessary to ensure that everyone could "safely" play its games.

Totoki said, "We've learned a lot." "The way we deal with the PC issues, for example, the PlayStation accounts we've offered--by offering these, for example, that tends sometimes to invite pushback. In order to ensure that everyone can play the live service games safely, and to enjoy the game without restriction, we must create an environment conducive to this.

"Having some restrictions - [we] may call it a law-- but to ask the users and players to follow the manner, and [that] equilibrium is very important. We must continue to search for the best way to achieve it."

The quote was translated on the fly from Japanese to English (by a real human translator) and it is a bit rough, but the message is clear: Sony wants to maintain a certain level of control over its game, and the PSN requirements are seen as a means to achieve that. It's possible, but it is also unpopular among PC gamers.

Helldivers 2 is a good example. It was launched without the PSN requirement due to "technical problems" and enjoyed great success until Sony announced in May that the "grace period" of PSN-free games had ended. The backlash was so fierce that Sony had to retreat, but not before doing irreparable damage to the goodwill Helldivers 2 enjoyed up until that point.

Sony quickly discarded any notion that it would abandon the idea. Ghost of Tsushima PC port was removed from Steam in nearly 200 nations just weeks after Helldivers 2's hysteria, due to a PSN requirement. Sony confirmed shortly after that God of War Ragnarok will also require a PSN account. In October, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered was released on Steam with the exact same requirement.

Totoki's comments are therefore difficult to accept at face value. He was talking about live service games, which is fair: "If you're going to use our servers, then you need to follow our rules." God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Zero Dawn and other singleplayer games don't require a PSN account.

It's free to create a PlayStation Network account, and once you've done that and linked your accounts, you shouldn't need to worry about it anymore. It is a hassle and I can understand (and agree) that we already have enough to deal with. Some publishers seem aware of this fact - I think BioWare has made it clear that Dragon Age: Veilguard is playable offline without requiring an account - but Sony is clearly moving in the opposite direction.

Maybe that's a good strategy for a major publisher. I remember how angry I was when I had to sign-up for "Steam" just so I could get Half Life 2. We all know what happened. There are signs that gamers have gotten used to it or are tired of fighting over it. God of War Ragnarok received a lot of negative reviews at launch on Steam, but it has since improved to a "very favorable" rating. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, while not doing as well, also had a few bugs and crashes. Sony was unable to enforce its will with Helldivers 2. However, I believe that gamers will give up on the game long before Sony.