Sony Sees 'Destiny' as a "First-Party Release"

Destiny is shaping up to be one of the biggest games of the year, thanks in part to the excellent feedback from the exclusive PlayStation alpha and the broader beta that followed which only raised the hype and awareness for the massive FPS. Long before such announcements were made public, Sony and Bungie, along with publisher Activision, struck a deal that would see exclusive content come to the world of Destiny on PS4. In addition to extra content and early Alpha access, both parties agreed that only Sony could advertisement and promote Destiny (along with Activision) and that Microsoft could play no roll in matters.

Though the PS4 is enjoying massive success and lead on the Xbox One, Destiny can and will likely be one of those games that will get gamers to move from PS3/360 to next gen consoles so it’s no surprise that Sony would want to capitalize on that as much as possible. One way they hope to achieve this is by treating Destiny as if it was a “first-party release.” More on that after the jump.

According to Sony UK boss Fergal Gara:

We’re treating it, for all intents and purposes internally, as if it’s a first-party release,” he said. “We’re wrapping our arms around it on all levels of the organisation. It’s a special project and an important project and it has the power to launch Christmas. It’s hugely important.

Despite the momentum the PS4 is enjoying, Sony knows that going into the holiday season, they’ll need a killer title that will bring the masses to PS4. While Destiny will also be available on Xbox One, Xbox 360, and the PS3, the co-marketing between Sony and Activision continues to promote the game heavily with reference only to the PS4. This is in direct contrast of the PS3 era where Microsoft was able to land deals left and right with none other than Activision which saw the Xbox 360 gain timed exclusives to the all important Call of Duty franchise among others.

So while Destiny is coming on all other viable consoles, there is no reason why Sony can’t act and promote it as if the PS4 is the only console that matters and the only console that Destiny will be available on. This reminds me of a quote from Jim Young:

There’s an important phrase that we use here, and think it’s time that you all learned it. Act as if. You understand what that means? Act as if you are the f*cking President of this firm. Act as if you got a 9″ c*@k. Okay? Act as if.

Because when you ‘act as if’ and exude that confidence in a product and brand you represent, audiences will respond.