The announcement of Bloober’sSilent Hill 2is an interesting point of contention. Some fans are uncertain how to reconcile with Bloober as the remake’s developer, all while understanding that theSilent Hillfranchise is still under Konami’s thumb. Rather, many fans are hopeful and positively receiving this news as a sign thatSilent Hillmay be on the upswing after a decade. More than that, fans would argue that the franchise has needed an overhaul even longer. Unfortunately, theSilent Hill 2remake being a PS5-exclusive may not help it reach an ideal audience.
So much time has passed and such a bitter taste has been left with so many fans that console exclusivity may be harmful. On the one hand, exclusivity to one console can mean that the remake will be more highly sought after, and potentially influence future PS5 sales. But on the other hand, it is still an inevitable shame that fans with different consoles will not have access to it right away.Silent Hill 2is one of the fewSilent Hillgames that most fans can rally behind with a wholly positive reception, and PlayStation fans will be lucky enough to have it to themselves for a while.
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Silent Hill 2 Being Exclusive to PS5 is Unfortunate for Those Without
Anyone who does not currently own a PS5, or who may not own a PS5 at the time thatSilent Hilllaunches, is at a loss. Any game being console-exclusive tends to bring this same discussion up perennially, understanding that a game being available on one console only makes it less accessible to other fans.
Xbox’s current-gen systems have been seemingly sidelined by a number of remarkably popular IPs who have chosen PlayStation as their one-and-only home, and meanwhile Nintendo is happy to be in its own corner. This may be a result of Sony happily spending whatever money it needs to in order to have rights to a game’s exclusivity and marketing, but either way it is unfortunate for fans who do not own a PS5 yet.
Thankfully,Silent Hill 2will be available on Steam as well as PS5, which should hopefully alleviate some of that disappointment if fans have their hands on a PC instead. Moreover, the game has confirmed to only be a timed exclusive.
An asterisk intheSilent Hill 2remake’s teaser trailerstates that the game will not be available on other formats “for 12 months after release.” This suggests that an Xbox Series edition could arrive a year later, but it is obviously still upsetting that eager fans would have to wait a year’s time to be able to play it on their console of choice.
Silent Hill 2 Being Console Exclusive Makes It a Treat for PS2 Nostalgia
For one reason or another,Silent Hillis a franchise that has always been more popular on PlayStation. ManySilent Hillgames are available on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles alike, but the franchise did in fact begin on the original PlayStation withSilent Hill’s first installment.
It is not altogether surprising that Konami decided to lead itsSilent Hillrenaissance with a remake of the sequel, but it does throw a wrench in the notion that this timed exclusivity could have been for nostalgia purposes. Even thoughSilent Hill 2did release on Xbox with an admittedly underwhelmingRestless Dreamsedition, it is ultimately a glaring omission for it not to be available on Xbox’s current-gen platform at launch.
Further,not everySilent Hillgame released in the future may be console-exclusive, but it is particularly devastating that a remake of the franchise’s most successful game will be. If an Xbox edition is eventually released, it will hopefully launch with any post-launch DLC content or bonuses that were not available in the PS5 launch edition as a consolation.
Silent Hill 2is in development for PC and PS5.
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