Sony's decision to port PlayStation exclusives to PC is a fantastic move for many reasons, but Marvel's Spider-Man 2 proves that the execution needs some work. The move allows for more players to experience some of the most critically-acclaimed titles of the last few years, making for greater accessibility while increasing the popularity of PlayStation's many stellar games. Moreover, coming to PC grants these titles the chance to further build on visuals and performance that may not have been possible on console, allowing players with the right specifications to experience these games in a way that is truly breathtaking.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2's release on PC was poised to be a huge success for Sony, giving players the ultimate experience of this critically-acclaimed title. However, the game has been riddled with performance issues since launch, which has resulted in a negative reception while impeding Spider-Man 2's success on PC. As disappointing as this may be, it's indicative of a larger issue when it comes to Sony's approach to PC ports that must be changed to avoid this situation for future PlayStation titles.

What Went Wrong With Marvel's Spider-Man 2 On PC?

The PC Port Has Been Riddled With Performance Issues

The release of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on PC has been met with multiple negative reviews from players, and it's not hard to see why. One of the most prominent issues is an abundance of persistent crashes that get in the way of enjoying the game. If Spider-Man 2 doesn't crash, then it's likely the player will have to suffer through a multitude of other issues, whether that be an inconsistent frame rate, audio desyncing, missing textures, and more.

While developers Insomniac Games and Nixxes Software are working towards fixing these issues, the damage has already been done. The litany of issues plaguing the PC port has failed to provide players with an uncompromised version of the beloved PlayStation title, impacting the appeal that came with the greater accessibility. This has been reflected in the concurrent Steam player count for Spider-Man 2, as the peak of 28,189 concurrent players reported by SteamDB is a far cry from the 66,436 total that Insomniac's first Spider-Man title achieved.

Currently, two hotfix patches for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 that include various crash and bug fixes have been released on Steam. Additional patches are currently being worked on for the game.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a PlayStation exclusive has encountered issues during its transition to PC. The Last of Us Part I is an infamous example, releasing in a poorly optimized state as players experienced multiple crashes, while Until Dawn's many bugs and glitches likely played a role in its own underwhelming player count. With this in mind, Spider-Man 2's disastrous PC launch becomes even more frustrating as it's not an isolated incident, but another in a long line of disappointing ports of fantastic PlayStation exclusives.

How Sony Can Improve

It's Clear A New Approach Must Be Taken

The lackadaisical approach being taken with PlayStation's move to PC is indicative of Sony's apparent failure to recognize the potential that these ports possess. PC ports not only give these beloved titles a much greater outreach, but they could allow for these games to reach higher levels of performance and visual capabilities than what a base PS5 or PS5 Pro could provide. Yet, many PlayStation games on PC lack that necessary level of care and dedication, causing players to question the worth of investing in these ports themselves and impacting the titles' potential success on the platform.

It's clear that more time and resources should be given to developers to work on the ports.

If Sony is to continue with porting PlayStation games to PC, it's clear that a new approach must be taken. More specifically, it's clear that more time and resources should be given to developers to work on the ports, allowing them to optimize the games for PC use and test more extensively to identify problem points across diverse builds. Furthermore, it gives the developers ample opportunity to address any potential issues that players may encounter, resulting in much smoother PC launches than titles such as Spider-Man 2 encountered.

While this extra level of time and care will resolve the state of PC ports for PlayStation titles in general, it will also go a long way towards instilling trust among players in Sony. By adopting a more focused, dedicated approach, it sends a clear message to players of Sony's recognition of the benefits that PC ports provide to the many stellar PlayStation titles on offer. It will allow players on PC to put more faith in the ports while giving these beloved PlayStation titles the success that they deserve.

Listening To Players Goes A Long Way

Sony Has Responded To Players' Concerns In The Past

There's no denying that listening to players' concerns and critiques can go a long way in developing trust and dedication. It's something that Sony itself is no stranger to, having most recently announced on the PlayStation Blog that it would be pulling the requirement for a PlayStation Plus for a number of its PC ports, which was a common criticism among players. It's a recognition from the company of how the PSN requirement was actively impeding players' accessibility to the games, and it also highlights the importance of players' voices in ensuring better gaming experiences for everyone.

Not all PC ports from Sony have removed the requirement for a PlayStation Plus . It has not been specified whether Sony intends to remove this requirement for more ports of PlayStation titles in the future.

It's this direct communication that holds the key to giving PlayStation games far greater success on PC. By identifying common issues that players are experiencing across the multiple PC ports and resolving these directly, Sony could reassure fans that it has their best interests at heart. Players who receive consistent communication will have far more confidence in giving to the ports being developed for PlayStation titles, giving these games a better chance at success on PC.

With Sony remaining committed to developing PC ports of PlayStation exclusives, it's become more clear than ever that a new approach must be taken. The disastrous launch of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has only reiterated the prevalent issues that have plagued multiple ports and that have contributed to the underwhelming player numbers. However, by addressing these issues directly and putting more care into the PC ports, players will place more trust in Sony while giving these incredible PlayStation exclusives a far greater outreach than before.

Sources: Steam, SteamDB, PlayStation Blog