Going into Sony’s ‘Future of Gaming‘ presentation, I honestly did not expect a teaser of anything Spider-Man related. While Insomniac Games was in no doubt working on a sequel to the gaming blockbuster of 2018, I thought it was toon soon for any sort of proper reveal. Imagine my surprise when early on – right at the beginning of the show no less – Sony kicks off its PS5 reveal with of Spider-Man: Miles Morales. “That’s that“, I thought, as I cupped my mouth in disbelief, reading the words ‘Holiday 2020‘ as the announcement trailer came to an end. “The PS5 is a guaranteed success.”
When Marvel’s Spider-Man launched on the PlayStation 4 towards the of 2018, it went on to sell a record 3.3 million copies during its first three days of release. Since then, the web-slinger’s PS4 debut has gone on to sell upwards of 14 million copies in less than two years time; an amazing accomplishment to say the least. It’s no wonder that Sony would not only put a Spider-Man sequel at the top of its priority list, but that it would also acquire Insomniac Games and bring the talented developer under its Worldwide Studios umbrella. Spider-Man doesn’t just translate into software sales in the millions, however. Marvel’s iconic superhero can also shift hardware just as easily as he swings through New York City. While the reveal of Spider-Man: Miles Morales surprised me and countless of others tuning into the PS5 reveal, a Spider-Man title ready for the launch of the PlayStation 5 makes incredible sense. The brand has such tremendous buying power behind it and leveraging that fanbase into the next-generation – at the launch of the PS5 – is a brilliant maneuver.
At the time of this writing, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is trending #1 on YouTube and currently sits with 2 million + views. Compared to the rest of the PlayStation channel’s PS5 software videos, the only trailer than comes close is Horizon: Forbidden West hovering at just over1 million views. Let’s also not forget that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was an astronomical success for Sony. Not only did the film gross close to $400 million in global box office sales on a $90 million budget, it introduced scores of young movie goers to Miles Morales. To put it bluntly, there is an insane amount of energy and excitement building around the next chapter in Marvel’s Spider-Man and it is going to shift an incredible amount of PlayStation 5’s this holiday season. It’s unclear if Miles Morales is going to be a launch title or will launch a month or so after the PS5’s release, but regardless it all points to the same outcome. Spider-Man is a franchise that spans across every demographic of gamer. Could you just imagine the look on this kid’s if he unwrapped a PS5 + Spider-Man: Miles Morales bundle on Christmas morning? He would probably lose his mind.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales looks to be what Lost Legacy was to Uncharted 4. It would explain how the team at Insomniac Games was able to develop and eventually release the title in such a short period of time. There is also absolutely nothing wrong with that. It means that there is a potential for two Spider-Man titles to look forward to on the PS5, one in Miles Morales, and the other in the inevitable Spider-Man 2. That alone not only secures the initial success of the PS5, but for years to come.
Nah, affirmative action spiderman isn’t a selling point for many, in can, in fact, turn people away who are tired of everything getting blackwashed or femalewashed. Forced diversity…same as racism.
Going to have to disagree with you on that one. BIG TIME. The box office return of Into the Spider-Verse and the the view count of that announcement trailer clearly indicate that Spider-Man: Miles Morales is going to be a huge seller for Sony. This isn’t turning anyone away. The only person this seems to be turning away is you, which is a real shame because this game looks to be a worthy follow-up to 2018’s Spider-Man. As for the second part of your comment, Miles Morales has been around for a decade and nothing is going to be ‘washed’ as you put it. We JUST got a Spider-Man game with Peter Parker less than two years ago. What exactly is being washed away here? And this isn’t even a sequel – it’s a standalone expansion to explore the character of Miles who got his powers in the last game. Which means we are likely to get a Spider-Man 2 in the PS5’s lifecycle. Next time think before you speak on the internet; it will go a long way.