With this being at the centre of the Helldivers 2 controversy I became curious about how the global coverage of platform holders accounts and networks varies. We've seen Steam is obviously very global, and we know the console manufacturers struggle with having a global reach.
But this is an extremely simple thing to support in the end. This is not me looking at how many countries allow you to purchase from their digital stores, this is not me looking at official warranty support, none of that. We are in a global digital economy where digital products are sold globally - so account restrictions being imposed should at least support the option to make your account from most countries around the world.
For this analysis, I went to the official account creation pages for Steam, Microsoft, PlayStation, and Nintendo.
The results are very surprising:
STEAM
Steam is the most globally successful marketplace and this shows in their list of countries supported. It's absolutely massive, and even includes disputed territories like Western Sahara. There's a reason gamers flock to Steam and love it so much, because it provides real value that other services simply tend not to match.
XBOX
It makes total sense that Microsoft's list is even bigger, because it's Microsoft's list. It turns out you don't make Xbox accounts independent of Microsoft accounts anymore, which means Xbox accounts support all regions that Microsoft does, which is... pretty much the entire world. It's a bigger list than even Valve. Now, what Microsoft does do is not offer services like the Xbox digital store, Game Pass, or even console online play, in a lot of those countries, but it does let you make an officially supported account pretty much anywhere in the world you are, which gives them a big leg up for PC sales and distribution.
PLAYSTATION
This list is a joke, even more after how ridiculously big the previous two were. For all the stanning PlayStation fans do about how it is a "global brand" it is actually shocking how few countries are officially supported for something as basic as setting up an account. I mean what is the point of buying a PS5 without the ability to make an official account on it? I had never realized the PSN list is this bad. it's absurd. It's a joke. Surely Sony has some account infrastructure somewhere that supports more countries that PS can piggyback off of, just like Microsoft did with Xbox. How is this this bad? This feels like an early 2000s list, and I am honestly afraid of seeing Nintendo's list now, because it's going to be even worse, won't it?
NINTENDO
Nope! Somehow, even Nintendo supports more countries officially with the Nintendo Account. Because Nintendo Accounts were used for its mobile games, and because those mobile games were sold in most markets around the world, it turns out that the official list of countries supported for Nintendo Accounts is more than three times as big as the PlayStation one. Like with Xbox, Nintendo simply disables access to services like the eShop in countries where they don't sell their consoles officially, but it allows you to make a Nintendo account from most countries in the world. In the future, hypothetically if Nintendo ever decides to sell multiplayer oriented games (e.g. Pokemon) on Steam, it can still require a Nintendo account and sell it in, like, Malaysia even though the Switch isn't sold there officially.
--
So that's the crux of this. Sony's ancient network infrastructure has finally reached a critical mass of problems where they become very visible and now it is apparent that they really need to overhaul. For a brand that wants to be global and wants to move people into its ecosystem, it is a pretty shocking oversight to not let them into your ecosystem outside of a handful of countries. No other platform holder has this issue, none of them. This problem is uniquely Sony's. And that's why comparing this to Minecraft or Sea of Thieves is so stupid, because Microsoft at least doesn't block you from making the account they ask you to make. Sony does, and they did it after taking money.
But this is an extremely simple thing to support in the end. This is not me looking at how many countries allow you to purchase from their digital stores, this is not me looking at official warranty support, none of that. We are in a global digital economy where digital products are sold globally - so account restrictions being imposed should at least support the option to make your account from most countries around the world.
For this analysis, I went to the official account creation pages for Steam, Microsoft, PlayStation, and Nintendo.
The results are very surprising:
STEAM
Steam is the most globally successful marketplace and this shows in their list of countries supported. It's absolutely massive, and even includes disputed territories like Western Sahara. There's a reason gamers flock to Steam and love it so much, because it provides real value that other services simply tend not to match.
XBOX
It makes total sense that Microsoft's list is even bigger, because it's Microsoft's list. It turns out you don't make Xbox accounts independent of Microsoft accounts anymore, which means Xbox accounts support all regions that Microsoft does, which is... pretty much the entire world. It's a bigger list than even Valve. Now, what Microsoft does do is not offer services like the Xbox digital store, Game Pass, or even console online play, in a lot of those countries, but it does let you make an officially supported account pretty much anywhere in the world you are, which gives them a big leg up for PC sales and distribution.
PLAYSTATION
This list is a joke, even more after how ridiculously big the previous two were. For all the stanning PlayStation fans do about how it is a "global brand" it is actually shocking how few countries are officially supported for something as basic as setting up an account. I mean what is the point of buying a PS5 without the ability to make an official account on it? I had never realized the PSN list is this bad. it's absurd. It's a joke. Surely Sony has some account infrastructure somewhere that supports more countries that PS can piggyback off of, just like Microsoft did with Xbox. How is this this bad? This feels like an early 2000s list, and I am honestly afraid of seeing Nintendo's list now, because it's going to be even worse, won't it?
NINTENDO
Nope! Somehow, even Nintendo supports more countries officially with the Nintendo Account. Because Nintendo Accounts were used for its mobile games, and because those mobile games were sold in most markets around the world, it turns out that the official list of countries supported for Nintendo Accounts is more than three times as big as the PlayStation one. Like with Xbox, Nintendo simply disables access to services like the eShop in countries where they don't sell their consoles officially, but it allows you to make a Nintendo account from most countries in the world. In the future, hypothetically if Nintendo ever decides to sell multiplayer oriented games (e.g. Pokemon) on Steam, it can still require a Nintendo account and sell it in, like, Malaysia even though the Switch isn't sold there officially.
--
So that's the crux of this. Sony's ancient network infrastructure has finally reached a critical mass of problems where they become very visible and now it is apparent that they really need to overhaul. For a brand that wants to be global and wants to move people into its ecosystem, it is a pretty shocking oversight to not let them into your ecosystem outside of a handful of countries. No other platform holder has this issue, none of them. This problem is uniquely Sony's. And that's why comparing this to Minecraft or Sea of Thieves is so stupid, because Microsoft at least doesn't block you from making the account they ask you to make. Sony does, and they did it after taking money.
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