Shovelware games continue to spread like the plague, primarily on PlayStation and PC. Somehow, titles like Crazy Chicken Shooter Edition and Panda Hero have made their way to next-gen systems like the PlayStation 5, but Sony has had enough.
After years of allowing shovelware on the PlayStation Store, Sony has told devs they will de-list titles that fit certain criteria. This includes games that give players easy platinum trophies.
Some gamers pride themselves as completionists, hunting down every last trophy. Naturally, certain shovelware titles made getting the Platinum Trophy a ridiculously easy task, allowing trophy hunters to easily nab the plat.
Could this be the end of really bad shovelware games? Will gamers miss these easy Platinum Trophy titles? Probably not.
On the Gaming Leaks and Rumors subreddit, a post revealed that Sony sent a warning to all shovelware devs that have easy Platinum Trophy requirements. The PlayStation company emphasized how bad these games are to the consumer.
“SIE strives to ensure that customers can search and discover the full breadth of experiences on PlayStation and that partners have a fair means of being discovered,” claimed the letter. “When partners oversaturate or “spam” PlayStation™Store with many variants of the same type of content, it can negatively impact both the customer and partner experience.
If these developers continue to keep making these games, Sony has threatened to shadowban them from the PlayStation Store and de-list their titles. Considering how big the PlayStation fanbase is, this is a massive warning for everyone involved.
Developers of these games that get multiple rejections and takedown may have their services with Sony terminated. Suspensions are also a possibility, which limits the possibility of getting these games on the PlayStation Store.
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Only time will tell if this will result in the death of easy Platinum Trophy shovelware, at least on PlayStation systems. Various shovelware titles are readily available on mobile and Nintendo Switch so here’s hoping companies follow Sony on this.