Yoshida is close to retirement. Seems more like a "ride off into the sunset position" to me.
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Guerrilla Games' Hermen Hulst is PlayStation's new head of Worldwide Studios
- Thread starter EatChildren
- Start date
Given all the recent departures and rumblings of disorder, it certainly is fair to be concerned about this move. It seems like a very suspect way of saying "hey Shu is done as head of WWS", the headline is the new person, not one of the most recognizable people in one of the most powerful positions, being moved out.
The optimist in me feels hopeful that Sony will be better to indies now compared to the last 2-3 years.
Eh , it's not nice what they r doing as you should feel free to state how u feel . Hope u r not offended by it . Hopefully u r super positive in your day to day life so negativity from here doesn't bring down the balance to negative :D
Cheers
Yeah it's a demotion which is really unfortunate, putting him charge of running a small indie intiative was set up in Hope's of resolving turmoil. Shu was the last of a dying breed smh.
this is the funniest shit ive heard all week and i was in the death stranding review thread. my god man.
Why would they suddenly have a weak first party? I think you are putting too much weight on one person. Herman Hulst was already the VP of Worldwide Studios and their studio ecosystem is going to stay the same as it ever has. This is going to be a good thing. I'm certain of it.
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Wow, I welcome this with open arms! Guerilla pushes the envelope of graphics, pushed the envelope with regards to studio expansion, pushed the envelope with taking chances in new IP's, pushed the envelope of leaving their comfort zone and going on to newer crazier heights as a game developer. So this is great news, exactly what I want from a guy in this position, as a person that wants all those things in a PS5 generation.
This is a weird take considering how well PlayStation sells in Europe, and especially considering how much slack they picked up last generation when PS3 was struggling in Japan and NA. Studios wise they leave a fair bit to be desired, but for the PlayStation business as a whole they've been the proverbial star pupil. This shouldn't come as a surprise or fill people with worry.
But it doesn't need to be one or the other. Their first party output has been firing on all cylinders for a while and with this new position for Yoshida it's reasonable to assume they will be putting some emphasis back on indies again.
That was Super Time Force Ultra. A game which I really wanted to like but just found messy and chaotic rather than enjoyable.
MS's focus has always been in making games which specifically appeal to the NA market, while Sony's has not. I reckon they'd need to make a few more games along the lines of Halo and Gears in order to make significant headway there.
??? Jim Ryan would be that person (head of SIE) and he's worked there forever.
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This is such a ridiculous take, even for you. Even if you think SIEE are terrible (which is itself ridiculous, they have their pros and cons, same as SIEA and SIEJA), Hermen had nothing to do with it. He was running Guerrilla, not SIEE. And if you're demanding he do A LOT to dispel that "negative energy" (whatever that is) then you're already setting him up to fail your expectations.
A VP, not THE. They have a lot of VPs. Michael Denny, head of WWS Europe and Senior VP of WWS, was up until now Hermen's boss.
But yeah, the idea that one guy has such a huge impact on WWS' output is laughable, especially considering how hands off WWS are.
I wonder how much more decima engine will be pushed through the ecosystem of First party devs
Also makes me think Kojima will join WWS no doubt
Also makes me think Kojima will join WWS no doubt
They're competing now. The U.S. is MS's strongest market and Sony's leading there.
It's wanted that sony make the PS4 $199 just to destroy MS in sales. But why? They're dominate, have the most games, and sales are still consistent. It doesn't have to be a landslide.
Coming from PS3 sales in the U.S. it's a wonder they got this successful at all.
Drucks' more of a creative guy, really, gets hands on with making games. Hermen's more of a business/manager type.
Druckmann is much more involved in development while Hermen is more involved in the running of the studio. I know Druckmann recently got promoted, but I reckon that like Miyazaki he will still remain a game director.
What "negative energy"? Is this just you pissing and moaning because you didn't like Horizon Zero Dawn?!
This whole executive power struggle and now what appears to basically be Sony Europe seizing complete control of Playstation as a business is not pleasant news for me as someone who has not liked Sony Europe or their creative output for the better part of a decade. The last game I actually enjoyed out of their European side was Motorstorm Pacific Rift.
You'll have to forgive me if I'm not enthusiastic about the people behind my least favorite part of Sony leading the entire platform moving forward.
I really like Hermen so good luck to him.
Probably already mentioned, but Shawn was with him recently so I assume they talked about the transition and stuff.
Probably already mentioned, but Shawn was with him recently so I assume they talked about the transition and stuff.
I mean their front-facing, gamer-centric dude. Wouldn't be surprised to see Hermen out there being the main stage presence.
You think so? Shu wasn't exactly approving a ton of big Japanese games this generation. I think their output will pretty much be the same.
Although, I do think it will only get worse in Japan since consoles just don't sell in that market anymore but, it will not be a result of this
Yeah I know. I looked at his twitter just now and boy, this is really concerning.
I really like Hermen, I'm excited to see what he brings to the table, I'm sure it will be great. Yoshida being the head of Indie development sounds like a really good fit and he seems happy where he is at. Maybe he even asked to do this as he was close to retirement and wanted to do something different.
At the very least it would've been good to have SOMEONE in a leadership position trying to play the cheerleader role for Japanese games to try and keep the company from abandoning the territory entirely.
But Hermen wasn't in charge of greenlighting those games so I don't see why you think it reflects poorly on him? Jim Ryan has been making some good changes since becoming head of SIE (cross play, more emphasis on PS Now, buying Insomniac), so I don't see why you think the fact they're both from Europe is a negative thing.
Druckmann is not a real manager (well he is now but not for long). Hermen has always being a manager / marketing guy, never a game director.
Sure, but Shu wasn't really doing that and just because Herman isn't Japanese doesn't mean he can't do it. Listen, I am not saying things will improve under him but can we not pretend like Shu was this huge advocate for Sony first party Japanese games.
Like a week ago I said something like this was coming and Id be even more nervous. It's nothing against Hermen (Ive loved GG and their games, and he's always seemed like a solid leader), but it's hard not to see all of these moves within the company as more than coincidences.
Shuhei just doing indies, games with decreasing importance to Sony (though not unimportant, it's not 2008 anymore) is a waste, unless it's just a polite way of pushing him out.
I feel like a minority in a sea of congratulations and positivity, but I can't separate this from the rest of the company shakeup.
Just a lot of unknown going forward. I hope it all goes fine, if not better.
Shuhei just doing indies, games with decreasing importance to Sony (though not unimportant, it's not 2008 anymore) is a waste, unless it's just a polite way of pushing him out.
I feel like a minority in a sea of congratulations and positivity, but I can't separate this from the rest of the company shakeup.
Just a lot of unknown going forward. I hope it all goes fine, if not better.
Wait...you really think that Sony abandoning Japan territory is an actual possibility?
Congrats to Hermen Hulst. Guerrilla Games seems to be big behind the scenes. Hopefully this does not mean more Killzone though.
Also, the tone of this thread is different from the one were some thought the US had too much of a role in Sony. It was almost xenophobic.
Also, the tone of this thread is different from the one were some thought the US had too much of a role in Sony. It was almost xenophobic.
Per the Jim Ryan interview, Shu will probably actually have more leeway to champion regional-focused games now than he had with WWS.
Just heard about this. Fuck yeah!
This Is a genuinely great pick. Also he's dutch so you know he'll be keeping it real.
Congrats Hermen!
This Is a genuinely great pick. Also he's dutch so you know he'll be keeping it real.
Congrats Hermen!
Yeah he seems real fucking broken up about his promotion to the position he clearly wanted
Some of you are amazing at pushing out your own narrative. The man himself is publicly happy about it and here we are, saying that he's being pushed out.