Hermen Hulst: "We (Sony WWS) are very committed to games we've been making: big, spectacular experiences with story & characters at the core."

[PlanetSmasher]

Cool. That's good to hear. Just please branch out more in terms of gameplay structures and storytelling styles and settings. They're getting very focused on this "lone, grim protagonist in a hostile world" setup and it would be really nice to have a game with an ensemble cast again.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

I feel it should be pointed out that these games were often lauded for their gameplay as much as every other aspect. They don't do it for you obviously but its not like its uncommon to hear people praising GOW as one of the best playing Western made action games of the decade.

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As soon as people say something good about a story in certain games all of a sudden a group of people forget the gameplay was also said to be good.
They have to or they can't push i want good \fun gameplay .
Mean while people are here enjoying both aspects .

 

[TheModestGun]

What is up with people that think there cant be games with good story/characters AND good gameplay?

Did you play God of War? It is one of the best story driven games of the gen and also one of the best playing western games I have ever played. The combat is incredible.

Did you play Horizon Zero Dawn? It has fantastic lore and worldbuilding, and guess what? The best part of it is the incredible combat against the machines, with probably the most satisfying bow combat I have ever experienced!

Did you play Uncharted 4? It is the marquee title of cinematic gaming, yet it offers one of the most varied TPS gameplay in the industry. The combat encounters are extremely versatile with amazingly designed levels (I especially love the jungle arena in Madagascar).

Did you play Spiderman? The game has a really entertaining story, but the best thing about it is the sublime traversal mechanics, which is without a doubt the most fun I have ever had with a videogame this gen, it just NEVER gets old. Add to that its Arkham-style combat that actually surpassed Arkham combat, since it gives you much more control to the character.

Whatever. I could go on with all their huge AAA games. You need to be a big ass troll to think these games made so much sucess just because of the narrative. They are, at front and center, great playing games, and there is no way anyone can spin around this fact.

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My baby brain prohibits me from understanding any sentiment beyond the repeated and overworn meme of "videogames are for gameplay, if I wanted a story id read a book".

 

[AudioEppa]

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I would laugh at the mentioning of Ouya as well 😂😂

 

[ThisThingIsUseful]

I miss when they made games like they used to make, with gameplay and fun at the core.

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Hot take:

Their games are more fun now than the PS1 days. I'll take God of War, Spider-Man, and Uncharted over Jet Moto any day.

 

[ThisThingIsUseful]

My baby brain prohibits me from understanding any sentiment beyond the repeated and overworn meme of "videogames are for gameplay, if I wanted a story id read a book".

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I don't get how some people do movies. Maybe you don't like There Will Be Blood, but you may like The Dark Knight. Perhaps you can't get into something like Jumanji but you can No Country for Old Men.

I continue to be glad that many on message boards don't control what games I get because ugh.

 

[DeathyG]

Excellent. The right guy is in charge of WWS then.

This is what Sony does best and nobody really comes close.

 

[jroc74]

There's not a massive difference in the focus of the games made today versus those made in the past, the key differentiator is the level of competency in story telling and characters.

Games like Resident Evil (especially 4), the original God of War series, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Shenmue etc were always story and character heavy games, it's just they weren't always particularly well written or acted.

In comparison, games like TLOU, UC2 RDR2, GTAV, God of War (18) etc are just far better realised in these areas. Ultimately, it isn't that they're any less fun or gameplay focused, it's just that the stories, writing and characters they have are on the whole much better than what we had in the past.

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Resident Evil 4 was the first game that came to mind when ppl complain about Sony and cinematic, or complain about TLoU.

 

[DarthWalden]

Good news.

This is what Sony is the best at doing and they are the best in the business at doing it and it isn't even peticular close.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

Hot take:

Their games are more fun now than the PS1 days. I'll take God of War, Spider-Man, and Uncharted over Jet Moto any day.

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Facts. Their games are more fun now than they've ever been. I don't know where this bullshit narrative that their games are lacking in gameplay comes from. I'll take GOW, Spiderman, Uncharted 4, and HZD over any of the classic PS1 and even PS2 titles from Sony.

 

[TheModestGun]

I don't get how some people do movies. Maybe you don't like There Will Be Blood, but you may like The Dark Knight. Perhaps you can't get into something like Jumanji but you can No Country for Old Men.

I continue to be glad that many on message boards don't control what games I get because ugh.

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Yes. Exactly. Do these people think that having story in games means that there won't be good gameplay design? As if those are even the same groups of people on a AAA team.

on a separate note. Gawd do I love No Country For Old Men. That movie is perfection.

 

[low-G]

Hot take:

Their games are more fun now than the PS1 days. I'll take God of War, Spider-Man, and Uncharted over Jet Moto any day.

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Jet Moto wasn't great hah. Now WipEout XL...

 

[AudioEppa]

Hot take:

Their games are more fun now than the PS1 days. I'll take God of War, Spider-Man, and Uncharted over Jet Moto any day.

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I don't disagree with you. But I can't lie and say I wouldn't mind a new Cool Boarders or 2xtreme with modern day graphics and physics 🤯

 

[Imitatio]

Thanks for saving me a lot of money, Hermen.

 

[RingRang]

I hope Herman keeps the Uncharted games flowing. It's my favorite Playstation franchise.

 

[dancingphlower]

People here have really narrow definitions of what games can be huh.

 

[Hey Please]

My baby brain prohibits me from understanding any sentiment beyond the repeated and overworn meme of "videogames are for gameplay, if I wanted a story id read a book".

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It's the tradition of Gatekeepers who grew up on paper thin plots, one dimensional characters, cringe and cheese abound. They are as irrelevant as their tradition. Their overworn diatribe is unworthy of even scorn; just pity filled laugh is appropriate now.

I do think that games have been stagnating in terms of how interactive they are and how stories are conveyed. It is a shortcoming of how we, users, tend to interact with the medium itself. The recent and biggest stride in narrative for cutscene driven games especially when talking of Sony produced games in the last two generations has to be context sensitive mandatory and context sensitive optional dialogues out of cutscenes. These continually keep building on the bond between characters and provide exposition organically without taking control away from the user.

 

[low-G]

That is a YOU problem then

The majority of people consider them games with great gameplay, including the media

Your taste is not the objective meter to judge how good a game plays

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If using the bandwagon as your supporting argument makes you feel justified, that's fine. The majority of humans still don't play games, and of those who do, they play mobile or a popular single game, etc. I mean the majority of gamers are a new market. These people didn't want games before, but they came in when games became less like games. Some wanted movies ++. And that's what they're getting. That's fine, but that's not actually core to what makes games games. It's games 'kinda'. The majority haven't played the games I have this year nor last, so they wouldn't really have a good way to compare which is better or worse.

I understand that most people couldn't handle Polybius for a number of reasons. That's fine.

You can take whatever viewpoint that you want, but you can't argue that gameplay is as important as storytelling to the likes of GoW.

 

[Ohri-Jin]

If they keep this up along with strong JRPG's they will do well. Like they always have done for decades.

Also Horror should be back. Quality horror games!

 

[Deleted member 16876]

greenlight tokyo jungle 2 you coward

edit: I want to see them diversify. these games are great but they are sorely missing things like wipeout and locoroco. indies somewhat fill that niche but why hope for something to break out across the board when you can fund some small stuff too and have it all for yourself

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Hopefully more stuff like The Last Guardian and Gravity Rush.

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Agreed.

Give me Wild Arms and Arc the Lad remake after Gravity Rush 3 comes out.

 

[Imitation Of Life]

Good news. That is why PlayStation is the best platform for me. The quirky stuff is cool, but the cinematic games are my main thing and Sony is best in class at it as a publisher.

 

[Swift_Gamer]

Ain't nobody have time for MP games. Keep them SP coming.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

You can take whatever viewpoint that you want, but you can't argue that gameplay is as important as storytelling to the likes of GoW.

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You can't argue otherwise either. I haven't seen a shred of evidence in your post to support the idea that the gameplay in GOW took a backseat to the story. Sounds to me like you're posting your subjective opinion as a fact when it really isn't.

 

[Arex]

Great, I've enjoyed most of Sony WWS games, and they're one of the main reason I got PS4, and probably PS5. Hope they don't change their core much. Maybe branch out to scifi tho :P

 

[V has come to]

Big open worlds with sad/angry dads and a three branch skill tree and crafting at the core.

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yeah, I love that sony is committed to AAA single player game and I love me a good story driven game, I just wish they would tone down on open world RPG lite stuff

 

[kennyamr]

good.

 

[ThisThingIsUseful]

Yes. Exactly. Do these people think that having story in games means that there won't be good gameplay design? As if those are even the same groups of people on a AAA team.

on a separate note. Gawd do I love No Country For Old Men. That movie is perfection.

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I can watch just about any scene and be engrossed in the whole damn thing. I remember that year, so many movies of different stripes, so many film critics gushing over how much quality was released.

Jet Moto wasn't great hah. Now WipEout XL...

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While WipEout was never really for me (tried the collection released in 2017 and couldn't devote the time to git gud), stuff like Resogun, Alienation and Matterfall are perfect pure arcade games.

But even with something like Uncharted 4/Lost Legacy -- two games I really loved -- I could spend hours playing the multiplayer and doing horde modes with teammates for just game/no story.

And running through the trials in God of War was pure action bliss!

I don't disagree with you. But I can't lie and say I wouldn't mind a new Cool Boarders or 2xtreme with modern day graphics and physics 🤯

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I suggest you start lying. >:(

yeah, I love that sony is committed to AAA single player game and I love me a good story driven game, I just wish they would tone down on open world RPG lite stuff

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On the other hand, I hope they double down on RPG aspects of Horizon 2.

 

[TheModestGun]

You can take whatever viewpoint that you want, but you can't argue that gameplay is as important as storytelling to the likes of GoW.

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How can you even argue this? Like 90 percent of the game is spent either in combat or puzzling.
Of course gameplay is first and foremost. Just because it has a competently told story, doesn't mean that the gameplay takes a backseat.

 

[Shakerovic]

Good, keep doing what you're doing Sony, only one more thing i need them to make which is a great horror game, a Siren reboot or maybe they can save Silent Hill from evil Konami

 

[Asbsand]

Hopefully more stuff like The Last Guardian and Gravity Rush.

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If PS5 has its "ICO" moment I'm all for it.

 

[liquidmetal14]

The group and "reload" structure they've had in place since the beginning is the reason they've been so consistent with their platforms.

I think it shows now just in the HW and adaptability of their design choices but it reflects clearly in the software.

 

[SecondNature]

I still want to see a JRPG from them that isnt some massive AAA, and I want a shooter like SOCOM or even Resistance with co-op back

And I want to see an open world racer and more indie games. And I definitely want more puzzle games like the Witness

IPs like Days Gone do nothing for me and I want less of those since Horizon, GOW and LoU got that covered

Games from team ico and games like lbp are important to me, but it feels both these devs are either no longer working on something for sony, or focused on a gen-long title like dreams

i dont have much expectations for Dreams and want to see more attempts like tearaway from Mm. Hopefully we dont have to wait until ps6 or something

 

[HStallion]

You can take whatever viewpoint that you want, but you can't argue that gameplay is as important as storytelling to the likes of GoW.

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Have you actually played God of War? 90% of the game consists of combat. The gameplay is the focus even if they make it beautiful and add a lot of cutscenes on top.

 

[Lionheart]

Sony is the only first party company nailing all aspects of their games, from gameplay to story to characters to production values. Others might hit 2 or at best 3 but rarely all four.

They will always have my money

 

[ThisThingIsUseful]

I still want to see a JRPG from them that isnt some massive AAA, and I want a shooter like SOCOM or even Resistance with co-op back

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The only JRPGs you're getting are Jim Ryan Party Gifs.

Games from team ico and games like lbp are important to me, but it feels both these devs are either no longer working on something for sony, or focused on a gen-long title like dreams

i dont have much expectations for Dreams and want to see more attempts like tearaway from Mm. Hopefully we dont have to wait until ps6 or something

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But LBP is more Dreams than Tearaway. And while GenDesign is a talented dev (hope they're working with Sony on something), Sony Japan in general works on really cool stuff in general, as does PixelOpus now that they have two games under their belt.

I'd also quibble with GOW, Horizon and Last of Us having "that" covered, thus no need for Days Gone. Days Gone didn't feel like any of them besides maybe Horizon, and in that case, only because you can hide in grass.

Overall, Days Gone was crazy fun top to bottom for me.

 

[Dog]

Why am I drooling

 

[Hoo-doo]

Well I'm not a big fan of characters and story at the core. I mean if it means cinematic experience and fuck the games without that, please Sony don't.

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Sony has always delivered on variety. Lots of gameplay-focused titles that are always raising the bar.

It just happens that their games are usually better written, have better mocap and voicework and that's why people call them 'cinematic' as if it's a derogatory term.

 

[ThisThingIsUseful]

Why am I drooling

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[Garrison]

Not what I was hoping to hear really. For as much praise as they receive, big cinematic single player games makes PlayStation 4 a good end of gen console to pick up with 5 games for me. I hope they continue the push for VR and get their multiplayer games in order. Warhawk and Socom where great) I haven't seen a push for smaller indie games either which I loved so much about the PS3 (stardust was one of my most player games that gen).

 

[iksenpets]

That's what I'm a bit critical. I like vg in general. I'm not a big fan of a company 'obsessed' to the cinematic core experience. The later chats about this stuff don't like at all. Hope to be wrong.

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If you're expecting Sony to focus on all genres equally, I think you'll probably be disappointed. They focus on big, bombastic single-player stuff because it's a niche the current third-party market doesn't provide a ton of, which lets them turn it into a big differentiator for their console when they're good at it. There's no reason for Sony to aggressively pursue, say, multiplayer shooters, because the third-party market provides a surplus of them, and in fact there'd be good odds that whatever they release would fail to catch on at all because it wouldn't be as good as Call of Duty or Apex Legends. Sony's interest is in the total ecosystem on their console, and there's no reason for them to step on their third parties' toes anywhere they don't have to, when they can focus on plugging the niches their third parties don't instead.

There's really no denying that that strategy has worked for them this gen, better than a broader strategy worked for them last gen, or worked for Microsoft earlier this gen (they've kind of found a way to make the broader strategy work now through GamePass, but it took giving their stuff away on day one to subscription holders to really get their offerings to the point where people were even comparing it to Sony's PS4 output).

 

[Hey Please]

Question is whether Sony will resurrect one of its older IPs and inject it with substantive changes alongside the inevitable superficial upgrades?

Feels like reboots or spiritual successor to games like Syphon Filter, Heavenly Sword and EverQuest (SP rendition) could get another chance at life with the design sensibilities of 2020+.

 

[____]

Question is whether Sony will resurrect one of its older IPs and inject it with substantive changes alongside the inevitable superficial upgrades?

Feels like reboots or spiritual successor to games like Syphon Filter, Heavenly Sword and EverQuest (SP rendition) could get another chance at life with the design sensibilities of 2020+.

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Your post is invalid without mentioning Warhawk, man.

WE NEED WARHAWK.

 

[thuway]

There's not a massive difference in the focus of the games made today versus those made in the past, the key differentiator is the level of competency in story telling and characters.

Games like Resident Evil (especially 4), the original God of War series, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Shenmue etc were always story and character heavy games, it's just they weren't always particularly well written or acted.

In comparison, games like TLOU, UC2 RDR2, GTAV, God of War (18) etc are just far better realised in these areas. Ultimately, it isn't that they're any less fun or gameplay focused, it's just that the stories, writing and characters they have are on the whole much better than what we had in the past.

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🐐 Quality post

 

[Hey Please]

Your post is invalid without mentioning Warhawk, man.

WE NEED WARHAWK.

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#NeverEverForget

​

 

[Malkier]

Question is whether Sony will resurrect one of its older IPs and inject it with substantive changes alongside the inevitable superficial upgrades?

Feels like reboots or spiritual successor to games like Syphon Filter, Heavenly Sword and EverQuest (SP rendition) could get another chance at life with the design sensibilities of 2020+.

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Sony doesn't own the EverQuest IP anymore.

 

[ThisThingIsUseful]

There's not a massive difference in the focus of the games made today versus those made in the past, the key differentiator is the level of competency in story telling and characters.

Games like Resident Evil (especially 4), the original God of War series, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Shenmue etc were always story and character heavy games, it's just they weren't always particularly well written or acted.

In comparison, games like TLOU, UC2 RDR2, GTAV, God of War (18) etc are just far better realised in these areas. Ultimately, it isn't that they're any less fun or gameplay focused, it's just that the stories, writing and characters they have are on the whole much better than what we had in the past.

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People forget that games wanted to have impressive cinematics for a long time; the technology just wasn't there yet. They did what they could at the time.

 

[Hey Please]

Sony doesn't own the EverQuest IP anymore.

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I see. Thank you for the rectification.

 

[HStallion]

Question is whether Sony will resurrect one of its older IPs and inject it with substantive changes alongside the inevitable superficial upgrades?

Feels like reboots or spiritual successor to games like Syphon Filter, Heavenly Sword and EverQuest (SP rendition) could get another chance at life with the design sensibilities of 2020+.

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Isn't this exactly what Blue Point is doing?

 

[Megabreath]

Good, I have loved Sony's output this gen (haven't even played GOW yet)

Its what sets them apart from the competition for me. I don't like MS's multiplayer focus, as I don't have time for that and I have no nostalgia for Nintendo and can't get into their games.

 

[ThisThingIsUseful]

Good, I have loved Sony's output this gen (haven't even played GOW yet)

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yo

You're in for a treat.