[Jason Schreier] Sony’s Obsession with Blockbusters is Stirring Unrest in the PlayStation Empire

[Sparks]

Yup, this forum is a parody. All this talk about Sony not taking risks and right now they are the ones taking the most risks when it comes to their IPs.

Oh well, we are in the "Sony is doomed" phase right now, nothing will change people's minds now that they are fixated on the narrative that Sony is headed for the rocks under Jim Ryan. I can't wait for their games showcase so we can actually know what they are really up to. I'm tired of all these negative articles, reminds me a lot of last year around this time and we all saw how that turned out.

Click to shrink...

Saying "Sony is Doomed" is pretty silly right now, but I understand there are some concerns buttttt:

- This ALWAYS happens at the beginning of every playstation generation (maybe not so much PS2)
- We are STILL in a pandemic and it is affecting wayyy more than anybody knows. A lot of these decisions would be completely different if it wasnt for that.

It's a weird tricky time atm.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

On second thought I'm trying to picture a the last of us remake done with the PS5 in mind and I actually got goosebumps. We all know most people will buy it.

And if the show is a hit? Even better

 

[arsene_P5]

So according to their article, their original pitch was just another, more expensive remake.

So how is that less creative freedom if their original pitch was just another remake?

Click to shrink...

I misread (" something new") his tweet apologies:

 

[kurahador]

Judging by this thread, Returnal is going to be a huge success!

I'm sure those being concerny have reserved a copy!

Spoiler

My face reading this thread... I need a large gin'n'tonic this Friday evening.

Click to shrink...

Returnal made Housemarque familiar with 3rd person shooter which is a perfect fit as a future ND support studio.

 

[QuigleyMcShine]

Click to shrink...

The hell? These games are all pretty different.

 

[Meg Cherry]

I find it funny that Returnal is being held up as the antithesis to all of people's concerns about Sony's path - when it's a game made by a developer that previously specialized in smaller, retro arcade-style games, but had to pivot to a big cinematic blockbuster third person shooter in order to keep getting money out of Sony.

Game still looks great (and seems surprisingly connected to Housemarque's roots) - but the narrative is laughable.

 

[Rooster]

Doubt we'll see the consequences of this approach until much later in the gen. For now Sony are doing well and in the near future there's some big games coming. After that though who knows.

 

[Mugen X]

A LoU remake?? But why? The game isn't even that old.

 

[arsene_P5]

On second thought I'm trying to picture a the last of us remake done with the PS5 in mind and I actually got goosebumps. We all know most people will buy it.

And if the show is a hit? Even better

Click to shrink...

It is exciting in isolation, but the story behind it less so and it's to early imo. But I happily play the game with PS5/6 graphics again. Probably not at launch, though, because it feels way to early.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

Jup and Sony is releasing a AA new IP this month and has announced it is supporting a new studio in a region they had no presence in before (Canada).

Click to shrink...

I agree. I dont think Sony is messing up. They are fine.

Just highlighting what MS did during the 360 is not what Nintendo has been doing nor is it what Sony is doing.

 

[SoundLad]

Who on this God's green earth wants to play TLoU again lmaoooo bad move

 

[Redbarrel]

Rallying around your core franchises didn't work well for MS at the end of the 360 era. This stuff is baffling

Click to shrink...

They focusing on blockbuster games doesn't necessarily mean they're rallying around the core franchises right? I mean, at least I hope it doesn't. HZD and GoT were both welcome additions to the tent pole franchises. I don't think they would just give up on keep creating new IP. Although this The Last Of Us Remake thing does sound very weird.

To put some context on Sony's strategy to make more blockbusters, I recommend this article from GI :

If Xbox is Netflix, then PS5 is cinema | Console analysis

I was excited to get hands on with PS5 and Xbox Series X, not just because I love games, but because I really wanted to…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Click to shrink...

I mean they're right but what if Microsoft starts to put cinema quality movies on their streaming service? Starfield, Elder Scrolls, Fallout 5 are all going to be quality games, period. The same could be said for the next Wolfenstein.

 

[reclaimerzzzzz]

you are correct.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for pointing that section out, your assumption could easily have been correct. It still seems that remakes (remasters) was going to be their thing.

 

[I Am Captain America]

gaming is actually making a ton of money during covid.

Click to shrink...

Maybe smaller dev's yeah but I do believe Sony and Microsoft can not afford right now to take risks on bigger triple AAA titles and there plans going forward as everyone has addressed is playing it "safe" for the long run whether that be remakes, reused IPs and so on

 

[Lobster Roll]

What would Sony even need to do for them to be actually doomed? Make the PS6 a VR only machine that only works via voice inputs?

Click to shrink...

Haha that's about it. For Sony to be actually "Doomed", they would need to completely torpedo their entire business model and pull themselves out of the game completely. I think it's unfair for people to criticize Sony and then be labeled as Doomers for having the audacity to say that Sony has taken a wrong turn and has an opportunity to fix that mistake.

 

[Deleted member 13101]

all of that is covered in the article

Click to shrink...

I already posted why this isn't the case. No doubt this article will be satisfying to some.

 

[ThingsRscary]

Jim Ryan

 

[Gobias-Ind]

This paragraph is honestly funny to me.

Just when it hoped to enter production on the remake of The Last of Us, Mumbauer's team got called in to help when another big game fell behind. Release of The Last of Us Part II had been pushed to 2020 from 2019 and Naughty Dog needed the Visual Arts Service Group to polish it off. Most of Mumbauer's team, along with some of the 200 or so other staff at the Visual Arts Service Group, was assigned to support Naughty Dog, slowing down progress on its own game.

Click to shrink...

Got pulled off a TLOU remake to help with TLOU 2 and this is considered a breach of autonomy?

I guess I get the bummer vibes coming from Sony Bend (although I am personally not the least bit sad to see Day's Gone fade away). Still, I haven't really felt the urge to join in on the PS doomposting... However, if Playstation was actually pouring a large amount of resources into remaking TLOU, I might be inclined to worry.

"We want autonomy! We don't want to be subordinate to Naughty Dog! We want to remake a 7 year old Naughty Dog game!" yeah, not particularly bummed to hear that project didn't garner a ton of support from corporate.

 

[Mass Effect]

Naughty Dog being on TLOU again has me super disappointed. I feel like that's going to cause even more turnover in the studio from franchise fatigue. I hope they're still able to develop this new supposed sci-fi IP.

And consolidation around the mega successful franchises is not something I'm interested in. Like do we really need a remake of TLOU? Do we need Bend becoming a potential Naughty Dog support studio? I do not want to see Sony's remaining studios be relegated to supporting the 3-4 rockstar Developers to make unsustainable bigger games.

Like every senior executive? You don't get to the top and earn the big money by being Mr/s Nice Person. Same goes for Nice (honest!) Guy Phil

Click to shrink...

What does being nice have to do with whether someone is conservative or not?

Phil is definitely NOT a conservative executive; he's quite ambitious.

 

[GattsuSama]

A couple of other moves like this and it could be mismanagement.

This news coming from many other developers or publishers would be taken with bigger concern.

 

[DaleCooper]

I, for one, am glad to see that Days Gone 2 got rejected. Very mediocre and worn out concept in general except for the hordes.

Do I want to see Sony increase the scope of their "blockbusters", not necessarily.

 

[Mary Celeste]

Sony is doing everything possible to push me away from them this gen. It's going to work.

 

[B00T]

Man no Days Gone 2 is a real bummer; my game of the generation and really is what made me a bigger Sony fan than ever.

Click to shrink...

It was the most fun I'd had with anything they put out last gen, with God of War and Spider-Man being close. What a massive bummer.

 

[Bigwombat]

Can't say I'm too surprised, the PlayStation brand has been moving towards this for quite some time. My PS5 will still very likely be my "primary" current-gen console, but this just makes me want a Series X more and more.

Click to shrink...

Me too. Never thought that would be the case even as soon as the beginning of this year. Sony really turning me off their brand. Hiring Marky Mark to be sully was a huge red flag in hindsight. Shows a disconnect between Sony and all their partners.

 

[Welfare]

Sony fulfilling its ambition of being the Hollywood of games by remaking a game that came out in the last 10 years.

Genius.

Days Gone 2 getting cancelled is bull. The game actually sold decently and could have grown.

 

[UglySofaGaming]

This article and thread is frankly embarrassing. The body of the article itself doesn't even match the title and the corresponding response from people in this thread stirring up fanboy nonsense is even worse. I'm disappointed in Jason and don't know if I want to read his articles moving forward if they are going to be taking stuff out of context for the sake of a "juicy" story.

Click to shrink...

It feels very loaded. Especially the throw away line about "quirky" Dreams and how we shouldn't think about that game because it goes against the spirit of the article and Sony sent it to die. Would love some receipts and expansion of that point...

 

[FusedAtoms]

Tlou1 remastered with the last of us 2 upgraded and a multiplayer mode would easily get 70$ from me

 

[Wise]

Didn't days gone sell like 7m+?

 

[Iron Eddie]

I read part of the article, he's basically saying the team, Sony Visual Arts behind the 2013 remake of TLoU is not getting any credit, it went to Naughty Dog. The studio never even got a name, they were deflated and the team disbanded.

Basically the article is focsing on how Sony is prioritizing it's big studios.

I think a lot of people are getting confused with the dates and the original remake.

 

[xeroborn55]

the tone and conclusions of that article seemed off.

Having the original team work on a TLOU remake seems like the logical choice. Going with proven devs over unproven is a logical choice. Not greenlighting a day's gone sequel (71 metacritic) seems like a logical choice. Leaning into AAA games, which is what separates them from the competition, makes money, and what their fans enjoy seems like a logical choice.

 

[Izanagi89]

Click to shrink...

The fact that Death Stranding is in that pic makes this image all the more cringe and nonsensical.

 

[Quellyford]

This sucks, but not surprising after those Japan Studio rumours. Hope the people involved get to do what they want to do - this sounds like a bad situation for all involved.

 

[Nanashrew]

Former Santa Monica dev

 

[Shining Star]

Nothing you hear about Sony these days is good is it?

 

[Deleted member 2145]

Investigate and tell those stories then. That's not what this article did.

And not all the headlines are about the games, especially the headline from the source publication. Articles shouldn't need a subsequent reading guide from the author.

Click to shrink...

uhhhhhhh....

what?

requisite question here, did you read the article. because like I said "uhhhhhhh....what?"

 

[Chip Chanceworth]

I mean, depends what Sony has in store I guess. If it's gonna be things like this and Microsoft gets KojiPro...

Click to shrink...

What Sony has in store for the PS5 seems like the most predictable console of all time. I think you and i both know where they are going. But if a remake of a wildly loved game gets you to sell a console then i think your being harsh on the company.

Btw, thanks for not being hostile towards what i said. It was a honest statement. I feel like when ever i question someones post on this board they usually attack me lol.

 

[Host Samurai]

Jim Ryan

Click to shrink...

TBF it was trending down with the departure of Jack Trenton. Sony from 2014-2018 compared to 2019-now is a big difference. If Trenton were still on charge, I believe we would have gotten full BC. I mean we can't even get a 60fps patch for Bloodborne now.

 

[daegan]

Surprised at all the disbelief around Days Gone not getting a sequel - they went seven years between shipping games! Bend is lucky to not have gone the way of Japan Studio, Evolution, etc.

 

[DecoReturns]

Well. Last of Us Remake will definitely outsell almost anything Sony 1st party bar Spiderman maybe so seems like a smart business choice. And with the highly anticipated show, even more potential.

I have no interest in it. But I see why they're going that route. Tho Days Gone 2 is something I thought would be on the cards and ready to release after 2022 lol.

 

[Quellyford]

This doesn't seem surprising. Everybody is moving to safe and big projects.

The days of the biggest names making smaller and quirky games died long ago.

Unfortunately.

Click to shrink...

There's still a few kicking around. Tim Schafer comes to mind: Still has creative freedom despite being owned by megacorp Microsoft.

Here's hoping the reception to this article turns heads at Sony.

 

[Nintenleo]

Waiting for Miles Morales remake asap

 

[Betty]

Saying "Sony is Doomed" is pretty silly right now, but I understand there are some concerns buttttt:

- This ALWAYS happens at the beginning of every playstation generation (maybe not so much PS2)

Click to shrink...

And not so much PS4, people complained of a drought back then at launch too until Bloodborne but there was no doomposting.

 

[Equanimity]

I find it funny that Returnal is being held up as the antithesis to all of people's concerns about Sony's path - when it's a game made by a developer that previously specialized in smaller, retro arcade-style games, but had to pivot to a big cinematic blockbuster third person shooter in order to keep getting money out of Sony.

Game still looks great (and seems surprisingly connected to Housemarque's roots) - but the narrative is laughable.

Click to shrink...

Take Returnal out of the equation and you'll still find plenty to like, Sony's investment in indies and their next VR peripheral are a good example.

 

[vrcsix]

Where does Days Gone 2 fits in this strategy ?

Click to shrink...

First = Games that spawn a new genre or tap into an untapped market.
Best = Games that are best in class.
Must = Games that you have to make to strengthen your platform, even if there may not be a case for profitability.

I dunno, Days Gone 2 would be a sequel to a survival horror game. Where do you think it fits in?

 

[Juryvicious]

Come back, Shawn

Click to shrink...

Quite the departure that's fore sure, and I do not believe you'll see this type of attitude from Sony anytime soon unfortunately.

 

[OnanieBomb]

It's a bummer to think about how Playstation was the vanguard for creativity and variety during the PS1 and 2 eras. Sure a lot of that came from third parties and a generally less risk averse industry overall.

By the end of the PS3 era it was probably clear where their stake lies. Their current obsession with mimicking the form and content of Hollywood blockbusters, superhero movies, Netflix series, etc. all the while for the most part avoiding risk and creativity is pretty sad. They admittedly do this one thing better than anyone and I still have room in my playtime for one or two Sony games per year, but it can't hold a candle to what Playstation represented in the early years.

Like who the fuck needs a Last of Us remake already?

 

[mugurumakensei]

Surprised at all the disbelief around Days Gone not getting a sequel - they went seven years between shipping games! Bend is lucky to not have gone the way of Japan Studio, Evolution, etc.

Click to shrink...

basically: Bend is lucky that Sony rejected their ideas for new games with budget. Bend gets to be a support studio (like Japan Studio was in its final days)!

 

[nightstalker962]

Surprised at all the disbelief around Days Gone not getting a sequel - they went seven years between shipping games! Bend is lucky to not have gone the way of Japan Studio, Evolution, etc.

Click to shrink...

Theres still time for that.

 

[CNoodles]

Well I already have a Ps5 so i am stuck with it for this gen. I will see how this gen pans out and if they don't have the Japanese exclusives or anything different that sets them apart I think I'm might try Xbox. I'm tired of all these cinematic games they make and it sounds like that's all they care about now.

 

[iareharSon]

While not quite as bad, this seems very reminiscent of the Mattrick era of Xbox where the division was highly successful from a revenue standpoint - pulling in record profits - but the company became too risk adversed, overly fixated on revenue, complacent and near sighted in their approach. Basically losing sight of things that helped to cement them as industry leaders. Sony has a MUCH higher bottom than Microsoft, given their worldwide appeal, so they'll ultimately be fine - but it's sad to see that they're not on the same exciting trajectory they were on halfway through the PS3 generation and for much of the PS4 generation.