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Jim Ryan will go unsung for his contributions in keeping Playstation as a platform competitive

This guy seems to get non-stop shit from playstation fans and the general gaming media. I think it’s most likely to do with the idea that he doesn’t come off as a ‘gamer’ and for some reason since execs like Shuhei and Phil Spencer started showing games they play and interacting with fans it’s become a pre-requisite to run a company. Now people think in order to run a gaming business you have to have a high gamer score or earn a new platinum trophy every week.

Joining Welcome Home GIF


I think If fans had it their way SIE would only be releasing AAAA blockbuster single player games, 30/30, and half of them would be Japanese games published by Japan Studio or JRPG’s specifically. Playstation would be going the way of Sega, relying on solely the ps5 to sell 5-15m copies of 4 games every year.

Jim Ryan is a big brain that knows exactly where the industry is heading. its heading F2P, services, cloud, multiplayer, shared experience, etc. Sony expanding into PC will pay dividends when inevitably digital becomes even MORE prominent than it is now. It will pay of when people get even more comfortable streaming games, and forgoing hardware in the far future. It’s already paying off now with E-Sports, and evergreen first party titles. It would be absolutely boneheaded for sony to rest on their laurels of 1st party console dominance of last gen while Microsoft slowly monopolize the pc and mobile space.

Not only that but the GAAS initiative. It may as well be a curse word to Sony fans. Fans want single player, single player, single player, but they don’t make a fraction of the money that popular service games do. Even Nintendo’s biggest selling games don’t really bring in the same revenue as popular GAAS titles, it will just never compare. Now that we see the impact that taking COD off sony consoles can have, it makes sense that sony has more than just AAAAA big budget games that sell 10 million copies, to carry them. Sony needs an Apex, Fortnite, GTAO, Warzone, Minecraft, etc…or I really don’t see them having much of a competitive edge in the future. These are the important goals to have, not buying square enix for even more exclusivity to a franchise that sells 7 million copies.

A gaming enthusiast think they can ignore the casual gaming market which is why they hate Jim Ryan because he’s forced to acknowledge the casuals, and less so the enthusiast. The ‘real gamers’ are starting to feel like second class citizens on playstation and they are not coping well with it. they aren’t coping with how no one cares about them because they aren’t spending money on games.

Enthusiast like to pretend they’re the ones that shake things up and move the culture forward but they’re not. Most of you don’t even buy games brand new you wait until they are discounted and put on service, or whine about how its too expensive and then cry about Japan Studio closing down cause their entire generation of ps3 and ps4 game sold the equivalent to a week of fortnite MTX.

Jim Ryan is the hero you deserve.
 
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cireza

Banned
This guy seems to get non-stop shit from playstation fans and the general gaming media. I think it’s most likely to do with the idea that he doesn’t come off as a ‘gamer’ and for some reason since execs like Shuhei and Phil Spencer started showing games they play and interacting with fans it’s become a pre-requisite to run a company. Now people think in order to run a gaming business you have to have a high gamer score or earn a new platinum trophy every week.

Joining Welcome Home GIF


I think If fans had it their way SIE would only be releasing AAAA blockbuster single player games, 30/30, and half of them would be Japanese games published by Japan Studio or JRPG’s specifically. Playstation would be going the way of Sega, relying on solely the ps5 to sell 5-15m copies of 4 games every year.

Jim Ryan is a big brain that knows exactly where the industry is heading. its heading F2P, services, cloud, multiplayer, shared experience, etc. Sony expanding into PC will pay dividends when inevitably digital becomes even MORE prominent than it is now. It will pay of when people get even more comfortable streaming games, and forgoing hardware in the far future. It’s already paying off now with E-Sports, and evergreen first party titles. It would be absolutely boneheaded for sony to rest on their laurels of 1st party console dominance of last gen while Microsoft slowly monopolize the pc and mobile space.

Not only that but the GAAS initiative. It may as well be a curse word to Sony fans. Fans want single player, single player, single player, but they don’t make a fraction of the money that popular service games do. Even Nintendo’s biggest selling games don’t really bring in the same revenue as popular GAAS titles, it will just never compare. Now that we see the impact that taking COD off sony consoles can have, it makes sense that sony has more than just AAAAA big budget games that sell 10 million copies, to carry them. Sony needs an Apex, Fortnite, GTAO, Warzone, Minecraft, etc…or I really don’t see them having much of a competitive edge in the future. These are the important goals to have, not buying square enix for even more exclusivity to a franchise that sells 7 million copies.

A gaming enthusiast think they can ignore the casual gaming market which is why they hate Jim Ryan because he’s forced to acknowledge the casuals, and less so the enthusiast. The ‘real gamers’ are starting to feel like second class citizens on playstation and they are not coping well with it. they aren’t coping with how no one cares about them because they aren’t spending money on games.

Enthusiast like to pretend their the ones that move shake things up and move the culture forward but they’re not. Most of you don’t even buy games brand new you wait until they are discounted and put on service, or how its too expensive, and then cry about a Japan Studio closing down cause their entire generation of ps3 and ps4 game sold the equivalent to a week of fortnite MTX.

Jim Ryan is the hero you deserve.
He looks like a top management guy from SEGA US back in the days. With all the good and bad it implies.
 
This guy seems to get non-stop shit from playstation fans and the general gaming media. I think it’s most likely to do with the idea that he doesn’t come off as a ‘gamer’ and for some reason since execs like Shuhei and Phil Spencer started showing games they play and interacting with fans it’s become a pre-requisite to run a company. Now people think in order to run a gaming business you have to have a high gamer score or earn a new platinum trophy every week.

Joining Welcome Home GIF


I think If fans had it their way SIE would only be releasing AAAA blockbuster single player games, 30/30, and half of them would be Japanese games published by Japan Studio or JRPG’s specifically. Playstation would be going the way of Sega, relying on solely the ps5 to sell 5-15m copies of 4 games every year.

Jim Ryan is a big brain that knows exactly where the industry is heading. its heading F2P, services, cloud, multiplayer, shared experience, etc. Sony expanding into PC will pay dividends when inevitably digital becomes even MORE prominent than it is now. It will pay of when people get even more comfortable streaming games, and forgoing hardware in the far future. It’s already paying off now with E-Sports, and evergreen first party titles. It would be absolutely boneheaded for sony to rest on their laurels of 1st party console dominance of last gen while Microsoft slowly monopolize the pc and mobile space.

Not only that but the GAAS initiative. It may as well be a curse word to Sony fans. Fans want single player, single player, single player, but they don’t make a fraction of the money that popular service games do. Even Nintendo’s biggest selling games don’t really bring in the same revenue as popular GAAS titles, it will just never compare. Now that we see the impact that taking COD off sony consoles can have, it makes sense that sony has more than just AAAAA big budget games that sell 10 million copies, to carry them. Sony needs an Apex, Fortnite, GTAO, Warzone, Minecraft, etc…or I really don’t see them having much of a competitive edge in the future. These are the important goals to have, not buying square enix for even more exclusivity to a franchise that sells 7 million copies.

A gaming enthusiast think they can ignore the casual gaming market which is why they hate Jim Ryan because he’s forced to acknowledge the casuals, and less so the enthusiast. The ‘real gamers’ are starting to feel like second class citizens on playstation and they are not coping well with it. they aren’t coping with how no one cares about them because they aren’t spending money on games.

Enthusiast like to pretend their the ones that move shake things up and move the culture forward but they’re not. Most of you don’t even buy games brand new you wait until they are discounted and put on service, or how its too expensive, and then cry about a Japan Studio closing down cause their entire generation of ps3 and ps4 game sold the equivalent to a week of fortnite MTX.

Jim Ryan is the hero you deserve.
Correction…he gets shit from Xbox fan boys, don’t let them fool you.
 
A gaming enthusiast think they can ignore the casual gaming market which is why they hate Jim Ryan because he’s forced to acknowledge the casuals, and less so the enthusiast. The ‘real gamers’ are starting to feel like second class citizens on playstation and they are not coping well with it. they aren’t coping with how no one cares about them because they aren’t spending money on games.

Enthusiast like to pretend their the ones that move shake things up and move the culture forward but they’re not. Most of you don’t even buy games brand new you wait until they are discounted and put on service, or how its too expensive, and then cry about a Japan Studio closing down cause their entire generation of ps3 and ps4 game sold the equivalent to a week of fortnite MTX.
I guess if that's what you want, then Jim Ryan is your man.

I spend a lot of money on games. I just buy other things and will move on. I have a PS5 but have been put off by a lot of their decisions, and my purchases reflect that. There's still stuff I'm into on PS, but the general enthusiasm is definitely decreasing and I've explored other options this gen.

I think his biggest issues were not that he wasn't catering to niche audiences, but that he doesn't seem to have a lot of vision compared to his competition. He's reversed course on a few major decisions and seems to be playing catch up. But he's catching up fast, so that's better than nothing. PS Extra seems pretty solid, and they reversed course on backwards compatibility as well.

I think chasing casual audiences only and going for the biggest money makers is not some genius move. It's more short sighted and seeking immediate pay off. It comes with the risk of alienating your core base that does play a role. It comes with the risk of focusing too narrowly on a few things, like EA and Activision have done. First party has the ability, and even the responsibility of pushing some niche content that is not necessarily fully economically viable because they are the platform holders and it helps create the overall system image and diversify the library. Sony has understood that for a long time, but seems to be sharply moving away from that now. It's not that it's only going to disappoint me, but ultimately I think it will hurt the company. In contrast, I see MS going for more and more niche content and with the sub model, any genre seems possible for them. I find that appealing.
 
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Belthazar

Member
He’s as charismatic as a block of wood, though. There are CEOs that can come off as likeable and still do a great job. So far I think Ryan has come off as pretty stiff and uninspiring and done a just-good-enough job but with some verbal missteps.

It's so weird to think a CEO had to be charismatic, it has very little to do with the job basically. This new misconception seems to mostly come from weirdos that think Phil Spencer is their personal friend.

And on that note I prefer the block of wood that keeps delivering quality content than the cool dude that doesn't.
 

8BiTw0LF

Banned
Jim Ryan is a big brain that knows exactly where the industry is heading. its heading F2P, services, cloud, multiplayer, shared experience, etc. Sony expanding into PC will pay dividends when inevitably digital becomes even MORE prominent than it is now. It will pay of when people get even more comfortable streaming games, and forgoing hardware in the far future. It’s already paying off now with E-Sports, and evergreen first party titles. It would be absolutely boneheaded for sony to rest on their laurels of 1st party console dominance of last gen while Microsoft slowly monopolize the pc and mobile space.

Not only that but the GAAS initiative. It may as well be a curse word to Sony fans. Fans want single player, single player, single player, but they don’t make a fraction of the money that popular service games do. Even Nintendo’s biggest selling games don’t really bring in the same revenue as popular GAAS titles, it will just never compare. Now that we see the impact that taking COD off sony consoles can have, it makes sense that sony has more than just AAAAA big budget games that sell 10 million copies, to carry them. Sony needs an Apex, Fortnite, GTAO, Warzone, Minecraft, etc…or I really don’t see them having much of a competitive edge in the future. These are the important goals to have, not buying square enix for even more exclusivity to a franchise that sells 7 million copies.
Oprah Winfrey GIF


F2P GaaS is the future and there's no denying that - those who do are living in the past.
 
I think Jim is doing a pretty good job. There are very few very good, innovative, or visionary Executives. For the most part they just maintain the course, hope they get even some positive every year and pray they don't have major negatives.

By the end of it Jim Ryan will get way more credit than he deserves (positive or negative), and way more shit/hate than he deserves.
 
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DAHGAMING

Gold Member
I agree, im a multiplatform entitled type of prick, but I do lean towards the xbox has bigger dick club. I used to worship that fraud big Phil and shit on Jim, yet in recent times I see Phil is talking more shit and wanking off over Soyboy of War and I have started respecting Jim for what he is, a bussiness man that will shit on hes own mother if its to hes benefit, but he dosnt try and hide it so big up your chest rotate your shoulder, big shout out to the Jim Ryan soldiers.
 

[Sigma]

Member
Nah. People always assume it's Ryan's fault when it actually isn't. For example, people blamed Ryan for stuff like greenlightning TLOU1 Remake when it was actually our beloved Shawn Layden who did that.

Most people just love to shit on Ryan because he isn't as relatable as Phil Spencer or Shawn Layden.
Give him props on some things he's done but to me the PlayStation brand is in a pure "jeer" mode instead of "cheer" despite the console flying off the shelves. More than ever, people are frustrated with how things are ran. You have a lot of excited but disgruntled customers that still want to believe the company based off the strength of the PS4 era. It almost operates with a distain towards its own customers at times.
 
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Belthazar

Member
First party has the ability, and even the responsibility of pushing some niche content that is not necessarily fully economically viable because they are the platform holders and it helps create the overall system image and diversify the library. Sony has understood that for a long time, but seems to be sharply moving away from that now. It's not that it's only going to disappoint me, but ultimately I think it will hurt the company. In contrast, I see MS going for more and more niche content and with the sub model, any genre seems possible for them. I find that appealing.

I'm sorry, but that whole paragraph is not grounded in reality. How is MS going for more niche content with their first party? Where is that content? I mean, Sony has released a freaking roguelike/horror hybrid AAA game. How's that not investing in niche content? What did Microsoft do on that front that's even comaprable?
 

skit_data

Member
It's so weird to think a CEO had to be charismatic, it has very little to do with the job basically. This new misconception seems to mostly come from weirdos that think Phil Spencer is their personal friend.

And on that note I prefer the block of wood that keeps delivering quality content than the cool dude that doesn't.
They don’t need to be like Spencer (personally I think he talks too much), they could be like Tretton or Shawn Layden.

Edit: I should also add that at least parts of the content we’ve seen from the launch of PS5 from Playstation probably was greenlit under Layden rather than Ryan.
 
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Woggleman

Member
Nah, he gets shit from single player fanboys too. People lost their minds seeing that chart of PlayStation spending more money on multiplayer than single player by 2025.
I don't like it because I am a single player guy but how can a business man look at the money from MTX and not want in on it. I blame the fans more than I blame corporate for doing what corporate does because nobody forces anybody to buy them.

Besides so called hardcore gamers gave Sony crap for focusing too much on SP story driven games so I hope they are happy with the new direction.
 

Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
The only issue with Jim is his public statements. Lets him be a business guy. Give the PR job to someone else.
 

Fbh

Member
If this was a finance forum I'd be inclined to agree.
But it's not and I don't own shares at Sony, so why should I give a fuck about how financially successful they are in the future if getting there will take away (or at least diminish) the reason I liked their platform in the first place?.
If in 10 years Playstation is mostly about multiplayer, GaaS and F2P then it might as well be dead to me so it doesn't make much of a difference.

In the meantime as we get there I can look forward to paying a $10 premium on cross gen games to have basic shit like higher framerate and resolution caps so I can take advantage of the hardware I already paid for
 
I'm sorry, but that whole paragraph is not grounded in reality. How is MS going for more niche content with their first party? Where is that content? I mean, Sony has released a freaking roguelike/horror hybrid AAA game. How's that not investing in niche content? What did Microsoft do on that front that's even comaprable?
Pentiment, As Dusk Falls, Psychonauts 2. You can disagree with me if you want, but a lot of the studios they have are not major studios like inXile. They're going to be putting out unusual niche content that may not even work financially without sub services funding it. I think that's at least interesting as a consumer. A lot of homegenization in the industry.

I hated Returnal and don't think any roguelike should be $70. Housemarque is a super talented dev team though and I've liked their stuff in the past.
 
I guess if that's what you want, then Jim Ryan is your man.

I spend a lot of money on games. I just buy other things and will move on. I have a PS5 but have been put off by a lot of their decisions, and my purchases reflect that. There's still stuff I'm into on PS, but the general enthusiasm is definitely decreasing and I've explored other options this gen.

I think his biggest issues were not that he wasn't catering to niche audiences, but that he doesn't seem to have a lot of vision compared to his competition. He's reversed course on a few major decisions and seems to be playing catch up. But he's catching up fast, so that's better than nothing. PS Extra seems pretty solid, and they reversed course on backwards compatibility as well.

I think chasing casual audiences only and going for the biggest money makers is not some genius move. It's more short sighted and seeking immediate pay off. It comes with the risk of alienating your core base that does play a role. It comes with the risk of focusing too narrowly on a few things, like EA and Activision have done. First party has the ability, and even the responsibility of pushing some niche content that is not necessarily fully economically viable because they are the platform holders and it helps create the overall system image and diversify the library. Sony has understood that for a long time, but seems to be sharply moving away from that now. It's not that it's only going to disappoint me, but ultimately I think it will hurt the company. In contrast, I see MS going for more and more niche content and with the sub model, any genre seems possible for them. I find that appealing.

What niche content is ms going for? Forza, CoD, Elder Scrolls, Doom, etc.?

Even the gamers who think they are the most loyal sony ponies (myself included) are not moving the needle in terms of revenue and whats really selling consoles. I can buy every 70 dollar game sony puts out and it won’t measure up to GTA Online shark cards that i absolutely won’t be buying.

Sony are after their MTX whales, not the 4 million people begging for bloodborne remaster.
 
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cormack12

Gold Member
While I don't particularly cheer for any middle aged men who are execs of companies, Jim and Phil are there to make money. At the moment Jim's side is unbalanced in terms of a healthy consumer/brand relationship. That doesn't mean he's hated or any bullshit but c'mon he's the guy pushing TLOU 1 ReRemaster at full retail, setting prices more expensive on PS5 etc.

It's fine to push back on these decisions as a consumer while still acknowledge Sony has quality studios and IP
 
The etc. part.

Microsoft is heading in the same direction everyone else is heading in, in fact they’re leading the way. The gamepass model promotes GAAS and MTX more than anything else on the market right now. Look how much Forza Horizon DLC they just sold, that game couldn’t have been anything but what it is, same with Halo and it will end up applying more and more to their games in the future.

I 100% believe some of the known single player franchises that xbox have in production at the moment will involve some kind of on-going service elements.
 
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iHaunter

Member
You can keep it platform competitive without shitting on your customers though.
Where's the customer shitting part come from?

Microsoft is heading in the same direction everyone else is heading in, in fact they’re leading the way. The gamepass model promotes GAAS and MTX more than anything else on the market right now. Look how much Forza Horizon DLC they just sold, that game couldn’t have been anything but what it is, same with Halo and it will end up applying more and more to their games in the future.

I 100% some of the known single player franchises that xbox have in production at the moment will involve some kind of on-going service elements.

Most of the games on GP are garbage, PS+ already surpassed it. Unless you get GP Ultimate which is REALLY fucking expensive. In the end of the day, you don't OWN any of the games either. So if you ever stop paying, you lose your entire library. PS+ seems like a much better deal overall. I've gotten yearly subs for $29.
 
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Belthazar

Member
Pentiment, As Dusk Falls, Psychonauts 2. You can disagree with me if you want, but a lot of the studios they have are not major studios like inXile. They're going to be putting out unusual niche content that may not even work financially without sub services funding it. I think that's at least interesting as a consumer. A lot of homegenization in the industry.

I hated Returnal and don't think any roguelike should be $70. Housemarque is a super talented dev team though and I've liked their stuff in the past.

Well, those games are hardly an investment with the exception of Psychopaths (which was already in development when they were bought). With stuff like VR and the amount of investiment going into very niche concepts like Dreams, Astrobot, Death's Standing, Returnal, etc. I feel like Sony's at least putting effort and money down to actually make those niche games part of their main portifolio with big production budgets, while for Microsoft those always seem like a side thing that costed two pennies and a pin and not relevant at all.
 

bitbydeath

Member
Pentiment, As Dusk Falls, Psychonauts 2. You can disagree with me if you want, but a lot of the studios they have are not major studios like inXile. They're going to be putting out unusual niche content that may not even work financially without sub services funding it. I think that's at least interesting as a consumer. A lot of homegenization in the industry.

I hated Returnal and don't think any roguelike should be $70. Housemarque is a super talented dev team though and I've liked their stuff in the past.
A bunch of low budget indie looking games isn’t really screaming investment. As Dusk Falls is the sort of content PlayStation has been shit on for being too cinematic, good to see some Xbox fans are finally coming around to it though.
 

ChorizoPicozo

Gold Member
SHIT. this generation hasn't even started* and people are going crazy.

*We are basically in transition mode (cross gen shit). We could say the GoW is going to be the end of this cycle.

Next year is where Next-Gen is going to start (at least for Sony).
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Jim Ryan's legacy will be based on those 11 GAAS multiplayer games.

If they hit, he saves Playastation from the XBox Deathstar. If they miss, PlayStation gets lapped.
 
A bunch of low budget indie looking games isn’t really screaming investment. As Dusk Falls is the sort of content PlayStation has been shit on for being too cinematic, good to see some Xbox fans are finally coming around to it though.
As Dusk Falls is similar to a Quantic Dream game. Its not something I would say is worth $60 or $70. Thats part of why the sub model helps that type of game shine. It allows more exposure to diverse genres that may not be financially viable by themselves. Thats what has me excited about the future; The combination of studios with the sub model.

Sony hasn't really done that yet and it does make a difference. But they probably will be doing that soon. As I said in my first post Ryan is catching up quickly and PS Extra seems solid.
 

ManaByte

Member
Jim Ryan's legacy will be based on those 11 GAAS multiplayer games.

If they hit, he saves Playastation from the XBox Deathstar. If they miss, PlayStation gets lapped.

Those games is what PlayStation is desperately needing. After they got spanked in opening of the PS3 gen they invested heavily in single-player story-driven games that people can finish in 10-20 hours and then put back on their shelf forever. But while they were benefitting from that investment during the PS4 era, the industry changed. Games like Fortnite, PUBG, Roblox, Rocket League, and Minecraft took over. Games that people can play continually with a never-ending stream of new content. MS has that with Halo, Forza Horizon, Sea of Thieves, etc. That's why Sony bought Bungie and has those GaaS games a priority. They need an on-going game that people won't forever put on their shelf once they get the Platinum trophy.

Honestly they should revive Warhawk/Starhawk but have it be in something of a more "persistant" world like SoT and bring back SOCOM as an on-going F2P shooter with revised and faster gameplay. They also have more than one arcade racer IP they can make their own Horizon out of with either Motorstorm or Driveclub.
 
He should get shit on by everyone who cares about PlayStation.

Why?

He’s has returned Sony to the post PS2/early PS3 days of ignoring the customers, keeping communication radio silent and breaking the promise of generations, thus nullifying much of the reason to own a PS5. I love mine and play it for hours daily, but let’s not act like this pompous ass is doing anything good for the consumer, save for those that game on PC and won’t buy a PlayStation console.

Business wise things are great. Awesome for the business and their shareholders, but PlayStation gamers? Not so much….yet.
 

skit_data

Member
I guess we should give him credit for revamping PS+ In response to Gamepass. I think he’s acted a lot faster than I expected in that regard. The Premium tier, that I’m subscribed to, could be a lot better but Extra so far has been a really good deal and seems to only get better.
 

Impotaku

Member
Yeah doing great for Japan i see, the region where playstation was once a stronghold & now it's a laughing stock to the point that most gamestores no longer even bother putting what little PS4/5 stuff there is on the shelves.
 

Gamerguy84

Member
Thus is the stiffest competition PS has gone against since early PS3 days.

The massive momentum PS had was all but wiped out by covid.

I think he's doing alright honestly. XBOX has been given away gaming since 2017. They added third party and are giving it away. It doesn't get cheaper than free. They've invested 70 billion dollars in beefing up their studios, taking major titles away from PS simultaneously.

That's a pretty tall order to fight gains. So far he's doing OK. I think it's just almost become a meme at this point.
 
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