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Are we really never going to see Sony develop another SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs? Not even an HD remaster of SOCOM II for PS4/PS5?

If Ubisoft can release countless Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six sequels, why hasn't Sony done anything with SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs? It is bizarre that such a popular, respected tactical-shooter franchise has continued to be ignored, long after the release of the disappointing SOCOM 4. If it's too risky to release a proper sequel i.e. SOCOM 5 at $70, then they can simply remaster everyone's favorite SOCOM II for the PS4/PS5 and charge $40 to $50 and then use the money generated from sales of that game to help fund a proper sequel, or to keep the online multiplayer up and running for the aforementioned remaster.

Syphon Filter is dead, probably Killzone is as well along with Resistance which just leaves SOCOM, and most people play SOCOM for the online multiplayer. That said, I feel like SOCOM could be to PlayStation what Halo is to Xbox -- exclusive games that people continue to play for its online multiplayer. It's true that Sony fumbled with SOCOM 4 but that was a decade ago. So just start small with an HD remaster of SOCOM II for the PS4, PS5, and bring it to the PC at a later date. How hard can it be?

You can still have your single-player story-driven games from Naughty Dog, Santa Monica, and Insomniac along with some Japanese developed games but also a cool mostly-multiplayer focused tactical shooter like SOCOM to remind everyone that there's more to the genre than what Ubisoft and PC developers have to offer.

co1vuf.jpg


You already got the box art. Just make the game.
 
I really hope this happens. The tactical shooter market is booming on PC right now. If they just rebooted it as SOCOM and made it a third person tactical shooter with full soldier customization just like SOCOM: Confrontation had, it would be unbelievable.
 
SOCOM and SOCOM II were phenomenal in 2002 and 2003.

But it's 2021.

That gameplay loop isn't nearly as interesting today as it was back then. The IP is whatever.
If developers like Firaxis can bring back the XCOM series while remaining true to that series' roots of strategic, tactical (albeit turn-based) gameplay, Sony should be able to bring back SOCOM and guarantee its success so long as it remains a tactical-shooter where teamwork is vital to completing the mission.

A lot of these dormant IPs are being ignored by their publishers because they're afraid to take chances, not because their concepts are uninteresting.
 

Roufianos

Member
SOCOM and SOCOM II were phenomenal in 2002 and 2003.

But it's 2021.

That gameplay loop isn't nearly as interesting today as it was back then. The IP is whatever.
I recently started playing Socom II online and it's still awesome.

PUBG and Rainbow Six show that there's a clear market for tactical shooters. Get on it Sony instead of funding shit like Destruction AllStars.
 

93xfan

Banned
It’s extraordinarily frustrating. Their abandonment of franchises (this one most of all) and inability to give us BC (even just ps1/2 would be nice) are what made me stop supporting them.

I’d bet if they did give us a remaster, they’d shut down the servers within three years even if it still had a community.
 
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CamHostage

Member
I get where you're coming from (sometimes I wonder why they're leaving money on the table not bringing it back) but I also get why Sony is not pulling the trigger.

SOCOM single-player would have little appeal today (it wasn't the draw back then either,) even after a remastering. So, that's a no-go.

And as a multiplayer remaster, it would be a popular novelty that might draw the old fanbase back in, so maybe. But you'd have to run it as a multiplayer product (which would steal focus from multiplayer games that Sony and its partners really care about right now) for an older audience, with little of the modern frills of upselling content (unless they added skins or other DLC) to offset the running costs and nothing other than the original game quality to draw in gamers. It might be able to make enough to pay for itself, but not nearly enough to fund itself and also a brand new, current-quality SOCOM sequel.

Plus you'd have to go to town remastering the old SOCOMs, not only on upgrading the textures and models but totally overhauling the levels to have the appropriate clutter and density that gamers are used to. The old PS2 games were blocky and simplistic and foggy. You can't sell a shooter anymore where a player can't see more than four blocks away from where they're standing. It'd be a ton of work, because you'd have to do more than just graphics work, you'd have to rebalance stages for new visual qualities and yet somehow strike a faithful balance so that the new version feels like what players remember of the old game. (SOCOM Confrontation kind of tried to update the maps BTW, but that's 2 gens old already. Plus Confrontation left a sour note that fans would also have to forgive, and yet the remaster would basically be "SOCOM Confrontation 2.")


socom2_8118.jpg

SOCOM 2

socom_confrontation_image27.jpg

SOCOM CONFRONTATION

And then why they don't make a new SOCOM 5? That's unfortunately pretty easy: the past two SOCOMs bombed a decade ago (and I think SOCOM FTB3 didn't do well either), the studio that knew the intricacies of what made a good SOCOM is gone, and the competition for a new military shooter is cutthroat. If you can't compete with Call of Duty or Battlefield or PUBG (which SOCOM probably can't today), you're going to have to get around them with something compelling on its own, and who knows what that would be. I'd be interested to see Sony try and figure that challenge out, but then again, online shooting game needs are pretty well satiated with what's out there, there are plenty of other franchises I would prefer to see Sony try again or plenty of new ideas I'd personally like to see them explore first.
 
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FrankWza

Member
the past two SOCOMs bombed a decade ago
Confrontation was hurt by the hack.
4 was hurt because they tried to make it like CoD as a hybrid over shoulder abomination.
That gameplay loop isn't nearly as interesting today as it was back then. The IP is whatever.
No way man. People just don’t want to wait for another round to start. They wanted respawning constantly. Battle royale brought back some patience. Bows the perfect time for a Socom reboot.
 
It could work. Look at Last of Us MP or Rainbow Six. Tactical, no respawn, team oriented shooters are popular right now.

They could even load it up with cosmetics and gestures and shit to make money like they did with LoU.

SOCOM II had so many amazing maps. They could pick half, launch with those, and sell the rest via DLC or give the rest out and monetize it another way.
 

Roufianos

Member
Confrontation was hurt by the hack.
4 was hurt because they tried to make it like CoD as a hybrid over shoulder abomination.

No way man. People just don’t want to wait for another round to start. They wanted respawning constantly. Battle royale brought back some patience. Bows the perfect time for a Socom reboot.

It was actually 4 that was hurt by the hack, in addition to the other factors you mentioned.

I don't think Confrontation did all that bad, especially considering the review scores. Wasn't it the first PS3 exclusive to sell a million and it was one of the most played throughout the gen?

Regardless, anything that Sony puts out now is likely to perform a hell of a lot better.
 
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Droxcy

Member
Socom 1-2 were glory days I don’t think they could ever recreate it sadly. MAG was tons of fun and would fun and look way better now a days.
 

CamHostage

Member
Confrontation was hurt by the hack.
4 was hurt because they tried to make it like CoD as a hybrid over shoulder abomination.
Bombed is bombed to the bean counters.

And someone can say that the last two SOCOMs were hurt by circumstances (I think SOCOM FTB3 also undersold against FTB1+2,) but one could also argue that SOCOM was helped by circumstances too. Whether or not it was a great game in and of itself (there are things to admire of it but also lots of issues, and IMO it was not that enjoyable on its own despite some of my best gaming memories being in SOCOM matches,) it succeeded for being the PS2 Online killer app. Because it was an early online console gaming experience and because it used microphone communication and identification services to help gamers forge relationships with the people they played with, the sum of SOCOM was better than its parts.

Almost 20 years later (2002, holy shit...), that novelty is no longer there, and SOCOM would have to stand on its own. Maybe it'd still have a draw, maybe not...
 
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FrankWza

Member
It was actually 4 that was hurt by the hack, in addition to the other factors you mentioned.

I don't think Confrontation did all that bad, especially considering the review scores. Wasn't it the first PS3 exclusive to sell a million and it was one of the most played throughout the gen?

Regardless, anything that Sony puts out now is likely to perform a hell of a lot better.
Yeah you’re right. Confrontation did do pretty well and had consistent number of players. 4 would have failed no matter what because it was terrible
 

REDRZA MWS

Member
I get where you're coming from (sometimes I wonder why they're leaving money on the table not bringing it back) but I also get why Sony is not pulling the trigger.

SOCOM single-player would have little appeal today (it wasn't the draw back then either,) even after a remaster. So, that's a no-go.

And as a multiplayer remaster, it would be a popular novelty that might draw the old fanbase back in, so maybe. But you'd have to run it as a multiplayer product (which would steal focus from multiplayer games that Sony and its partners really care about right now) for an older audience, with little of the modern frills of upselling content (unless they added skins or other DLC) to offset the running costs and nothing other than the original game quality to draw in gamers. It might be able to make enough to pay for itself, but not nearly enough to fund itself and also a brand new, current-quality SOCOM sequel.

Plus you'd have to go to town remastering the old SOCOMs, not only on upgrading the textures and models but totally overhauling the levels to have the appropriate clutter and density that gamers are used to. The old PS2 games were blocky and simplistic and foggy. You can't sell a shooter anymore where a player can't see more than four blocks away from where they're standing. It'd be a ton of work, because you'd have to do more than just graphics work, you'd have to rebalance stages for new visual qualities and yet somehow strike a faithful balance so that the new version feels like what players remember of the old game. (SOCOM Confrontation kind of tried to update the maps BTW, but that's 2 gens old already. Plus Confrontation left a sour note that fans would also have to forgive, and yet the remaster would basically be "SOCOM Confrontation 2.")


socom2_8118.jpg

SOCOM 2

socom_confrontation_image27.jpg

SOCOM CONFRONTATION

And then why they don't make a new SOCOM 5? That's unfortunately pretty easy: the past two SOCOMs bombed a decade ago (and I think SOCOM FTB3 didn't do well either), the studio that knew the intricacies of what made a good SOCOM is gone, and the competition for a new military shooter is cutthroat. If you can't compete with Call of Duty or Battlefield or PUBG (which SOCOM probably can't today), you're going to have to get around them with something compelling on its own, and who knows what that would be. I'd be interested to see Sony try and figure that challenge out, but then again, online shooting game needs are pretty well satiated with what's out there, there are plenty of other franchises I would prefer to see Sony try again or plenty of new ideas I'd personally like to see them explore first.
TBF, the last two Socoms were nothing like the first 2, which were where the series bread and butter was made. It’s whenever they strayed too far from that formula fans were turned off, hence shot sales.
 

REDRZA MWS

Member
Yeah you’re right. Confrontation did do pretty well and had consistent number of players. 4 would have failed no matter what because it was terrible
Yup! Because Confrontation focused more of what made the series. Tactical 3rd person shooter. I’d say they started veering off course with 3, because the maps were too big not nearly as intimate and 1 and 2, which again, kinda hanged the gameplay formula. Socom 4 was utter trash and nothing like what the series was known for. Then Confrontation was a solid game.

It’s time for a AAA return on PS5.
 

FrankWza

Member
Yup! Because Confrontation focused more of what made the series. Tactical 3rd person shooter. I’d say they started veering off course with 3, because the maps were too big not nearly as intimate and 1 and 2, which again, kinda hanged the gameplay formula. Socom 4 was utter trash and nothing like what the series was known for. Then Confrontation was a solid game.

It’s time for a AAA return on PS5.
4 was last. It killed the series. They released twice as many games on psp that they did on PS3 which is kind of crazy. I never realized that
 

FrankWza

Member
MAG sucked because the gameplay loop and the games concept didn't synchronize at all.

It was just a janky CoD with the knowledge that other players were having their janky CoD experience in your server rather than their own server.

The large player count never mattered. It functioned as a technical experiment more than a game
I never liked it. Everything was trying to go the CoD route back then. I think there will be a Socom. Either a new version entirely or some kind of remaster.
 

Warablo

Member
Desperately want a tactical single player like Socom or Swat. Too bad those dont sell at 70 bucks.
 
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If developers like Firaxis can bring back the XCOM series while remaining true to that series' roots of strategic, tactical (albeit turn-based) gameplay, Sony should be able to bring back SOCOM and guarantee its success so long as it remains a tactical-shooter where teamwork is vital to completing the mission.

A lot of these dormant IPs are being ignored by their publishers because they're afraid to take chances, not because their concepts are uninteresting.
The new Xcom is NOT the old X-com. The new X-com play like Civlization, in that when you fire your gun it is impossible for you to hit someone else nearby. The old X-com actually allow you to fire the gun in the general direction of the aliens even if you can't see them, and you can score kills that way. While the new X-com assume that targets you can't see are also invincible.
The new X-com also pretend to mark your performance at the end of every month. Yet, instead of using your monthly performance to adjust your salary (like the old game), the new X-com monthly review DOES NOTHING. It is only there to look good but have no in-game effects.

Look, I know there are fans of the new X-com. But it is a far cry to claim they made improvements. Don't get me started on how you used to dogfight UFOs with 4 to 1 advantage in order to compensate for weaker weapons and armour, something the new game just doesn't allow.
 
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SCB3

Member
The PSN hacked killed 4, it came out the same week and by the time PSN came back 6 weeks later, the hype had died down

Sony for some reason thought the low sales were because of SOCOM being bad or a IP not worth pursuing, not cause their network broke.

I can see a F2p version working well, but then again games like Warfare exist
 

STARSBarry

Gold Member


Its been delayed again and again for console but the current release is 2021, I enjoy it on PC.

Outside of this as a tactical shooter fan you would honestly bite the bullet and get a PC, that's where the player base for this type of game is, from things like Rising Storm 2 to ARMA thats where the player base for these games are still going strong.
 
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Concern

Member
Probably never. Sony doesn't seem to care for mp games anymore unfortunately. We have no Killzone, no Resistance, no Warhawk, and no Socom.

Although Socom is probably too hardcore for today's market. Garbage like Fortnite and pubg is basically what dominates the shooter genre now.

I remember there was a game named "H Hour" (i think) that was supposed to be a spiritual successor to Socom but nothing came of it.
 
Probably never. Sony doesn't seem to care for mp games anymore unfortunately. We have no Killzone, no Resistance, no Warhawk, and no Socom.

Although Socom is probably too hardcore for today's market. Garbage like Fortnite and pubg is basically what dominates the shooter genre now.

I remember there was a game named "H Hour" (i think) that was supposed to be a spiritual successor to Socom but nothing came of it.
Sony cares about MP games very much. it's just that most of the time their 3rd party partners are doing much better, and there was no point competing with third parties on their own console. Obviously they could try to make such a game, but best case scenario, they would just steal customers away from third party games that are already paying them 30%. Playstation is a platform holder, which means their priority isn't to do what everyone else is doing, but to fill gaps in its library.

Hence single player games, games that third parties are ignoring.
 

paypay88

Banned
Probably never. Sony doesn't seem to care for mp games anymore unfortunately. We have no Killzone, no Resistance, no Warhawk, and no Socom.

Although Socom is probably too hardcore for today's market. Garbage like Fortnite and pubg is basically what dominates the shooter genre now.

I remember there was a game named "H Hour" (i think) that was supposed to be a spiritual successor to Socom but nothing came of it.
If sony doesnt care MP games did my uncle release A literal f2p car combat game this month , and predator multiplayer shooter last year as well as a seperate last of us multi game this year?

you could rephrase your line " my favorite games were bunch of horrible shit so they bombed & died"
 

Concern

Member
If sony doesnt care MP games did my uncle release A literal f2p car combat game this month , and predator multiplayer shooter last year as well as a seperate last of us multi game this year?

you could rephrase your line " my favorite games were bunch of horrible shit so they bombed & died"


F2P? You mean the game they were actually about to charge $70 for that's already pretty much dead? Lol

Predator was another garbage game and not made by Sony studios.

Embarrassing post and argument calling games like Socom and Killzone horrible shit while plugging Destruction All stars and Predator lmao
 
Oh man, I've got such good memories of this having started way back in the EU beta test.

One time I managed to take out the entire 8-man opposing team (mostly through dumb luck no doubt) and it was absolutely glorious. Especially as the voice chat segmented people into the 2-teams still alive and everyone that has been killed. So that once I got the last kill I joined everyone in the post combat chat and there was a roar of excitement.
 

REDRZA MWS

Member
Oh man, I've got such good memories of this having started way back in the EU beta test.

One time I managed to take out the entire 8-man opposing team (mostly through dumb luck no doubt) and it was absolutely glorious. Especially as the voice chat segmented people into the 2-teams still alive and everyone that has been killed. So that once I got the last kill I joined everyone in the post combat chat and there was a roar of excitement.
No shooter ever captured that magic. I know EXACTLY what you are talking about going back to the lobby and both teams roaring! (Never took an 8 man squad out though, but managed to win a few rounds last man standing outnumbered by opponents).
 

zeioIIDX

Member
I would love that. My most fond online gaming memories are from playing SOCOM I & II as well as Phantasy Star Online EP I & II. I remember people using Gamesharks to do that Skywalker glitch where their character looked like they were bouncing up and down in the sky but from their POV, they were actually walking around in the sky. SOCOM was FULL of glitches and exploits and hacks lol. Miss me some SOCOM :( I know it can still be played today online but I haven't gotten around to trying to figure out how to configure it all.
 

93xfan

Banned
The PSN hacked killed 4, it came out the same week and by the time PSN came back 6 weeks later, the hype had died down

Sony for some reason thought the low sales were because of SOCOM being bad or a IP not worth pursuing, not cause their network broke.

I can see a F2p version working well, but then again games like Warfare exist
The cover system also really hurt the game too
 
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