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Colin Moriarty says Sony should sell Bungie, PlayStation rethinking its Live Service strategy...

Portugeezer

Member
Why some users here give so much space to literally no ones as this gguy and the other one that are simply toxic?

Please don't give them notoriety.
sad i'm fine GIF by PlayStation
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Colin's understanding and affection for the gaming industry are becoming outdated as the industry rapidly progresses. His perspectives often reveal a lack of awareness about broader industry trends, being overly concentrated on single-player AAA console gaming. This narrow focus significantly influences his entire analysis of modern gaming.

The two biggest console platform holders are............ Playstation and Nintendo.

They are best know for what?............single player games! So stop with the narratives.
 
For sale: Bungie (Serious offers only)
Condition: Mint with a few years of usage
Description: Great Bungie for sale with all its employees and buildings. I'm selling it because I won't need it anymore.
Asking price: $3.1B (originally bought it for 3.6, so you're saving $500M).

From: AssOfCanWhopping@gmail.com
Subject: Bungie for sale
I can give $30 and a used copy of TLOU on PS3. I can come pick it up right away. Let me know if that's good enough for you. Tx.
30 bucks? I can do 50. Plus a trip to the taco truck.
 

Ogbert

Member
I like Colin, but the arrogance that video game journos regularly demonstrate is a sight to behold.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
$3.5 billion for a company who missed forecasts by 45%, laid off people already despite Bungie CEO saying a year ago they wouldnt cut jobs.

On the plus side, Sony has a great clause in the deal saying if they miss forecasts too much, they take over board control. In other words, the autonomy the Bungie exec PRed when the deal happened has a secret clause in there saying they arent so autonomous if the financials sink.


OH!!! I didn't know the bolded was true. Interesting............
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
I like Colin, but the arrogance that video game journos regularly demonstrate is a sight to behold.

Yeah like saying............

- PS Portal was a stupid thing for Sony to make
- Console sales don't mean anything
- Game sales don't mean anything
- GAAS is the future
- Single Player games are dead
- Sony shouldn't call the next Playstation console the PS5.
- The PS5 shouldn't come with a disc drive. Digital Only consoles are the future.
 

Tomeru

Member
Colin's understanding and affection for the gaming industry are becoming outdated as the industry rapidly progresses. His perspectives often reveal a lack of awareness about broader industry trends, being overly concentrated on single-player AAA console gaming. This narrow focus significantly influences his entire analysis of modern gaming.

You just described 80% if gamers.
Neogaf included. Sorry, I love you all, but it is what it is.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I remain incapable of telling when you're being sarcastic, but Destiny has had its ups and downs for nearly a decade and, yeah, single expansions tend to dramatically turn the whole thing around, but again, and again, and again - that's the issue, no stability.

Their problem seems to be their revenue goals are out of step with how swingy their fortunes are.

I don't think selling them makes sense right now, though.

I was being sarcastic.

Colin rails against the media more than anyone in games media, and yet, if IGN spins him a yarn that he wants to believe, he eats it right up.

Bungie is fine. Their house is not on fire.

One expansion that doesn't hit revenue projections (what a vague set of words right?) doesn't mean the studio is in shambles the way Colin believes.
 

Godot25

Banned
On one hand letting Bungie go would be monumental level of stupidity.
They are after all company that managed to have 10 year live service.

On the other hand...even if Sony decided that they want to part ways with them and sell them to other company there is no way they would be able to get anything close 3,6 billion dollars. It would be more like 2 billion dollars and they would be happy even for that...

So it doesn't make sense. Especially since they don't know if Marathon won't be "next big thing" since Bungie is pretty good at making those type of games.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
Seemed like a good idea when the purchase was announced but upon further inspection it seems like Bungie is incompetent and deserves to fail hard.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
I really like Colin but the anger in which he mentions bungie gets to tell naughty dog what to do is unhealthy. This guy LOVES playstation.

He's right of course. Like how does bungie get to come in and tell other Sony studios what to do, but it shouldn't trigger this kind of anger in someone.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
The two biggest console platform holders are............ Playstation and Nintendo.

They are best know for what?............single player games! So stop with the narratives.

Sounds like something a successful horse breeder would say as the Model T was taking off.

"Humans are best known for sitting on horses to get around!"

The world has changed my friend.
 

cormack12

Gold Member
I don't know why Sony get lumbered in with the disappointing launch of Lightfall if I'm honest.

Having said that I don't think marathon is going to be a big hit. But Bungie haven't even started yet, we need to wait and see what they bring to the first true GaaS. All feels a bit knee jerky - and that's from someone who doesn't really love GaaS anyway
 

Interfectum

Member
The two biggest console platform holders are............ Playstation and Nintendo.

They are best know for what?............single player games! So stop with the narratives.
That's neat, now look at the biggest games on said platforms.

Also when Last of Us 3 eventually comes out, let's check out the budget on that game vs how many people bought it. Then lets check if its that much different than the amount who bought Last of Us 1 at a fraction of the budget cost.

How did Alan Wake 2 do? Oh guess what, probably doesn't matter because Fortnite paid for it.

What's this about narratives again?
 

Muffdraul

Member
I became a Bungie fan in 1995 when a co-worker friend installed Marathon on my Mac. I loved Bungie for years and years, I felt like they always had my back as someone who was 95% solo and 5% MP. That ended with Destiny. They stopped caring about me as a gamer, I stopped caring about them as a developer.
 

yurinka

Member



There's so many brilliant things said in this 8 minute segment that you really need to hear it for yourself. Colin has found some high quality games reporting and is really extrapolating some profound thoughts. I'm surprised a large publisher hasn't offered him a job as their CEO yet.

To sell Bungie? Rethink their investment on GaaS? What a retarded take, he has no fucking idea.

Destiny 2's most recent expansion may have not met Bungie's estimations, but Bungie makes a lot of money. Plus Marathon's got record engagement in social media, they have a great pedigree of record breaking new IPS, shooters, multiplayer games and GaaS. 4 things Sony needs and wants (plus revenue outside PS).

Most of the top performing games are GaaS, and their addons are the main and fastest growing revenue source for gaming, while game sales revenue declines every year. Being a top publisher, in the long term to make super expensive AAA games and to don't bet on GaaS would be a suicide.
 
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Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Colin's understanding and affection for the gaming industry are becoming outdated as the industry rapidly progresses. His perspectives often reveal a lack of awareness about broader industry trends, being overly concentrated on single-player AAA console gaming. This narrow focus significantly influences his entire analysis of modern gaming.

I quite like the guy, but yeah, he's really not particularly knowledgeable or insightful about industry trends.

Live-services are platforms in themselves, and as such should never be considered in the same context as titles intended to benefit primary (hardware) platform performance.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
To sell Bungie? Rethink their investment on GaaS? What a retarded take, he has no fucking idea.

It's a retarded take that his two co-hosts nod in agreement to. It's a retarded take that his audience doesn't react to.

Gaming discourse has become the Batboy audience. Rational arguments and logical thought lose out to this sh**.

6c6ecc07e5d66f7e5f7c250da3071aec


I don't know why Sony get lumbered in with the disappointing launch of Lightfall if I'm honest.

From my perspective, the largest gaming audience on the internet is the anti GAAS audience. PlayStation buying Bungie epitomizes their GAAS embrace. Those people want to hear all of it burn down. Lumping PlayStation in with the narrative feels good to them so they embrace it. Logical thought is not necessary to feel good.
 

yurinka

Member
From my perspective, the largest gaming audience on the internet is the anti GAAS audience.
This anti GaaS audience may be very noisy, but can't be the largest. Because a majority of the players worldwide play (and pay) GaaS.
 
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Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
This anti GaaS audience may be very noisy, but can't be the largest. Because a majority of the players worldwide play (and pay) GaaS.

I think GAAS attracts a different type of audience. One that doesn't spend much time talking about videogames online.

There's probably more Bloodborne references on GAF than there is Apex Legends or Warzone references. That kind of shows you who comes here.
 

Puscifer

Member
I really like Colin but the anger in which he mentions bungie gets to tell naughty dog what to do is unhealthy. This guy LOVES playstation.

He's right of course. Like how does bungie get to come in and tell other Sony studios what to do, but it shouldn't trigger this kind of anger in someone.
Might have something to do with the fact from Halo 2 to Destiny 2 they have almost 20 years of multiplayer experience keeping players coming back, people are still playing Halo 2 to this day and they have 2 very active live service games with loops that bring people back. Of course with that experience you'd want them to look at other titles and give their opinion on it.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
The reality is that the size of the console market is pretty much a known quantity at this point, and while there are new geographic markets to open they take time to reach maturity and serious profitability.

The result being if as corporate business you wish to expand your potential for revenue, then you need to start thinking beyond that core business. MS obviously are doing this with their cloud ventures and are willing to sacrifice their console business in order to achieve that goal, and Sony are taking a more conservative approach by attempting to expand the Playstation brand using product tailored for not only console, but PC and mobile.

Sony want more GaaS for Playstation, not just for PS5. They aren't pivoting away from anything, they are trying to expand outwards - and nothing would better serve that purpose than having a massively successful GaaS brand or two. MS have spent billions on CoD just to jump-start the same process.
 

Ev1L AuRoN

Member
Sony should put Bungie to develop a new IP, a shooter in the mold of classic halo, great MP and a deep campaign, but not even that they can do since the contract says that Bungie will continue to be a multiplatform developer. I'm baffled by that decision. In my mind, Sony has trying to live in a world without COD on PlayStation, by creating their own exclusive shooter.
 

yurinka

Member
I think GAAS attracts a different type of audience. One that doesn't spend much time talking about videogames online.

There's probably more Bloodborne references on GAF than there is Apex Legends or Warzone references. That kind of shows you who comes here.
I'd bet most people in GAF play GaaS but they don't know it. CoD, FIFA, NBA 2K, GTA Online, AC, Fortnite, Apex, Rainbow 6, Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat, Minecraft, Gran Turismo... games designed to have a good amount of post launch content/dlcs/microtransations are GaaS.

Sony should put Bungie to develop a new IP, a shooter in the mold of classic halo, great MP and a deep campaign, but not even that they can do since the contract says that Bungie will continue to be a multiplatform developer. I'm baffled by that decision. In my mind, Sony has trying to live in a world without COD on PlayStation, by creating their own exclusive shooter.
What we know is that SIE bought 100%, which means that Bungie is now a fully owned SIE subsidiary if SIE wants tomorrow Bungie can become an Ouya exclusive studio. We know Bungie is working on multiple games, one of them being Marathon and other apparently a new IP: Matter.

One of the reasons of why SIE bought Bungie and kept it as a separate multiplatform publisher label outside PS Studios is because SIE wants to expand their revenue from non-PS platforms including rival consoles. But without putting PS Studios games on rival consoles.

Sony has a signed deal which says CoD will continue on PS -with parity of content and quality- for at least 10 years, and that they'll have a meeting in 10 years to renew it. On top of that, Ubisoft now will handle all past ABK games and all the ones to be published in the next 15 years regarding cloud gaming, including the option to put them on game subs of rival consoles (which includes Sony / PS Plus).

But yes, Sony is making a lot of shooters (+MP + GaaS) to apparently to don't depend on 3rd parties regarding this area: acquired Bungie and Firewalk (both makers or Halo and Destiny) plus Haven (makers of Rainbow 6 Siege and many top Ubi open world or shooters like AC, Watchdogs or Far Cry) and signed deals for 2nd party titles with Deviation or Arrowhead. The Bungie shooters will be multiplatform day one, but the other ones will be PS console exclusives.

My only worry about all these shooters is that maybe all of them may only focus on MP. As a mostly single player only player, I want them to have a great and long enough single player narrative campaign. I don't care if -as happened in Destiny- it's directly or indirectly coop.
 
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Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Sony should put Bungie to develop a new IP, a shooter in the mold of classic halo, great MP and a deep campaign, but not even that they can do since the contract says that Bungie will continue to be a multiplatform developer. I'm baffled by that decision. In my mind, Sony has trying to live in a world without COD on PlayStation, by creating their own exclusive shooter.

Honestly, f*** campaigns. Why spend so many resources on a part of your game that so few will play or finish? Go all in on multiplayer and make sure that loop is as good as it needs to be.

The market really isn't demanding single player FPS games anymore.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Sony should put Bungie to develop a new IP, a shooter in the mold of classic halo, great MP and a deep campaign, but not even that they can do since the contract says that Bungie will continue to be a multiplatform developer. I'm baffled by that decision. In my mind, Sony has trying to live in a world without COD on PlayStation, by creating their own exclusive shooter.
Bungie has been working on a new game, BUT I didn't follow close enough if that game is Marathon or if that reference was for a different game under wraps. However, Wiki says it's a new game:


2017Destiny 2Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia
TBAMarathonMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
TBAUntitled Team-Based Action Game[102]TBA
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
if Sony is rethinking their pivot to gaashit, it lends credence to the idea that Jim Ryan was asked to start his retirement.
Jim and Co. couldnt resist the GAAS sales and profit dick swinging. When you got COD, FIFA, Fortnite, Apex, Minecraft etc... all bragging about giant sales every year it gets to a point every game company big and small will take notice in hopes their new GAAS focus become Fortnite or COD version 2.0.

Thats where the Bungie purchase came in. One part GAAS, one part own Bungie as a counter to Activision. And they paid an enormous fee because Bungie is the biggest independent studio out there with Destiny as their golden goose. Bungie knew that so, if Sony wants them the price is $3.5 billion.

It'll be interesting what kind of shakeout Sony's current development entails. it might be keep the course or wild swing 180s. Didnt Sony even announce their GAAS in dev will slow down and delay a few years?

What accelerated their focus on GAAS, PC ports and even their baseball game on Xbox and Switch is simply due to the company's reliance on their gaming division as their sales and profit growth drivers. It's hard to grow metrics doing SP narratives which take longer and longer to make. GAAS would be that growth driver to bridge the gap.
 
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Wildebeest

Member
So like, if you want to make money, you give people the minimum viable product to string them along, while monetising out the wazoo, then a few months later give them more minimum viable product, with tons more monetisation. Gamers are so dumb, they will never work out that you are making bank from them, and they will never get anything exceptional or really worth their time. They will never ever get sick of you and your company will never experience hard times.

So, game industry, there is your billion dollar advice that you think you need to buy companies with expertise about, for free.
 

ShirAhava

Plays with kids toys, in the adult gaming world
For sale: Bungie (Serious offers only)
Condition: Mint with a few years of usage
Description: Great Bungie for sale with all its employees and buildings. I'm selling it because I won't need it anymore.
Asking price: $3.1B (originally bought it for 3.6, so you're saving $500M).

From: AssOfCanWhopping@gmail.com
Subject: Bungie for sale
I can give $30 and a used copy of TLOU on PS3. I can come pick it up right away. Let me know if that's good enough for you. Tx.

giphy.gif
 

Evil Calvin

Afraid of Boobs
I can't tell if your post is sarcasm or not, but certainly Bungie is not what they seemed to be.

But, as he says, there are many caveats - one hit in Marathon or a resurgent Destiny season could turn it all around.
Or.....you know......maybe a new IP? Crazy thought I know.............
 

Blackage

Member
My understanding is Sony can't do anything as long as Bungie's leadership maintains whatever contractual obligations they made when Sony bought them.

That said the latest Bungie firings(purge?) were a direct response to keep that from happening.

I'm not sure how they right the ship or maintain that while they have developers fearing for their jobs and livelyhoods and the workplace environment turns to utter trash but you know, I guess we'll see.
 

kyussman

Member
Rethinking......don't they have a whole load of live service games in development?Feels to me like they were a bit late to the party on this anyway......but I know fuck all about GAAS success or failure tbh.
 

ADiTAR

ידע זה כוח
Is he the guy who saw the Switch reveal and hated every minute of it on KFG? And predicted that it'll utterly fail?

Who knows in this industry. Who thought Fortnite would become a behemoth. Sometimes there's just luck.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
I really like Colin but the anger in which he mentions bungie gets to tell naughty dog what to do is unhealthy. This guy LOVES playstation.

He's right of course. Like how does bungie get to come in and tell other Sony studios what to do, but it shouldn't trigger this kind of anger in someone.

But he wasn't really angry.

Sounds like something a successful horse breeder would say as the Model T was taking off.

"Humans are best known for sitting on horses to get around!"

The world has changed my friend.

Not as much as you all want it to. The industry can't maintain but so many GAAS games at the same time. Single Player games will always have a place. They will NEVER been horse and buggy.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Fucking dumb destiny is the tightest controlling fps game.

It takes a laugh at cod
And cod is now owned by microsoft
 

Boss Mog

Member
Don't sell Bungie, just make them make a new franchise akin to Halo instead of live service shit. There's no co-op campaigns in games these days and it makes me sad.
 

WitchHunter

Banned
I can't tell if your post is sarcasm or not, but certainly Bungie is not what they seemed to be.

But, as he says, there are many caveats - one hit in Marathon or a resurgent Destiny season could turn it all around.
Companies buying other companies because they do things that work, plus they can immediately appear in a market segment. The time it takes to create a competitor and getting that given company's userbase/experience/tech expertise/patents/whatever is very hard.
 
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mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
That's neat, now look at the biggest games on said platforms.

Also when Last of Us 3 eventually comes out, let's check out the budget on that game vs how many people bought it. Then lets check if its that much different than the amount who bought Last of Us 1 at a fraction of the budget cost.

How did Alan Wake 2 do? Oh guess what, probably doesn't matter because Fortnite paid for it.

What's this about narratives again?

It depends on how Sony and ND decide to monetize TLOU3 though. Will they add Factions to it like they should? It's 100% obvious that they should follow Rockstar's lead and release Factions within TLOU3. Even if they need to delay it a month or so like GTA5 and RDR2.

I think GAAS attracts a different type of audience. One that doesn't spend much time talking about videogames online.

There's probably more Bloodborne references on GAF than there is Apex Legends or Warzone references. That kind of shows you who comes here.

I bet more people will buy a console for Bloodborne 2, than for Fortnite.

Honestly, f*** campaigns. Why spend so many resources on a part of your game that so few will play or finish? Go all in on multiplayer and make sure that loop is as good as it needs to be.

The market really isn't demanding single player FPS games anymore.

Demanding? No. But needing them? Yes. If Half Life 3 got announced, that game would sell 10 million copies in its first month.
 
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