Support NeoGAF

[//DEVIL//]

on his Era we got:
- Less new IPs
- Trying to leave single player chasing stupid GaaS
- 70$ gaming
- PlayStation losing its flavor by releasing the high profile games on PC ( even though I am mainly a PC gamer, I Would have turned my PS5 more often and bought more games on PlayStation console. but knowing ill get them later on PC for better graphics and cheaper thanks to 3rd party sites, I only have like 3 PlayStation games since it was released. the rest i grab on PC for like dirt cheap and not directly from them too so god knows how that profit goes for ROW keys or whatever.


All what he thought of is short term profit for investors. a big Fat F from me bud. hope I would never see you. or the like of you ever again.

 

[King Dazzar]

I'll be honest, I didn't even know who Jim Ryan was until a few years ago. Which come to think about it, is a good thing in itself. PlayStation also have won me over this gen. So that brings him upto a C. He said far less than Phil too, so that's an endearing quality, which earns him a B.

 

[kazuyamishima]

S+ Ranking.

He made MS going 3rd party, never ever expected that in 2020.

He also made PS more profitable than ever.

 

[RagnarokIV]

Poor man’s Keith Chegwin and a cunt.

D

 

[Coloress_Kafka]

Barely saw him doing interviews and press which means he's an A+ CEO who is more focused on keeping the company running than being a media whore. But the real reason I gave him an A is because this mutherfucker is cool enough to give his cats a birthday party! I'm still pissed the person who leaked that memo never leaked the pictures!

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

A solid B+

Launching a console during Covid is not easy.

He made sure the console had great exclusive content lined up and/or made deals for exclusives that have done well by third parties

He made a big step into GaaS, perhaps a bit too much. But Helldivers 2 has proven to be a smash hit.

I don’t like the answers he gives in interviews but he basically stayed out of the spotlight, so maybe he was just self aware of that.

Not my favorite PS boss, I think that’s reserved for Jack Tretton, but he was objectively better than Shawn Layden

 

[TGO]

I think he hit autopilot as soon as he got in and let what was planned played out
He authorised some stuff which had no benefit for Playstation fanbase or the PS5 and once pre-planned roadmap was done and dusted he retired.
How would you rate that?

 

[Sleepwalker]

Big dick Jim feats:

Closed out the shitty japanese studios
Oversaw the PS5 launch during covid
Gave us perpetual BC of some Sony games (and the upcoming ones) by porting them to Steam
Released a remote streaming accesory that apparently no one wanted but is always sold out
Gave us many laughs and memes during the acti blizz deal
Dominated so hard that Microsoft is putting their games on Playstation

Actively refuses to aknowledge Bloodborne or do anything with it, what a chad.

S+

 

[saintjules]

Fuck him he's a cunt

See you at the end of the month. Goddamn lol

 

[Loomy]

Grade D. Most of iconic games on PS take a route that I didn't like and he had an unnecessary focus on live services.

You think Jim was out there giving creative feedback and advocating for changes in directions at a game by game level? Also, considering those iconic games you like take 5 years and hundreds of millions of dollars to make, the focus on live service games seems very necessary.

Jim Ryan took over a successful business that Kaz Hirai resurrected and Andrew House builty up and didn't fuck it up. In fact, he led it through COVID and they came out of it relatively unscathed.

He was, objectively, a successful CEO. We should hope whoever the next guy is can keep it up.

 

[Saber]

He was, objectively, a successful CEO.

"How would you grade Jim Ryan tenure as head of Playstation"

My grade is D

 

[Humdinger]

Plus

• Financially successful. PS5 is selling very well. I think financial success has to be one of the main criteria you judge a CEO by, and Ryan gets good marks here.
• Able to lock down some good third-party exclusives that compensate for deficits in first-party output.

Minus

• Wasn't a gamer, came off like a businessman first and foremost. Not a bad guy, just not relatable to your average gamer.
• Presided over an era in which Sony became increasingly woke. Several of their best franchises were infected/ruined by this.
• Lowered output of first-party exclusives.
• Lowered quality of first-party exclusives -- restricted range in terms of creativity. More homogenization compared to earlier eras.
• Invested a lot in GAAS games.

Overall: C

 

[Mibu no ookami]

He's definitely S-Tier.

Hilarious that people can suggest otherwise.

 

[Moriarty1889]

Managed thru a rough period with covid. Managed to make Xbox become less relevant than ever exposing their plans in court which damaged Phil and Co. even more. Xbox in general became so desperate due to PS5 dominance this gen they basically bitched out and started putting their games on Sonys platform. He had the likeability and personality of a piece of wood. His focus on live service and PC releases was a bit of a bummer but overall I think he did pretty well. Just my take on this.

 

[DrFigs]

just average. c. nothing great in particular, but i think he could've done more to secure more games for the ps5.

 

[RCU005]

I don’t like him at all. This is the first generation of PlayStation that has very few Sony’s first party games.

He insisted in keeping cross generation games and we are in its 3rd year. He wants to launch a Pro console when there are no first party games in sight, and there hasn’t been really any ps5 only games.

This has been the worst generation of video games since I started playing with the SNES. Across all consoles in one way or another.

 

[bitbydeath]

He's definitely S-Tier.

Hilarious that people can suggest otherwise.

He’s done a lot of great things but I’m marking him down to a B for:

-Letting Sweetbaby and other mentally retarded people near PlayStation.
-Not enough comms/consistency of comms.

 

[ShirAhava]

*puts everyone who voted S on ignore* #notjoking

I can understand the other rankings depending on personal taste "A" seems like a bit much
but if a persons taste in games/vision for the future of gaming was the exact opposite of mine I guess it would be "A"
but "S"? Meth is bad please stop

 

[Badlucktroll]

The dude was ruthless, got Konami IPs back and Playstation exclusives, and MS to go 3rd party.

 

[Loomy]

I think people are misunderstanding Jim's role (And Phill, to a certain extent).

The guy isn't out there telling Naughty Dog, and Insomniac what games to make, or how gay their characters should be, or how "woke" their stories should be. His primary responsibility is the "business" aspect of the business. Making sure it still generates enough revenue to contribute towards their portion of shareholder profit.

A lot of what you're all basing your opinions on, a lot of what the results we see are from the jobs of Hermen and his team. At this point, it's still also partially Shu and his team, but these are probably the last few things they were responsible for.

 

[Topher]

F

Changing to C

I'm not going to rehash my displeasure with the direction PlayStation has taken the last few years. Just because Sony's stockholders love Jim Ryan doesn't mean I have to.

I miss Andrew House.

Edit: On reflection, I think my grade was too harsh. Can't change my vote in the poll unless L LakeOf9 allows that option though.

 

[bitbydeath]

I think people are misunderstanding Jim's role (And Phill, to a certain extent).

The guy isn't out there telling Naughty Dog, and Insomniac what games to make, or how gay their characters should be, or how "woke" their stories should be. His primary responsibility is the "business" aspect of the business. Making sure it still generates enough revenue to contribute towards their portion of shareholder profit.

A lot of what you're all basing your opinions on, a lot of what the results we see are from the jobs of Hermen and his team. At this point, it's still also partially Shu and his team, but these are probably the last few things they were responsible for.

While he’s not the one directly hiring them he is in a position where he could put a stop to it.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Basic

 

[Nydius]

I’ll give him a middle of average C. He did okay keeping PlayStation ahead but then spent the last bit of his tenure chasing GaaS games, spending money on a horrible acquisition, and has led to the 2024 drought of first party content (because they were all trying to transition to GaaS content that ended up scrapped).

I’m also thinking he’s the reason PSVR has never really gotten the full support it needed to thrive.

Edit: After further consideration while sitting on the porcelain throne, I am revising my grade to a “C Minus” for the following reasons:

- Increase to $70 games.
- Increase to $80 for basic PS+ Essential.
- He came across as a petulant child during the Microsoft/ABK legal battle.

 

[BadBurger]

He really couldn't screw things up that much IMO. He came in while Sony was being a juggernaut with no real competition.

 

[Loomy]

While he’s not the one directly hiring them he is in a position where he could put a stop to it.

I disagree that he, or Phil, should be putting their fingers on the creative side of things. They hired people to do that. Let them do their jobs.

 

[Calverz]

S Tier without a doubt. He finally brought games to PC.

 

[Topher]

S Tier without a doubt. He finally brought games to PC.

That's true. Ok.....changing my vote to F+

 

[nial]

Better than Tsuyoshi Kodera, which didn't do shit in that year and a half period.
Some quick thoughts:
-12 live service games was too much, but they were apparently with the impression that some of these were going to be inevitably cancelled? But I can't hate the whole initiative, given how Helldivers 2 has turned out.
-PC ports are whatever for me.
-PSVR2 has been sadly disappointing.
-Dropping the Japan Studio brand and expanding its production business into the rest of Asia was his best decision, overall.

 

[nial]

Oh, also, thanks to Jim Ryan we finally have this.

Ape Escape

Hunt Down Hundreds of Cheeky Chimps in the Original Ape Escape™

store.playstation.com

Andrew House and Tsuyoshi Kodera were cunts for never releasing PS1 classics on PS4.

 

[Melfice7]

S for shit. i dont care how much money the shareholders made, jimbo was the worse leader playstation had in a while

 

[Dr. Claus]

F.

Pushing unneeded censorship. Removing variety in their first party line up. Pushing GAAS. Trying to make PlayStation into some faux-luxury brand.


It’s been going steadily downhill for me ever since he took over.

 

[ZehDon]

In honesty, he didn't seem to actually DO much other than just copy House's PS4 strategy. There's something to be said for that, but what he did do wasn't thrilling:

• Raise next-gen software prices
• Keep arbitrary distinction between generations to enforce higher next-gen prices
• Raise the cost of PS+ and delivering less
• Pushed Sony's single player studios into GaaS
• Bungled the push back for the ABK purchase

With that said, PlayStation is still in a really strong position. Not rocking the boat is still a success. Gave him a B.

 

[nial]

Pushing unneeded censorship.

Eh, that was the guy before him (Tsuyoshi Kodera). We need to be fair.

 

[damidu]

i guess its easy to shine, when the other guy is spender

 

[Rivet]

It's a C for me.

Sure, Playstation is still on top, but we never get new IPs now. I'm so bored by the endless stream of sequels, remakes and remasters.

GaaS focus looks like a bad idea too and it's already failing, as much as I can see.

Give us new games. Something really new from Naughty Dog, Santa Monica, Bluepoint...

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

F

I'm not going to rehash my displeasure with the direction PlayStation has taken the last few years. Just because Sony's stockholders love Jim Ryan doesn't mean I have to.

I miss Andrew House.

What is your displeasure and what has Andrew House done that was so much more amazing than Jim Ryan?

Andrew House was head of Sony from 2013-2017, a period that marked the start of the PS4. Just like Jim Ryan. But Jim had a lot more AAA games release under his watch. I give credit for Andrew signing Kojima but there really wasn't much to Andrew House other than him launching the PS4 with a solid price. Jim Ryan did the same thing with PS5.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

He had a plan and executed on it. He left PlayStation in it's most financially successful state it has ever been in. He saw his biggest competitor off despite spending a tiny fraction of the $100 billion they spent. He was basically the Tim Apple of PlayStation, he wasn't a vision guy like Steve Jobs but he was a steady hand at the wheel who guided the ship straight through the storm that was Corvid. In the end, he rides off into the sunset leaving behind a business which is at the top of it's game.

Final Grade: S++

 

[Topher]

What is your displeasure and what has Andrew House done that was so much more amazing than Jim Ryan?

Andrew House was head of Sony from 2013-2017, a period that marked the start of the PS4. Just like Jim Ryan. But Jim had a lot more AAA games release under his watch. I give credit for Andrew signing Kojima but there really wasn't much to Andrew House other than him launching the PS4 with a solid price. Jim Ryan did the same thing with PS5.

Andrew House laid the foundation for what would be the resurgence of PlayStation. Jim Ryan benefitted from that greatly. The year after House left started a march of exclusives for PS4 such as Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War and Spider-man, all of which were games that were developed while House was at the helm.

PS5 started out strong, but this movement towards live service nonsense directing studios to move into areas that is not their expertise and this absurd expectation that buying Bungie to teach these studios how to make these games was just poorly thought out. It has been three years since the last major AAA first party game was announced. Maybe my attitude will change if/when we actually see some games, but right now.....he gets an F from me. That's harsh, I know, but I can't help but feel like Jim Ryan fucked up what was handed to him on a silver platter.

 

[ArtHands]

S for bringing Sony Playstation console games to PC. Great strategy imo

 

[bender]

I gave him a C merely based on my speculation that the GAAS initiatives he championed are going to have negative long term ramifications.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Andrew House laid the foundation for what would be the resurgence of PlayStation. Jim Ryan benefitted from that greatly. The year after House left started a march of exclusives for PS4 such as Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War and Spider-man, all of which were games that were developed while House was at the helm.

PS5 started out strong, but this movement towards live service nonsense directing studios to move into areas that is not their expertise and this absurd expectation that buying Bungie to teach these studios how to make these games was just poorly thought out. It has been three years since the last major AAA first party game was announced. Maybe my attitude will change if/when we actually see some games, but right now.....he gets an F from me. That's harsh, I know, but I can't help but feel like Jim Ryan fucked up what was handed to him on a silver platter.

You also had a failed SSM new IP.

Uncharted 4 in disarray when Amy left and took ages to release

A really slow start to PS4 exclusives.

I’m not one to crown a single guy for these studios either. Guerilla and ND were well on their way prior to House

GaaS resulted in Helldivers 2, a massive success…and Jim Ryan was fine with cancelling Factions and letting ND focus on SP content

The reality is that games take longer to make and Sony no longer announces years in advance, but Jim Ryan every single year has had banger, exciting exclusives

 

[Topher]

You also had a failed SSM new IP.

A really slow start to PS4 exclusives.

I’m not one to crown a single guy for these studios either. Guerilla and ND were well on their way prior to House

GaaS resulted in Helldivers 2, a massive success…and Jim Ryan was fine with cancelling Factions and letting ND focus on SP content

The reality is that games take longer to make and Sony no longer announces years in advance, but Jim Ryan every single year has had banger, exciting exclusives

That's fine. I simply do not like the direction PlayStation is going right now with first party. Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

That's fine. I simply do not like the direction PlayStation is going right now with first party. Hopefully I'm wrong.

A direction you know nothing about though, honestly. Sony isn’t announcing games years in advance

 

[Wastelander92]

Shoulda bought Square instead of Bungie

 

[Topher]

A direction you know nothing about though, honestly. Sony isn’t announcing games years in advance

Yeah...I know about a lot of live service shit and next to nothing about single player. Kind of my entire point.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Yeah...I know about a lot of live service shit and next to nothing about single player. Kind of my entire point.

Do you know “a lot” about live service?

We know practically nothing there either.

And all their live service stuff is outside of their view studios so it’s just in addition

 

[Topher]

Do you know “a lot” about live service?

We know practically nothing there either.

We are not going to agree. It's fine.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

We are not going to agree. It's fine.

It’s not about agreeing or disagreeing I’m just laying out facts

 

[poppabk]

- PlayStation losing its flavor by releasing the high profile games on PC ( even though I am mainly a PC gamer, I Would have turned my PS5 more often and bought more games on PlayStation console. but knowing ill get them later on PC for better graphics and cheaper thanks to 3rd party sites, I only have like 3 PlayStation games since it was released. the rest i grab on PC for like dirt cheap and not directly from them too so god knows how that profit goes for ROW keys or whatever.

Gets an S from me for this.