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[Mibu no ookami]

Jim Ryan has been a fairly divisive character, but love him or hate him, he's doing big things for PlayStation.

He'll probably go down as the most consequential CEO of PlayStation (and that includes Ken Kutaragi).

You take a look at PlayStation Productions, and they're probably the hottest Production company on the planet right now. They produced the 13th highest-grossing film of 2022 and have what will probably be the biggest hit new show of 2023 (obviously it's early in 2023 and they've only shown one episode, but based on season reviews, I expect people will be pleased).

PlayStation Productions has the potential to transform the entire company's model. We're talking about billions of dollars in potential annual net income. PlayStation Productions is uniquely qualified to manage it's own IP via PlayStation Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment, but also to acquire new IP within the spectrum of Sony Group's catalog of companies.

Take a book or graphic novel... There isn't a company on the planet that can DEVELOP a game based on that book (at a high quality), PRODUCE a TV Show or movie, AND DISTRIBUTE that TV Show or movie.

What this means is that Sony can use the revenue that they generate from PlayStation Productions and put it back into IP development AND IP acquisition, with the full knowledge that by hitting on their marks on the TV Show/Movie they can pretty easily recover from their investment.

Let's say that companies were bidding for the all-out rights to Metal Gear Solid. What company could develop a AAA game for Metal Gear Solid, make the movie, AND distribute the movie?

That makes out-bidding on IP significantly easier.

The more successful PlayStation Productions gets, the more talent they're going to hire, the more consistent they're going to be. No production company on the planet has a continuous stream of IP available to them aside from Marvel Studios (but even with Marvel Studios it's largely limited to existing characters). You look at Disney and why they're remaking all of their animated hits, and it's because they're fairly surefire hits. Even the bombs like Dumbo at least broke even (budget x2).

When you look at what Jim Ryan has done expanding the PlayStation brand beyond console games: Movies, TV, PC Games... even doubling down on VR... I just don't understand how he gets so much hate. He is almost certainly going to be the next CEO of Sony Group. He's navigated SIE through the pandemic and global supply chain shortage, and has positioned Sony and SIE to be more profitable than they've ever been before.

 

[64bitmodels]

quick someone get the fire extinguisher

 

[LordOfChaos]

I 'member when people thought he would ruin PlayStation

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

One of the greatest videogame figures in the last 50 years, no question.

 

[In Cold Blood]

Liar Liar pants on fire is the only you could use his name and fire in the same sentence.

 

[Topher]

Hi Jim

 

[Pelta88]

Best thing about Jim is that he knows how to shut the fuck up.

Love him or despise him, nobody can deny that he at least tries to stay clear of the circus of utterly meaningless PR sound bites.

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

dear diary

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Best thing about Jim is that he knows how to shut the fuck up. Love him or despise him, nobody can deny that at least tries to stay clear of utterly meaningless PR sound bites.

Eh he did get himself into some hot water jumping into politics.

 

[lh032]

I always like Jimbo.
Sometimes hero gets boycotted due to jealousy, which is normal.

 

[GhostOfTsu]

There's this new article about Playstation Productions. I don't think Jim Ryan is really involved there. It's mostly Asad and co.

‘The Last of Us’ Is the First Great Video-Game Adaptation and There’s a Good Reason Why

Sony's PlayStation Productions heads discuss "The Last of Us," "Uncharted," "Gran Turismo," and the future of video game adaptations

www.indiewire.com

 

[Gobjuduck]

That’s a long way to rationalize your favorite brand’s boss not being as cool as Phil or Reggie.

 

[DeepEnigma]

 

[M1chl]

Praise the devs not the execs, ffs

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I 'member when people thought he would ruin PlayStation

Including people at Xbox

Mike Ybarra cracked open a bottle of scotch to share with Phil when they got the email he was taking over saying he would run Playstation into the ground

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Best thing about Jim is that he knows how to shut the fuck up.

Love him or despise him, nobody can deny that at least tries to stay clear of the circus of utterly meaningless PR sound bites.

This.

You seldom hear this guy talk. How often do we get sound bites from him or Herman or Shu or any of the other big PS heads?

 

[Fake]

Right...

 

[ReBurn]

Best thing about Jim is that he knows how to shut the fuck up.

Love him or despise him, nobody can deny that at least tries to stay clear of the circus of utterly meaningless PR sound bites.

It's either that or nobody is interested in interviewing him.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

I'm not sure if Playstation Productions has anything to do with Jim Ryan...but it's true that in a time people have a hard time shipping AAA titles, Sony currently does release multiple titles a year with barely if any delays, they can actually plan these in advance and release games aligned with tv shows like TLOU Remake and the TV show in a time most publishers can't even keep their schedules for their games right, let alone plan another product release almost at the same time. You need great planning and a well oiled machine to do such a thing.

I never got the hate for him. He was literally there since day one, he's responsible for many key PS deals over the years, including the UEFA deal that's been going on since the 90's that tied Playstation with football. Let's not mention how currently they also have deals with all the big games like COD, Fortnite, Fifa, etc...how they never forget the franchises that have always been tied to their brand and keep them close to their chest like Final Fantasy, Silent Hill, the rumored Metal Gear Solid remake, etc...and the great eye Sony has for striking deals with indie games that end up going viral and turning into huge hits like Fall Guys, Stray, SiFu, Kena, etc...and their recent investment in other asian countries outside Japan has been quite productive...to the point MS is also looking for a game like Genshin Impact, a game that's quite tied to Playstation on consoles as well.

There's also the fact since the guy became CEO, most studios are now a lot better organized, have multiple teams developing more than a single game at a time, you hear a lot f studios talking about how work and personal life are a lot more balanced right now as well. Plastation also has more support studios and managed to acquire more studios than ever before, including a studio that Playstation wanted for years (Insomniac) and a studio that used to be tied with MS like over a decade ago (Bungie).

The thing is, he's actually doing a CEO's job. He doesn't need a twitter account, or turn himself into a personality for Playstation fanboys to jerk off to. Playstation has always been a quiet brand that's been a lot more "show, don't tell" specially since he's ahead of this ship...but if you're paying attention you can see the guy knows what he's doing.

That said...opening topics to compliment CEOs for literally doing their jobs well done is...weird. But yeah, this is how i analyze his work. We may have the occasional flop comment like closing the PS3 store, trying to make us pay for the Forbidden West upgrade, etc...but these are things that in the great scheme of things, no one rememebers, specially since they backtracked in the end.

 

[JLB]

lol

 

[bentanchorbolt]

Only console warriors get this hard about a company making money. They aren’t going to give you any no matter how hard you stan for them.

 

[GHG]

No awards though so doesn't count.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I'm not sure if Playstation Productions has anything to do with Jim Ryan...but it's true that in a time people have a hard time shipping AAA titles, Sony currently does release multiple titles a year with barely if any delays, they can actually plan these in advance and release games aligned with tv shows like TLOU Remake and the TV show in a time most publishers can't even keep their schedules for their games right, let alone plan another product release almost at the same time. You need great planning and a well oiled machine to do such a thing.

I never got the hate for him. He was literally there since day one, he's responsible for many key PS deals over the years, including the UEFA deal that's been going on since the 90's that tied Playstation with football. Let's not mention how currently they also have deals with all the big games like COD, Fortnite, Fifa, etc...how they never forget the franchises that have always been tied to their brand and keep them close to their chest like Final Fantasy, Silent Hill, the rumored Metal Gear Solid remake, etc...and the great eye Sony has for striking deals with indie games that end up going viral and turning into huge hits like Fall Guys, Stray, SiFu, Kena, etc...and their recent investment in other asian countries outside Japan has been quite productive...to the point MS is also looking for a game like Genshin Impact, a game that's quite tied to Playstation on consoles as well.

There's also the fact since the guy became CEO, most studios are now a lot better organized, have multiple teams developing more than a single game at a time, you hear a lot f studios talking about how work and personal life are a lot more balanced right now as well. Plastation also has more support studios and managed to acquire more studios than ever before, including a studio that Playstation wanted for years (Insomniac) and a studio that used to be tied with MS like over a decade ago (Bungie).

The thing is, he's actually doing a CEO's job. He doesn't need a twitter account, or turn himself into a personality for Playstation fanboys to jerk off to. Playstation has always been a quiet brand that's been a lot more "show, don't tell" specially since he's ahead of this ship...but if you're paying attention you can see the guy knows what he's doing.

That said...opening topics to compliment CEOs for literally doing their jobs well done is...weird. But yeah, this is how i analyze his work. We may have the occasional flop comment like closing the PS3 store, trying to make us pay for the Forbidden West upgrade, etc...but these are things that in the great scheme of things, no one rememebers, specially since they backtracked in the end.

He became CEO and 6 months later they launched a tv and film studio...

The reality was that closing the PS3 store impacted all of 5 people, but it's a vocal minority. Most people bought the PS5 version of Forbidden West despite the free upgrade...

Recognizing the need for more support studios and making deals for studios like Bluepoint and Housemarque... partnering with studios like Haven (eventually buying them) Firewalk, Deviation Games, e.t.c...

Greenlit TLOU TV show and remake... how many people here absolutely shredded Sony for the remake? Come on... sometimes you just have to give credit where credit is due.

 

[0neAnd0nly]

…

How many of the things you listed were already happening / happened almost entirely under Layden or even as far back as House/ Tretton?

Spoiler: many.

Tretton was IMO the most responsible for the turnaround of PlayStation from the end of 3 going into 4.

Layden continued the success, but didn’t really add much. Just coasted.

Jim… inherited the best selling console manufacturer with the best 1st party between MS/ PS… and did what? Grossly misplayed production to lengths PlayStation never experienced prior? Has led how many NEW IPs?

PlayStation studios? That’s the “win”? Most of these scripts in works prior to his leadership to various degrees and … you want PS to turn into Hollywood lite* instead of being innovative in the game space?

I am a proud PlayStation owner of literally nearly all their US offerings (not including variants). I consider myself a PlayStation first guy (I always have to clarify this in threads if I am criticizing EITHER company because I try to be very transparent).

Jim has done and said some stuff I agree with, for sure. But I think PlayStation could have and hopefully WILL do better in the future with leadership. Tretton lead innovation, Layden coasted on it and shuttered some stuff I disagreed with him doing, and Jim has a very “businessman” approach that has been conservative and safe and at times has cost the company $$$ (there is NO DOUBT some people bought Xbox when it became easier to find rather than PS5).

I respect your opinion though. He isn’t as bad as some say, but not great either.

 

[Badlucktroll]

I also think he may have gotten AAA Konami IPs back as Playstation exclusives.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

There's this new article about Playstation Productions. I don't think Jim Ryan is really involved there. It's mostly Asad and co.

‘The Last of Us’ Is the First Great Video-Game Adaptation and There’s a Good Reason Why

Sony's PlayStation Productions heads discuss "The Last of Us," "Uncharted," "Gran Turismo," and the future of video game adaptations

www.indiewire.com

Great article!

 

[quest]

Including people at Xbox

Mike Ybarra cracked open a bottle of scotch to share with Phil when they got the email he was taking over saying he would run Playstation into the ground

Anyone in the industry could of taken that job over. It be like taking over the 1920s Yankees not exactly a hard job with a line up of hall of famers up and down the roster. Its not like he is out there taking risks what we are getting 3 spiderman games in a few years, a few god of wars more horizon ect and a bunch of remasters. No block busters that are outside the sony template. He is standing on the shoulders of the guys before him. Just monetizing what they built better.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I also think he may have gotten AAA Konami IPs back as Playstation exclusives.

We're about to find out what is going on with the Metal Gear Solid remake and who is doing it.

 

[GHG]

Only console warriors get this hard about a company making money. They aren’t going to give you any no matter how hard you stan for them.

Is this you?

Microsoft is plaything the long game. This is why they spent $70b on Activision and whatever the hell they spent on Bethesda. It wasn't to shore up exclusives for this gen it was to bolster their portfolio moving forward when gaming inevitably begins to resemble Netflix and Hulu, or Spotify and Apple Music, etc.

Game streaming will take off at some point and when it does the market will be saturated with services, each with their own unique games that are exclusive. You'll end up paying $15 here and $10 there, before you know it, you'll be spending $50 a month just to have access to the games owning an Xbox and PlayStation used to get you. Xbox building a massive portfolio now gives them an enormous leg up to remain competitive when that time comes. It's will make this little squabble with Sony laughable.

This is where gaming is going. You may not like it. I don't like it. But this is where it's headed, just like movies, music, ebooks, tv shows, live sports, etc --- gaming will be no different.

 

[remember_spinal]

Jim will be responsible for growing playstation/sie more than any other president before him

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

…

How many of the things you listed were already happening / happened almost entirely under Layden or even as far back as House/ Tretton?

Spoiler: many.

Tretton was IMO the most responsible for the turnaround of PlayStation from the end of 3 going into 4.

Layden continued the success, but didn’t really add much. Just coasted.

Jim… inherited the best selling console manufacturer with the best 1st party between MS/ PS… and did what? Grossly misplayed production to lengths PlayStation never experienced prior? Has led how many NEW IPs?

PlayStation studios? That’s the “win”? Most of these scripts in works prior to his leadership to various degrees and … you want PS to turn into Hollywood lite* instead of being innovative in the game space?

I am a proud PlayStation owner of literally nearly all their US offerings (not including variants). I consider myself a PlayStation first guy (I always have to clarify this in threads if I am criticizing EITHER company because I try to be very transparent).

Jim has done and said some stuff I agree with, for sure. But I think PlayStation could have and hopefully WILL do better in the future with leadership. Tretton lead innovation, Layden coasted on it and shuttered some stuff I disagreed with him doing, and Jim has a very “businessman” approach that has been conservative and safe and at times has cost the company $$$ (there is NO DOUBT some people bought Xbox when it became easier to find rather than PS5).

I respect your opinion though. He isn’t as bad as some say, but not great either.

Games take a long time to develop. He started in 2019. We're about to actually see some new games he greenlighted this year. Your post is premature in many ways. How was he supposed to create new IPs, develop them and release them in less than 4 years? Games like Ghost of Tsushima and Horizon took like 7 years between being greelighted, pre-production, production, release etc...

But as we know, plenty of studios are working on new IPs, including Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica, Housemarque and i think even Bluepoint.

 

[RoboFu]

 

[remember_spinal]

Is this you?

 

[bentanchorbolt]

Is this you?

Unsure how my post you quoted and the OP are related or even what point it proves. Nice try tho.

 

[GHG]

Unsure how my post you quoted and the OP are related or even what point it proves. Nice try tho.

Not sure why you bothered to post what you did in this thread to be honest when you haven't hesitated in getting a "hard on" when the subject centers around Microsoft or Phil Spencer. Unwittingly, you've made a hell of an admission.

 

[bentanchorbolt]

Not sure why you bothered to post what you did in this thread to be honest when you haven't hesitated in getting a "hard on" when the subject centers around Microsoft or Phil Spencer. Unwittingly, you've made a hell of an admission.

Is this a video game message board or a drama message board? Save the drama, not all that interested.

 

[0neAnd0nly]

Games take a long time to develop. He started in 2019. We're about to actually see some new games he greenlighted this year. Your post is premature in many ways. How was he supposed to create new IPs, develop them and release them in less than 4 years? Games like Ghost of Tsushima and Horizon took like 7 years between being greelighted, pre-production, production, release etc...

But as we know, plenty of studios are working on new IPs, including Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica, Housemarque and i think even Bluepoint.

You literally proved my exact point.

I am not saying he won’t have successful IPs, I am pointing that some of the points in the OP should not be attributed to him.

I am well aware of the current state of game development, I have mentioned many times on GAF but I worked in different parts of the industry AND gaming media sequentially between 2012 - 2017. I don’t criticize as an outsider unaware of the inner workings of game entertainment.

 

[dotnotbot]

quick someone get the fire extinguisher

No. Leave him burning until he promises to bring full backwards compatibility. It's our only chance.

 

[Crayon]

Did he have much to do with the movies and teh shows because I'm finding myself surrprised at how well that stuff is taking off.

The only execs I like are reggie and kaz because they have funny faces for funny memes. Especially kaz. His horse laugh is hilarious.

 

[Hot5pur]

I like PS games on PC so I can play the best version. Nuff said.

 

[semiconscious]

well, personally, i wouldn't piss on jim ryan if...

 

[Valedix]

Damn I thought you meant literally for a second

 

[radewagon]

 

[JackMcGunns]

Then he stepped into the PlayStation servers

 

[Imtjnotu]

Jim Ryan has been a fairly divisive character, but love him or hate him, he's doing big things for PlayStation.

He'll probably go down as the most consequential CEO of PlayStation (and that includes Ken Kutaragi).

You take a look at PlayStation Productions, and they're probably the hottest Production company on the planet right now. They produced the 13th highest-grossing film of 2022 and have what will probably be the biggest hit new show of 2023 (obviously it's early in 2023 and they've only shown one episode, but based on season reviews, I expect people will be pleased).

PlayStation Productions has the potential to transform the entire company's model. We're talking about billions of dollars in potential annual net income. PlayStation Productions is uniquely qualified to manage it's own IP via PlayStation Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment, but also to acquire new IP within the spectrum of Sony Group's catalog of companies.

Take a book or graphic novel... There isn't a company on the planet that can DEVELOP a game based on that book (at a high quality), PRODUCE a TV Show or movie, AND DISTRIBUTE that TV Show or movie.

What this means is that Sony can use the revenue that they generate from PlayStation Productions and put it back into IP development AND IP acquisition, with the full knowledge that by hitting on their marks on the TV Show/Movie they can pretty easily recover from their investment.

Let's say that companies were bidding for the all-out rights to Metal Gear Solid. What company could develop a AAA game for Metal Gear Solid, make the movie, AND distribute the movie?

That makes out-bidding on IP significantly easier.

The more successful PlayStation Productions gets, the more talent they're going to hire, the more consistent they're going to be. No production company on the planet has a continuous stream of IP available to them aside from Marvel Studios (but even with Marvel Studios it's largely limited to existing characters). You look at Disney and why they're remaking all of their animated hits, and it's because they're fairly surefire hits. Even the bombs like Dumbo at least broke even (budget x2).

When you look at what Jim Ryan has done expanding the PlayStation brand beyond console games: Movies, TV, PC Games... even doubling down on VR... I just don't understand how he gets so much hate. He is almost certainly going to be the next CEO of Sony Group. He's navigated SIE through the pandemic and global supply chain shortage, and has positioned Sony and SIE to be more profitable than they've ever been before.

Jim out here writing his own fluff piece

 

[Jennings]

It's worth noting that apparently OP has no gag reflex.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Jim, so far, has basically managed to NOT make any major mistakes. He's made lots of idiotic small ones that people will get over in a week.

I won't crown him as doing anything brilliant unless he shows significant PSVR2 support and the GaaS stuff he's investing heavily into actually does well.

 

[bitbydeath]

He’s been playing the long game for a while.

In 2021 he purchased three support studios, people wonder how Sony churn out games so fast, this is how.

 

[bentanchorbolt]

Jim, so far, has basically managed to NOT make any major mistakes. He's made lots of idiotic small ones that people will get over in a week.

I won't crown him as doing anything brilliant unless he shows significant PSVR2 support and the GaaS stuff he's investing heavily into actually does well.

I get the feeling they are “all in” on VR and for my sake I hope it’s not a fad. VR is next evolution of gaming and it needs mass market appeal.

 

[TheGodfather07]

It's not just Jim Ryan though. Look how much sony grew their ip from ps3 era to ps4. This isn't something new and is just a continuation of what they were already doing. It's more sony as a whole.