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Nixxes Software joins Playstation Studios

Shmunter

Member
It's already competing with PSNow...

A huge issue with PlayStation is the lack of vision and focus. Seems like they just try to compete in every area and have no idea where they want to go themselves.
Sony doesn’t see the need for PSNOw, they are making bank in the traditional delivery. Until that stops working, PSNOW will simply be in their back pocket like an unloved stepchild.

They don’t want to cannabilise their own sales. And I wish them the best of luck!
 

Bryank75

Banned
Sony doesn’t see the need for PSNOw, they are making bank in the traditional delivery. Until that stops working, PSNOW will simply be in their back pocket like an unloved stepchild.

They don’t want to cannabilise their own sales. And I wish them the best of luck!

Yes, well I vastly prefer traditional / digital delivery over streaming / subscription. So that's all good.

I just hope they are cautious with PC releases....I personally don't agree with them at all. If they do them, they should release gen 8 exclusives spread through gen 9 and then at the end of gen 9 / start of Gen 10, they can start with Gen 9 excluisves being ported.

2 Years is not enough of a gap at all.
 
Cool, sounds like Sony just bought an in-house PC porting machine.

Only partially. The team has some excellent coders, it seems, and it will act as a support studio to help out with multiple projects, with the potential of expanding to host its own developer in the future. It's a very smart move, especially that they assisted with Playstation projects quite recently.
 
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sainraja

Member
That it was the sole focus. They bought them for that, I'm sure, but doubtful it's their only reason. Especially with their description, "In July 2021 Nixxes joined PlayStation Studios to focus on delivering the highest-quality gameplay experiences for PlayStation fans."
One of the reasons people like PlayStation is because of their first party games. So, you can be a PlayStation fan and prefer gaming on the PC. So delivering the highest-quality gameplay experiences for PlayStation fans can still include making and releasing games for PC.

Minus a couple posts in this thread by console warriors trying to push a specific narrative, most of the people here have simply been discussing how Nixxes will be utilized by Sony – the very obvious one being to release more games on PC and the second being to support internal studios with games (which can still include the PC.)

Every scenario people mention is worth a discussion until Sony is specific about their content strategy between all platforms. Personally I was kinda hoping for Sony to release a PlayStation client on PC (with tight integration of trophies) but we can't ignore how congested the PC landscape is with Steam, EPIC, Origin and my favorite (GOG) etc. so if they don't I kinda understand why.

I am waiting for the day where people on this forum will mature past using console war narratives in threads like these. It's just sad.
 
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Shmunter

Member
Yes, well I vastly prefer traditional / digital delivery over streaming / subscription. So that's all good.

I just hope they are cautious with PC releases....I personally don't agree with them at all. If they do them, they should release gen 8 exclusives spread through gen 9 and then at the end of gen 9 / start of Gen 10, they can start with Gen 9 excluisves being ported.

2 Years is not enough of a gap at all.
My only concern is only about next gen titles being held back. The pc stuff is not much in the forefront for me, but yes it has potential brand strength issues.

I just want proper PS5 games, where they go after is not so much of a concern.
 
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ethomaz

Banned
They're going to remaster Sony first party games to PC my guy so Sony can make more money. Now the only question is will they do it day/date or like a couple of years later. To me it seems this was done to free up the creating studios resources
Yeap I believe they will mostly be used for that.
But they were working in a original IP too... so maybe they are allowed to release a new IP too.
 

jaysius

Banned
(re)PlayStation 5

Any port in a storm(or lack thereof).

Very boring news but hopefully good news for Sony fans. Hopefully this won't lead to lazy cheaply done ports(at full prices) of older games.
 
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Huh.

This makes sense on two levels:

1)
Sony is using these guys to manage and oversee any and all ports of every single PS game onto the PC, relieving the burden off themselves.

2) Sony is clearly making a push for PC and will not stop at old releases.

I personally see it as phases, and believe option 1 will happen before option 2 inevitably happens in the future.

Interesting move, nonetheless. Let's see where this takes us.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Sony doesn’t see the need for PSNOw, they are making bank in the traditional delivery. Until that stops working, PSNOW will simply be in their back pocket like an unloved stepchild.

They don’t want to cannabilise their own sales. And I wish them the best of luck!

Only partially. The team has some excellent coders, it seems, and it will act as a support studio to help out with multiple projects, with the potential of expanding to host its own developer in the future. It's a very smart move, especially that they assisted with Playstation projects quite recently.

Too many people underestimate how important the bolded is for Sony's 1st party teams. I don't most gamers or enough GAFers understand the important role the ICE team and Sony San Diego and others play in making Sony's 1st party games look and play as well as they do.

Sony shares so much technology amongst themselves that Nixxes will only be a benefit to many of their 1st party games.

It's honestly is what makes devs like Evolution Studios go from making a game that looks like this early on the PS4......
Driveclub_rain.gif.85b218ce0784cce8d2a678870f0f944c.gif

giphy.gif



To a game that looks like this (with CodeMasters)


GiftedRightCopperbutterfly-size_restricted.gif
 

Hellmaker

Member
Too many people underestimate how important the bolded is for Sony's 1st party teams. I don't most gamers or enough GAFers understand the important role the ICE team and Sony San Diego and others play in making Sony's 1st party games look and play as well as they do.

Sony shares so much technology amongst themselves that Nixxes will only be a benefit to many of their 1st party games.

It's honestly is what makes devs like Evolution Studios go from making a game that looks like this early on the PS4......

To a game that looks like this (with CodeMasters)

It makes me sad everytime I see Driveclub that nothing more can be done...😳
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
It makes me sad everytime I see Driveclub that nothing more can be done...😳

I know Evo Studios screwed some things up when making DriveClub, but Sony REALLY screwed up letting them go. DriveClub was supposed to be their Forza Horizon "type" series. And still till this day I believe DC would have went toe-to-toe with the Forza Horizon games. They just needed another shot. Everything was there in DC, once they fixed the bugs and did a few updates.

To me......it's Sony's BIGGEST mistake during the PS4 era. And it ain't even close.
 

MastaKiiLA

Member
I know Evo Studios screwed some things up when making DriveClub, but Sony REALLY screwed up letting them go. DriveClub was supposed to be their Forza Horizon "type" series. And still till this day I believe DC would have went toe-to-toe with the Forza Horizon games. They just needed another shot. Everything was there in DC, once they fixed the bugs and did a few updates.

To me......it's Sony's BIGGEST mistake during the PS4 era. And it ain't even close.
It's one of those weird decisions, given the studio's pedigree, that makes you think there was more to it than meets the eye. Kinda like them breaking up Psygnosis. Hell, wasn't Evolution Studios a spin-off of Psygnosis remnants? Something tells me the team just didn't jive with the rest of the Sony group.
 
I know Evo Studios screwed some things up when making DriveClub, but Sony REALLY screwed up letting them go. DriveClub was supposed to be their Forza Horizon "type" series. And still till this day I believe DC would have went toe-to-toe with the Forza Horizon games. They just needed another shot. Everything was there in DC, once they fixed the bugs and did a few updates.

To me......it's Sony's BIGGEST mistake during the PS4 era. And it ain't even close.

I agree. The oddest decision ever made, and one where I cannot for the life of me find a justifiable reason for it.

Something either went down spectacularly awful behind the scenes, or it just really was the end of it.

Sony REALLY need a new Evolution studios to make a First Party Racing game that doesnt take 6 years to make like the GT series 😐
 

nowhat

Member
I know Evo Studios screwed some things up when making DriveClub, but Sony REALLY screwed up letting them go.
Whether the decision by Sony was justified is debatable (not a racing fan so I don't feel strongly one way or the other), but "some things" is revisionism. It was supposed to be a launch title, free on PS+. It released a whole year later, as a full-price title and the servers in totally shambles. The PS+ edition came full year and a half after launch, and was seriously gimped. If Evolution was to be the next big racing first-party studio... they were given a chance. They blew it all by themselves.
 
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It was a business upheaval.

Sony entering the market changed the gaming business completely, and the moves they made had repercussions forevermore for the future of the business. Ultimately, a PlayStation fan or a general gamer can look back and see their actions as a positive, because it all "worked out for the best" (for most companies; Nintendo really had a lot to figure out when that happened, and SEGA was basically never the same afterwards,) and there was a lot of fun to be had with the products if you were a consumer, and the industry grew healthier because of if this major player taking things to a new level. Whichever company you side with as a fan (if you have to pick sides,) Sony and then Microsoft entering the business have led to a more vibrant business.

How fun was it for Nintendo and SEGA gamers at that time, though? The ones who probably expected certain 3P games tot continue on those platforms but instead they went primarily or exclusively to PlayStation? I'm sure the Nintendo & SEGA gamers at the time weren't having a great time in that respect but again it's like I was saying before (and am saying again for PlayStation gamers upset over things like the Zenimax purchase); one way or another, gotta just get over it and accept things as they are, go where the games you want are at, go multi-console if possible (easier now versus back then, to be fair) etc.

Also it's only thanks to hindsight that we can say Sony's shakeups were generally a net positive for the industry; the issue is that with people genuinely angry about Microsoft's moves of late they are judging them as a negative for the industry as if they have seen the future and have the power of Captain Hindsight. That is literally impossible, and only a pessimist would continuously keep arguing it in that context instead of giving them a chance to prove it could lead to industry net positives*

* = because generally when people say things like GamePass or some of MS's other initiatives are negative they only judge this from the perspective of how it affects Sony but, like I was saying before with the example of Sony entering the industry, it's not MS's problem to ensure their competitors can adapt, just like how it wasn't Sony problem to ensure SEGA and Nintendo adapted (or Microsoft last generation).

We don't really know where this Arms Race will be going yet, though, and if we look at the nearest neighbor, there's some real and probably irrevocable downsides if consolidation is the future. (But also, some great wins, too, and for consumers, prices for access to entertainment has never been lower.)

To be Chicken Little running around screaming, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" is naïve. Maybe the sky will fall, and underneath it, a bright, beautiful new sky even better than before. But analysis is fair game, I don't think it makes sense either to just write what's going on as "more of the same."

Okay, but we won't know where this stuff leads until later down the line, so what is the point of being alarmist about it right now. If we want to break it down, there has always been some level of consolidation in this industry, be it with developers, publishers, corporate mergers, IP consolidation/mergings, dev workforces, publishers, etc.

In relation to these current ones btw, we should keep in mind virtually all of the companies being bought...WANT to be purchased. And in some cases, need to in order to survive. That's only a net positive for the industry since it ensures studios and their employees can continue to exist and have a place to call (dev) home, and their IP can similarly have a home.

Sony gamedev studios now will be able to focus on making PS5 games, and only in the PS5 version versions for crossgen games. Something that will benefit PS5 users.

Sony gamedev studios now won't need to waste resources or efforts on releasing PS5 patches/PS5 versions/PC ports of old PS4 games, or PS4 version of crossgen games because Nixxes now will be able to handle them. They are also experienced and talented porters, so Nixxes' ports pretty likely will be better than the ones made by Sony's gamedev studios, something that will benefit PS4 and PC users.

This is a logical conclusion given the capacity Nixxes has operated in for decades. However, in order for them to 100% handle all porting duties on a given time schedule, they may have to be expanded in size. If you look at their past porting duties, it's single games spaced out a couple or so years here and there, in a lot of cases. If Sony wants enough turnaround of ports in a timely fashion, and a single studio internally to handle that, if that studio is Nixxes they will need to be expanded.

Another thing is, there's no guarantee this is limited to porting older PS4 titles to PC or PS4 games to PS5. I don't know where people get this idea that Sony isn't considering PS5 ports to PC, but people like Hulst and Ryan have already said they want to hasten the rate of ports and shorten the frequency between them. There's no hard evidence that means PS5 ports to PC (although Demon's Souls Remake to PC might be a thing), and certainly not Day-and-Date between 1P PS5 and PC, but there's not a lot to disprove it as a possibility, either.

IMO Day-and-Date for single-player games (especially the big story-driven ones like the next Uncharted, God of War, Spider-man etc.) will not be happening this gen (or most of the gen), but I think Sony is looking at probably doing a 2-year/3-year stagger in those cases. For 1P mutiplayer-centric games, though? I honestly do think those will become Day-and-Date between PS5 and PC, I won't be surprised if or when it happens.

They could port ps4 to ps5 too, offer assistance to 3rd party/ small indie teams.

Yep, those are other things they can provide to Sony.

If does if it's day and date. That's just a fact. But if it's a year, 2, 3, or more years later then yeah put them on PC.

For MP-centric games Day-and-Date will actually help, if anything. Ensures a larger community of activity which means a more sustainable game.

For single-player story-driven games it's a case-by-case thing. Day-and-Date probably won't happen with those except maybe if it's a really smaller-scale 1P single-player game that may not have much PS5-centric to market off of. The next Sackboy Adventure, for example, could be a Day-and-Date type of game.

But for the bigger single-player 1P games that won't likely happen. I think they'll all end up on PC anyway, but probably in staggers of 2-3 years later and probably coinciding with story expansions.

Hilarious everyone is jumping to conclusions on this being about PC ports. They are a support studio helping to make PS5 games. Can they be used to make PC ports of whatever game Sony decides to bring to PC? I guess so, but they were not bought for that



They have a long history of doing PC ports, I don't see why it's such a crazy conclusion to jump to? Doesn't mean they can't offer technical assistance too, I just find leading with that odd considering Sony already has their ICE teams which do the very same thing, even for select 3P devs (usually those doing exclusives, timed exclusives, or games where Sony has co-marketing deals on).

So basically us saying they will have a big role in handling PC ports doesn't contradict anything in Hulst's tweets, especially considering only a few weeks ago, they kind of hinted at expanded nature of upcoming PC ports in interviews at that time.

We don’t know how Sony will use them. This is from their website:

In July 2021 Nixxes joined PlayStation Studios to focus on delivering the highest-quality gameplay experiences for PlayStation fans.

Could mean more Playstation games on PC or just more Playstation games on Playstation.

Nixxes are great but as a PC gamer it’s hard to see it as a positive thing until we know more about how it’ll affect future console-to-PC ports from Sony as well as Square Enix.

I just think it's a natural conclusion to assume they will be leveraged in some notable capacity for handling PC ports of PS Studio games. If you mean more in terms of if this cuts off Nixxes handling ports of other studios' games from console to PC, that's more up in the air. Assuming those devs are making something exclusively for PS, as a full or timed exclusive, or something with Sony having co-marketing deal, I don't see why Nixxes couldn't assist in those type of ports.

In terms of this specific acquisition meaning more PS games on PS (I guess you mean PS5 games here?), well that's possible but IMHO it's a lot less so than Bluepoint because again, Nixxes's history has been with doing ports, and assisting in some games here and there albeit not as frequently. Jumping suddenly from a porting house to a straight-up developer working on your own IP is a massive undertaking and it will also facilitate a change in their workplace culture, which could be seen as disruptive if done too suddenly or abruptly.


Exactly; like I don't get why some think those of us believing this acquisition was mainly WRT helping facilitate ports of PS games to PC is a reach. The evidence speaks for itself xD.

Doesn't mean they won't be working on their own original IP in the near future, it's just not what first jumps to my mind here. It'd be like assuming EVO were going to start making their own fighting game since Sony now has co-ownership of them. Like....does their past history not count in extrapolating what they'll do in the near future anymore xD?

No, it is not the same. No one cares about the nameless tech ressources in the background.

Developers do. Publishers do. Platform holders do. Why don't they count but "gamers" do?

It's about the GAMES. The IPs. The popular series. That's what people care about.

Smells like goalpost-shifting. So, I drew correlations you can't refute, because you don't have a good refutation to them, and therefore you just move your goalpost to somewhere else? Wow.

You've been playing the victim for so long to prove there is a double standard with MS you became blind. No one agrees with you that buying a tech studio with no IP is equivalent to what MS did.

I play victim for a company I have no financial investments in? That probably sees me as insignificant in the grand scheme of things? How does that work?

You do realize that you're only shifting your talking points back into an area that benefits my argument, right? Because if it's now the arbitrary metric of IP, then that still draws parallels between a company like Microsoft to a company like Sony. Even aside that, TECHNICALLY speaking what they're both doing here is very much exactly the same: making purchases of companies they seek to buy, and seek to be bought, to strengthen their corporate portfolio and acquire assets of value (IP, technologies, etc.) through legal processes that are similarly structured and regulated by governmental officials.

Your entire argument is sporadic and irrational.

Nixxes is a tech support studio. Square Enix will just find someone else to do their ports

So they'll adapt to a changing market? Cool, looks like we agree on something for a change. Now get that point across to stubborn gamers who are kicking and screaming that certain games may not come to their console. Either they can adapt (doesn't mean they can't enjoy multiple options), or lose out.

. Nothing lost but keep writing those novels. Phil might hire you to write his bio.

Well at least I could be comfortable knowing I'd get hired for a writing gig, more than what can be said of some other folks (especially those who get intimidated at anything more than 140 characters).
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
It's one of those weird decisions, given the studio's pedigree, that makes you think there was more to it than meets the eye. Kinda like them breaking up Psygnosis. Hell, wasn't Evolution Studios a spin-off of Psygnosis remnants? Something tells me the team just didn't jive with the rest of the Sony group.

This is actually true. Studio Liverpool were always the "red headed stepchild" for reasons going back to late 90's and a series of events relating to the F1 franchise. That being said, they couldn't get a project greenlit for shit for years mainly because the management of the studio was woefully incompetent. There were always talented people working there, but in a corporate setting that dysfunctional... nothing gets done.

Evo... not really sure what happened there, but they did have a string of bad luck with launches going back to the original Motorstorm.

They were always kind of attached to Liverpool simply due to proximity making it a natural spot to offload staff to. Part of me wonders if it was used a convenience to get around UK labour laws about redundancies above a certain head-count requiring consultation periods. Doing staggered waves of layoffs is a good way to save cash.
 

yurinka

Member
This is a logical conclusion given the capacity Nixxes has operated in for decades. However, in order for them to 100% handle all porting duties on a given time schedule, they may have to be expanded in size. If you look at their past porting duties, it's single games spaced out a couple or so years here and there, in a lot of cases. If Sony wants enough turnaround of ports in a timely fashion, and a single studio internally to handle that, if that studio is Nixxes they will need to be expanded.

Another thing is, there's no guarantee this is limited to porting older PS4 titles to PC or PS4 games to PS5. I don't know where people get this idea that Sony isn't considering PS5 ports to PC, but people like Hulst and Ryan have already said they want to hasten the rate of ports and shorten the frequency between them. There's no hard evidence that means PS5 ports to PC (although Demon's Souls Remake to PC might be a thing), and certainly not Day-and-Date between 1P PS5 and PC, but there's not a lot to disprove it as a possibility, either.

IMO Day-and-Date for single-player games (especially the big story-driven ones like the next Uncharted, God of War, Spider-man etc.) will not be happening this gen (or most of the gen), but I think Sony is looking at probably doing a 2-year/3-year stagger in those cases. For 1P mutiplayer-centric games, though? I honestly do think those will become Day-and-Date between PS5 and PC, I won't be surprised if or when it happens.
According to Hulst, in addition to porting they also work as a support team and they did help Guerrilla to deliver Killzone Shadow Fall, so they may help here too. So for sure, they will grow a lot the studio.

Regarding crossgen games, maybe in addition to the known Horizon 2, GT7 and GoW I think we'll see a few big ones more like TLOU2 Factions, Spider-Man 2, Firewalk's game and Guerrilla's MP game for 2022-2023, and that's all. I think all other big 1st party games will be next gen only. Regarding PS4 to PC ports I think we'll see the Uncharteds, TLOUs, GoW, Bloodborne and maybe that's all. I think ND and the new San Diego studio will handle the TLOU games, ND handled Uncharted 4 and maybe Drake's Collection is ported by Bluepoint since they already did the original one. So they may have a lot of work here for the next couple of years, but after that I think they will be done with that, so only will have to support future games for their future PC port and some minor additional outsourcing support help.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
I agree. The oddest decision ever made, and one where I cannot for the life of me find a justifiable reason for it.

Something either went down spectacularly awful behind the scenes, or it just really was the end of it.

Sony REALLY need a new Evolution studios to make a First Party Racing game that doesnt take 6 years to make like the GT series 😐

And what pisses me off is that Sony is CLEARLY trying to create their next 1st party multiplayer game. And here we are with no real racing games anymore. GT notwithstanding. Imagine Sony allowed Evolution Studios to make 2 racing games (one coming out every 2 years) that look like this?

maxresdefault.jpg




BCA1A60B1F04DB94B74E153732E1BADDBA60C9B0
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Whether the decision by Sony was justified is debatable (not a racing fan so I don't feel strongly one way or the other), but "some things" is revisionism. It was supposed to be a launch title, free on PS+. It released a whole year later, as a full-price title and the servers in totally shambles. The PS+ edition came full year and a half after launch, and was seriously gimped. If Evolution was to be the next big racing first-party studio... they were given a chance. They blew it all by themselves.
As if they are the only first party title to have their game delayed. Gow was delayed. Tlou2 was delayed. Uncharted 4 was delayed. Days gone. Horizon 2, gt7 and GoW2 were all announced as 2021 titles and they were all delayed.

DC was made in 3 years and 6 months even after the delay. Gow took 5. Horizon took 6. Days gone 7. Dreams 9. Horizon 2 will likely come out in February 2022. That's five years.

Killing a studio over a delay and a some online issues is bizarre. Especially since it sold 2 million in 6 months.

And if Sony really wanted to give them a chance to make it big they would've given them the Gran Turismo name they had asked for and a bigger budget to do an open beta.
 

nowhat

Member
As if they are the only first party title to have their game delayed. Gow was delayed. Tlou2 was delayed. Uncharted 4 was delayed. Days gone. Horizon 2, gt7 and GoW2 were all announced as 2021 titles and they were all delayed.
I'm not saying other games haven't been delayed, of course they have. Also if you're a major first-party studio, you do have an advantage, you are given more leeway. Not saying it is right, but that's how it is.

But according to my sources (which may reside quite close to my rectum, i.e. this is pure speculation) it wasn't the delay so much as the launch itself. A racing game that is basically meant for online (you can do arcade but online is heavily implied in the title and all that). The studio had a full extra year to get the servers and netcode running. And at launch it's a complete mess.

Oh well, shit happens at times. If we're to believe the Internet (and why wouldn't we, we're already there) and various interviews, it still wasn't like Sony told everyone to clear their desks by noon out of the blue. From what I gather the Codemasters acquisition was very much planned with Sony being an active participant in the proceedings. So while Sony's first-party output may lack a studio for arcade racers (again, I don't really care myself...), for Evolution things could have ended up much worse than they did. Very little blood, bad or otherwise, was spilled in the end.
 

Unknown?

Member
One of the reasons people like PlayStation is because of their first party games. So, you can be a PlayStation fan and prefer gaming on the PC. So delivering the highest-quality gameplay experiences for PlayStation fans can still include making and releasing games for PC.

Minus a couple posts in this thread by console warriors trying to push a specific narrative, most of the people here have simply been discussing how Nixxes will be utilized by Sony – the very obvious one being to release more games on PC and the second being to support internal studios with games (which can still include the PC.)

Every scenario people mention is worth a discussion until Sony is specific about their content strategy between all platforms. Personally I was kinda hoping for Sony to release a PlayStation client on PC (with tight integration of trophies) but we can't ignore how congested the PC landscape is with Steam, EPIC, Origin and my favorite (GOG) etc. so if they don't I kinda understand why.

I am waiting for the day where people on this forum will mature past using console war narratives in threads like these. It's just sad.
Obviously helping with ports is going to happen but that isn't ALL they're going to do. Especially since they posted a job position for game director, implying that they're looking into game development themselves.
 
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MaDBrute

Banned
And what pisses me off is that Sony is CLEARLY trying to create their next 1st party multiplayer game. And here we are with no real racing games anymore. GT notwithstanding. Imagine Sony allowed Evolution Studios to make 2 racing games (one coming out every 2 years) that look like this?

maxresdefault.jpg




BCA1A60B1F04DB94B74E153732E1BADDBA60C9B0
I would buy a proper Dakar game.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
My only concern is only about next gen titles being held back. The pc stuff is not much in the forefront for me, but yes it has potential brand strength issues.

I just want proper PS5 games, where they go after is not so much of a concern.
I think Sony acquiring nixxes should alleviate any concerns of games being held back. This will free up the resources in Sonys first party studios to focus on making the best possible PS5 titles. While Nixxes will have the unenviable task of trying to figure out how to port it to PC which shouldnt really be that hard since they can always increase the minimum requirements.

I saw ND and GG post job openings asking for multiplatform and Nvidia experience recently, but this should ensure that any engineers they hire going forward wont have to worry about making sure this shit runs on PC. That's nixxes job now. And tbh, they are really good at it so there shouldnt be any worries there either.

GG and Sony Bend had to do their own ports and GG had to spend a good six months post launch fixing all the issues. that is probably the reason why Horizon will likely get delayed. With Nixxes now at Sony, GG likely wont be doing any PC development going forward.
 
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James Sawyer Ford

Gold Member
I think Sony acquiring nixxes should elevate any concerns of games being held back. This will free up the resources in Sonys first party studios to focus on making the best possible PS5 titles. While Nixxes will have the unenviable task of trying to figure out how to port it to PC which shouldnt really be that hard since they can always increase the minimum requirements.

I saw ND and GG post job openings asking for multiplatform and Nvidia experience recently, but this should ensure that any engineers they hire going forward wont have to worry about making sure this shit runs on PC. That's nixxes job now. And tbh, they are really good at it so there shouldnt be any worries there either.

GG and Sony Bend had to do their own ports and GG had to spend a good six months post launch fixing all the issues. that is probably the reason why Horizon will likely get delayed. With Nixxes now at Sony, GG likely wont be doing any PC development going forward.

yeah thankfully Sony is putting their money where their mouth is with this whole PC strategy

there’s a huge benefit in Sony FP just focusing on one platform and PC is a mess of configurations to optimize for

no need to waste their talent with porting things

I just hope Nixxes does other things too - like fucking unlock the BC patches for TLG, UC4, Bloodborne, etc to benefit console players too.


Also supporting studios to get last minute technical support for first party games so theoretically they don’t need to be delayed as much
 
I stil belive that people who feel that Nixxes have been acquired to do one job, whether it's making PC games, PS4 games or any other type of games are very much missing just how good they are at what they do and I really don't feel that setting them up to work in that way is using them to their best ability. It just incredibly wasteful to have them opearting like a standard studio when they have such a strong technical understanding of being able to claw every micron of processing power out of any games systems.

They could add so much technical ability to projects any of Sony's studios and projects so setting them up as a standard games studio is just wasteful when they have so much to offer. It just makes far more sense for them to be working alongside teams like ICE to work with different studios and producing tecnology to be used across the whole of PlayStation.

Now that that the number of studios is expanding and the number of teams within those studios is also expeanding there needs to be more top level technology based staff to support them, Who knows, maybe they'll even do in Europe what ICE do in America as ICE has always been global. I'd be surpriseed if there was a regional split like that as there are real benefits in unifying rather dividing technology teams of this kind.

Absolutely they'll work on PC games but they have far more worth in letting others who are developing PC games all share the benefits of technical specialists lke these.

For the people talking about Evolution, I absolutely love their games but watching this a few months back really made me realise a problem that they do have but were never able to overcome. They took it with them to Codemasters and probably took it with them over to EA too.
 

MastaKiiLA

Member
My only concern is only about next gen titles being held back. The pc stuff is not much in the forefront for me, but yes it has potential brand strength issues.

I just want proper PS5 games, where they go after is not so much of a concern.
I don't think PS5 game development is affected by any potential PC ports. We saw Insomniac release 2 PS5 games now, one of them cross-gen, with nary a PC port in sight for either one, and they not only got those games out within 8 months of launch, but they've also continued developing upgrades for both titles in that time. I think the PC stuff is overblown. We have no indication that there's a heavy focus on that, and this acquisition doesn't imply that anymore than it implies remasters or expansion of the ICE team.

I think a lot of responses in this thread are from desperate PC fans, and people jumping to conclusions. Nixxes handles PC ports, but they also handle console ports. And they're one of those rare birds that managed to tame the PS3. This is very much a talent acquisition. The head of Nixxes has already stated that he doesn't want to develop games, and I'm still trying to figure out the benefit of joining PS Studios, if staying independent could allow them to pitch their services to the highest bidder. If they're just doing PC ports, why not just let companies outbid each other to let you port their games to PC? Why stick to just one platform manufacturer, who will give you work at a fixed rate?

There are some possibilities I can see. Nixxes might not have been making much money on independent contracts. That seems to work against their reputation as a talented port house. Or at least work against the importance of port quality for PC games, if you can't command high pay for high quality work.

Another possibility, I can think of, is that Sony simply guaranteed them a lot of money to handle a drove of PC ports. While feasible, where is the corresponding marketing push from Sony to hype PC gamers up? We see MS promote PC ports of games in their trailers. Sony doesn't mention PC ports ever, until that port is already in the works, and nearing release. If you're shifting your strategy to emphasize more PC ports, promoting those ports would be logical, since you kinda want to ensure that the strategy pays off in increased sales.

The other possibility that comes to mind is that PC ports aren't the main focus, and that Nixxes was offered a deal that exceeds what they could make as an independent port house, in order to secure their coding talent. That works for use in an ICE-like role, supporting internal teams and tool development. It also works for them to be a remaster/remake house, ala Bluepoint, with a keen eye on PS3-to-PS5 remasters. They would also be able to work on PC ports as well, but following a similar approach to how Sony has currently handled PC ports, which is specific titles and delayed releases from the console.

The way I see it, any significant shift in Sony's approach to the PC market should manifest itself publicly. Until first-party game trailers start mentioning the PC platform, I'm not convinced that there's any reason to expect much to change with how those ports are timed. It's just now they have some in-house talent that can handle any eventual ports that are made.
 

e&e

Banned
I don't think PS5 game development is affected by any potential PC ports. We saw Insomniac release 2 PS5 games now, one of them cross-gen, with nary a PC port in sight for either one, and they not only got those games out within 8 months of launch, but they've also continued developing upgrades for both titles in that time. I think the PC stuff is overblown. We have no indication that there's a heavy focus on that, and this acquisition doesn't imply that anymore than it implies remasters or expansion of the ICE team.

I think a lot of responses in this thread are from desperate PC fans, and people jumping to conclusions. Nixxes handles PC ports, but they also handle console ports. And they're one of those rare birds that managed to tame the PS3. This is very much a talent acquisition. The head of Nixxes has already stated that he doesn't want to develop games, and I'm still trying to figure out the benefit of joining PS Studios, if staying independent could allow them to pitch their services to the highest bidder. If they're just doing PC ports, why not just let companies outbid each other to let you port their games to PC? Why stick to just one platform manufacturer, who will give you work at a fixed rate?

There are some possibilities I can see. Nixxes might not have been making much money on independent contracts. That seems to work against their reputation as a talented port house. Or at least work against the importance of port quality for PC games, if you can't command high pay for high quality work.

Another possibility, I can think of, is that Sony simply guaranteed them a lot of money to handle a drove of PC ports. While feasible, where is the corresponding marketing push from Sony to hype PC gamers up? We see MS promote PC ports of games in their trailers. Sony doesn't mention PC ports ever, until that port is already in the works, and nearing release. If you're shifting your strategy to emphasize more PC ports, promoting those ports would be logical, since you kinda want to ensure that the strategy pays off in increased sales.

The other possibility that comes to mind is that PC ports aren't the main focus, and that Nixxes was offered a deal that exceeds what they could make as an independent port house, in order to secure their coding talent. That works for use in an ICE-like role, supporting internal teams and tool development. It also works for them to be a remaster/remake house, ala Bluepoint, with a keen eye on PS3-to-PS5 remasters. They would also be able to work on PC ports as well, but following a similar approach to how Sony has currently handled PC ports, which is specific titles and delayed releases from the console.

The way I see it, any significant shift in Sony's approach to the PC market should manifest itself publicly. Until first-party game trailers start mentioning the PC platform, I'm not convinced that there's any reason to expect much to change with how those ports are timed. It's just now they have some in-house talent that can handle any eventual ports that are made.
Or Sony could just obfuscate like they currently do and still get away with it. They don’t have to publicly say a damn thing till necessary just like Horizon, GOW, GT etc…
 

MastaKiiLA

Member
Or Sony could just obfuscate like they currently do and still get away with it. They don’t have to publicly say a damn thing till necessary just like Horizon, GOW, GT etc…
Those games you mentioned were not part of some larger strategy. You're ignoring how businesses generally operate. If there is a PC porting strategy that involves timely ports to a platform, Sony would include it in their trailers. Horizon came to the PC years after it came to the PS4. It was clearly NOT part of a strategy for that game. It was determined that it would be ported after they already finished developing and marketing the game for the PS4.

What some are proposing in this thread is that there is some anticipated strategy for PC ports, that doesn't follow the previous ports, which all came after the fact. Sony didn't obfuscate when the games that got ported landed on the console years ahead of time. It's more logical to conclude that the PC ports were decided upon after the console version's marketing had completed. That marketing run included all the trailers that came out before launch.

If Sony has now shifted to planned PC ports for future releases, then it makes the most sense to make mention of that in the trailers. It doesn't take more than putting the words PC on the last slide of the video. The benefits are increasing PC gamers' awareness of the game, as increased interest should result in increased sales when the port is made. Maybe you can explain what logic there is in committing financially to a strategy, by buying the infrastructure (Nixxes), but skipping the completely free marketing side of it (2 letters in a trailer image).

I'm not saying it can't happen. I'm just saying we've yet to see evidence of this concerted push. We'd be likely to see it in upcoming trailers, were they to pivot in that direction. The same way we see MS and 3rd party companies do it.
 

e&e

Banned
Those games you mentioned were not part of some larger strategy. You're ignoring how businesses generally operate. If there is a PC porting strategy that involves timely ports to a platform, Sony would include it in their trailers. Horizon came to the PC years after it came to the PS4. It was clearly NOT part of a strategy for that game. It was determined that it would be ported after they already finished developing and marketing the game for the PS4.

What some are proposing in this thread is that there is some anticipated strategy for PC ports, that doesn't follow the previous ports, which all came after the fact. Sony didn't obfuscate when the games that got ported landed on the console years ahead of time. It's more logical to conclude that the PC ports were decided upon after the console version's marketing had completed. That marketing run included all the trailers that came out before launch.

If Sony has now shifted to planned PC ports for future releases, then it makes the most sense to make mention of that in the trailers. It doesn't take more than putting the words PC on the last slide of the video. The benefits are increasing PC gamers' awareness of the game, as increased interest should result in increased sales when the port is made. Maybe you can explain what logic there is in committing financially to a strategy, by buying the infrastructure (Nixxes), but skipping the completely free marketing side of it (2 letters in a trailer image).

I'm not saying it can't happen. I'm just saying we've yet to see evidence of this concerted push. We'd be likely to see it in upcoming trailers, were they to pivot in that direction. The same way we see MS and 3rd party companies do it.
Double dippers.

Publishers do it with Switch games ALL the time!
Also you ignored the fact that they did not “just” put PS4 logo on a lot of those trailers last year even when they knew they were coming to PS4.
 
Jimbo opening that billions dollar war chest.

Bluepoint are next. Targeted acquisitions like this of devs with world class skills is better than buying studios based on past glory or ones whose name is famous but the devs that made that name are no longer there!
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
A brilliant studio. Their port of Soul Reaver to the DC was incredible and they've been awesome ever since

Yeah, I could hardly believe it. I mean the DC HW is powerful, but a lot of these remasters fail at taking advantage of the horsepower or mess with the artstyle in odd ways. Their port to DC was excellent, definitive version for sure.
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
I couldn't believe how good it was and unlike many PS to DC ports Nixxes doubled the frame rate too. Totally brilliant team and great addition for SONY
The reason I am quite excited about these devs the first party stable (same when thinking about Id joining MS) is how they influence the next generation HW and SW platforms. XSX and PS5 successors will have more amazing tech teams giving their input and wish lists to the R&D teams. Sony caught up to MS in reaching out to devs and taking their input in their console design process.

This is something that PS4 and PS5 really needed to compete which is why, despite some of us liking the exotic and out of the box earlier HW architecture choices of previous consoles, I appreciate the change in leadership and more game developers taking charge of console architecture (bold of Cerny to propose himself as lead system architect and good bet on Sony to let him… PS4 and PS5 benefited greatly).

Cerny’s trips to developers and reaching out to external and internal developers when designing the next generation HW paid off (having someone at the top with his hands on experience helps too).

Adding teams specialised in porting and optimising software for other teams helps as it reduces the burden of adding PC as a platform to some titles even if the PC port were to come later. I wonder if and how their involvement will feedback to the PlayStation SDK and tools in the future too.
 
The reason I am quite excited about these devs the first party stable (same when thinking about Id joining MS) is how they influence the next generation HW and SW platforms. XSX and PS5 successors will have more amazing tech teams giving their input and wish lists to the R&D teams. Sony caught up to MS in reaching out to devs and taking their input in their console design process.

This is something that PS4 and PS5 really needed to compete which is why, despite some of us liking the exotic and out of the box earlier HW architecture choices of previous consoles, I appreciate the change in leadership and more game developers taking charge of console architecture (bold of Cerny to propose himself as lead system architect and good bet on Sony to let him… PS4 and PS5 benefited greatly).

Cerny’s trips to developers and reaching out to external and internal developers when designing the next generation HW paid off (having someone at the top with his hands on experience helps too).

Adding teams specialised in porting and optimising software for other teams helps as it reduces the burden of adding PC as a platform to some titles even if the PC port were to come later. I wonder if and how their involvement will feedback to the PlayStation SDK and tools in the future too.
I think it's a great buy for SONY. They're a skilled outfit on both the consoles and PC. No doubt will help a lot with Sony tech pipeline
 
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