Support NeoGAF

[Muffdraul]

In all the years since the PSX first launched, this guy is the first "Head of Playstation" who when I hear his name, I have no idea who he is, what he looks like, anything he ever did at E3 etc. He is a total nobody to me.

 

[Topher]

I am not rich, I know some rich people, I am just comfy

I hear ya. I'll just say you are not as constrained budget-wise as yours truly then. I'd love to be able to make "support the developer" purchases, but I also want to stay married.

 

[vivftp]

And whats risk have they taken lately with their games? The gaming division has made over $10B profits since 2016-2017 when the division's profits started to skyrocket as people transitioned to buying games on the PS store and mtx galore.

They will only take risks if profits hit $20B?

Compared to the PS2 and PS3 era where they had so many more franchises at worse profits, it seems the bigger profits they get the more risk averse and same franchises get sequels over and over again.

About half of the games SIE are developing are new IP, some live service and some single player. My idea of risk is devoting large amounts of time, money and resources into new areas and ventures to build and develop new markets and opportunities.

Just a couple of points off the top of my head...

- Continuing to invest in more 100-200 million dollar budget games. Being able to build recurring revenue streams off of live service games provides a cushion to help manage risk on these games with mammoth budgets in the event any of them fail.
- PSVR2 and expensive initiatives like it are possible because SIE is doing well. Additional revenue streams via live service will allow them to push further into new and unique gaming opportunities.
- Investing in new partnership opportunities (Haven, Firewalk...) which could lead to acquisitions.
- Investing in new regions to foster a new wave of developers and give them a global platform via the China and India Hero Projects. They've also begun looking at South Korea for investments, and have built a presence in Malaysia.


A stronger and more stable SIE is able to invest in any number of ways to benefit all their gamers, including single player only gamers. Those who want the live service initiative to fail lack foresight and quite honestly, are selfish dicks who are only thinking of themselves. I play pretty much all of SIEs big blockbuster releases on day 1, but I also play plenty of live service games. I'm excited to see what they can bring to the live service space by injecting that PlayStation Studios DNA into the space.

 

[DeepEnigma]

And I tell you if PS does not make effort into PC ports then they can better spend on making games for their console. If it’s just video games then waiting for some games is okay then? No need to spoil other people’s platform by wanting the platform company to implement a strategy that can possibly damage the platform.

Oh wow! It’s like the majority of PC gamers just play AAA games and not some competitive games like LOL, Fortnite, Valorant, CSGO. It’s like Xbox does not have the competitive games that PS has. So now that we know most PC gamers only play online games, I guess not porting games to PC will not affect the platform that much.

Because it will damage the console sales? Didn’t I tell you that right on my first reply? You think the day-one release will not damage but I think it will? Telling me not to take this personal but right after asking me ”how does it reduce my enjoyment”, are you being ironic? I’m not in here for a gamer’s perspective, I’m in here for a PS gamer’s perspective. I want the benefits of owning the console, just like how you PC players compliment and dear your PC. This is not about taking it personal or anything, this is a discussion, and If you do not want to discuss, don’t reply.

Players who game on console spend thousands buying new games. Not to mention people who do collections. These people can comfortably invest in PC if they want. Sure, not every single console owner does this, but the same can be said about PC owners, most just use a middle tier rigs, play online games and wait for steam sales. A portion of PC owners are also pirates of the seas. While exclusives might not sell as well as online games, they sell as well as any other big AAA games on the market (sooner or later, PS exclusives will sell even better now that the brand is bigger than ever). And while not all console buyers buy exclusives, exclusives build the prestige for the console, and that prestige attracts people to buy them. Enthusiasm builds everything, and I’ve seen enough people who engage in gaming discussion talk about how they feel buying PS5 is a waste of money because of all the PC ports. You lost your enthusiasts and you lose your casuals. Of course you don’t think this will happen, and to be fair, what will be your loss when PS consoles fail anyway, you don’t even game there that much. That is why your PC crowd’s interests are pointless to PS console interests, so PC enthusiasts should stop whining about why PS enthusiasts whine about PC ports. And stop aggregating Sony into your typical publisher’s group, Sony is in a business to sell consoles, not just sell games like your typical publishers or studios.

 

[ArtHands]

And I tell you if PS does not make effort into PC ports then they can better spend on making games for their console. If it’s just video games then waiting for some games is okay then? No need to spoil other people’s platform by wanting the platform company to implement a strategy that can possibly damage the platform.

Oh wow! It’s like the majority of PC gamers just play AAA games and not some competitive games like LOL, Fortnite, Valorant, CSGO. It’s like Xbox does not have the competitive games that PS has. So now that we know most PC gamers only play online games, I guess not porting games to PC will not affect the platform that much.

Because it will damage the console sales? Didn’t I tell you that right on my first reply? You think the day-one release will not damage but I think it will? Telling me not to take this personal but right after asking me ”how does it reduce my enjoyment”, are you being ironic? I’m not in here for a gamer’s perspective, I’m in here for a PS gamer’s perspective. I want the benefits of owning the console, just like how you PC players compliment and dear your PC. This is not about taking it personal or anything, this is a discussion, and If you do not want to discuss, don’t reply.

Playstation has been porting games to PC for the past years yet PS5 still have impressive sales. So your theory that porting games to PC will harm console sales didn’t materialize.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Playstation has been porting games to PC for the past years yet PS5 still have impressive sales. So your theory that porting games to PC will harm console sales didn’t materialize.

The PS to PC port effect is as hokey as it gets. Its so all over the map, you got one camp that says PC ports will hurt PS, then you got that trojan horse camp that says PC ports will tease PC gamers to ditch PC and go PS.

Make up your mind! lol

 

[Hayabusa83]

As long as Sony has the console market cornered they will continue with the status quo.

 

[DeepEnigma]

The PS to PC port effect is as hokey as it gets. Its so all over the map, you got one camp that says PC ports will hurt PS, then you got that trojan horse camp that says PC ports will tease PC gamers to ditch PC and go PS.

Make up your mind! lol

I've never seen it as this.

I've always seen it as day 1 will hurt, but what they're doing now may entice some PC gamers to choose the PS5 as their complementary console since the Xbox is redundant with their day 1. Not "ditch the PC."

 

[Topher]

I've never seen it as this.

I've always seen it as day 1 will hurt, but what they're doing now may entice some PC gamers to choose the PS5 as their complementary console since the Xbox is redundant with their day 1. Not "ditch the PC."

Yeah, that's exactly right. PC and Xbox are far more redundant that PC and PS5 by the simple fact that all Xbox games are on PC while not all PS games are. Like me, I'll have PS as long as the PC ports are not day one. I think that is fairly typical for a lot of PC/PS gamers.

Ditching the PC doesn't make sense in any of these scenarios.

 

[Auto_aim1]

Andrew House signed blank checks to Kojima and company, he is among the most based suits in my opinion.

He was so passionate. See the love in his eyes.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

24 pages must mean you’ve all covered just about every take possible. But let the record show I am happy about Jimbo leaving. I haven’t liked his tenure at all, PS5 is a great console but Cerny is credited for that one. Overpriced accessories, live services, and homogenization of Sony’s core franchises has been a huge letdown. I want Japanese Sony back.

 

[mrmustard]

but what they're doing now may entice some PC gamers to choose the PS5 as their complementary console

Most people with a decent gaming pc wouldn't buy third party games or subs on a console and those are the moneymakers.

 

[ArtHands]

The PS to PC port effect is as hokey as it gets. Its so all over the map, you got one camp that says PC ports will hurt PS, then you got that trojan horse camp that says PC ports will tease PC gamers to ditch PC and go PS.

Make up your mind! lol

I think the trojan horse camp is delusional, but I support this camp because they align with what I want.

Hey Sony, port all of your games to PC so PC players will buy a PS5!

 

[Jinzo Prime]

I'm excited to see what they can bring to the live service space by injecting that PlayStation Studios DNA into the space.

This but with Aloy's head.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Good. Now get someone with some charisma and communication skills to lead.

Or just get someone who's highly competent and understands the direction the industry is headed?

 

[Felessan]

i have nothing against what gaas can be honestly, arcade games always operated on the gas model, specially fighting games, i think some genres can make it work and it can be not predatory.
What i mean short term, is that he didnt pushed the company in a direction that creates better brand loyalty and attraction for the closed ecosystem but instead on revenue and profit, it might not seem like much but it creates volatility on the brand value and its obviously not good for consumers because you are not being catered to anymore. The brand is still riding on the previous management somewhat, we'll see.

I mean, if you ask me about what i care, i care about great games, Platinum Games have made several of my favorite games and they all sell like shit and i prefer their focus...until now, i have not idea what is gonna happen next with Kamiya leaving.

Better brand for whom? For you - probably not. For all people out there - I am not that sure. Actual sales results shows that Playstation is on a peak of popularity
And Sony can't go Platinum route - be a niche player and cater to relatively small group of gamers. Sony is market leader - it should worry and pay close attention to market share, not only between direct competitors - MS and Nin, but also indirect ones - PC, mobile.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Good. Now get someone with some charisma and communication skills to lead.

He must wear T-shirts too.

I don't care about games or anything, but the executive must wear T-shirts and act like a gamer.

 

[ulantan]

He must wear T-shirts too.

I don't care about games or anything, but the executive must wear T-shirts and act like a gamer.

I can not for the life of me figure out why they need to love a executive.

 

[StealthGoblin]

Which means the amount of SP games as a % of their portfolio is getting smaller and smaller. Over the next few years there’s supposed to be around 10 GAAS games and excludes bungie who specializes in GAAS shooters. All those games will be way more than SP games.

There'll be more single player games overall.

There'll be more multiplayer games overall.

The entire portfolio will be more balanced.

There are, however, gaps in genre coverage. WRPGs is the biggest one as well as internally developed JRPGs.

I think Sony will invest in those areas.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

There'll be more single player games overall.

AAA used to take 3 years to make.
AAA now takes 5 - 8 years to make.
We're going to wake up one day soon and AAA will take ~10 years to make.

Look at Naughty Dogs output during the PS3 generation and compare it to today. The mild bump in single player investment likely won't cover for the fact that games are so much more expensive + take more time today.

If there's more SP games overall it's because the indie scene is growing.

 

[Heisenberg007]

AAA used to take 3 years to make.
AAA now takes 5 - 8 years to make.
We're going to wake up one day soon and AAA will take ~10 years to make.

Look at Naughty Dogs output during the PS3 generation and compare it to today. The mild bump in single player investment likely won't cover for the fact that games are so much more expensive + take more time today.

If there's more SP games overall it's because the indie scene is growing.

1. State of Decay has never been a AAA franchise. Undead Labs does not make AAA games.
2. State of Decay 2 was released in 2018. So it wouldn't be 7 years; it would be 9 years.
3. 9 years is not a normal time for sequels. For reference, Jedi Survivor took 4 years to make; Horizon Forbidden West took 5 years to make. And those are big AAA games, unlike State of Decay.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

1. State of Decay has never been a AAA franchise. Undead Labs does not make AAA games.
2. State of Decay 2 was released in 2018. So it wouldn't be 7 years; it would be 9 years.
3. 9 years is not a normal time for sequels. For reference, Jedi Survivor took 4 years to make; Horizon Forbidden West took 5 years to make. And those are big AAA games, unlike State of Decay.

I don't think SoD3 is going to be a safe, formulaic sequel. I think they're shooting for their original, highly ambitious vision.

Horizon Zero Dawn took 7 years to make.
Horizon Forbidden West took 5...because they already created the cookie cutter template.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Most people with a decent gaming pc wouldn't buy third party games or subs on a console and those are the moneymakers.

First party are money makers as well. Derp.

 

[mrmustard]

First party are money makers as well. Derp.

Not even close to subs and 3rd party with battle passes and ingame shit and especially not when bought second hand on disc.
Moneywise console only gamer >>>>>>>> pc gamer + console.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Not even close to subs and 3rd party with battle passes and ingame shit and especially not when bought second hand on disc.
Moneywise console only gamer >>>>>>>> pc gamer + console.

Ok.

 

[StealthGoblin]

AAA used to take 3 years to make.
AAA now takes 5 - 8 years to make.
We're going to wake up one day soon and AAA will take ~10 years to make.

Look at Naughty Dogs output during the PS3 generation and compare it to today. The mild bump in single player investment likely won't cover for the fact that games are so much more expensive + take more time today.

If there's more SP games overall it's because the indie scene is growing.

And that's why they've got more teams at their studios. Teams like Guerilla, Insomniac, Naughty Dog and others have more than one project on the go, and investments in Housemarque, Bluepoint will bolster single player development. Then we need to consider the '2nd party' relationships like Rise of the Ronin, Stellar Blade, Project Bates, Project Carbon, Project Red etc that are in place.

The cadence of single player and multiplayer games will be more regular even with extended development cycles.

PlayStation have the best studio management and production pipeline for AAA games. All they are doing is extending that out for multiplayer games.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

I hear ya. I'll just say you are not as constrained budget-wise as yours truly then. I'd love to be able to make "support the developer" purchases, but I also want to stay married.

Sony should develop PSVP (PlayStation Virtual Pussy) to solve such issue. A PSVA would work as well.

 

[Heisenberg007]

I don't think SoD3 is going to be a safe, formulaic sequel. I think they're shooting for their original, highly ambitious vision.

Horizon Zero Dawn took 7 years to make.
Horizon Forbidden West took 5...because they already created the cookie cutter template.

State of Decay 3 is going to be the same formula; all sequels are.

And HFW expanded significantly upon the first game; apart from the massive gameplay overhaul, they also added aerial exploration as well as underwater exploration. Not to mention the fantastic visuals.

 

[TheRedRiders]

State of Decay 3 is going to be the same formula; all sequels are.

And HFW expanded significantly upon the first game; apart from the massive gameplay overhaul, they also added aerial exploration as well as underwater exploration. Not to mention the fantastic visuals.

I always found a lot of the HFW critique to be cheap, it has some minor flaws like every other game but good lord it's a great fucking game.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Sony should develop PSVP (PlayStation Virtual Pussy) to solve such issue. A PSVA would work as well.

With haptics, paired with PSVR2.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

And that's why they've got more teams at their studios. Teams like Guerilla, Insomniac, Naughty Dog and others have more than one project on the go, and investments in Housemarque, Bluepoint will bolster single player development. Then we need to consider the '2nd party' relationships like Rise of the Ronin, Stellar Blade, Project Bates, Project Carbon, Project Red etc that are in place.

The cadence of single player and multiplayer games will be more regular even with extended development cycles.

PlayStation have the best studio management and production pipeline for AAA games. All they are doing is extending that out for multiplayer games.

So budgets and length of development time are exploding...and PlayStations expenditure on those games is rising nominally...but they're going to get more games out at a quicker cadence?

2023 is one of the worst years ever for PlayStation in terms of AAA exclusives.

Something isn't adding up.

 

[Sanepar]

Yeah, that's exactly right. PC and Xbox are far more redundant that PC and PS5 by the simple fact that all Xbox games are on PC while not all PS games are. Like me, I'll have PS as long as the PC ports are not day one. I think that is fairly typical for a lot of PC/PS gamers.

Ditching the PC doesn't make sense in any of these scenarios.

I keep my xbox because of BC and that many games(strategy most) insist in not release gamepad interface on PC. Like Cities, Age and others.

 

[BbMajor7th]

Andrew House signed blank checks to Kojima and company, he is among the most based suits in my opinion.

House is a true legend - just as charismatic in person as well. Amazed he never spent more time on the PR circuit.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

State of Decay 3 is going to be the same formula; all sequels are.

And HFW expanded significantly upon the first game; apart from the massive gameplay overhaul, they also added aerial exploration as well as underwater exploration. Not to mention the fantastic visuals.

So SoD3 is going to be iterative despite its lengthy development time, the studios goals to turn the franchise into an ambitious MMO, and the fact that we've seen nothing of SoD3 yet.

But.

HFW expanded significantly upon the first game.

 

[FeralEcho]

I see he's keeping in trend with their online server maintanence policy.No more than 6 years online servers on Playstation,no more than 6 years CEO'ing on Playstation.

Good on you Jim for having such principles.

 

[yurinka]

Hermen Hulst next please.

He won't retire, he's too young.

Ding Dong the GAAS witch is dead

GaaS continue to be the best selling, most played games and the add-ons (DLC/MTX/passes) continue being the biggest game revenue stream and keep growing, while revenue from game sales keeps decreasing. This is the reason of why not only Sony, but all AAA publishers have been focusing more on GaaS recently and/or will do it soon.

Jim wasn't the first SIE CEO to bet on GaaS, and won't be the last. He simply increased the effort/investment on them, in the same way he also increased their effort/investment in all the other areas which btw like GaaS games were already there: non-GaaS titles, VR titles, PC ports, mobile titles, cinema/tv adaptations, hardware & accesories, game subs, cloud gaming, marketing, etc), 1st party games, 2nd party games, 3rd party games, acquisitions or growing the headcount of their already existing studios.

The results of some of his decisions have been super successful, generating more revenue than any other CEO of a console maker ever achieved, and more profit than any previous SIE CEO. Other ones are long term bets -like the increased bet on GaaS- will increase their results but starting in some few years, not now.

 

[StealthGoblin]

So budgets and length of development time are exploding...and PlayStations expenditure on those games is rising nominally...but they're going to get more games out at a quicker cadence?

2023 is one of the worst years ever for PlayStation in terms of AAA exclusives.

Something isn't adding up.

You've grabbed the wrong end of all of the sticks.

They are investing more in single player games and are doing so by increasing staff count at their existing studios. They have also invested in additional teams such as Insomniac, Firesprite, Housemarque, Bluepoint etc. On top of that they've drastically increased their producer count at xDev in Europe and Japan. As a result there are additional games from PeopleCanFly, Sumo Digital, Team Ninja and Ballistic Moon.

As an aside from that they've invested additional money in multiplayer projects and teams at Insomniac, Guerilla, Sucker Punch, Studio London etc. They've also acquired Haven, Firewalk and Bungie to bolster their GAAS. As an aside from that they've got NCSOFT and others working on games using their IP.

Investiture is up in all areas of PlayStation Studios. Yes there will be 10 or so GAAS games, but there will also be more single player games. Many of those are new IP.

2023 is thin, yes. But the plan, once rolling, will mean that SIE will have a better cadence of games and for them to be less reliant on 3rd parties to fill gaps.

The reason why there is a lull is because of Covid. It won't have escaped anyone's attention that Sony actually got a lot of great games out early this gen but they were well under development in Covid and Sony quickly switched to remote development. It's a lot harder to get new projects off the ground under those conditions.

 

[Heisenberg007]

You've grabbed the wrong end of all of the sticks.

They are investing more in single player games and are doing so by increasing staff count at their existing studios. They have also invested in additional teams such as Insomniac, Firesprite, Housemarque, Bluepoint etc. On top of that they've drastically increased their producer count at xDev in Europe and Japan. As a result there are additional games from PeopleCanFly, Sumo Digital, Team Ninja and Ballistic Moon.

As an aside from that they've invested additional money in multiplayer projects and teams at Insomniac, Guerilla, Sucker Punch, Studio London etc. They've also acquired Haven, Firewalk and Bungie to bolster their GAAS. As an aside from that they've got NCSOFT and others working on games using their IP.

Investiture is up in all areas of PlayStation Studios. Yes there will be 10 or so GAAS games, but there will also be more single player games. Many of those are new IP.

2023 is thin, yes. But the plan, once rolling, will mean that SIE will have a better cadence of games and for them to be less reliant on 3rd parties to fill gaps.

The reason why there is a lull is because of Covid. It won't have escaped anyone's attention that Sony actually got a lot of great games out early this gen but they were well under development in Covid and Sony quickly switched to remote development. It's a lot harder to get new projects off the ground under those conditions.

Yes. And even in this "weak-ish" year, they have delivered the following games:

1. Horizon Burning Shores (DLC Expansion)
2. GT7 PS VR 2
3. MLB '23
4. Firewall Ultra
5. Destiny 2 Lightfall
6. Spider-Man 2
7. Horizon Call of the Mountain

Helldivers 2 and Stellar Blade were also scheduled for 2023 but got delayed.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

You've grabbed the wrong end of all of the sticks.

They are investing more in single player games and are doing so by increasing staff count at their existing studios. They have also invested in additional teams such as Insomniac, Firesprite, Housemarque, Bluepoint etc. On top of that they've drastically increased their producer count at xDev in Europe and Japan. As a result there are additional games from PeopleCanFly, Sumo Digital, Team Ninja and Ballistic Moon.

All that is cherry picking. You're highlighting what they added without highlighting what they subtracted.

We know PlayStation is investing ~10% more into traditional SP games based on the graph they gave investors.

Game development budgets have increased considerably more than 10% over the last 5 - 10 years.

You don't get more games from that equation.

As an aside from that they've invested additional money in multiplayer projects and teams at Insomniac, Guerilla, Sucker Punch, Studio London etc. They've also acquired Haven, Firewalk and Bungie to bolster their GAAS. As an aside from that they've got NCSOFT and others working on games using their IP.

Investiture is up in all areas of PlayStation Studios. Yes there will be 10 or so GAAS games, but there will also be more single player games. Many of those are new IP.

2023 is thin, yes. But the plan, once rolling, will mean that SIE will have a better cadence of games and for them to be less reliant on 3rd parties to fill gaps.

The reason why there is a lull is because of Covid. It won't have escaped anyone's attention that Sony actually got a lot of great games out early this gen but they were well under development in Covid and Sony quickly switched to remote development. It's a lot harder to get new projects off the ground under those conditions.

I think your take here is crazy. Nowhere else in the industry are we seeing release cadence increase without MASSIVE investment (ie XBox).

It goes against common sense. Big AAA games are taking longer to make and big multiplayer games are taking up more and more marketshare. The whole industry has shifted towards making giant black hole games that eradicate the smaller titles.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Yes. And even in this "weak-ish" year, they have delivered the following games:

1. Horizon Burning Shores (DLC Expansion)
2. GT7 PS VR 2
3. MLB '23
4. Firewall Ultra
5. Destiny 2 Lightfall
6. Spider-Man 2
7. Horizon Call of the Mountain

Helldivers 2 and Stellar Blade were also scheduled for 2023 but got delayed.

This is a legendary list. Imagine showing this list to the list war makers from 2012.

3 DLCs
An yearly sports game
A 1.2 version of a VR title.
A 6 hour VR title
2 delayed games that never even came out this year.
And Spiderman 2

 

[StealthGoblin]

All that is cherry picking. You're highlighting what they added without highlighting what they subtracted.

We know PlayStation is investing ~10% more into traditional SP games based on the graph they gave investors.

Game development budgets have increased considerably more than 10% over the last 5 - 10 years.

You don't get more games from that equation.



I think your take here is crazy. Nowhere else in the industry are we seeing release cadence increase without MASSIVE investment (ie XBox).

It goes against common sense. Big AAA games are taking longer to make and big multiplayer games are taking up more and more marketshare. The whole industry has shifted towards making giant black hole games that eradicate the smaller titles.

They substracted Studio Japan, who were inconsistent, didn't meet deadlines and were aimless.

You've hugely misinterpreted your 10% stat. You've also not taken into consideration economies of scale.

I'm glad you aren't in charge. Cringing for you.

 

[Elder Legend]

This is a legendary list. Imagine showing this list to the list war makers from 2012.

3 DLCs
An yearly sports game
A 1.2 version of a VR title.
A 6 hour VR title
2 delayed games that never even came out this year.
And Spiderman 2

Agreed. Also, Destiny 2 Lightfall is multiplatform. MLB 3 is on Game Pass. The two VR games are limited to a niche hardware (vr) and you need to spend another $500 to even play them. The only good thing PS5 has this year is Spiderman 2 and maybe the Horizon DLC. Awful year.

 

[ArtHands]

Yes. And even in this "weak-ish" year, they have delivered the following games:

1. Horizon Burning Shores (DLC Expansion)
2. GT7 PS VR 2
3. MLB '23
4. Firewall Ultra
5. Destiny 2 Lightfall
6. Spider-Man 2
7. Horizon Call of the Mountain

Helldivers 2 and Stellar Blade were also scheduled for 2023 but got delayed.

Burning Shores is not a game, its a DLC.
Firewall Ultra is a mid-game and we rather forget Destiny 2 Lightfall

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

They substracted Studio Japan, who were inconsistent, didn't meet deadlines and were aimless.

You're missing some big subtractions my friend.

You've hugely misinterpreted your 10% stat. You've also not taken into consideration economies of scale.

So if games are 30% more expensive to make, how is a 10% bump in budget going to create more games?

 

[Roxkis_ii]

Man, so many dissatisfied customers. I hope Sony can weather the storm.

 

[ProtoByte]

I don't see a quality loss. Most AAA games are mid to high 80s and most Xbox and PS AAAs are in that range. I think it's rather a supersaturation, because games don't seem to try something new. Dev costs are insane these days and so they play it safe.

Right, so this is the behavioral side of things I was talking about.

Console manufacturers are more likely to invest in games the might not even make their money back, because the aim is to attract people into the console's ecosystem. Their best bet in achieving that is to make something unique: Maybe production values are specially high in general or for the genre (i.e.the sheer investment Sony put into single player games during a gen where most publishers almost wholly gave themselves ti the live service gods), maybe the game itself is relatively innovative, whatever. I think Layden's policy for game production was First, Best, or Must.

Again, it just so happens that the live service extravaganza started the exact same moment they decided to start porting shit to PC.

 

[StealthGoblin]

You're missing some big subtractions my friend.



So if games are 30% more expensive to make, how is a 10% bump in budget going to create more games?

Go on then, what meaningful subtractions have we had in the last 5 years? Studio Japan and Pixel Opus. One was coming and everyone knew it and the other was because they mismanaged their project, missed deadlines and they had staff retention issues. Both needed to happen and deservedly so.

You are going to need to provide a source for your 10% because if it's the document I'm thinking, you've misinterpreted it.

 

[Zok310]

Wonder if Totoki is next in line for Sony CEO and he is being put in SIE to plan PS6 get closer and more familiar with how game business really work.
Totoki picks Erik as SIE ceo next spring, they work together and launch PS6 successfully. Yoshida steps down after launch and Totoki moves up to CEO of Sony, and have Lin Tao replaces him as Sony CFO as thats her background.
Cycle repeats 4-5 years into the PS6 gen.
That puts 2 people from SIE in high spots in Sony Corp, Lin and Totoki.

 

[Badlucktroll]

 

[Heisenberg007]

Wonder if Totoki is next in line for Sony CEO and he is being put in SIE to plan PS6 get closer and more familiar with how game business really work.
Totoki picks Erik as SIE ceo next spring, they work together and launch PS6 successfully. Yoshida steps down after launch and Totoki moves up to CEO of Sony, and have Lin Tao replaces him as Sony CFO as thats her background.
Cycle repeats 4-5 years into the PS6 gen.
That puts 2 people from SIE in high spots in Sony Corp, Lin and Totoki.

I hope it is not Eric. I do not like how Sony marketing has performed overall this generation -- apart from a few truly genius strokes in between.