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[benny_a]

Small introduction:

Shuhei Yoshida is the president of Sony Computer Entertainment World Wide Studios.

This in effect makes him the boss over PlayStation's internal software devision when it comes to internally (and first party independently contracted) game projects.

He reports to Andrew House, the overall boss of PlayStation.
Under him: Michael Denny SCE WWS Europe, Scott Rohde SCE WWS America.


For months I've been reading how Shuhei has failed in his position but it's usually in random threads where pursuing this discussion would be mostly off-topic.

That's why I would like to discuss what people like or dislike about his efforts in a dedicated thread.

 

[Wynnebeck]

Great guy. Likable personality. Passionate about his job. No complaints.

 

[Fracas]

I think he does a solid job. He does a TON of interaction with the community and seems like a cool guy.

Shout out to Adam Boyes too. They make a great team.

 

[Andrefpvs]

 

[GobFather]

I think he does a solid job.

.

 

[xxracerxx]

Paging orochi...paging orochi and his petition.

 

[Cow Goes Moo]

"He killed the viter"

 

[FinalStageBoss]

Yoshida is fine, next topic.

 

[BadWolf]

He is good people.

 

[On Demand]

Uhhhh bloodborne.


/thread.

 

[JehutyRunner]

Small introduction:

Shuhei Yoshida is the president of Sony Computer Entertainment World Wide Studios.

This in effect makes him the boss over PlayStation's internal software devision when it comes to internally (and first party independently contracted) game projects.

He reports to Andrew House, the overall boss of PlayStation.
Co-President of SCE WWS is Michael Denny.


For months I've been reading how Shuhei has failed in his position but it's usually in random threads where pursuing this discussion would be mostly off-topic.

That's why I would like to discuss what people like or dislike about his efforts in a dedicated thread.

If anything, Denny would be a deputy as he reports to Yoshida (if I understand correctly). Denny heads EU WWS, while Scott Rhode is the head of US WWS (don't know who heads up WWS in Japan, though). So he would likely report to Yoshida (again, if I understand it correctly).

 

[Ricky_R]

For months I've been reading how Shuhei has failed in his position

 

[Rolf NB]

Great hair, winning smile.

 

[GnawtyDog]

Do we do this every year? For Phil too when he was in charge of Xbox first party? Like a yearly thing? I have lurked for long but never saw one....

 

[Toki767]

He's responsible for getting Bloodborne.

He's also responsible for The Last Guardian.

Everyone has their wins and losses I guess.

 

[Deleted member 80556]

Shu failed at his position? The fact that Naughty Dog got the creative liberty to do TLOU as it is means that he has done at least something good in his position.

The internet hyperbole is annoying.

 

[hawk2025]

Solid. Assuming his main job is controlling release schedules, deals, and allocation of games, there were *slight* mistakes in the handling of the PS3 -> PS4 transition by having an unprecedented array of great games in 2013 that could have instead been transitioned to the PS4 in 2014. For example, Rain and Puppeteer should have been PS4-only, 2014 games with more time to cook, IMO.

 

[Balb]

Great guy. Likable personality. Passionate about his job. No complaints.

What about his actual performance though?

 

[dallow_bg]

Hard to judge when none of us knows what's going on internally in that position.

As far as his public personality, he's cool.

 

[Nosgoroth]

Absolutely no complaints.

 

[TheHall]

I think he does a solid job.

On Twitter....


Looking at the launch of Driveclub, i think SOME criticism is warranted.

He seems like a nice enough guy, but First Party titles are not exactly a highlight of 2014 for Sony.

 

[John Bender]

Shu Yoshida is one of the best in the console business.
Yup! He is awesome!

But one thing is missing:
He needs to build (or acquire) a JRPG team / studio.
(see Nintendo and Monolith)
The one thing that is missing in their SCEWWS -> a big JRPG title/studio.

 

[PAULINK]

He pledged money to amplitude, what a swell guy.

 

[funkystudent]

Sony WWS have been a bit of a trainwreck outside of Naughty Dog (SCEJ is still a mess, Infamous was half baked, The Order looks like a waste of everyones time, Polyphony are off in their own little bubble, Insomniac flew the coop, Santa Monica Studio is a wasteland AND then there is the hot mess that is DriveClub) BUT he says funny things on twitter so he is ok in my book.

 

[McDougles]

Solid smirk, adorable antics. 9/10 would evaluate based on non-sensical rhetoric again.

 

[Kost2Coast]

Not a single complaint whatsoever about him, I mean how can you not like the guy? Hes as passionate as we all are, not just for PlayStation but for other platforms as well! Glad to have him!

 

[Ol No Bones]

Seems like a genuinely nice guy. Wish Sony had some great exclusives in 2014 but at least 2015 is packed.

 

[coolasj19]

Be sure to separate and compare likely greenlit projects from before Phil Harrison moved on. I'm sure we'll get to the list portion of this thread soon enough.

For managing and greenlighting projects from extremely various size and talent, he's done a bang up job. Solid production (minus the SSM incident) all around for many years. Especially including 2nd party projects from AAA to Indie.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

He is a good guy. Extremely humble and likable. However, I feel like he was not prepared for the PS4 launch. Although the seeds have been planted well and will bear their fruit next year and ahead, the first year software output from WWS was lackluster to say the least.

 

[Shadow_FFVI]

He´s passionate about gaming and works hard. Not much more I could ask for.

 

[Fdkn]

What about his actual performance though?

The "no complains" part covers that.

 

[GalacticMouse]

Why are people saying he does a bad job? Low number of PS4 exclusives? I'm a bit confused.

I think he's shown that Sony's internal studios are willing to delay a game under his watch if it will benefit the final product (The Last of Us, DriveClub, The Order 1886 all come to mind). We haven't heard too much about massive game failures under his watch except for Stig's game at SSM. Overall, it seems like he's been doing a great job. He's also really active on Twitter with his followers and seems like a genuine and likeable guy.

 

[Game4life]

On Twitter....


Looking at the launch of Driveclub, i think SOME criticism is warranted.

He seems like a nice enough guy, but First Party titles are not exactly a highlight of 2014 for Sony.

So are we going to crucify this guy because MS released a bunch of titles ranging from 70-80 on metacrtic?

 

[baekshi]

Yes, he needs to be let go.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

To date, he's 50% effective.

 

[Xando]

#ibelieveinshu

He did a solid job except for TLG.

Spoiler

WHERE IS IT SHU

 

[Hugstable]

He seems like a pretty cool guy, didn't like how he dealt with the Souls series at first and how it hated on it, and it felt really weird when he started listing Souls as one of his favorite games ever during some interview last year lol.

 

[threelights]

Fell asleep during a David Cage speech?

This man knows whats up.

Anyway, I like the dude, he seems like a cool guy, and like it or not, the PS4 is pretty strong right now, however much he was responsible for it.

 

[Deleted member 80556]

Sony WWS have been a bit of a trainwreck outside of Naughty Dog BUT he says funny things on twitter so he is ok in my book.

Which is probably why they did all the reorganizations earlier this year. Yeah, people got fired and new people got hired, but it's not like they're not doing anything. This is not something that would appear to be fixed in a matter of months, but it might become apparent in some years when we see new games.

 

[anexanhume]

He's a charismatic personality that has overseen a lot of stellar games. His passion for playing means he's in tune with what is good and what players enjoy. Under him, they've also hired a new boss to address Japan Studio's lack of productivity and focus.

I guess you could blame him for Driveclub issues, but that seems like a minor nit compared against the quality of 1st party software since he took over.

 

[Radec]

I'd rate him

/10

 

[De_Legend]

He is excellent.

 

[TheHall]

So are we going to crucify this guy because MS released a bunch of titles ranging from 70-80 on metacrtic?

I like how you turned "some criticism" into "crucify".

I also didn't mention MS at all.

 

[akidnamededdy]

Shu failed at his position? The fact that Naughty Dog got the creatsomething cty to do TLOU as it is means that he has done at least something good in his position.

The internet hyperbole is annoying.

Yeah, post apocalypse zombie stories are really risky ventures these days.

For real though. Was something causing problems? All I ever heard about was some minor quibbling about including Ellie on the box.

On topic: no complaints here.

 

[hawk2025]

Reading the OP again, he is responsible for first party contracted software, which at this point has greenlit and will net us:


- Wild
- Bloodborne
- The Tomorrow Children
- Resogun
- AlienNation
- HellDivers


Maybe I should bump up my evaluation a bit, but I still think the managing of the 2013 release schedule was a mistake.

Seems like a great guy.

But the output of Sony's studios he's in charge of is really bad and sparse.

So w/e.

This is just plain wrong. 2014 is sparse, because 2013 was absolutely PACKED, and 2015 is looking like yet another very packed year. If anything, the issue is with the timing, not the actual production of content.

 

[King Gilga]

Seems like a great guy.

But the output of Sony's studios he's in charge of is really bad and sparse.

So w/e.

 

[StuBurns]

This the guy that locked down the Dark Souls team to secure the very gaming core for his console for a generation? He's earned whatever they pay him.

 

[MavFan619]

Uhhhh bloodborne.


/thread.

Pretty much but with the Holidays only having XRD and LBP3 which are also on PS3 and some disatisfsction of PS4's year one WWS output some will exaggerate the situation. I like Shu and can't wait to see what else the first party studios are working on.

 

[IAmRandom31]

He's the best at this type of job. Wouldn't want anyone else at this position.

I mean like 95% of indie developers and third party developers are making games for the PS4. Fastest selling Playstation product in history. Been a fantastic year even without a major exclusive title, which changes pretty quickly early next year.

They are placed perfectly for the coming generation. No complaints at all.

 

[benny_a]

As he is the personification (for better or worse in this team-effort based world) of the slate of Sony WWS developed titles I think it's fair to criticize him for the global strategy that is being pursued.

For example I think it's fine to criticize him for the decision to green-light Driveclub, because the perceived overlap between it and Gran Turismo which didn't exist with a much more visible arcade-focused Motorstorm.

For me the difference that he is ultimately responsible for the delay of Driveclub from launch title to October this year.
What he isn't responsible for are any individual bugs, but more a general quality level that you can control by granting additional funds.