protomouse
Member
+ Really likeable dude. The most likeable of the PlayStation execs.
- Still no TLG.
- Still no TLG.
Shuhei Yoshida evaluation thread
- Thread starter benny_a
- Start date
nckillthegrimace
Member
Seems like a genuine, nice enough guy, but I've been pretty disappointed in the first party software released for the PS4 thus far. I feel like a lot of the late PS3 games, like Puppeteer, would have been better off as early PS4 games because what we've gotten so far has been either terrible (Knack) or half-baked (Infamous: Second Son, Drive Club). I'm looking forward to Bloodborne and what ever else Sony has for 2015, though. I just hope it isn't as sparse as the first year. 2014 had like 3 or 4 first party titles, which just isn't enough.
dragonbane
Member
I like him for the continued strong support of Quantic Dream and he seems very approachable on twitter.
Melchiah
Member
That's entirely subjective. I've personally been greatly enjoying The Last of Us remastered, Infamous: Second Son & First Light, Driveclub, Resogun and its DLCs, Entwined, and even Killzone: Shadow Fall, despite of its flaws.
jacob armitage
Banned
Yup, rad dude. No major 2014 holiday title, but i think they were giving Destiny a bit of room to breathe, and i'm sure they didn't predict Driveclub crashing quite as bad at has.
GifGafIsTheBestGaf
Member
hahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 i wasnt expecting this.
i think he has done a good job and i hope he keeps doing it
Sum-Mischief
Member
Shu gets my vote everytime. Four more years ! Ideal personality hard working man. Zero complaints from me
I don't understand the praise that gets heaped on this guy; he's pretty hit and miss. Naughty Dog is killing it right now, but most of Sony's other studios are in disarray. SCEJ in particular is a disaster zone, releasing a stream of small, mediocre games like Knack and Puppeteer and famously failing to release a Team Ico game in almost a decade. He's also presided over questionable studio closures and the departure of long-time allies like Insomniac. 2014 has been a terrible year for Sony exclusive software.
Also, while I know he's expressed regret about this, but he'll always be the guy who passed on localizing Demon's Souls.
Also, while I know he's expressed regret about this, but he'll always be the guy who passed on localizing Demon's Souls.
Canis lupus
Member
PS3 games in 2012? Only loved Journey, hated PS All Stars, Starhawk and TM weren't so good. 2013 only highlight was TLOU. 2014 was just awful. GT6 should've been a PS4 game and release this or next year.
I like the dude and love his pain for games. He has done ok job in my opinion but there are some very bad mistakes he has done.
Closing Liverpool: a guranteed good racing game with working online part.
Handling resistace franchise. Specially the last one for vita
Cod for vita: I know it was Activision but according to rumours Sony suggrsted the studio.
Scej output and collaboration like losing moster hunter to Nintendo. Etc
Outright closing studios intead of trimming fat like zipper interactive
Closing Liverpool: a guranteed good racing game with working online part.
Handling resistace franchise. Specially the last one for vita
Cod for vita: I know it was Activision but according to rumours Sony suggrsted the studio.
Scej output and collaboration like losing moster hunter to Nintendo. Etc
Outright closing studios intead of trimming fat like zipper interactive
No, I meant Sony WWS in 2012 and 2013:
GAF GOTY 2013:
Canis lupus said:
GAF GOTY 2012:
That's 13/20 Sony WWS games. (2 Sony Pub Fund, but that's third party relations.)
Anyway we don't need to go into personal preferences and stuff, it just stood out to me as I remembered (IMO correctly) as you being happy with their WWS output and then reading that you didn't like it seemed strange.
He is great, and I like him much more than the various people they have used to have. For instance Jack Tretton seemed really likeable, but said a ton of arrogant things. Shu on the other hand, is just as likeable, but also seems much more genuine and can even compliment his competition etc. And his interaction with the community is just great as well.
Melchiah
Member
That's debatable. The PS3 had only RFOM and MotorStorm in its first year, as far as I'm concerned. Many might consider TLOU:R and LBP3 more appealing than the first Uncharted and Ratchet & Clank: TOD. The exclusives aren't the only driving force for purchase, the better performing multiplatforms and a plethora of indies coming first or only to the PS4 also make the system look more desirable as a whole.
Acquiescence
Member
Call it a hunch, but I get the feeling that if it were not for him, The Last Guardian would've been cancelled long ago.
sono
Member
To date, he's 50% effective.
Actually its 33% because no Last Guardian.
My feelings as well. I also don't think Blood Bourne would be a thing either.
I just hope he starts greenlighting more JRPG's going forward
.Would that be a good or a bad thing? I'll be amazed if anything good ever comes of this project.
Whether or not it's a good thing depends on how much you value the other projects that the resources that were working on TLG could be spent on otherwise.
If you think these other games are not appealing, then the cancellation for a game you find appealing would be negative. If you feel differently, it would be positive.
reptilescorpio
Member
He's been involved in a ton of high selling games so I'd expect his evaluation would be quite good!
I enjoyed Knack and I loved Second Son, so he has provided me with plenty of entertainment.
I enjoyed Knack and I loved Second Son, so he has provided me with plenty of entertainment.
Muppet of a Man
Member
If it weren't for the delay, can you imagine what state the game would have been in? I imagine it literally would have been more of a tech demo than a game. As it is, I find fault with him and the other management allowing the game to launch in its current state. It should have been baked even longer, although I understand the temptation to release it when the direct competition releases a first party game in the same genre.
Muppet of a Man
Member
My feelings as well. I also don't think Blood Bourne would be a thing either.
I just hope he starts greenlighting more JRPG's going forward
If he was directly responsible for making these things happen, it would more than justify his position.
Cow Goes Moo
Member
but anyway, he's a great pr guy, smart and stays within what he should say
humorous and likeable
I have no idea but I'm going to credit shu for the downloadables initiative,
funding games like hohokum, counterspy, super exploding zoo (still not sure if sony is funding this), journey, and the like, I mean some anticipated games are things like the tomorrow children and rime, they're pretty awesome.
sending allen becker to sceja was a great idea, considering the studio's productivity
but there are some bad things as well, like the closure of studios
liverpool, zipper, bigbig
humorous and likeable
I have no idea but I'm going to credit shu for the downloadables initiative,
funding games like hohokum, counterspy, super exploding zoo (still not sure if sony is funding this), journey, and the like, I mean some anticipated games are things like the tomorrow children and rime, they're pretty awesome.
sending allen becker to sceja was a great idea, considering the studio's productivity
but there are some bad things as well, like the closure of studios
liverpool, zipper, bigbig
Cornbread78
Member
MaximumSpider
Banned
Persona 4 Golden is one of his favorite PlayStation games. He's good in my book.
Tempesta di Fuoco
Banned
This. Except I do not like Naughty Dog's games from a gameplay standpoint (at all), so there's that.
Ganzlinger
Member
Shu is great!
Canis lupus
Member
Okay since this year has been so fucking awful exclusives wise I may have overstated things. They need to do something about those off years (2012, 2014) retail console games wise.
Zeuanimals
Member
I'm not sure the game was greenlit as a "zombie" game. The cordyceps was originally supposed to be a fungus that just killed its host and didn't create zombies. That's a risky idea for a game since there's not much gameplay involvement with something like that.
Dunno if he greenlit the game during that stage, or if it was just an idea Druckmann, Straley and co. were just kicking around.
IncandescentPrecept
Banned
I think he doesn't know what he's doing with the PS4.
Acquiescence
Member
Well, what was too ambitious for the PS3 can now be accomplished on the PS4 I suppose. You only have to watch the trailer to know that there's definitely something worth salvaging in Ueda's third game, and with the way so many continue to bang on about it despite it being a no-show for so many years, I'm not the only one to feel this way. I figure by this stage that Shuhei feels it's his sworn duty to get the game to the masses no matter how long it languishes in development hell, because of both the pedigree working on it (ICO and SotC are masterpieces) and how the premise itself still enthrals to this day. I still long to play as that boy and escape those ruins with the aid of the adorable man-eating Trico.
:'(
I hate this thread because it gives people here the impression that they understand this man's job enough to decide wether or not he's doing it well.
It's kind of like a hardware or resolution/framerate thread, except with a person instead.
Saying that Sony didn't have a good year first-party wise (if you think so) means just that, not that "Shuhei Yoshida fails at his job".
What do you think, that he can just clap hands and snap fingers and then suddenly games come out, and that the only reason they sometimes don't is because sometimes he is lazy and doesn't want to clap hands ? That he can somehow shrink and resize development time and constraints at will to even out releases ?
"What do you say Naughty Dog ? Uncharted 4 needs more time ? Okay, I've just opened this breach in space-time continuum, jump inside it and you'll still be able to release for november 2014 ! Don't thank me, that's my job !"
Seriously, guys, most of us have no idea what developping a game means, let alone developping lots of different games as part of a console-wide strategy. The only thing we can judge about this man is his PR face / relationship to consumers, not actually evaluate his "performance" at his job.
It's kind of like a hardware or resolution/framerate thread, except with a person instead.
Saying that Sony didn't have a good year first-party wise (if you think so) means just that, not that "Shuhei Yoshida fails at his job".
What do you think, that he can just clap hands and snap fingers and then suddenly games come out, and that the only reason they sometimes don't is because sometimes he is lazy and doesn't want to clap hands ? That he can somehow shrink and resize development time and constraints at will to even out releases ?
"What do you say Naughty Dog ? Uncharted 4 needs more time ? Okay, I've just opened this breach in space-time continuum, jump inside it and you'll still be able to release for november 2014 ! Don't thank me, that's my job !"
Seriously, guys, most of us have no idea what developping a game means, let alone developping lots of different games as part of a console-wide strategy. The only thing we can judge about this man is his PR face / relationship to consumers, not actually evaluate his "performance" at his job.
pixellated_man
Member
Hahaha, spot on. Xbox one has had a lot of exclusives this year, but truth be told only a few of them are truly must have and that is reflected in their critical reception. I won't link ya'all to metacritic or present you with lists as that is seen as a fanboyish thing to do and with good reason too.
Triggerhappytel
Member
Cool, thanks. So he's been in place for 6 years, meaning I would assume he's been the one to sign off on recent Sony classics like The Last of Us, Journey and Tearaway. He's definitely doing a good job in my opinion. Just get some good stuff coming out of London Studio and Japan Studio and we'll be firing on all cylinders.
Also, perhaps just as important, he seems like a really great, friendly guy and I like him being one of the prominent faces of the PS4.
Yoshida's job is to make money for the company, right? Well, this year has pretty much been a lost opportunity then.
How profitable was infamous? Probably barely. They had to let go staff that had been at Sucker Punch since maybe its founding. That doesn't just sound like some downsizing in between projects. That sounds like, "Oh hey, you were here since this studio was founded? Well, too bad because infamous didn't make money."
How profitable has driveclub been? Probably barely. That game probably went over budget from its year-long delay, and I doubt it's even putting up GT6 numbers to show for it.
Yes, the responsibility for infamous and driveclub falls on Yoshida. He is supposed to be overseeing these studios after Sony buys them out. They are the direct property of Sony and he is supposed to be managing them for the wins, not taking L's.
Sony is lucky that PS4 is such a success because GT7 can still make bank when it finally releases after Yoshida lets Polyphony take five years to develop it and release in the same holiday that PS5 launches... oh wait, I should be kidding but that would be par for the course given who is managing WWS at this point.
TLoU made a lot of money for Sony this year, I'm sure, but that's because TLoU is a good ass game and Naughty Dog is going to Naughty Dog as long as somebody halfway competent lets them just do them, so that may be Yoshida's only silver lining.
Oh, and what happened with The Order? IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE MULTIPLAYER OR CO-OP. IT'S JUST GOING TO BE SOME 8-HOUR CAMPAIGN BECAUSE "CINEMATIC." But now that they've already sunk enough money into it, they have to delay it into the ethersphere in order to end up launching it in the same month as Bloodborne supposedly? I remember there being a big thread about how that makes NO SENSE but here they are releasing their two AAA games in the same month anyway when there's been such a dearth already this year and in this holiday.
Yoshida has singlehandedly let Microsoft make the strong case that Xbox One really is the home for the better games, at least for this holiday. Yes, I know I've made a big fuss about third party games being better on PS4, but right now I want to play something that can make me forget about Sunset Overdrive (and Far Cry 4 and GTAV are not going to do that).
And as someone already said about the Japan studio, that studio should be like Sony's EAD but completely fell to the wayside during PS3 under Yoshida's watch and it has yet to recover. Now it's trying to piggyback off of From Software's talent because it has none of its own after Ueda went midlife crisis mode or some kind of mental block or something.
How profitable was infamous? Probably barely. They had to let go staff that had been at Sucker Punch since maybe its founding. That doesn't just sound like some downsizing in between projects. That sounds like, "Oh hey, you were here since this studio was founded? Well, too bad because infamous didn't make money."
How profitable has driveclub been? Probably barely. That game probably went over budget from its year-long delay, and I doubt it's even putting up GT6 numbers to show for it.
Yes, the responsibility for infamous and driveclub falls on Yoshida. He is supposed to be overseeing these studios after Sony buys them out. They are the direct property of Sony and he is supposed to be managing them for the wins, not taking L's.
Sony is lucky that PS4 is such a success because GT7 can still make bank when it finally releases after Yoshida lets Polyphony take five years to develop it and release in the same holiday that PS5 launches... oh wait, I should be kidding but that would be par for the course given who is managing WWS at this point.
TLoU made a lot of money for Sony this year, I'm sure, but that's because TLoU is a good ass game and Naughty Dog is going to Naughty Dog as long as somebody halfway competent lets them just do them, so that may be Yoshida's only silver lining.
Oh, and what happened with The Order? IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE MULTIPLAYER OR CO-OP. IT'S JUST GOING TO BE SOME 8-HOUR CAMPAIGN BECAUSE "CINEMATIC." But now that they've already sunk enough money into it, they have to delay it into the ethersphere in order to end up launching it in the same month as Bloodborne supposedly? I remember there being a big thread about how that makes NO SENSE but here they are releasing their two AAA games in the same month anyway when there's been such a dearth already this year and in this holiday.
Yoshida has singlehandedly let Microsoft make the strong case that Xbox One really is the home for the better games, at least for this holiday. Yes, I know I've made a big fuss about third party games being better on PS4, but right now I want to play something that can make me forget about Sunset Overdrive (and Far Cry 4 and GTAV are not going to do that).
And as someone already said about the Japan studio, that studio should be like Sony's EAD but completely fell to the wayside during PS3 under Yoshida's watch and it has yet to recover. Now it's trying to piggyback off of From Software's talent because it has none of its own after Ueda went midlife crisis mode or some kind of mental block or something.
Awesome guy.
Love his personality ,and he helped bring BloodBorne.
Short version of a very good rating.
I agree.
Love his personality ,and he helped bring BloodBorne.
Short version of a very good rating.
I agree.
wapplew
Member
Let's judge him purely from his job standpoint.
Pro:
-Great variety first party output.
-Many experimental risky titles get green light
-Seems given enough creative freedom to first party studio
-Never really rush development (this could be in the con)
-Good at controlling budget and team size. (TLG or cancelled SSM titles aside, he mostly done a good job)
Con:
-Very bad at nurturing franchise compare to MS's Halo gears or Nintendo's Mario Zelda.
-Overlook Demon souls ( Ok, redeeem himself with Bloodborne)
-Doesn't work to0 well with marketing? Send a lot of titles to die either no marketing of bad release date.
I think Shu is not bad at his job.
Pro:
-Great variety first party output.
-Many experimental risky titles get green light
-Seems given enough creative freedom to first party studio
-Never really rush development (this could be in the con)
-Good at controlling budget and team size. (TLG or cancelled SSM titles aside, he mostly done a good job)
Con:
-Very bad at nurturing franchise compare to MS's Halo gears or Nintendo's Mario Zelda.
-Overlook Demon souls ( Ok, redeeem himself with Bloodborne)
-Doesn't work to0 well with marketing? Send a lot of titles to die either no marketing of bad release date.
I think Shu is not bad at his job.
I do agree that SCE needs to enforce better QA for their studios.
The fact that Guerrilla games gets so much funding, but releases so many titles which end up being mediocre is definitely as a result of management not putting a tighter leash.
The fact that SCEJ studios for a long time keeps on releasing mainly artsy fartsie games which usually sell like shit also doesn't help.
The fact that Guerrilla games gets so much funding, but releases so many titles which end up being mediocre is definitely as a result of management not putting a tighter leash.
The fact that SCEJ studios for a long time keeps on releasing mainly artsy fartsie games which usually sell like shit also doesn't help.
loaf of bread
Member
I don't think it's Shu's job involves marketing, I'm pretty sure thats its own department. I'd say Uncharted (or just Naughty Dog itself) is pretty nurtured along with maybe Ratchet and Clank
Boogalogist
Member
yosp is great. Engages the people on twitter and generally likeable. Also, sitting on the couch during the opening of PS4 presentation (E3?), playing KZSF like a boss!
wapplew
Member
You might be right, but we don't know what happen behind the scene.
I guess Shu don't have much control. I once saw his twitter said making good games is not enough, is about Puppeteer not doing well or something.
On franchise thing, he need to get better. You don't see people say don't want another Halo or Mario but people say don't want another God of War or Uncharted all the time.
See what MS done with Halo? Halo Channel, Halo TV show, Halo this, Halo that, all kind of fans service and merchandise revenue. You rarely see Sony have that.
Melchiah
Member
Infamous sold 1 million in nine days. Dunno about the total sales though. I doubt First Light would have been made, if Second Son wasn't profitable.
I'd like to see some facts to support the bolded.
As for The Order, I think it's perfectly fine if a game concentrates on a single player experience, as long as it's good and long enough. The usual PVP online matches couldn't interest me less, and co-op campaigns are pretty meaningless nowadays to me, when there's just no time to play them with friends. Every game doesn't need to have online multiplayer, or open world.
El-Pistolero
Member
Sums up my feelings exactly...
Nightengale
Member
Marketing of games are on the publisher side. If you've listened to enough Shu interviews, he's not part of marketing. He simply funds the game's development and supervises the overall portfolio, but it's up to Shawn Layden, Jim Ryan,etc to actually put money out to market said games.