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[Darchaos]

Famous last words

 

[Three]

The idea that they would decide, on their own, to develop Live service titles is not plausible.

Why? When they see the likes of other studios like Rare or BGS having more security in terms of income instead of risk of their next big release failing why wouldn't the studio want the same too?
Rare was not know for live service either but now that's all they survive on.

 

[rofif]

6 years since 2019. They should have released like 2 games by now. The studio is huge enough to work on 2-3 projects at the same time

 

[bitbydeath]

The only game they made that sold decent was Motorstorm 1. Pacific Rift sold less and Apocalypse was a bomb. Driveclub was also a bomb, didn't sell except when it was discounted to $10. Just didn't make money back.

It wasn't the same company as in the PS2 days either.

The series had reached 6M in 2012, those were considered really good numbers back then, even for a series.

MotorStorm Series Sells Over 6 Million Units

Road to victory

www.pushsquare.com

 

[TheGodfather07]

The only game they made that sold decent was Motorstorm 1. Pacific Rift sold less and Apocalypse was a bomb. Driveclub was also a bomb, didn't sell except when it was discounted to $10. Just didn't make money back.

It wasn't the same company as in the PS2 days either.

Did uncharted sell 15m copies straight away? I'm pretty sure the first one didn't sell that well. If it's all about sales, then why do media molecule still exist? Also, the type of game motorstorm was factors into the sales expectations. It was always gonna have a low ceiling. Sony were way too hasty to close evolution studios. I'm sure they had their reasons but looking from the outside, it seemed harsh.

 

[GymWolf]

That’s like expecting Naughty Dog to be shutdown after their GaaS game got cancelled.

Sony isn’t that timid.

bend is also nowhere near nd in term of prestige, they are not as untouchable as them.

 

[GymWolf]

People really think that Sony had no influencie whatsoever in Bend and Bluepoint starting Gaas Mp projects ? Really ? .... I just dont believe that, sorry ... dont even @me there is no way you can convince me that this projects werent in some shape or form heavily influenced by Sony at the time of their inception.

"Thats not what Sony do" .. lol like Sony this gen has been doing anything they "normally do"...

People thinking that bluepoint dream project was a gaas based on gow and sony didn't forced that shit on them must be joking or they are playing the naive card.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Good point.

I hope Bend goes back to making a new Uncharted game. It’s a shame to see that IP not being used

Bend taking over Uncharted makes a ton of sense if Naughty Dog is done with the franchise. It's a win win for everyone.

 

[GymWolf]

We already had 5 uncharted and the next is gonna have the fucking daughter as protagonist, let the brand rest for at least another 5 years or more.

Make them doing dg2 or something new where they can apply what they learned with dg.

 

[DannyDanger]

If Sony keeps trying to make what I call "California Shooters" like Concord/Marathon they have no chance... Get back to the manly shit

 

[Bernardougf]

We already had 5 uncharted and the next is gonna have the fucking daughter as protagonist, let the brand rest for at least another 5 years or more.

Make them doing dg2 or something new where they can apply what they learned with dg.

Another girl boss lead ? SOLD!

 

[GymWolf]

Another girl boss lead ? SOLD!

And they are gonna call it ungendered 5.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Did uncharted sell 15m copies straight away? I'm pretty sure the first one didn't sell that well. If it's all about sales, then why do media molecule still exist? Also, the type of game motorstorm was factors into the sales expectations. It was always gonna have a low ceiling. Sony were way too hasty to close evolution studios. I'm sure they had their reasons but looking from the outside, it seemed harsh.

The first Uncharted sold 5 million copies and reviewed really well. The Uncharted games continued to review well and continued to sell better and better. Motorstorm sold almost half of that and each iteration sold less and each interation reviewed worse and DriveClub was a disaster project, selling significant worse than Motorstorm and was the worst reviewed game for the studio.

There was nothing "harsh" about closing Evolution studios. The team went on to make onrush for Codemasters and that also failed.

Sony has been pretty adept at closing studios. The teams rarely go on to make great things afterward. Their biggest misses are the studios they didn't buy like FromSoftware and Sanzaru Games, but outside of From, they don't really have many big misses either. Maybe Arrowhead if it come down to it.

 

[Bernardougf]

I doubt Sony said you have to make a live service project. I believe Sony criteria for greenlighting live sevice vs single player are different. So a studio presents a live service project and Sony is more likely to take a risk and sign off since they're a crapshoot anyways in terms if they are a success if we're being honest. But its up to the studio if they want to make that kind of game or not.

Well as I said, in same way shape of form there was heavy influence by Sony, and as you said it, maybe a live service project had much more chance of being greenlighted, so this alone can cause you to risk something you shouldn't be doing it, "I going to the boss to ask for money, any suggestions??? " "dont even think about pitching a single player game, they are over this stuff, only the big boys can make them" ..... anyway we may never know the truth about it, I just cant believe that this was Bluepoint dream project without any restrictions. Even more for Bend... but no point in arguing something we cant possibly really know.

Now... see.. Concord was a project chosen and exectued almost entirely without Sony imput ... it failed.. the studio is gone, no chance, bye bye.

Bend and Bluepoint.. probably should face the same fate, specially Bend, IF the situation was the same the risk should be the same..... if they did what they wanted to do, and failed miserably... but if the situation is not the same, and this projects were somehow imposed on them... and now Sony is seing the fuck up this strategy was.. I can see they getting another chance doing something they WANT to do.

 

[bitbydeath]

bend is also nowhere near nd in term of prestige, they are not as untouchable as them.

Not as high but they are up there.

 

[GymWolf]

Not as high but they are up there.

Not sure how you can reach that conclusion but ok.

They are NOWHERE NEAR nd in term of prestige or untouchability.

Their resume is night and day, their average scores are night and day, their sales are night and day, but sure they are up there with the best sony studio

 

[SSfox]

Hermen's head need to be cut off

 

[bitbydeath]

Not sure how you can reach that conclusion but ok.

They are NOWHERE NEAR nd in term of prestige or untouchability.

Their resume is night and day, their average scores are night and day, their sales are night and day, but sure they are up there with the best sony studio

You give ND far too much credit.
-They have a failed GaaS
-TLOU2 got poor reception, so much so they pushed TLOU3 back which will now struggle to release ahead of the show.
-There next game has also been received poorly so far.

Bend at least has Days Gone to fall back on, along with the movie and remaster on the way.

 

[GymWolf]

You give ND far too much credit.
-They have a failed GaaS
-TLOU2 got poor reception, so much so they pushed TLOU3 back which will now struggle to release ahead of the show.
-There next game has also been received poorly so far.

Bend at least has Days Gone to fall back on, along with the movie and remaster on the way.

The planet earth give them too much credit, it is a fact that their resume, sales and average scores are way higher than bend.

Tlou2 was controversial but it also won some goty prices and it has 93 on mc.

Sorry dude, you can't win this debate, i also like days gone more than 95% of the latest nd games, but my personal opinion is nothing compared to actual facts, and you can definitely quantify scores, sales and prestige.

Btw, bend literally has a failed gaas aswell.

 

[John Wick]

Bend Studios should really be thanking management counting their lucky ass stars.

- On the payroll since DG
- Wastes everyone's time and money making a game that gets cancelled
- Will need another 4-5 years to make a new game (which would be PS6 territory)
- So by the time the game comes out, they missed then entire PS5 era releasing no products

Great place to work. Cash & Coast. Where do I sign up?

This stupidity is down to Sony not Bend. Why didn't they let Bend make DG2? It was Sony insisting on live service games. Now after 4 years they cancel their game why? Your making yourself seem just as clueless blaming Bend because their employer has shit the bed after Concord.
Wake up Sony

 

[John Wick]

So did I get this right? Sony red-lighted a Days Gone sequel, forced Bend Studios to make some stupid live service game instead, and now (6 years later) they're canceling that live service game?

Are Sony executives completely insane or something?

How can the people making decisions at any company be so incompetent?

They invested hundreds of millions into Concord.
Prevented Bend from starting development on a Days Gone sequel, that would have shipped around now, if it had been in development.
And now they're canceling the game they killed DG2 to make. That's just insane.

The people who made those decisions literally threw a billion dollars in the trash. Because after 6 years of development probably hundreds of millions were wasted on a cancelled GAAS, and DG2 was lost, which could have made them hundreds of millions right now, if it had been green-lit.

Yep Sony execs in a nutshell for you. They were clamouring for live service games. The money they would generate. Then Concord hit. The rest is history. Sony deserve every bit of this karma. They abandoned making great games to chase cash cows. This is the result. Well deserved.
Just imagine the games we could have had by now by ND, Bluepoint and Bend etc if greed wasn't the primary factor???

 

[Humdinger]

Why? When they see the likes of other studios like Rare or BGS having more security in terms of income instead of risk of their next big release failing why wouldn't the studio want the same too?
Rare was not know for live service either but now that's all they survive on.

I didn't say it was inconceivable, just implausible. Anything is possible, of course, but the idea that Bend and Bluepoint (SP-specialized studios) would both choose - independent of Sony's wishes/incentives - to go all-in on a type of game they have zero experience in making is implausible, to put it mildly. We know the context in which these choices were made. Sony was chomping at the bit for GaaS games and would've encouraged/incentivized that choice.

 

[Three]

I didn't say it was inconceivable, just implausible. Anything is possible, of course, but the idea that Bend and Bluepoint (SP-specialized studios) would both choose - independent of Sony's wishes/incentives - to go all-in on a type of game they have zero experience in making is implausible.

But Rare had zero experience with GaaS too. Neither did BGS. I can very much see them looking at other studios and the financial stability they might be seeing and chasing that as a plausible choice of their own. Not even necessarily exclusively but multiple ongoing projects.

 

[Z O N E]

See you in about 5 years when next gen come around Bend, with your original IP... if Sony allows you to last that long.

 

[Humdinger]

But Rare had zero experience with GaaS too. Neither did BGS. I can very much see them looking at other studios and the financial stability they might be seeing and chasing that as a plausible choice of their own. Not even necessarily exclusively but multiple ongoing projects.

I can see that happening as part of their rationale for doing it, yeah - after it was clear to them that Sony would grease the wheels for a GaaS project but not so much for an SP game. They would look to SP studios that had beaten the odds and managed to make it work, just to keep their morale up. (BGS's first foray into GaaS, Fallout 76, was a disaster and laughing stock for years). I would do the same. You have to do what you can to feel good about what you're working on, even if it's not exactly your dream job.

But I am nearly certain that Sony incentivized their decision to go in that direction. Given that they are Sony studios, Bend and Bluepoint knew which way the wind was blowing. They followed the incentives and responded to the desires of the company. No surprise there.

Like GymWolf said above, think about Bluepoint. They had been tasked for decades with remaking other people's games. Now they are finally let off the leash and given the opportunity to do something of their own. How plausible is it that, in their heart of hearts, what Bluepoint really dreamed of was developing a God of War GaaS game? Not only would that be a type of game they had no experience in (making it very risky as a first project), it would also be just another iteration of someone else's game, not something original.

 

[Ridicululzz]

Will the cool shit actually see the light of day though