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[Perrott]

boring walking simulator

generic anime action game #10000

Assasins Creed Shadows 2

Sony First Party output is garbage now

Well, that's one way to make it very clear that you don't like videogames. Why don't you go something else other than displaying your misery on a videogame forum?

People like you remind me of that one poster over at REEEEE, PlanetSmasher, who doesn't like anything but just can't shut the fuck up about it.

 

[Represent.]

Well, that's one way to make it very clear that you don't like videogames. Why don't you go something else other than displaying your misery on a videogame forum?

People like you remind me of that one poster over at REEEEE, PlanetSmasher, who doesn't like anything but just can't shut the fuck up about it.

I like games. Not those ones. Gonna cry? lmao

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Oh wait...

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

But out of curiosity, jump ship to where ?

Retro and Nintendo, maybe Xbox if things become all-digital. And by "jump ship" I simply mean I won't get a PS6, but will keep my PS5 for this gen and last. Not to mention PS5 will still be supported for years in to next gen.

 

[Sakura]

As long as Sony gets 100% of revenue for each digital purchase, they are.

Why would Sony get 100％ the revenue of Death Stranding 2?

 

[Topher]

Why would Sony get 100％ the revenue of Death Stranding 2?

He's talking about the publisher's take from the store sale. If it were third party, the publisher of the game would get 70%. Since Sony is the publisher, they get 100%.

 

[nial]

Why would Sony get 100％ the revenue of Death Stranding 2?

Publisher share is 100% if you're the platform holder, every accounting related to the developer's and maybe support studios' share is an aftermath.

 

[Bulletbrain]

Well, here is the guidance from the Sony earnings presentation.

Sales -3% And operating income (before tariff) +8%. Operating income after tariff pretty much flat with FY24. Net income -13%. For Sony shareholders, I can see these numbers being quite disappointing.

Gaming sales -8%, but operating profit (before tariff) +16%, driven by first party sales.

 

[RoboFu]

They had a good run

 

[onQ123]

Yeah poor PlayStation plans to have the biggest year of profits this year

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Saw the headline and knew exactly who wrote it even before i opened this topic

 

[pacman4000]

Sony has been incredibly mediocre this generation, but you have to be an idiot to say their financial outlook is bleak. They are currently making record revenue and profits, and that is with no AAA first party releases since 2023. Microsoft has all but quit on console hardware and GTA 6 is releasing exclusively next year on consoles. Lastly, the PS5 generation will probably be viable for the next decade. Most gamers won't feel the need to upgrade to their next console or PC that will cost at least 1000 dollars

This is a great summary of what's actually happening. Bloomberg, hire this guy.

 

[ArtHands]

boring walking simulator

generic anime action game #10000

Assasins Creed Shadows 2

.

Sony First Party output is garbage now

edit: 2 of those arent even 1st party

They are trying to learn. Can't be a one trick poly forever so gotta release some GAAS

 

[Killjoy-NL]

If true (and this could very well be bullshit, given that it is Mochizuki), isn't it kinda sad that Sony are so reliant on a third-party game to push their own console? Maybe Sony should sell their business to T2.

That has always been the case though.

 

[Hudo]

That has always been the case though.

Yeah... I don't know why Sony never tried to fix that by puttiing money into their first-party. Well... maybe they thought that they can "fix that" with Concord, Marathon, Fairgame$ et al.... who knows.

 

[awwr999999]

I do think Sony needs to start taking Valve seriously as a competitor.

PlayStation will benefit from moving to Steam's system of 2hr returns on all digital purchases.
Alternatively PSN could just mandate all games have 2hr demos which could be smaller downloads.
That move will put PlayStation on the same moral high ground as Steam with 100% risk free purchases.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Yeah... I don't know why Sony never tried to fix that by puttiing money into their first-party. Well... maybe they thought that they can "fix that" with Concord, Marathon, Fairgame$ et al.... who knows.

They're trying to expand their library to become less reliant on 3rd party.
They already have singleplayer games, but live service/multiplayer is what keeps people engaged in between singleplayer releases.

The business-strategy makes a lot of sense, but getting live service IPs off the ground in a meaningful way obviously isn't easy.

Sony even stated that themselves.

 

[Hudo]

They're trying to expand their library to become less reliant on 3rd party.
They already have singleplayer games, but live service/multiplayer is what keeps people engaged in between singleplayer releases.

The business-strategy makes a lot of sense, but getting live service IPs off the ground in a meaningful way obviously isn't easy.

Sony even stated that themselves.

Well, I hope they will get where they want to be some day.

 

[kazuyamishima]

94m. units sold by end of FY2025.

Are they Doomed or are they DOOMED??

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Well, I hope they will get where they want to be some day.

They're already marketleader, so they have to grow somehow.

 

[Hudo]

They're already marketleader, so they have to grow somehow.

It's pretty easy to be marketleader, then.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

It's pretty easy to be marketleader, then.

Apparently so.

But that wasn't the point. If you were running a business and you were marketleader, you'd be looking for new ways to grow the business as well, right?
Or to come up with ways to keep the position if competitors start to buy up your suppliers?

 

[lh032]

how is this real blow? its not like they totally cancelled gta 6

this silly takeshi boy

 

[Baemono]

it should've been specified in the thread title that it was Mochizuku, not « Bloomberg »

Same applies to Forbes/Paul Tassi

 

[Ar¢tos]

Good!
Might teach them a lesson for forcing every studio to do either GAAS crap or AAA emotional walking simulators (with the exception of Team Asobi and Housemarque).

Managing a failing Bungie for the next 10 years is not enough of a sentence for those things.

Just the thought of talent like Bluepoint being wasted on a GAAS game is enough to make anyone feel sick.

 

[CJ_75]

That's what happens when you try to force GAAS and put your most talented studios on that instead sticking to their strengths.

Nothing wrong in trying something outside of your comfortzone. You might end up doing something great.
It didn't work out for PlayStation but at least they tried.

 

[Msamy]

Cross gen titles, investing on cancelled live service games from major first party studios, buying bungie and forced all first party games to be 60fps with last gen graphics (not all games need to be 60fps look at gta vi) that's what got sony on it's ocurrent position, I don't say that ps5 didn't sell well but it's remaining years is unclear, and the most thing that helped sony this gen is Microsoft withdrawing from competition going as third party .

 

[Ronin_7]

Well, here is the guidance from the Sony earnings presentation.

Sales -3% And operating income (before tariff) +8%. Operating income after tariff pretty much flat with FY24. Net income -13%. For Sony shareholders, I can see these numbers being quite disappointing.

Gaming sales -8%, but operating profit (before tariff) +16%, driven by first party sales.

The numbers show strong results that most companies would love to achieve.
The problem is that global uncertainty has led Sony to provide a cautious outlook, as many factors remain beyond their control.

 

[Ozriel]

It's like they didn't just release the 2024 game of the year Astro Bot. And they didn't drop god of war ragnorock, GT7, Returnal, Horizon 2, ratchet and clank, and spider man 2 this gen. Y'all are super spoiled saying they haven't released system sellers. Crazyness.

Lumping in Returnal and Ratchet as 'system sellers' is quite the reach.

But certainly people need to cut Sony some slack. Their studios like Bend, Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch put out lots of good stuff in 2019/2020 and it takes time to make new games. Insomniac dropped a lot of games too. The GaaS derail may have been the only downer, but there's a staggering amount of third party games to play these days.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Takashi Mochizuki?

Dude's fucking relentless in his Sony hate.

Someone over at Sony must have knocked up his sister or something.... it's the only explanation for his obsessive hate boner.

 

[Cakeboxer]

It's like they didn't just release the 2024 game of the year Astro Bot. And they didn't drop god of war ragnorock, GT7, Returnal, Horizon 2, ratchet and clank, and spider man 2 this gen. Y'all are super spoiled saying they haven't released system sellers. Crazyness.

I don't think any of those is a system seller that made millions buy a PS5. Sony still would get close to PS4 numbers if they hadn't any first party game. GTA VI however will be a system seller.

 

[Clear]

It's pretty easy to be marketleader, then.

By definition that cannot be true because if it was easy for everyone it'd be musical chairs for the top-spot.

I think you need to accept that maybe your interests no longer are aligned with the majority of the market, and therefore your likes and dislikes are decreasingly relevant to the big picture.

Its like the contention that this is the "worst" Playstation generation ever and the management team needs replacing despite it returning the group's best-ever financials... Just because your criteria for "success" are not the ones being met it doesn't mean a thing when the KPI the corporation/markets are relying upon show as positive.

 

[Solarstrike]

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Lumping in Returnal and Ratchet as 'system sellers' is quite the reach.

But certainly people need to cut Sony some slack. Their studios like Bend, Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch put out lots of good stuff in 2019/2020 and it takes time to make new games. Insomniac dropped a lot of games too. The GaaS derail may have been the only downer, but there's a staggering amount of third party games to play these days.

I rarely agree with you, but this is true.

The biggest issue is that games take time. That's the entire reason Sony adapted this gaas strategy, as they want games of their own that keep people engaged in between their major releases.

The point of these gaas titles isn't necessarily to be major hits, it's all about keeping people engaged within their eco-system

That's also likely the main reason they will shift towards MAU instead of sales, because sales aren't much of a problem. The most important aspect is engagement.

 

[Scrawnton]

how is this real blow? its not like they totally cancelled gta 6

this silly takeshi boy

I wouldn't say "doomed" but these big public corporations make financial decisions quarter by quarter or year by year, not much more. If the GTA6 delay leads to no growth or a slight drop in profits (but still profitable), these corporations have to do something to show improvement so their stock value doesn't drop. There are two ways to show improvement: lay people off or charge more for current products.

I would imagine Sony would want to avoid having to do either of those two options above, but GTA6 being pushed out of this fiscal year definitely presents them with some financial issues they will have to account for to still show growth.

 

[Audiophile]

When PS4 was about to come out everyone was saying "consoles are dead", "the future of gaming is mobile", "no one's got time for big cinematic games", "people are over it". Then Sony doubled down, realised where their bread is buttered and PS4 was a massive success, they proved all of those people wrong.

Going into PS5 they pulled a 180 and were bewitched by the shiny live service scene and by the cross-gen cash left on the table, they couldn't help themselves. The core audience still bought in as they trusted Sony would still deliver where it matters. They're riding the brand and the goodwill earned by the PS4.

Yet I as a core PlayStation gamer sold my PS5 3yrs ago and will only be jumping back in for GTAVI & DS2. My brother sold his PS5 not long after and is now on PC. My friends, acquaintances, family members, even old co-workers I've spoken to, half of them have sold on or not bothered with this gen at all while the other half are just going through the motions; but the consensus among all of them is they were massively let down this gen and they're probably not gonna bother with the next. I don't know a single person who is remotely happy with it and many of them were core console gamers that were either PlayStation from the off or converted back because of the PS4 gen. Then online, while I see those who are fine with things as they are, the bulk of discourse seems to be from those who are very unhappy with it and that the consensus is generally that this is by far the worst generation we've had for its time. No doubt, negativity is louder, but I never saw this level of disappointment with PS4.

We're five years in and this generation doesn't really feel like it's been defined, like it has any identity, or like it's even started. And we're still in a drought because Sony focused half their resources on crap few people want and when they do release games they just feel like PS4 games with a coat of paint. I'm not even against GAAS as a concept, but it needs a measured, thoughtful approach, this however has been clusterfuck. Their only success is Helldivers, a reinvention of a small game they were lucky to have the publishing/exclusive rights to a decade ago.

So many people have been burned by this gen and unless Sony really show up and make a compelling case going in to PS6, I don't know if so many people will fall for it again. And with it the well of services money may begin to slip too. They really need to step up otherwise I think there's a rude awakening on the horizon. I wouldn't be surprised if the allure of a prolonged cross-gen is too much for them again and PS6 also ends up with a lack of identity as a result while few people end up feeling compelled to switch, PS5 will be enough for many people in that case.

 

[Woopah]

boring walking simulator

generic anime action game #10000

Assasins Creed Shadows 2

.

Sony First Party output is garbage now

edit: 2 of those arent even 1st party

Death Stranding 2 is first party, just like the first one was.

Yeah... I don't know why Sony never tried to fix that by puttiing money into their first-party. Well... maybe they thought that they can "fix that" with Concord, Marathon, Fairgame$ et al.... who knows.

They did try and fix in the late PS3/PS4 era when they built up their first party. You're right that the GAAS investment was also part of that.

I don't think any of those is a system seller that made millions buy a PS5. Sony still would get close to PS4 numbers if they hadn't any first party game. GTA VI however will be a system seller.

God of War and Spiderman are big enough to be system sellers.

 

[Throttle]

On the flip side, they might rethink increasing prices to 80 moneys until next gen.

 

[wolffy66]

You guys look at this article as too much about the success of Playstation and not enough about stock investment.

Its not saying PS5 isn't successful it's about investing in Sony stock vs other options for the near future.

You're not gonna buy stock in Sony because you're expecting a big revenue jump from GTA if the game is delayed right. Idk, just some perspective I guess.

 

[damidu]

oh god, this moron again!
do we know yet which sony exec killed his family?

 

[TrebleShot]

Sony is firmly in their Apple post Jobs era.

Release crap that doesnt change much for extreme prices and sell multi millions of them. General public associates games with playstation and they have won that mindshare.

So they will do bare minimum , it will be functional and good to a point but dont expect anything innovative or risky that tries to be different like theu used to.

Its just about appeasing investors and making sure profits are stable if not better.

Its just Apple. Boring, functional and expensive but wildly popular.

 

[Cakeboxer]

God of War and Spiderman are big enough to be system sellers.

The name Spider-Man maybe, but i don't think GoW 2 was. The system was a GoW 2 seller would be more fitting.

 

[Astray]

So many people have been burned by this gen and unless Sony really show up and make a compelling case going in to PS6, I don't know if so many people will fall for it again. And with it the well of services money may begin to slip too. They really need to step up otherwise I think there's a rude awakening on the horizon. I wouldn't be surprised if the allure of a prolonged cross-gen is too much for them again and PS6 also ends up with a lack of identity as a result while few people end up feeling compelled to switch, PS5 will be enough for many people in that case.

This is a point that a lot of us are forgetting, it isn't solely about this gen, every console generation is also a promise for the next gen. Sony did excellent business this gen delivering on sequels of PS4 fare, but they basically made no new checks they can cash in for PS6.

But there's a counter-point to this too.. Any normie who plays things like FIFA or COD or Fortnite or Destiny etc gravitates to Playstation first and foremost. Not just for ease of use and cheap access, but also to avoid cheaters (which is a RAMPANT problem for the big games, to the point where companies are finding cheat makers and suing them). This normie consumer is outnumbering people like us 10:1 or even 20:1.

The name Spider-Man maybe, but i don't think GoW 2 was. The system was a GoW 2 seller would be more fitting.

GOW Ragnarok was literally in a bundle that sold millions of machines for Sony post-COVID scarcity and contributed to their best HW sales year ever.

WTF are you even on about?

 

[Neo_game]

They are relying too much on third party games. I think both astro bot are their best games this gen. They released couple of Spiderman's as well which is their most important game now. They are really hoping something like Fortnite or some Gaas game to work which seems unlikely. They wasted lot of time and money in Gaas.

 

[Cakeboxer]

GOW Ragnarok was literally in a bundle that sold millions of machines for Sony post-COVID scarcity and contributed to their best HW sales year ever.

WTF are you even on about?

That bundle was the only chance to get a PS5 for months (also FW).

 

[Astray]

That bundle was the only chance to get a PS5 for months (also FW).

Dude countless people would buy a PS5 for GOW.

It sold like gangbusters and still continues to sell today. Again, wtf are you on about?

 

[Cakeboxer]

Dude countless people would buy a PS5 for GOW.

It sold like gangbusters and still continues to sell today. Again, wtf are you on about?

Yeah, whatever makes you happy man.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Sony is firmly in their Apple post Jobs era.

Release crap that doesnt change much for extreme prices and sell multi millions of them. General public associates games with playstation and they have won that mindshare.

So they will do bare minimum , it will be functional and good to a point but dont expect anything innovative or risky that tries to be different like theu used to.

Its just about appeasing investors and making sure profits are stable if not better.

Its just Apple. Boring, functional and expensive but wildly popular.

Can't hate on this opinion since it's mostly accurate Treble...

Regarding the "safe" and "boring" bets now, man, there's just no way I'll subject myself again to games like GOW Panderok, Horizon HW etc (and I haven't even played the Spiderman games) since everything feels so safe, so predictable, so boring, so...soulless that i just can't anymore.
I'm all for the typical PS cinematic experience® but not like this ffs.

On the other hand...these games cost them almost half a billion dollars man so it's obvious why they aren't taking any risks - i wouldn't risk it either, problem is, they've been losing money since this GaaS initiative of theirs isn't working as expected (so far that is), Concord died prematurely, Marathon seems like it's DOA, and Fairgames is most probably gonna follow, so, what's next for them ?

Personally, I'd want them to return to doing what they were good at and that's good, single player focused games - and they don't even have to be 70+ hours of padded boredom like GOW Ragna, just some solid, 20-30 hours of gameplay would do.

 

[darrylgorn]

 

[Horseganador]

Of course another article by Mochizuki, It doesn't surprise me that Playstation haters support him even if he lies, Playstation is better than ever, financially it has the highest income and benefits in its history and in the coming years it will be even better, investors have little to worry about, in terms of games they have everything multi (GTAVI, Wukong, etc ...) agreements with Asian studios for temporary exclusives (Stellar Blade, FF7 Rebirth, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Lost soul aside, etc ...) they have their first (Astrobot, DS2, Ghost of Yotei, Saros, etc ...) and on top of that it has the first Xbox ones too (Doom, FH5, Gears, etc ...) the most complete catalog, I understand the anger with the garbage of the gaas and the money and time wasted on them but reducing everything to that is not either.