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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida has been sharing quite a few insights on the games industry since his departure from Sony. Among them, he says it might be time for Sony to reconsider its adherence to cutting-edge graphics.

In an interview with AVWatch (translated via Genki_JPN), Yoshida said it's time for PlayStation to reconsider its focus.

"Up until now, PlayStation's DNA has been driven by values such as 'cutting-edge graphics' that have continued since [Ken Kutaragi]'s time," Yoshida said. "Users have also expected that from PlayStation games. However, it's about time we have to reconsider that.

"Of course, I think it's necessary to provide the very best (in terms of graphics quality) to those who want it," Yoshida continued. "But, in order to continue to be popular with users in a broad sense, we naturally have to change our way of thinking."

There's little doubt that games like Horizon Forbidden West, Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us Part 2, or other major Sony exclusives have put a lot of focus into graphical fidelity. Yet Yoshida's comments indicate it might be time to reconsider approach.

Whether that's a focus on relatively smaller experiences like Astro Bot, or a complete pivot to lo-fi or stylized graphics, it's not suggested. But with the price of making a big, AAA game like those in Sony's stable seemingly only going up, fresh approaches might be welcome.

Former Sony Exec Says It's About Time For PlayStation to Reconsider Its Focus on Cutting-Edge Graphics - IGN

Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida has been sharing quite a few insights on the games industry since his departure from Sony. Among them, he says it might be time for Sony to reconsider its adherence to cutting-edge graphics.

www.ign.com

 

[Punished Miku]

He's right but good luck. They've created a monster in their own userbase and their expectations.

 

[Shaki12345]

Most of the PS fans I know like to brag about their "powerful system". So, I'm not sure if it's a good idea.

But maybe then Sony can actually produce some games for once.

 

[Loomy]

There's nothing wrong with their 5 year AAA bleeding edge graphics games. What they need is to invest in some studios that can make 2-3 year AA games to bridge the gap.

 

[dDoc]

Agree.

Nice graphics should be icing on the gameplay cake.

 

[bender]

The tricky part is that is what the majority of their studios excel at along with taking well worn design philosophies/gaming mechanics and polishing them to a shine, but most of their games are propped up with their best-in-class presentation.

 

[hemo memo]

Gameplay is king. Always has been.

 

[K' Dash]

It looks like Shu agrees that their games have become a shell of eye candy with nothing inside.

 

[Efren is G.O.A.T.]

I like pretty graphics as much as anyone else but he's not wrong.

If reducing the emphasis on cutting edge graphics can result in shorter dev time and reduced costs I'm all for it. Studios should be able to have the luxury of trying something new or revolutionize a genre and have that idea fail but still have enough funds to work on something else after and not have to fire half the team or close down the studio because they were in a do or die situation.

 

[ProtoByte]

I'm really sick of all these former Sony execs decrying their own legacy and the fanbase's preference. If Shuhei and Layden had such bright ideas about this, why didn't they do it while they were there?

Furthermore, GTFO. We've already slowed down a lot when it comes to graphics tech, despite paying premiums for devices like the PS5 Pro, and no reasonable version of next gen hardware is going to be PS2 levels of cheap EVER AGAIN. Games will likely be 80 bucks on launch, and price drops, particularly for Sony first party games, are not happening nearly as quickly or as low.

Games industry is a luxury of luxuries. Pay your workers an average of six figures not including benefits, spend 6-7 years on a project, and have all the fame and accolades you get from that whilst charging 70 bucks. DO NOT ask me to lower my standards or spend my time on peewee bullshit. If you're not ambitious, gtfo

 

[Puscifer]

Most of the PS fans I know like to brag about their "powerful system". So, I'm not sure if it's a good idea.

But maybe then Sony can actually produce some games for once.

I remember when I joined it seemed like for a year and a half straight there was a thread every week from a person taking a dozen highly curated photos from Forbidden West

 

[OverHeat]

Do it Sony do it.

 

[TheRedRiders]

They haven't been focusing on cutting edge graphics since the start of the PS5 generation, a majority of the Playstation first party titles are using the same engines just with higher settings, and then bolting on one or two ray-tracing features (if we're lucky).

 

[nial]

He's right but good luck. They've created a monster in their own userbase and their expectations.

I don't understand this argument because that userbase was definitely not present when it came to the likes of Sly Cooper or Jak and Daxter. Uncharted and Ghost of Tsushima is what brought a new audience for first-party titles.
PS5's userbase is already big as it is, and you obviously won't target everyone with every single title. Helldivers just looks fine enough, and it sold >6M units on PS5 alone in just a few months.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

They haven't been focusing on cutting edge graphics since the start of the PS5 generation, a majority of the Playstation first party titles are using the same engines just with higher settings, and then bolting on one or two ray-tracing features (if we're lucky).

thats the point.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

The graphical evolution of games is approaching the end.

Development costs can't keep going up, expect the same quality graphics with additions provided by the hardware like resolution, frame rate and ray-path tracing.

 

[Ceadeus]

He's right but good luck. They've created a monster in their own userbase and their expectations.

You said it, that's also my thought. The only way I can see these game being made faster and to look better is to quit making open world. So much resources go into these empty world. There has to be a better way

 

[Nankatsu]

Hulst be like:

More DEI focus it is Shu.

 

[Topher]

They had a great balance last gen.

 

[Rentahamster]

I'm really sick of all these former Sony execs decrying their own legacy and the fanbase's preference. If Shuhei and Layden had such bright ideas about this, why didn't they do it while they were there?

Shu didn't do this in the areas he had control over?

 

[TheRedRiders]

thats the point.

Read the article again, his point was that Sony need to shift from chasing bleeding edge visuals in their games to focusing on gameplay, but the truth is they haven't been focused on bleeding edge visuals since the start of the generation. The premise is fundamentally flawed to begin with.

also someone summon SlimySnake in here!

 

[Thief1987]

Why all of these "execs" start to say reasonable things only after they become "former"?

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

Everyone here crying about graphics and a lack of focus on gameplay like Sony didn't just release AstroBot the GOTY last year.



You can have both great graphics and gameplay like AstroBot has proven. Both features aren't mutually exclusive.



I want Sony to keep doing what they are doing. I didn't buy my PS5 to play games that look like they came from the PS3 era. Everytime we get threads about people complaining about graphics being the main focus but most of you MFs live on Digital Foundry videos, analyzing graphics with magnifying glasses

 

[ProtoByte]

Shu didn't do this in the areas he had control over?

He was head of first party for the longest time. Actually, he's the one who ushered in the Uncharted's and the GOW 2018's.

Before that, first party games weren't even selling on the same order of magnitude.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Sony shouldn't focus on the power narrative/graphics for the PS6 (Marketing Wise). But for this to work, they will need games that feel new, exciting, and fresh (including those from Third Parties)

The visual impact of a new brand art direction will make anything feel "next-gen" compared to a "next-gen" iteration of an established IP(Death Stranding)/or a familiar art direction with a new IP (intergalatic).

something like this goes a long way

 

[Fake]

100% agree.

That stupid search for 'RayTracing' is costing Sony year after years of dev time. Not to mention most of the playstation users pick the performance mode than RT quality mode.

 

[nial]

Hulst be like:

More DEI focus it is Shu.

The Hermen pushes DEI fanfic is incredibly funny when you realize that he greenlit Stellar Blade for Sony.

Shu didn't do this in the areas he had control over?

He was the general manager of WWS up until November 2019, and we were seeing the projects he greenlit up until last year with Rise of the Ronin and Concord.

 

[Rentahamster]

He was head of first party for the longest time. Actually, he's the one who ushered in the Uncharted's and the GOW 2018's.

Before that, first party games weren't even selling on the same order of magnitude.

How is that at odds with the quotes? It sounds like he's saying he acknowledges those past accomplishments, but Sony should still try to diversify and not be stuck as a one trick pony.

 

[GHG]

100% agree.

That stupid search for 'RayTracing' is costing Sony year after years of dev time. Not to mention most of the playstation users pick the performance mode than RT mode.

Which first party games even have RT?

 

[Sethbacca]

I've been posting for a while now that they should be focusing on artistic direction and style over simply brute forcing realism. It doesn't need to look real to look amazing.

 

[adamsapple]

Which first party games even have RT?

 

[QLQ]

It's been a trend widespread across the whole industry not just Sony. I mean, have you seen the brain-dead AI in Indiana Jones and the great circle? So much work for the nice illumination, models and textures, but then the game plays worse than the first Splinter.Cell.

 

[OverHeat]

Which first party games even have RT?

Spiderman Rachet etc

 

[Moses85]

 

[Thief1987]

Which first party games even have RT?

Beside insomniac's nothing, I think

 

[GHG]

Spiderman Rachet etc

Well that's the point, the games that do have RT haven't suffered scheduling issues.

Spiderman, GT7 and ratchet all arrived in good time. Which doesn't point towards RT (specifically) being the issue.

 

[Fake]

Which first party games even have RT?

Quality mode normally use RT, no?

And PS5 is not quite good with RT.

Yoshida probably know that. The promisse of fusion between performance and quality was the selling point of PS5pro.

 

[FeralEcho]

Seriously...I love amazing graphics but when does it end? When studios take 20 years to develop a game just because there HAS to be pores on a horse's balls that the player sees maybe 0.1% of their playtime?

Just stop it with the hyperrealism and start focusing on AI,animation,art,game design...you know those very important things that 90% of the industry's studios ignore with a passion.

 

[Heisenberg007]

He's right but good luck. They've created a monster in their own userbase and their expectations.

You're saying as if high standards are a problem.

Gamers spend $60 / $70 for half-baked stuff like Avengers or Starfield and also pay $60 / $70 for high-quality stuff like Ghost of Tsushima or God of War. Sony offers more value and PS users receive more value.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Read the article again, his point was that Sony need to shift from chasing bleeding edge visuals in their games to focusing on gameplay, but the truth is they haven't been focused on bleeding edge visuals since the start of the generation. The premise is fundamentally flawed to begin with.

your understanding of the premise is what is flawed . Your perception of this:

"they haven't been focused on bleeding edge visuals since the start of the generation."

its is because those bleeding-edge, visually impressive games take 6 years (or more) to make.

games that started pre/production in 2020-2021 (at the start of the generation) are about to release in the next couple of years. and that is THE FIRST iteration of games on the "next-gen" hardware. The second batch of games will be the truly "Next-gen" ....and the will be cross-gen with the next-gen. That kind of production length is simply not viable unless the console generation lasts like 15 years; it is simply not economically viable.

 

[Loomy]

100% agree.

That stupid search for 'RayTracing' is costing Sony year after years of dev time. Not to mention most of the playstation users pick the performance mode than RT mode.

You do realize that using RT is faster than going in and adding light/shadows/reflections manually, right?

It's why everyone wants to get it working right. Because it will save development time. The dream would be to get to a point where everything can run some level of RT so they don't have to implement both.

 

[SlimySnake]

Read the article again, his point was that Sony need to shift from chasing bleeding edge visuals in their games to focusing on gameplay, but the truth is they haven't been focused on bleeding edge visuals since the start of the generation. The premise is fundamentally flawed to begin with.

also someone summon SlimySnake in here!

 

[QLQ]

Quality mode normally use RT, no?

And PS5 is not quite good with RT.

Yoshida probably know that. The promisse of fusion between performance and quality was the selling point of PS5pro.

RT is not the issue. Everything else related to visual presentation is.

 

[Fake]

You do realize that using RT is faster than going in and adding light/shadows/reflections manually, right?

It's why everyone wants to get it working right. Because it will save development time.

Doesn't matter much when:

- RT on base PS5 sucks
- Most of the playstation users pick performance mode


Sony should focus on bringing more stable 60 fps mode, not in 'graphic fidelity' as Yoshida mention.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

With MS out of the race and Nintendo selling 720p devices in 2025 and beyond, they can now easily dial down the graphics, saving on development while still charging 80 for their games. Stonks go up. Genius

 

[nial]

Doesn't matter much when:

- RT on base PS5 sucks
- Most of the playstation users pick performance mode


Sony should focus on bringing more stable 60 fps mode, not in 'graphic fidelity' as Yoshida mention.

I don't remember any single PlayStation Studios game this generation without a 60fps mode.

 

[Fake]

RT is not the issue. Everything else related to visual presentation is.

Of course it is. Quality mode runs at 30 fps. PS5 shouldn't have problem with 60 fps at all.

At least one of the main problems this generation is raytracing. The others are probably UE options like lumen and nanite. There sure suck console performance.

Devs are struggling with the middle ground. Why they need to make a quality mode and a performance mode at all? Are you saying making those options don't cost dev time/resource?

And is not like you turn RT on and the magic happen. You need to optimize to consoles.

Look, don't ignore the fact that everything in game console today can be dynamic, not only dynamic resolution.

 

[Dorfdad]

He's right but good luck. They've created a monster in their own userbase and their expectations.

I mean if were all going to roll back to switch levels of graphics than Nintendo will eat everyones lunch. They have the IP's. Im sure they are hoping and praying that they all do this.

Also side note this could mean the PS6 will not be as big of a technical jump as people are expecting. It may be to cost prohibitive for them depending on the new design. Maybe they will go handheld now as well for PS6 with a dock and just tweak PSSR to allow PS5 Pro standards for next gen in portable form.

 

[Punished Miku]

I mean if were all going to roll back to switch levels of graphics than Nintendo will eat everyones lunch. They have the IP's. Im sure they are hoping and praying that they all do this.

I agree and have been waiting to see this play out. When PS5 is basically the same as PS4 and Nintendo starts releasing PS4 level games, it will be a very interesting time like we haven't seen since the SNES days.

 

[TheRedRiders]

games that started pre/production in 2020-2021 (at the start of the generation) are about to release in the next couple of years. and that is THE FIRST iteration of games on the "next-gen" hardware. The second batch of games will be the truly "Next-gen" ....and the will be cross-gen with the next-gen.

If we go by this argument then Ghost of Yotei will be Sony's next visual showcase yet from the footage we've seen it looks like a moderate bump over the previous game, I doubt it'll feature any major next-gen visual features either, like RT Global Illumination or a micro-polygon rendering system like Nanite.

I expect Sony first parties to look good, but they will not rival what 3rd party studios are doing, like Ubisoft with Avatar, and AC Shadows and many other titles using things like Unreal Engine 5. Fable looks better than a lot of things we're seeing or will see on PS5. So let's stop with the whole "Sony are chasing bleeding edge visuals" nonsense, because they're clearly not and we haven't seen anything from them which has indicated as such although they're happy to prove me wrong.

This is start contrast to where they were at this point during the PS4 generation.