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Kotaku: Firewalk Studios and Concord heads had a 'too good to fail mentality'
Angry_Megalodon
Member
And this is why none of those guys should be "relocated". They are all rotten apples. Let them burn.
hemo memo
You can't die before your death
Senior management usually have no filter and say whatever's on their mind. But this time, they were all quiet?
Nikodemos
Member
Senior management were the ones who started the "too good to fail", "we're in this together", "we're doers, not talkers" etc. train.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
we need more. We need to compensate for the people ignoring this massive historic failure.
This catastrophic failure is positive on so many levels. However, the aspect of the game's direction and dismissing any criticism as 'white noise' is what I find most satisfying....Complete Market Rejection.
Sony and the leadership at this studio faced unprecedented humiliation. There is no spin or damage control.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
Over the years, I have been convinced that the topic of DEI, 'woke' ideology, etc., is actually real, and that there are people in positions of power pushing this agenda at the expense of the product and consumers in order to appeal to an elusive market they’ve created in their minds (as part of the mainstream audience).
It's clear to me that the leadership at the studio and the producers at PlayStation were deliberately pushing this aspect. an echo chamber of "higher moral values"
Fake
Member
'Too good to fail'
By who? They put their mommies to play and evaluate the game or something?
Those guys live inside a fucking bubble.
400m...
Starts to make a lot of fucking sense. Holy shit.
By who? They put their mommies to play and evaluate the game or something?
Those guys live inside a fucking bubble.
400m...
Starts to make a lot of fucking sense. Holy shit.
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ChorizoPicozo
Member
another one
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
That’s was obvious. They thought the game was so good it was a secret from everyone until they finally revealed it 3 months from launch.
Who needs feedback or beta tests early in the year?
The founding employees are all shooter vets and the smartest people ever!
Who needs feedback or beta tests early in the year?
The founding employees are all shooter vets and the smartest people ever!
Revolutionary
Member
Bojji
Gold Member
Toxic positivity vs honest criticism
The likes of Ryan and Herman have done unfathomable damage. Herman is not fit to be in his position
He was horrified by how annoying the kid was?
Giallo Corsa
Member
Herman has got to go
Aenima
Member
I mentioned this before. Thers this thing among western devs that they see themselves above criticism, and when players call them out they attack the players with "bigots", "phobes", "cisms" white privelege, etc ,etc, not to mention the hundreds activists that infiltrated the videogame industry but hate gamers, especially if they are white and males. Literally they treat they potencial costumers like trash, forgeting that the players are the ones with the money that will ensure they have a job for a next project. Meanwhile in Asia thers this oposite mentality when the devs do everething they can to please they players.
Luckly the players "woke" up and started voting with they wallets and now all these activists sucking the joy out of games are starting to feel the pain. I have absolute no simpaty for anyone that loses a job while working in the videogame industry at the same time they go on twitter say they hate gamers. Get rekt.
Luckly the players "woke" up and started voting with they wallets and now all these activists sucking the joy out of games are starting to feel the pain. I have absolute no simpaty for anyone that loses a job while working in the videogame industry at the same time they go on twitter say they hate gamers. Get rekt.
Edgelord79
Gold Member
At least the name was apt. Just like the concord, it cost reams of money to make and crashed quickly. They never made another.
Eerily prescient.
Eerily prescient.
MayauMiao
Member
Its the classic Emperor Has No Clothes story where everyone was convinced everything was fine within the Firewalk Studios castle until the game starts showing up in public.
My guess is the ex-Firewalk employee being sourced likely said the number, but napkin-mathed it or barely knew anything about the hard finances of the operation.
Would take it with a grain of salt.
Buggy Loop
Member
What??? and be cancelled because the artists go to HR and claim they are bullies and now have PTSD from the nasty comment a Sony manager said?
That's what happened
Culture of silence
Now most likely many many studios are infected by this. DEI hires everywhere.
Concord is the tip of the iceberg, I tell ya.
Kotaku can fuck off btw. They are part of the problem.
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cripterion
Member
Indeed. These guys are a blight in the gaming space. In my opinion only good during the Myth games and that's it.
MayauMiao
Member
1,982 people was said to be working on this game and those outside contractors don't come cheap too even if they are part of Sony studios "family".
MayauMiao
Member
Kind of ironic that a Senior Reporter from Kotaku knows something about toxic positivity.
StereoVsn
Member
You should see schools and universities now days. Grade inflation to the wazoo.
genesisblock
Member
According to the video the 400 million does not include the purchase of the studio.
StereoVsn
Member
Labor in China, Korea or even Japan is a lot cheaper vs Seattle. Not to mention benefits, office rental and so on.
Plus it seems a lot of cost was outside contractors or other Sony studios.
Dacvak
No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
This is not categorically true. I currently work at a pretty progressive organization, and I have no issues offering or receiving criticism. I’m a white dude and I’ve never been negatively labeled like that. We support good ideas, and shit on bad ideas all the time. Just to play a bit of devil’s advocate, here.
Toxic positivity vs honest criticism
The likes of Ryan and Herman have done unfathomable damage. Herman is not fit to be in his position
Where’s this from? I need to read the whole thing
nkarafo
Member
DEI environments are filled with narcissists.
swaffles23
Member
What a bomb. Fairgame$ is fucked
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Too good to fail? feels like spin and not addressing the real issues? The game was so plagued by agendas and the leaders modern views that they refused to listen to anything. Not a question of being 'too good' its about being to stuck up and righteous in your believes. Wasn't this their first game? how can they be too good at anything.
I call bullshit and it's a puff piece ignoring the real issues here and we all know whay they are.
I call bullshit and it's a puff piece ignoring the real issues here and we all know whay they are.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Whats dumb is that the evil white dude is going to be their largest money spending audience. It should be the last one to piss off.
And even dumber, these wacky devs should all look in the mirror because every western wokey dev touting political BS are mostly made of of white people. And still mostly guys too. Just check out any company photo of them all standing in the lobby and I'd ballpark 90% are white people, and probably 70-80% guys. That skew is way beyond the US demographic of gender and ethnic background.
So not surprisingly, the people who tout bullshit are actually the bullshitters to start it off. A McDonalds in the middle of Idaho probably has more diversity working the fryers and cash registers.
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Gambit2483
Member
Sony to Firewalk
digital_ghost
Member
Im schizophrenic and even i don't have delusions that bad.
ProtoByte
Weeb Underling
Lmao, gtfo. There's no shot. I'm gonna keep coping about this: It must've been the long-term allocated budget for all of the post-launch support. Right?
Fess
Member
Spot on. Ends up as a bubble of yes sayers. Goes for any closed bubble, especially politically driven. Everyone who isn’t inside the bubble can see the problems but nobody think it’s worth mention it because of how aggressive those inside usually are if you’re critical.
Here we have platform bubbles. Elsewhere it’s woke. Can be left/right politics. Religions. Free speech is great but rare unless you like getting lashed at.
geary
Member
At what point is the CEOs of the publishers are gonna step in? When they get a status of a project they have to realize in what direction is goining…They seem to not care about the finacial result of the project. In this case i am talking about the Sony higher-ups…Independency of a studio is one thing, burning money is another.
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havoc00
Member
Thats the "professor" muthafucka show some respect.
Nickolaidas
Member
I'll take it one step further and say that people need to be shamed and ridiculed in order to understand when their choices/lifestyle are taking them down a path they shouldn't be taking.
Case in point, Lizzo.
Can't wait for Kotaku to call Eve an amazing deep character and a symbol for empowering women everywhere when Stellar Blade 2 comes out.
Icymanipulator
Member
Hubris
leizzra
Member
Toxic positivity is a problem of many studios, especially those with corporation structures. When you try to speak about problems you are being ignored. If you try hard then they’ll push you out from the company. It’s very short sighted approach and destructive but this is how corporations work. There aren’t any problems just challenges, etc.
I know at least few studios that are like that, some of them are beloved by gamers.
I know at least few studios that are like that, some of them are beloved by gamers.
Gambit2483
Member
Toxic positivity is a product of feminism or more specifically women.
I hate to say it but (alot of, not all) women are more worried about their "feelings" and "emotions" to handle genuine criticism, constructive or otherwise. So they create "safe spaces", echo chambers and bubbles to protect them and their feelings from outside criticism and differing opinions.
It wouldn't be so bad if they left this thinking to their personal lives, but no...they brought it into their professional lives where millions of dollars and thousands of livelihoods are on the line.