tldr: media molecule not long for this world; sony game template isincreasingly true; psvr2 wont happen.
a few thoughts on MM:
An easy game creation game is a great idea for a product. But Dreams has three flaws. First, creating with just a controller is a terrible idea. It is as dumb as having PSVR controllers with no analog sticks. And as with PSVR, the control scheme will be its achilles heel. Second, having it on PSN means sony becomes responsible for the content, which means a lot of the cool stuff will be deleted. Finally, Sony is cheap as fuck. MM has 50 staff, including support..so probably only 30 actual developers at most. This is why the game has taken for ever and will never be feature complete, things like psvr support and allowing creation on PC.
I still bought it because I like games that aren't all about killing and critic baiting stories. But I fully expect it to go the way of project Spark.
MM, Sony, and Nintendo type games:
I really wish Sony valued gameplay first games with broad family appeal enough to have a 'Nintendo' division.
They have a few properties like Ratchet, Sly, and the glorious Astrobot; but not enough to cultivate an audience for that style of game. So when they do release a Nintendo game, very few PS owners even look at it. And Nintendo zealots, many of whom work in games media, have an uncontrollable need to savage the product to product their first love.
But yeah, I mean ps all stars (smash-like game) had this line up:
As far as broad appeal, family friendly IP goes...woof.
Sony Strategy and MM Place in It:
Sony's strategy with PlayStation over the last generation has been to relentlessly focus on most profitable areas to the detriment of variety and experimentation. . Or as Sony PR put it when they closed Manchester "focus on operational effectiveness and efficiency"—which in non-jargon means making the most profitable types of games with the least investment possible.
Molecule is from another time when Sony put money into more experimental things because they saw game diversity as important. 2020 Sony would never buy a Media Molecule studio to make console games. Today, sony investment goes to exploitative mobile properties like Fate/Order (highest grossing mobile game of 2019 believe it or not)—they bought AniPlex in order to have access to IPs for that purpose. And they heavily invest in big selling AAA 3rd person action adventure games with large story components.
PSVR has been a bright spot in the drive towards AAA arpg cinematic story game homogenisation. But the closing of Manchester tells me Sony is done. PSVR2, as with a Vita2, requires too investment for too little return. This is just a guess based on my own psvr experience, which involved shit non-analog stick move controllers ruining games and unhooking it and putting it in a corner. Also based on the fact Sony has to compete with the massive investment Facebook is pouring into VR, 500 millions USD into game development alone. If Sony cant compete with tiny Nintendo in handheld, yeah Facebook backed VR....
anyway, if you made it this far cheers.