Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki says PlayStation is reforming currently their gaming business

Agree with this they need to make a shorter window to maximize PC sales. With Helldivers and Wukong I'm sure they have seen the potential.
they have certainly seen it, but they're also sabotaging their own success with forced PSN account requirements.
 
classic strategy of someone who is unable to follow the conversation.

i will try one more time:

Sony's rate of success with their single player games has been insane...what does that tell you?

That they are pretty good at making this types of games.

What is sony's rate of success with GaaS.... fucking abismal.

the amount of budget only matters by the amount of revenue/profits you are able to generate.

would it be nice to make more profit by reducing the budget? Of course. But you're not going to magically slice $100M off the budget.

this why i gave you the Spider-Man example.

meaning: Their single player blockbusters games are going to still cost between 150-250M. Cost reduction will be around 10-30M at best.
Thanks you finally decided to talk.
My man, no one argues that those projects are not successful, but Sony wants to improve their profitability. And sure, a 30M cost reduction may not seem like much, but it all adds up and it will help soften the risk for big budget new IPs.
And it's not all about individual projects, but PlayStation Studios production as a whole. Sony has already said that they want to invest in much less costly places, increase outsourcing work (like Rise of the Ronin and Stellar Blade) and look for co-development opportunities where possible (like LEGO Horizon Adventures).
Low-risk projects like Astro Bot (which you seem to be convinced that it's a failure) ate also ways to reach and and build new audiences for SIE, they're nothing but good for their business, if successful; and Sony already said Astro Bot is.
Sony has spent closer to 5B on the GaaS initiative... and completely failed. CONSEQUENCES .

thus:
The GAAS initiative isn't even done yet, like, are we seriously doubting the potential of a multiplayer co-op Horizon game?
Considering how against you seem to not just its GAAS projects, but stuff like Astro Bot as well; it really looks like you want Sony to ONLY focus on its big blockbusters. And you know, that's not how you get Stellar Blade.
 
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I hope and pray that it also has something to do with removing there tie up and and no more influence from Black rock and SBI. And back to focusing on single player exclusives.
 
Helldivers 2 sold 12M copies.

Astro Bot sold 1.5M copies.
Stellar Blade sold 1+M copies.
Rise of the Ronin sold ~1M copies?

Apparently, Wukong made up for a large part of Concord, so that's a non-argument.

Edit:

Concord is definitely a factor in this restructure.
Stellar, Rise and Wukong. Sony was able to use these third party games (directly/indirectly) for its benefit. thanks to what?:

Sony being a successful platform holder. (which i think is not the topic of this discussion)

note: we can argue that Stellar was second-party... let's not derail this. Stellar was being made without Sony, unlike helldivers 2. This is a comment about Sony leveraging its position as a platform holder to secure deals.
but i think we all can agree that Concord and by extension the GaaS initiative has been a big pain in the ass for sony. and as a Publisher, they would be in big trouble.
 
Good, shelf the PC initiative and concentrate on adding value to your platform. Plus realocate from San Fran back to Tokyo and remove any DEI personnels and ideologies.

You are welcome.

the GaaS effect ladies and gentlemen. (yes only two). that initiative fucked them up really good

In other words, GAAS and wokey people cuts coming.
People forget that the game that sold most copies tries gen published by Sony as HellDivers 2 (12ml), and 60% of sales came from PC, probably cost of development was also quite small compared to AAA, so all of that = probably most profitable game published by Sony this gen.
 
Still even if it's not from Sony they have seen potential of what Sales are on pc when a console release and pc is close.
So your logic is, after they failed with a multi platform title. They should kill their console and the profits they get in royalties (like GTA, FIFA or Wukong) making games day 1 in PC?
 
So your logic is, after they failed with a multi platform title. They should kill their console and the profits they get in royalties (like GTA, FIFA or Wukong) making games day 1 in PC?
there's no reason to believe day 1 playstation games would kill the console. people like consoles. consoles are easy.
 
I've been saying this. Curb the pc initiative and refocus on towards your platform. That's where they lost their lead towards providing high quality content. Chasing mobile/ pc trends shouldn't be their.main focus.

Also stop allowing outside companies to bully you into doing things. Lego, MLB and SBi fvck them.
QFT.
 
So your logic is, after they failed with a multi platform title. They should kill their console and the profits they get in royalties (like GTA, FIFA or Wukong) making games day 1 in PC?

I never said that. I don't think they should do day and date but I also don't think they should release games a year or two later. I think the release window should be shorter between console and pc like 3 - 6 months in order to maximize revenue better between the two.
 
there's no reason to believe day 1 playstation games would kill the console. people like consoles. consoles are easy.
Sure… you reduce incentives for people to spend their money on a platform where they pay you for online subscriptions and 30% or so of every $ spent on any third party gaming content to push a platform you do not own and where you get nothing of the above… sigh 😞… come on…

If they do not want to kill their platform and the profits it brings they need to be careful at what they launch day and date (some GaaS products may work) and when (other non-GaaS titles need to have a good console first priority window).
 
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I don't see how you could look at that tweet, and come to the conclusion that they are looking to lower their revenue. The console market isn't growing at the speed needed to make up for the rapid growth (in the past 5 years) of PC gaming.
Exactly. Sony absolutely 100% see how the PC market has been growing, and they also definitely see how Japanese publishers have grown their brands by maximizing PC sales through day 1 releases on both platforms. They also know that the console growth is finite, and they need to reach more markets to sustain growth. PC allows them that growth, and they have to start taking it seriously. In their current strategy, they're making easy money off the PC market. These ports are costing ~$2M-$3M... they're making multiple times their investment into them.. they're also learning a lot about the PC market through these endeavors. The takeaway isn't "PC gamers don't want our games"... it's "penetrating the PC market is going to take more than 2 year old ports and full priced games". They see the PC market potential in places like China too.. with Wukong's success. They want to penetrate those markets.. and PC is how they get a strong foothold there to begin with.
 
Exactly. Sony absolutely 100% see how the PC market has been growing, and they also definitely see how Japanese publishers have grown their brands by maximizing PC sales through day 1 releases on both platforms. They also know that the console growth is finite, and they need to reach more markets to sustain growth. PC allows them that growth, and they have to start taking it seriously. In their current strategy, they're making easy money off the PC market. These ports are costing ~$2M-$3M... they're making multiple times their investment into them.. they're also learning a lot about the PC market through these endeavors. The takeaway isn't "PC gamers don't want our games"... it's "penetrating the PC market is going to take more than 2 year old ports and full priced games". They see the PC market potential in places like China too.. with Wukong's success. They want to penetrate those markets.. and PC is how they get a strong foothold there to begin with.
PC = making money from your titles only and almost nothing else.

Console = make money from every single transaction plus subscriptions.
 
I don't think there have been many good news from Sony since this guy run the company.

What I want: more SP games

What I will get: more woke GaaS trash
 
Exactly. Sony absolutely 100% see how the PC market has been growing, and they also definitely see how Japanese publishers have grown their brands by maximizing PC sales through day 1 releases on both platforms. They also know that the console growth is finite, and they need to reach more markets to sustain growth. PC allows them that growth, and they have to start taking it seriously. In their current strategy, they're making easy money off the PC market. These ports are costing ~$2M-$3M... they're making multiple times their investment into them.. they're also learning a lot about the PC market through these endeavors. The takeaway isn't "PC gamers don't want our games"... it's "penetrating the PC market is going to take more than 2 year old ports and full priced games". They see the PC market potential in places like China too.. with Wukong's success. They want to penetrate those markets.. and PC is how they get a strong foothold there to begin with.
This guy gets it. Capcom was almost out the paint years ago until they went head on with PC releases and now they are one of the most successful third party developers because of it.
 
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Well, you keep selling the tried and true MS Gaming approach… look at how healthy the Xbox ecosystem is…
Ostrich Avestruz GIF by Amnistía Internacional España

"helldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happen"
 
we all know where they can cut some of the cost that doesn't add anything to the project cof, cof, cof DEI. Spiderman 2 didn't need twice as big of a writing team for example.

now, if Spiderman 2 and Concord both cost 300M, but only one made profit by selling 10+M.... one is actually the problem.

if Bungie had twice as many developers as the biggest single player Sony studio while making the biggest GaaS of its kind AND still they were bleeding money...... yeah, that is a BIG problem.

if little Astrobot had a modest budget and took 4 years to make and sold only 1.5M.... that's is a problem.

PS size demands their games to be blockbusters, to make around 500M to 1B in revenue. And people expect that from Sony too.

as with Hollywood, budgets increased but the quality didn't. why? because of the talent at the helm of these projects.

I don't think Astro Bot being in here is fair to it WRT the point you're making. It's a 3D platformer; it's in a genre where unless you're Mario, Sonic or some once-a-gen surprise hit multiplat (It Takes Two), you don't necessarily hit 10+ million copies.

It's still pacing ahead of Rift Apart, and will likely be able to hit 3.5 - 4 million on the console within two years. I still don't think the game's had a budget more than $70 million or so, therefore it should already be slightly profitable or very close to it.

Ostrich Avestruz GIF by Amnistía Internacional España

"helldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happen"

Helldivers 2 also had a lot of lateral sales. I.e, a good number of buyers were PS5/PC owners who chose to buy it on Steam for various reasons (free online, higher performance, cheaper price etc.).

Don't know why you're ignoring that part of the equation.

These nuggets are the only kind of peep behind the curtain we get when it comes to things like game budgets, expectation and performance.

Something clearly needs to be changed from Sony's perspective.

Why? How? Didn't they just post record profit for the quarter?

At this point even the excuse of "improving margins" can't really be used if they've got the highest profit margins of the Big 3 (and among all core gaming publishers) for the quarter. At some point, chasing profits just becomes an exercise in unrealistic expectations.

And we see where that leads, look at Square-Enix.

More AA and creative stuff is what I am reading from this.

Less expensive GAAS and SP titles.

They don't need to spend $200 million to make TLOU 2 style game. It should be made in 50 million.

Or, and I don't know if they're considering this (they should), they could just make the bigger games more "episodic".

I don't mean episodic like The Walking Dead or Life is Strange; I mean "episodic" in how each part is like a full-featured expansion. Like UC4: The Lost Legacy or Miles Morales, or better still (as an older example) Shining Force III Scenarios 1-3.

Space them out for every 2-3 years, sell them for $40 each, then when all the installments are complete package it together as one big game & re-release it for $70. IF they want to bring it to 3P storefronts like Steam, then do it at that point. It'd of been a good 4-6 or so years since the initial installment was available anyway.

You'll get people who want to play each part as it's released, then can get them to double-dip on the all-in-one version years later (or just sell that version to people who wanted to wait 4 - 6+ years before playing the game). They could space out budgeting between installments, technically get the game out faster, and so many other benefits.
 
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People forget that the game that sold most copies tries gen published by Sony as HellDivers 2 (12ml), and 60% of sales came from PC, probably cost of development was also quite small compared to AAA, so all of that = probably most profitable game published by Sony this gen.
Yup.

And at the end of the day, it's simply a snazzy sci fi shooter killing aliens with a Starship Troopers vibe. No plot or politics, no tons of cut scenes etc... And it was even just $40. Huge seller. If you look at it, it's such a basic game concept and idea, yet it did great on console and PC.
 
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PC = making money from your titles only and almost nothing else.

Console = make money from every single transaction plus subscriptions.
Both can absolutely work. They are completely different markets with completely different focuses. Not to mention Sony can also turn a portion of those PC players into making ALL the money from each transaction as well over time. They're not limited to only Steam. Once they have enough content on the platform, they can bring a subscription service to PC gamers as well. They are not limited at all by the PC platform.


Unlike what fanboys will think... Sony doesn't care where the money comes from. PC is not going to be a detriment to their console business. You know what was? Almost making their entire portfolio of developers change from making high quality SP IP campaign games to experimental Live Service GaaS games all at the same time... You guys need to focus on the right battles here that's actually causing Sony harm on the console platform.
 
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Stellar, Rise and Wukong. Sony was able to use these third party games (directly/indirectly) for its benefit. thanks to what?:
Good point. They don't even have the studios to develop the games people are demanding from them.

The ones they had got closed because not enough people actually bought those games.
Sony being a successful platform holder. (which i think is not the topic of this discussion)

note: we can argue that Stellar was second-party... let's not derail this. Stellar was being made without Sony, unlike helldivers 2. This is a comment about Sony leveraging its position as a platform holder to secure deals.
but i think we all can agree that Concord and by extension the GaaS initiative has been a big pain in the ass for sony. and as a Publisher, they would be in big trouble.
Concord, yes.

The entire Gaas initiative, we have no clue about what's going on behind the scenes.
Everything is pure speculation.
 
Helldivers 2 also had a lot of lateral sales. I.e, a good number of buyers were PS5/PC owners who chose to buy it on Steam for various reasons (free online, higher performance, cheaper price etc.).

Don't know why you're ignoring that part of the equation.
i'm ignoring it because it's irrelevant. hiroki totoki explained the whole thing. i posted it before.
 
Stellar, Rise and Wukong. Sony was able to use these third party games (directly/indirectly) for its benefit. thanks to what?:

Sony being a successful platform holder. (which i think is not the topic of this discussion)

note: we can argue that Stellar was second-party... let's not derail this. Stellar was being made without Sony, unlike helldivers 2. This is a comment about Sony leveraging its position as a platform holder to secure deals.
but i think we all can agree that Concord and by extension the GaaS initiative has been a big pain in the ass for sony. and as a Publisher, they would be in big trouble.
Wukong being PC and PS5 day 1 did not prevent the game from being a massive success for Playstation. Neither would any other, including Sony's own 1st party.
 
Good, shelf the PC initiative and concentrate on adding value to your platform. Plus realocate from San Fran back to Tokyo and remove any DEI personnels and ideologies.

You are welcome.

Yeah unfortunetly this change doesnt mean any of this would happen. It could, fingers crossed. But it might even end of worse than it is now. We'll have to see.
Japan has just started there DEI exploring and are going harder on censorship more than ever. Plus this guy doesnt have any passion or respect for console gaming.
I hope what you write will happen though, its what Playstaton needs right now
 
Good, shelf the PC initiative and concentrate on adding value to your platform.
Sorry can't do that, not enough value in platform. Xbox, you aren't allowed to retreat to PC. We will hunt you everywhere, to the ends of time, to the last man, until the only game we haven't sacrificed yet is Bloodborne.
 
PC = making money from your titles only and almost nothing else.

Console = make money from every single transaction plus subscriptions.
Console is not going to go away dude.... It's a gaming device for a certain type of person with a certain type of budget... And there is NOTHING stopping Sony from creating a store on PC... and selling 3rd party games on it and taking a chunk of the revenue.
 
Ostrich Avestruz GIF by Amnistía Internacional España

"helldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happenhelldivers 2 didn't happen helldivers 2 didn't happen"
Helldivers 2 was an exception; the rest of the PC ports have failed miserably.
 
Helldivers 2 was an exception; the rest of the PC ports have failed miserably.
2 years+ later and full price... It doesn't take rocket appliances to figure out why they're not booming. And regarding their other day 1 releases... then that just goes to show you that they're not losing anything by giving the PC versions of their games the best chance they can at finding success.
 
there's no reason to believe day 1 playstation games would kill the console. people like consoles. consoles are easy.
What happened with MS? The most hardcore spenders are in PC already. That will happen in PlayStation too, big spenders will move to PC and only COD, FIFA players will remain it.
 
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Helldivers 2 was an exception; the rest of the PC ports have failed miserably.
They have failed yet Sony has generated almost a billion in revenue since releasing on PC. I feel sorry for people think Sony should or will go back to releasing just on console. Tell me what developers or publishers stopped releasing games on PC once they started?

Once you release on PC you never go back. Even square is suddenly starting to smell the fucking coffee.
 
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Didn't they just say it would still be 1 year at least like not even a year ago? Seems they are just reiterating their plans on releasing to PC.
Last year they said 2-3 years.


That clearly has changed. Even Spider-Man 2 was just over 1 year. Horizon Lego's is day and date on Switch and PC. All Bungie games are day and date on Xbox and PC. That window is clearly shrinking.
 
This guy gets it. Capcom was almost out the paint years ago until they went head on with PC releases and now they are one of the most successful third party developers because of it.
Capcom didn't have a console platform to worry about. Of course it makes more sense for them.
 
Capcom didn't have a console platform to worry about. Of course it makes more sense for them.
The most games that sell on PlayStation are third party games. First party Sony games don't move the needle as much as you think. Especially when the budget of their games are concerned.
 
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I don't see how you could look at that tweet, and come to the conclusion that they are looking to lower their revenue. The console market isn't growing at the speed needed to make up for the rapid growth (in the past 5 years) of PC gaming.

PC gaming sales are on the decline this year and PC ports on PlayStation don't appear to be making a significant sales impact
 
The most games that sell on PlayStation are third party games.
That's precisely the point. They make most of their money from third party games sold on their platform. Which is why they have to worry about keeping people on Playstation.

Capcom don't have to worry about that. So it's an irrelevant comparison.
 
Helldivers 2 was an exception; the rest of the PC ports have failed miserably.
It's been 3 years since Days Gone was released on Steam. If the initiative is "failing miserably" why has Playstation accelerated their PC port efforts? Why is Spiderman 2 coming out on Steam after only 1 year of Playstation exclusivity? Why do both CEOs emphasize PC as a growth driver? Get real.

Screenshot-2024-11-11-at-11-27-40-AM.png
 
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There's no good reason to wait 2-3 years to port their exclusives to PC. If someone isn't going to buy the game on PS5, but will on PC, they don't care how long it takes. There's so much other stuff to play on PC it's not a lever you can use to force those people. A year is plenty of time to get the people who are super interested in the exclusives.

For multi-player games, it should be day 1 like Helldivers 2.
 
More great games like Stellar Blade, Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, and Final Fantasy Rebirth and also make them launch on multiple platforms at launch when the momentum is at it's highest.
 
PC gaming sales are on the decline this year and PC ports on PlayStation don't appear to be making a significant sales impact
I think the lustre of Sony PC games is wearing off. God of War Ragnorak was released almost two years ago if it would have released a year or maybe 6 months after console guarranteed it would have better PC sales. Releasing two or three years after doesn't necessarily guarantee a success on PC at the time because a lot of people will have probably played it on console.

They still need to fine tune console to pc releases.
 
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So why are you so scared of Sony putting games on PC again? :messenger_tears_of_joy:
Because console ecosystem warriors lose their exclusive, and dont like PC gamers showing those beloved games at better visuals and higher fps. The PC game might even be a deluxe version too with patches. So the console gamer kinda know the PC version is the best one.

Or they put on the corporate finance hat focusing on financials than caring more gamers have fun playing a game on their platform. It's like they think they get an imaginary commission for every copy sold on their platform for fighting the fight.

Makes them am cry.

But then magically, putting GAAS games day one on PC is a-ok.
 
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