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Sony Reveals Categories/Focus for First Party Studios

tmlDan

Member
If they go back to making Killzone MP instead of Horizon MP I'm all for it....

Bend? I dunno....why are they trying to force them to be live service? Especially after a successful Days Gone? That studio seems to be completely mismanaged and will end up with a massive flop. What a waste.
Forcing? where do you get that they are being forced to so it. They want to have a game with online elements, that's it.

It's not some conspiracy.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Single player games that are meant as a showcase of the platform and its capabilities will be used as a way to sell the console and ecosystem to new and existing customers.
What if I told you Live Service games sell hardware exponentially better than single player games? The social effect is demonstrably greater than the pull graphical showcases generate in modern times.
 

GigaBowser

The bear of bad news
If they go back to making Killzone MP instead of Horizon MP I'm all for it....

Bend? I dunno....why are they trying to force them to be live service? Especially after a successful Days Gone? That studio seems to be completely mismanaged and will end up with a massive flop. What a waste.
new single player ips with amazing garphics
 

Puscifer

Member
Seeing Housemarque under narrative focus explains the Returnal directors departure. No way they're going to greenlight a gameplay first title like that from them ever again.
 

Loomy

Thinks Microaggressions are Real
What if I told you Live Service games sell hardware exponentially better than single player games? The social effect is demonstrably greater than the pull graphical showcases generate in modern times.
Then it's a good thing those live service games are also coming out on PS5. I guess I should have asked what you think could go wrong?
 

Loomy

Thinks Microaggressions are Real
Seeing Housemarque under narrative focus explains the Returnal directors departure. No way they're going to greenlight a gameplay first title like that from them ever again.
I think it's worth pointing out that "single-player" and "narrative" driven are separated by a comma - meaning one, the other, or both. The next Astrobot game is in the same category, and I don't anticipate that having a strong narrative focus. In fact, I imagine that game will focus primarily on gameplay, just like Housemarque games are.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
You are splitting the thinnest of hairs here. If a cover band says "we got signed to this new label, so we're going to start making original content now", it means they're recording original music. If a video game developer who has been working on remakes says "we're making original content now", it means they're making an original game. Not necessarily a new IP, but an original game nonetheless. What does original content mean to you?

Also, Housemarque is not that much bigger than Bluepoint and they made Returnal. You don't need 250 people to make a good AAA game.

Additional quote from Thrush:
"Our team is a very highly experienced team, the average experience among most people is about 15 years, and all of them come from original development. It's not like we're a bunch of developers that got trained up on making remasters and remakes. We have that original game development mindset in our hearts, and that's what we're now ready, finally ready with the support of Sony to push forward and show what we can do, and show what PlayStation can do,"


They've been making Destiny for as long as they made Halo so it's a toss up at this point.

Halo >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Destiny
 

yurinka

Member
You are splitting the thinnest of hairs here. If a cover band says "we got signed to this new label, so we're going to start making original content now", it means they're recording original music. If a video game developer who has been working on remakes says "we're making original content now", it means they're making an original game. Not necessarily a new IP, but an original game nonetheless. What does original content mean to you?

Additional quote from Thrush:
"Our team is a very highly experienced team, the average experience among most people is about 15 years, and all of them come from original development. It's not like we're a bunch of developers that got trained up on making remasters and remakes. We have that original game development mindset in our hearts, and that's what we're now ready, finally ready with the support of Sony to push forward and show what we can do, and show what PlayStation can do,"


They've been making Destiny for as long as they made Halo so it's a toss up at this point.
Absolutely nothing there says they were going to lead a AAA title. They said they were going to move on from remasters and remakes and work on original content instead. But they never said they were going to lead these games.

They were a support team, the slide says they are a support team and they have a team that can work as support team but doesn't have the roles needed to lead a AAA game.

Also, Housemarque is not that much bigger than Bluepoint and they made Returnal. You don't need 250 people to make a good AAA game.
Unlike Bluepoint, Housemarque had a team to lead their own new games. Housemaque's design team isn't 1 single game designer, 1 single combat designer and only 2 level designers (and as I remember at least one of these designers was hired after GoWR).

Housemarque's team was used to create their own games, had all the roles needed and were used to work together. Bluepoint instead basically only had programmers and artists to get games made/designed by someone else and make them prettier.

Many years ago (the key people from Bluepopint comes from places like Retro or Blizzard) they worked in original games most of them as coders or artists. But can't build their own AAA game without a proper design team.
 
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yurinka

Member
Nope. They never said "only". Your brain added that edit in for some reason.

"The learnings and investments in technology from this game will carry into how we develop our projects and will be invaluable in the direction we are headed as a studio. We have more than one ambitious, brand new single player game that we're working on here at Naughty Dog, and we cannot wait to share more about what comes next when we’re ready."

The brain trust that worked on Factions 2 is still there. I wonder what they're working on now...
They were working at the same time in 2 SP games, TLOU Online, while overviewing or supporting remasters/remakes, PC ports, movie/tv show adaptions and theme park rides.

So no, they weren't working in a 4th main game. I don't remember where but I think was Druckmann who further explained on the cancellation saying that if they would have continue working on TLOU Online it would have required extra resources that would mean to not be able to work on their SP games as they wanted. So they had to decide between TLOU Online or their SP games and decided to cancel TLOU Online and focus only on their SP games.
 

Puscifer

Member
Narrative focus and gameplay first aren't contradictory. Returnal has an awesome narrative
Yeah, that was integrated into the environment largely and didn't put artificial stops in the way.

Don't you guys ever get tired of posting such dumb shit?
That's all on you, but I'm having a hard time with any of these ridiculous narrative movie games anymore. They're flat out uninteresting and boring!
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
This was the most important thing I saw during the presentation today. I clear, concise layout of where the focus of each PlayStation studio.

Love seeing the "Single-Player, Narrative Focus" here. I don't know this, but I believe that after the failure with Naughty Dog's Factions, it became clear that Sony's single player studios need to focus on making single player games.

Think it is interesting that Guerrila and Bend Studio are in the "Evolving/Multi-genre" section. Any guesses to what "Evolving/Multi-genre" means?

egJBkFO.png
Multi-genre means literally that ... multiple genres.

e.g., GG would be working on Horizon 3 (a single-player story-driven adventure game) as well as a Horizon co-op multiplayer (which would be a live-service game).
 

Loomy

Thinks Microaggressions are Real
Absolutely nothing there says they were going to lead a AAA title. They said they were going to move on from remasters and remakes and work on original content instead. But they never said they were going to lead these games.

They were a support team, the slide says they are a support team and they have a team that can work as support team but doesn't have the roles needed to lead a AAA game.


Unlike Bluepoint, Housemarque had a team to lead their own new games. Housemaque's design team isn't 1 single game designer, 1 single combat designer and only 2 level designers (and as I remember at least one of these designers was hired after GoWR).

Housemarque's team was used to create their own games, had all the roles needed and were used to work together. Bluepoint instead basically only had programmers and artists to get games made/designed by someone else and make them prettier.

Many years ago (the key people from Bluepopint comes from places like Retro or Blizzard) they worked in original games most of them as coders or artists. But can't build their own AAA game without a proper design team.
I don't usually like saying this, but you have no idea what you're talking about. The only evidence we have for what they're doing comes from the interview Gene Park did With Hermen and Marco when the acquisition was announced. Having said that, this back and forth isn't going to get us anywhere. So let's just leave it there.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Live service games which require continued engagement both in play time and money spent to generate revenue will be made available to more players, thus generating more continued and predictable revenue.

Single player games that are meant as a showcase of the platform and its capabilities will be used as a way to sell the console and ecosystem to new and existing customers.

Perfect Post!

What if I told you Live Service games sell hardware exponentially better than single player games? The social effect is demonstrably greater than the pull graphical showcases generate in modern times.

Not true!
 

midnightAI

Member
It also means doing both, hence 'multi-genre'.
And in Bends case it could be because they are also used as a support studio so it may be nothing to do with Love Service for them (but they may be working on that also). For Guerrilla we already know they are working on a multiplayer game due to peaked footage.
 
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Bartski

Gold Member
Bluepoint "partner studio" what the hell does it mean? Last time I checked they were making their own IP
 

nial

Gold Member
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Topher

Identifies as young
Multi-genre means literally that ... multiple genres.

e.g., GG would be working on Horizon 3 (a single-player story-driven adventure game) as well as a Horizon co-op multiplayer (which would be a live-service game).

Single player and multiplayer as "genres" is interesting, but I guess that works. Guess it could also possibly involve VR.
 
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Bungie could've been used for multi-genre instead of only gaas, they'd have given an amazing shooter Single Player game as well as Multiplayer. Just like Killzone.
Guerrilla and Bend Studios are best for Single Player narrative focused games.

With multi and gaas included we'll have far more online games than we want.
 

midnightAI

Member
Single player and multiplayer as "genres" is interesting, but I guess that works. Guess it could also possibly involve VR.
I think really you shouldnt read too much into it as it will be constantly changing anyway going forward. I'm sure Sony would like most studios to be multi genre (by their categorisation) eventually.
 
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nial

Gold Member
We can add them to the list with Arkane and Rocksteady.
Why? Bend Studio is surely a weird case, but Guerrilla is also making a SP Horizon 3. There's a reason as to why they're not straight into the Live Service category.
 
Naughty Dog firmly back into the SP camp after spending years on an MP game. Guerilla however, graduated to the 50 yard line. Horizon themed third person Destiny clone incoming? Gonna be raining bespoke tribal bows with all kinds of small attribute boosts. I'm about half way through Ghost of Tsushima, and for my money Sucker Punch is the premier studio on that graphic and they're right where they belong. Game just snuck right in to my potential GOTY tier out of nowhere. As a Days Gone enthusiast, kinda sad seeing Bend where they are.
Oh yea dude GoT is an incredible game. It's the perfect amount of gameplay, story and graphics. Days Gone is incredible too. I still feel like they may have a sequel up their sleeve somehow. But I wouldn't doubt if they make some sort of co-op style shooter too, what ever they make I think it'll take advantage of that horde technology they used for Days Gone, but maybe with hundreds of Allies on your side? That would be crazy.

I think a Horizon MMO style/ 4 player co-op game could be really sick. But I feel like that will only be the case if it looks close to Zero Dawn/Forbidden West graphically. Just let me make a character and design their outfits like Red Dead Online.
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
We can add them to the list with Arkane and Rocksteady.
I'm not happy about dividing a team to make multiple games but at least guerrilla is still making horizon 3 that is fully single player, so there is still hope even if gaf has a gastric reflux about the last game :lollipop_grinning_sweat:

People told me that bend bleeded talent since days gone, plus the gaas shit so they are in an even worse situation.
 
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King Dazzar

Member
Multi-genre means literally that ... multiple genres.

e.g., GG would be working on Horizon 3 (a single-player story-driven adventure game) as well as a Horizon co-op multiplayer (which would be a live-service game).
I'd love to convince myself of that. And I hope you're right. But when I see GT7 makers in the same group. I just think of mixed genres within the same title. i.e could be single player GAAS, and/or with multiplayer elements.
 

King Dazzar

Member
I'm not happy about dividing a team to make multiple games but at least guerrilla is still making horizon 3 that is fully single player, so there is still hope even if gaf has a gastric reflux about the last game :lollipop_grinning_sweat:

People told me that bend bleeded talent since days gone, plus the gaas shit so they are in an even worse situation.
Yeah but we dont know that it isn't single player GAAS. It could be something transitioning towards the likes of AC Valhalla. Fingers crossed it's as Heisenberg007 Heisenberg007 is calling it.
 

midnightAI

Member
Yeah but we dont know that it isn't single player GAAS. It could be something transitioning towards the likes of AC Valhalla. Fingers crossed it's as Heisenberg007 Heisenberg007 is calling it.
Jan Bart van Beek...
"We have full confidence in our new leadership as they steer Guerrilla towards a bright future, expanding the world of Horizon with Aloy's next adventure and our exciting online project."
 

King Dazzar

Member
I was just thinking how off its tits it would be. If Bend finally someday announced Days Gone 2, with cheers everywhere. And then they tell us its GaaS and everyone Boos. So some stuff to be depressed about in there.

On the flip side though. It could all be far worse, at least we've actually got studios staying single player focused. I mean they could all be going GaaS. So that's something.
 
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bender

What time is it?
I can't wait until Guerilla Games gets moved into the Partner Studios bucket where they belong.
 
Sad to see bend and guerrilla not in the single player part of the list.
Bend are in the multi-genre category, which means it is probably a single player game with MP elements. It's most likely a co-op mode. Somebody else in this forum posted about how Days Gone was supposed to have an additional MP mode but it was canned. Much more hyped knowing it is most likely not a typical gaas game
 
Bend really is the weirdest situation of the last few years. To the point where most people consider Days Gone a flop, which it wasn't. From how they last described it, seems like the new IP is an open world game with both single player and multiplayer.

Days Gone was a commercial success that has only been discontinued due to media trolls that bombed it. It's infuriating that Sony pays more attention to these assholes than their actual core audience. I can't wait for the studio to go from bend to break.

By the way, XDEV doesn't exist in the head of the guy who made this chart. I could have sworn they have just helped in the best action game of this year.
 

Flabagast

Member
Bend are in the multi-genre category, which means it is probably a single player game with MP elements. It's most likely a co-op mode. Somebody else in this forum posted about how Days Gone was supposed to have an additional MP mode but it was canned. Much more hyped knowing it is most likely not a typical gaas game
Ghost of Tsushima has exactly what you say (co-op mode) and yet Sucker Punch is in the "single player" category.

I guess Bend is truly on a MP focused title unfortunately.
 
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