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[Hero_Select]

I get this, but again we don't have access to the financials. It's likely that EA producer from earlier this year was right..."A 100 million dollar game needs to sell 6 million copies to break even".

BluePoint wasn't a 10 person studio. They were probably going to be making a 100 million dollar game. What obvious formula was laying on the table that was going to produce 10+ million in sales?

Break even is not the goal.

That's the problem with gaming in general at the moment yes. Aside from Indies and (probably) Nintendo, these budgets have gotten so out of hand and with the incredibly long development times makes any project that doesnt promise a guaranteed return a hard thing to greenlight.

 

[ultrazilla]

I'm convinced at this point that the PS5 era is cursed for Sony. What a shit show.

 

[ReyBrujo]

Known for remakes only? That's a niche within a niche in terms of development, taking a codebase and gameplay and updating it.

 

[Daniel_Mallorca1985]

 

[Saber]

I'm convinced at this point that the PS5 era is cursed for Sony. What a shit show.

I want that PS4 era back. Man, good times.

 

[Tomi]

What the actual fuck?

Sony are you retarded or what???

Stop developing those idiotic gaas games FFS, every one of them will fail, dont you understand that by now???

 

[avenovah]

They were closed because a Texas-based studio no longer aligns with Sony's current agenda.

 

[Moondoggy]

Herman Hulst moans when he wipes, there, I said it, and I'm not taking it back.

 

[th4tguy]

They probably pushed back on doing another live service game after the gow one failed to materialize.

 

[GrayChild]

 

[TRL88]

So hulst is forcing them to work on gaas games cancel the shit out of it and the next second blutpoint is closing. Holly fucking hell.

And the fact that nobody of the higher ups seem to realize that the person making all these terrible decisions about GAAS titles may be the problem instead of the studios, makes this extra scary.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

I get this, but again we don't have access to the financials. It's likely that EA producer from earlier this year was right..."A 100 million dollar game needs to sell 6 million copies to break even".

BluePoint wasn't a 10 person studio. They were probably going to be making a 100 million dollar game. What obvious formula was laying on the table that was going to produce 10+ million in sales?

Break even is not the goal.

Yeah not sure what drugs that producer was on but that that math never mathed.

 

[marcincz]

Amazingly how does bend, media molecule, and Haven survive? On the block next.

The year recently started.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

???? I said "Stop"…trust me if you ever see me use "slop" please report me I hope I get banned for it.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Probably shouldn't have bought a hockey team to play football, huh?

You haven't considered the possibility that BluePoints GAAS pitch gave them 5 additional years of life?

I don't think it's a given they would have been purchased without that pitch.

 

[Mr_JPF]

Today is a good day indeed Gaf bros, let the good times roll :

 

[DeepEnigma]

The fact that Hermen Hulst is still there is a console war crime.

FTFY

They have a saboteur in their midsts.

 

[GymWolf]

Bend is next isn't?

Helmet burst strikes again.

 

[Valonquar]

 

[SHAKEZ]

I'm convinced at this point that the PS5 era is cursed for Sony. What a shit show.

Let me tell you a secret, it won't end this gen.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

 

[SEGAvangelist]

No matter how many "FUCK YOU" I'll say it will never be enough

I hope Hermen will burn in hell. He and all his executives friends out of touch with PlayStation that have infiltrated the brand.

I'm glad Sony fans are feeling that Bernie Stolar heat I used to have.

 

[geary]

That's the problem with gaming in general at the moment yes. Aside from Indies and (probably) Nintendo, these budgets have gotten so out of hand and with the incredibly long development times makes any project that doesnt promise a guaranteed return a hard thing to greenlight.

Maybe, maybe...the gamers shouldn't trash every game that doesn't have TLOU production value and animations.
Suits have their fault, but the gamers should take their part of blame as well for the situation the industry is in.

 

[Moses85]

Hermen you scumbag

 

[phant0m]

I would have canned both of these studios before Bluepoint

Then again, if I was Hulst I would've fired myself before closing Bluepoint.

 

[Topher]

You haven't considered the possibility that BluePoints GAAS pitch

Show me the pitch then

 

[Moondoggy]

Known for remakes only? That's a niche within a niche in terms of development, taking a codebase and gameplay and updating it.

It's not niche when the industry has been obsessed with doing it for the last 10 years.

 

[Redeeming Casualty]

I don't want to bring up any negativity, but man this really is unfortunate to hear. I really was wondering what they were going to be working on after the live service game they were making got cancelled. It sucks because if it wasn't for the team and the developers that worked at that studio I would have never played the uncharted games without the collection on PS4 and Shadow of the Colossus. I l got to experience them and love them. Demon Souls has slowly become my favorite souls game and a spectacular showcase for the PS5. It's such a bummer. Hopefully the developers can find work or hopefully maybe get to build their own game now! I have to look at the positives and look forward, but what a bummer to hear that this happened.

 

[Wolzard]

Corporations are a cancer. Bluepoint would have done much better as an independent studio, doing remasters, remakes, and ports on demand.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

That's the problem with gaming in general at the moment yes. Aside from Indies and (probably) Nintendo, these budgets have gotten so out of hand and with the incredibly long development times makes any project that doesnt promise a guaranteed return a hard thing to greenlight.

Nobody wants to spend money. Every finance guy at every studio racks their brain on how to keep costs as low as possible.

Unfortunately for BluePoint, I think they realized China, Korean, and eastern Europe Studios are the cheaper, safer bet.

 

[Physiognomonics]

This is it. There is no going back now.

Playstation as we knew it is dead.

 

[blacktout]

I know I'm late to the party here, but:

What the actual fuck?!

 

[avenovah]

Aight
Shit
Good
Shit
Shit
Shit
Shit
Shit

 

[Tomi]

Step 1: acquire studio known for remakes

Step 2: put said studio on a live service version of a game nobody wants a live service version of

Step 3: cancel live service game when it takes longer than they expected to make.

Step 4: shut down the studio

Arw you fuc*ing KIDDING ME??????

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Sony just shot themselves in the foot.

 

[neo raider]

What in the Microsoft is Sony doing?????

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Yeah not sure what drugs that producer was on but that that math never mathed.

He didn't appear to be on drugs to me.

 

[SolarFry]

Upper Sony management really earning their millions per year salaries.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Known for remakes only? That's a niche within a niche in terms of development, taking a codebase and gameplay and updating it.

A niche Sony is in a unique position to exploit with a huge back catalog.

That's a big part of what Nintendo does, but Sony is noping out I guess to go make Horizon hogs.

 

[phant0m]

You haven't considered the possibility that BluePoints GAAS pitch gave them 5 additional years of life?

I don't think it's a given they would have been purchased without that pitch.

Are you saying they were going to shutter in 2021 if Sony didn't acquire & save them?

Is that based on anything or just speculation? Because they made very well received games for 15 years before being acquired, then released nothing for 5 years.

Maybe, maybe...the gamers shouldn't trash every games that doesn't have TLOUS production value and animations.
Suits have their fault, but the gamers should take their part of blame as well for the situation the industry is in.

"I'm not paying $70 for a remake" crowd, this one's for you

 

[Fabieter]

And the fact that nobody of the higher ups seem to realize that the person making all these terrible decisions about GAAS titles may be the problem instead of the studios, makes this extra scary.

I get it. Every publisher need to work on gaas someway nowadays. It makes business sense. But to force all of your existing studios on it like they did couldn't be more stupid.

 

[AmuroChan]

Can't they do that on their own? Like all they would have to do is start another company call it Bluepointey or some shit and that's it.

They can, but people aren't going to work for free. So they'll still have to find another publisher or investors who're willing to fund them for 3-4 years until they can ship a game.

 

[kaizenkko]

You haven't considered the possibility that BluePoints GAAS pitch gave them 5 additional years of life?

I don't think it's a given they would have been purchased without that pitch.

Should this be considered a good thing? When a studio with no expertise in GAAS decides to make a GAAS game just so the project gets approved and the studio can stay alive, what's the value in all of that? The project fails, the studio dies, and nothing of value comes out of it. Nothing.

Bluepoint could have worked on several better projects. They could have remastered collections of games that truly need remastering. That's their specialty. And those are projects that don't require an absurd budget and deliver a modest but reliable return. Sony's greed for live service brought nothing good to this studio. Five years more or less mean nothing. In fact, they're five years thrown in the trash.

 

[near]

I get that this sucks on an emotional level and I feel genuinely bad for those affected at Bluepoint.

The reality is simply that if your studio doesn't produce something that seems valuable to management, you're on borrowed time.

For all the people saying "this is retarded", why exactly did they deserve to stay open more than any other studio in the group ? Because ultimately that's what it boils down to.

You don't acquire a studio whose last original game came out 20 years ago (a small project, no less) and that has since specialised in ports/remakes, and then expect them to deliver a successful live service game. Therefore, Sony = RETARDED! It's poor judgment from the start.

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

That sucks. Media molecule exist for the better part of a decade with nothing of substance to show and bluepoint that was yet to launch a poor game get the axe. Trash move Sony.

 

[SHAKEZ]

He didn't appear to be on drugs to me.

Hermen just stop.

 

[Portugeezer]

These clowns are clueless.

 

[Kacho]

Step 1: acquire studio known for remakes

Step 2: put said studio on a live service version of a game nobody wants a live service version of

Step 3: cancel live service game when it takes longer than they expected to make.

Step 4: shut down the studio

Arw you fuc*ing KIDDING ME??????

It's pretty insane, yeah...

 

[P:axMagellanic]

That reads like the heads at corporate are squeezing balls hard and Hulst's desperately holding on to his job. Hardware costs and the PS6 is gonna rape them raw in the next couple of years.

Sony won't get its Gaas hit and it sure fuck doesn't deserve one as a platform holder anyway. They make 30 percent off every game sale, so fuck off. There's no such thing as a 'safe bet' either.

 

[Zacfoldor]

In 1991, Nintendo publicly terminated its partnership with Sony to develop a CD-ROM console, choosing instead to secretly partner with Philips. Nintendo feared losing control over licensing rights and profits to Sony. This betrayal humiliated Sony and directly led them to develop their own console, creating the PlayStation.

Nintendo in 1991: