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[DeepEnigma]

The message is clear - work harder and be more efficient, or fuck off.

So, no more knitting groups?

 

[Mibu no ookami]

PC releases are only pure margin if console sales are unaffected. Sony taking a 20% cut of every single game sold on a Playstation console is also pure margin, which they would lose if people switch. I say if they switch because history has shown that they probably won't, but as time goes on I'm not so sure if that will continue to be the case, especially when it comes to younger teen to adult gamers.

Of course if they make their own PC store then they have a new avenue of taking a 20% cut on software, but history has also shown that PC gamers are allergic to anything but Steam.

30% and there is no evidence that PC games from PlayStation Studios is impacting hardware sales. PlayStation Studios games only represent a small fraction of overall software sales on PlayStation.

And it is 30 percent not 20.

And again, Steam has never had a legitimate rival. It's the same argument people had when they thought if Sega can't take Nintendo down, Sony certainly couldn't and yet here we are.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Their consumers carried them on their backs this gen like Jesus carried the cross.

"If we can get them to love it they will evangelize," - Phil Spencer

Oh, Phillip, they already are.

 

[twilo99]

Measures will be announced in May.

Is it going to be a podcast?

 

[XXL]

They do realize GTA VI is coming out next year.....

 

[intheinbetween]

Is it going to be a podcast?

you can watch it on Youtube

 

[twilo99]

The message is clear - work harder and be more efficient, or fuck off.

For whatever reason it doesn't sound so cool when Phil does it

 

[DeepEnigma]

For whatever reason it doesn't sound so cool when Phil does it

When did Phil ever say this?

 

[Fabieter]

Their consumers carried them on their backs this gen like Jesus carried the cross. Raising prices of games and systems, lackluster PS+ offerings, ugliest system design of all time, remasters or safe sequels galore, barely anything 1st party for 2 years, worst gaming marketing events in PS history, PSVR2 being an overpriced wired waste with no games, PS Portal existing, fans massively exaggerating all negative aspects of the competition 24/7. The people that really deserve the credit for this win are the PS fans themselves more than even Sony.

What bothers me the most is that they had the balls to raise ps+ pricing while having the same service as before. Iam still on the old price but I will definitely not renew. I didn't play a single game off their catalogue for almost a year now. It's a waste.

 

[nial]

The era of big, story-driven, cinematic games is over. The more people accept it, the better.

I also think their decision to move away from Japanese first party devs was a very bad one, not just because it meant less "Japanese games" but purely from a financial standpoint.

They really didn't, though? Their major change into their Japanese development operations was, literally, expanding into China and Korea as well (which is still the best thing Jim Ryan did this gen, IMO).

 

[GHG]

For whatever reason it doesn't sound so cool when Phil does it

Yeh because he clearly doesn't so you get to enjoy gems like Redfall.

So, no more knitting groups?

No more team meetings at the pool table and hammocks under desks unfortunately.

 

[XXL]

Companies act so fucking dumb sometimes.

They get so obsessed with growth that they forget what grew them in the first place.

 

[twilo99]

When did Phil ever say this?

His actions are louder than words .. fired thousands just last week cuz they were slacking

 

[DeepEnigma]

No more team meetings at the pool table and hammocks under desks unfortunately.

I'll tell you something right now. I've visited a lot of game studios in the past, and one thing that always stuck out to me, was productivity. There was so much downtime with people just lounging around and doing these other non work related activities, going to the on-site gym for half their work day, etc., which is what always leads to having "crunch" and bringing your pets and a cot in the place. If only there was a way to be more efficient and not have kindergarten play-time more than work time up until the final deadlines?

Maybe if Bungie focused less on making it another damned arts college with all the collective non-work related social groups eating up into work hours, they could have pumped out content more efficiently. Which Sony axing those groups is a good thing.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

30% and there is no evidence that PC games from PlayStation Studios is impacting hardware sales. PlayStation Studios games only represent a small fraction of overall software sales on PlayStation.

And it is 30 percent not 20.

And again, Steam has never had a legitimate rival. It's the same argument people had when they thought if Sega can't take Nintendo down, Sony certainly couldn't and yet here we are.

Oh right, it is 30% isn't it.

I agree there is nothing to show that currently there would be any effect on sales - but I'm just saying the trends of younger gamers seems to be either mobile or PC (because it is easier to have a streamer setup on PC vs console), so I am just questioning the future growth of consoles sales. Expanding the market requires picking up teens/young adults and if they don't even have to consider a console I'm not sure they will.

I just have this sense that there is going to be some serious marketplace shifting in the next 10 years and I really don't know where it is all going. Probably more PC but I have this weird feeling that there is going to be some third option (streaming, or mobile, or AI, or something) that is going to unexpectedly significantly disrupt. I realize this part is just wild speculation based on a hunch lol

Also I think Epic is pretty legit, they have Fortnite, give away games all the time, and have crazy deals and people still refuse to download it. The launcher sucks but do you have faith that Sony could make a better one? If Sony comes out swinging with feature parity to Steam and their exclusive catalog it might work. If.

They really didn't, though? Their major change into their Japanese development operations was, literally, expanding into China and Korea as well (which is still the best thing Jim Ryan did this gen, IMO).

What was the last Japanese developed first party game that they released other than Gran Turismo? Astro's Playroom/Demon Souls from the PS5 launch 3 years ago?

Agreed about expansion into Korea/China though, I think they have satellite "helper" studios in a bunch of Asian countries at this point which is a good thing.

 

[ResilientBanana]

I find it funny how people are now saying Sony should focus on less AAA games. Meanwhile that's how Sony got as big as it is. Be Careful with this request as that might mean Sony won't have games.

 

[nial]

What was the last Japanese developed first party game that they released other than Gran Turismo? Astro's Playroom/Demon Souls from the PS5 launch 3 years ago?

Rise of the Ronin is coming next month, yeah co-developed, but whatever, that was the case with the majority of Japan Studio games.
The thing is that you're kinda implying that they're doing *nothing* over at Sony Japan, which is not accurate. If Knack 2 was made in ~4 years, then a new Astro Bot can absolutely take the same amount of time.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Oh right, it is 30% isn't it.

I agree there is nothing to show that currently there would be any effect on sales - but I'm just saying the trends of younger gamers seems to be either mobile or PC (because it is easier to have a streamer setup on PC vs console), so I am just questioning the future growth of consoles sales. Expanding the market requires picking up teens/young adults and if they don't even have to consider a console I'm not sure they will.

I just have this sense that there is going to be some serious marketplace shifting in the next 10 years and I really don't know where it is all going. Probably more PC but I have this weird feeling that there is going to be some third option (streaming, or mobile, or AI, or something) that is going to unexpectedly significantly disrupt. I realize this part is just wild speculation based on a hunch lol

Also I think Epic is pretty legit, they have Fortnite, give away games all the time, and have crazy deals and people still refuse to download it. The launcher sucks but do you have faith that Sony could make a better one? If Sony comes out swinging with feature parity to Steam and their exclusive catalog it might work. If.

There is no real evidence that PC gaming is growing at a rate in line with that trend. The more expensive PC gaming continues to get, the more people will swing back to console. It's always ebbed and flowed like that.

The marketplace is going to consolidate around PlayStation as Xbox diminishes. Streaming and Mobile aren't going to take on console, handheld will expand with Sony and probably even microsoft getting more into that market.

AI is going to essentially create isekai situations in gaming, VR especially is probably going to explode in tandem with AI. PC may even struggle with keeping up with AI with a lack of dedicated processing, who knows.

Epic has fortnite, but that's really all they have. It takes more than one game to build a storefront. It's crazy that they never brought back Unreal and Unreal Tournament.

Sony isn't great when it comes to software design, but we'll see what they do here.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

There is no real evidence that PC gaming is growing at a rate in line with that trend. The more expensive PC gaming continues to get, the more people will swing back to console. It's always ebbed and flowed like that.

The marketplace is going to consolidate around PlayStation as Xbox diminishes. Streaming and Mobile aren't going to take on console, handheld will expand with Sony and probably even microsoft getting more into that market.

AI is going to essentially create isekai situations in gaming, VR especially is probably going to explode in tandem with AI. PC may even struggle with keeping up with AI with a lack of dedicated processing, who knows.

Epic has fortnite, but that's really all they have. It takes more than one game to build a storefront. It's crazy that they never brought back Unreal and Unreal Tournament.

Sony isn't great when it comes to software design, but we'll see what they do here.

Fair enough, I've already said some of my argument is straight gut feeling reading the tea leaves stuff so time will tell.

Rise of the Ronin is coming next month, yeah co-developed, but whatever, that was the case with the majority of Japan Studio games.
The thing is that you're kinda implying that they're doing *nothing* over at Sony Japan, which is not accurate. If Knack 2 was made in ~4 years, then a new Astro Bot can absolutely take the same amount of time.

I thought Rise of the Ronin was all Team Ninja? If it is a co-developed title then I take that back. I think there is a huge potential niche for that type of co-dev work, I'm surprised it isn't done more often.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I find it funny how people are now saying Sony should focus on less AAA games. Meanwhile that's how Sony got as big as it is.

Misreading of the events. Sony got as big as it is by forecasting the market and executing better than their competitors.

They're not making many Walkmans anymore.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Fair enough, I've already said some of my argument is straight gut feeling reading the tea leaves stuff so time will tell.

The pandemic spiked the user amounts, but it has slowed since then.

PC holds a lot of potential, but the idea that it is growing exponentially just isn't true. Revenue has dropped the last couple of years.

Steam has more monthly active users than PSN, but they're less engaged and spend less money per capita. People really like steam because they can get games for like 5-10 dollars in a lot of cases.

Everyone talks about how many copies The Witcher 3 sold but it's been as cheap as 8 dollars a copy. Red Dead 2 has been as cheap as 20 dollars. GTA5 has been as cheap as 10 dollars.

So when people compare games like God of War or Spider-Man to these games that have done huge numbers on Steam, they're not considering that a lot of these numbers have gone down due to massively cheap prices.

God of War has been at the cheapest 25 dollars and Spider-Man's cheapest is 36 dollars.

When you're 10 dollars and you have 130+ million people to potentially sell to, yeah, it's pretty easy to get people to take a flier on your game.

 

[Fabieter]

There is no real evidence that PC gaming is growing at a rate in line with that trend. The more expensive PC gaming continues to get, the more people will swing back to console. It's always ebbed and flowed like that.

The marketplace is going to consolidate around PlayStation as Xbox diminishes. Streaming and Mobile aren't going to take on console, handheld will expand with Sony and probably even microsoft getting more into that market.

AI is going to essentially create isekai situations in gaming, VR especially is probably going to explode in tandem with AI. PC may even struggle with keeping up with AI with a lack of dedicated processing, who knows.

Epic has fortnite, but that's really all they have. It takes more than one game to build a storefront. It's crazy that they never brought back Unreal and Unreal Tournament.

Sony isn't great when it comes to software design, but we'll see what they do here.

How's pc more expensive than ever? You can't compare 4090 rigs to consoles.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

How's pc more expensive than ever? You can't compare 4090 rigs to consoles.

RAM prices are up, you need an SSD to play most games, and requirements for games are going through the roof. It's not just a 4090.

I swear sometimes posting on this forum, it's like talking to people who just walked into gaming today. Everyone knows it's more expensive to build a pc today to play most games at high settings than it was last year.

Normally you'd think that with the supply chain improving pricing would be drastically better on average, but that isn't the case.

 

[Fabieter]

RAM prices are up, you need an SSD to play most games, and requirements for games are going through the roof. It's not just a 4090.

I swear sometimes posting on this forum, it's like talking to people who just walked into gaming today. Everyone knows it's more expensive to build a pc today to play most games at high settings than it was last year.

Normally you'd think that with the supply chain improving pricing would be drastically better on average, but that isn't the case.

High settings are better looking than console settings. What does a pc costs which gives similar performance to series x and ps5.

Just looked up a prebuilt with a 7800x3d 32 gb ddr 5 ram a 4070 and a 2tb m2 ssd for 1999,00 Euro. I dont think that's a bad price for the performance you get over a console. You will save more money if you build it yourself.

 

[ResilientBanana]

Misreading of the events. Sony got as big as it is by forecasting the market and executing better than their competitors.

They're not making many Walkmans anymore.

AAA titles was a part of that strategy and is why people buy a PlayStation. Why start making games that are not as good?

 

[Bernardougf]

The message is clear - work harder and be more efficient, or fuck off.

Anyone still think that Jimbo really retired? ... at least sony is "retiring" the problems and trying something... time to play the wait game but this generation seems heavily compromised right now...

 

[Mibu no ookami]

High settings are better looking than console settings. What does a pc costs which gives similar performance to series x and ps5.

Just looked up a prebuilt with a 7800x3d 32 gb ddr 5 ram a 4070 and a 2tb m2 ssd for 1999,00 Euro. I dont think that's a bad price for the performance you get over a console. You will save more money if you build it yourself.

What percent of consumers do you think are building their own gaming PCs... stop it.

Sony caught flack because people said it was too hard for people to install an SSD by removing one plate, and unscrewing the drive holder, installing the ssd, and replacing the drive holder and replacing the plate.

 

[Fabieter]

What percent of consumers do you think are building their own gaming PCs... stop it.

Sony caught flack because people said it was too hard for people to install an SSD by removing one plate, and unscrewing the drive holder, installing the ssd, and replacing the drive holder and replacing the plate.

We are living in a genration where you look everything up on YouTube. People who complained about that were old.

 

[Connificent]

Sweet Baby taking Sony down. You love to see it.

 

[bender]

No more team meetings at the pool table and hammocks under desks unfortunately.

I'm sure higher ups would be fine with you sleeping at the office and showering in the bathroom so you don't need to waste hours at home and commuting back-and-forth.

I'll tell you something right now. I've visited a lot of game studios in the past, and one thing that always stuck out to me, was productivity. There was so much downtime with people just lounging around and doing these other non work related activities, going to the on-site gym for half their work day, etc., which is what always leads to having "crunch" and bringing your pets and a cot in the place. If only there was a way to be more efficient and not have kindergarten play-time more than work time up until the final deadlines?

Maybe if Bungie focused less on making it another damned arts college with all the collective non-work related social groups eating up into work hours, they could have pumped out content more efficiently. Which Sony axing those groups is a good thing.

I'd think working with creatives is probably a little different than most other industries. If I were a higher-up at Sony, I'd task a team with studying Insomniac structure and workflow as they are almost machine-like.

 

[DeepEnigma]

What percent of consumers do you think are building their own gaming PCs... stop it.

Sony caught flack because people said it was too hard for people to install an SSD by removing one plate, and unscrewing the drive holder, installing the ssd, and replacing the drive holder and replacing the plate.

We are living in a genration where you look everything up on YouTube. People who complained about that were old.

They were warriors trying to justify a proprietary storage solution from their favorite brand.

Swappable drives have been a thing on Sony consoles since the PS3, was never a "narrative" until this gen and the contrast in pricing solutions.

 

[tmlDan]

I think people either will get lay off, or Sony will focus less on AAA games (which i hope so).

This alongside Hiroki saying that the devs need to be better at utilizing funds makes me think layoffs are coming.

They need to learn how to release games at high potential at a lower cost.

Seems like the studios are wasting too much money.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

This alongside Hiroki saying that the devs need to be better at utilizing funds makes me think layoffs are coming.

They need to learn how to release games at high potential at a lower cost.

Seems like the studios are wasting too much money.

if they have some kind of DEIA that's the first thing to go.

 

[tmlDan]

if they have some kind of DEIA that's the first thing to go.

It happened at my company, and many others, DEI departments are first to go. They don't bring anything but fake smiles of supposed "inclusivity" - not revenue and profits.

 

[DeepEnigma]

It happened at my company, and many others, DEI departments are first to go. They don't bring anything but fake smiles of supposed "inclusivity" - not revenue and profits.

They stifle growth and just leach off a system.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Smells like acquisition season. Xbox gonna ask Papa Microsoft to buy PlayStation?

 

[DeepEnigma]

Smells like acquisition season. Xbox gonna ask Papa Microsoft to buy PlayStation?

Stop being silly. It won't happen.

 

[Z O N E]

I find it funny how people are now saying Sony should focus on less AAA games. Meanwhile that's how Sony got as big as it is. Be Careful with this request as that might mean Sony won't have games.

No one is saying they should focus less on AAA games.

They're saying they should focus less on $200m/$300m AAA games.

Spending that much money and only bringing back peanuts of profit is not worth it to investors and business' as a whole.

 

[Punished Miku]

No one is saying they should focus less on AAA games.

I've said that for years, but I don't count really.

 

[NickFire]

It happened at my company, and many others, DEI departments are first to go. They don't bring anything but fake smiles of supposed "inclusivity" - not revenue and profits.

I would argue that they increase costs, reduce efficiency, and lead directly to reduced revenue and profits at the same time. Sales / box office numbers don't lie.

 

[Puscifer]

Less focus on AAA isn't happening.

Measures will be announced in May.

If it's more Returnal and less hand holdy walky talky shit I'm fucking INNNN

 

[Z O N E]

I've said that for years, but I don't count really.

The MAJORITY aren't saying that.

I will respect your opinion.

 

[semiconscious]

They are working inefficiently.

A good example would be Spider Man 2 discussed in the leak. They were internally discussing how they tripled the budget but dont really even know why. So this guy is saying studios have a poor sense of how their spending is translating to growth and profit.

yep. with the understanding that insomniac has traditionally been about as productive/efficient a developer as sony's worked with up till now, that leaked info was particularly damning. it indicates that 'something' about game development has changed dramatically quite recently...

 

[tmlDan]

I would argue that they increase costs, reduce efficiency, and lead directly to reduced revenue and profits at the same time. Sales / box office numbers don't lie.

Completely agree, I don't think people understand that the amount of hours lost due to DEI training and DEI meetings during work hours, it's tremendous.

it's a complete waste of money and time because most of it is what people already know but are forced to take part in

 

[graywolf323]

Their consumers carried them on their backs this gen like Jesus carried the cross. Raising prices of games and systems, lackluster PS+ offerings, ugliest system design of all time, remasters or safe sequels galore, barely anything 1st party for 2 years, worst gaming marketing events in PS history, PSVR2 being an overpriced wired waste with no games, PS Portal existing, fans massively exaggerating all negative aspects of the competition 24/7. The people that really deserve the credit for this win are the PS fans themselves more than even Sony.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

AAA titles was a part of that strategy and is why people buy a PlayStation. Why start making games that are not as good?

The only constant in nature is change itself.

People buy a PlayStation for a variety of reasons. Is AAA even good?

 

[Baki]

This guy is going to ruin PlayStation. Took profits out of PlayStation for years to invest in low margin Music division and other side projects and is now doing a shocked pikachu face when they miss their targets. This guy makes me think there's no point holding onto shares.

 

[DeepEnigma]

This guy is going to ruin PlayStation. Took profits out of PlayStation for years to invest in low margin Music division and other side projects and is now doing a shocked pikachu face when they miss their targets. This guy makes me think there's no point holding onto shares.

He's interim. COO is going to COO speak and say COO things. Many of us called it back when this was announced.

He will be replaced soon.

 

[Baki]

He's interim. COO is going to COO speak and say COO things. Many of us called it back when this was announced.

He will be replaced soon.

He's being groomed to be CEO of Sony Corp. He and the current CEO needs to be replaced with a product focused CEO that is a jobs type. An innovator not a bean counter.

 

[DeepEnigma]

He's being groomed to be CEO of Sony Corp. He and the current CEO needs to be replaced with a product focused CEO that is a jobs type. An innovator not a bean counter.

Which is why he is interim. The bean counter won't be the one in charge, they're not creative enough outside of number crunching, nor is he a good role to speak on a worldwide basis with partners and the like. We all knew this type of speak was coming.