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[Esppiral]

Their SP studios are still SP studios, nothing changed. They even acquired more SP studios than they previously had, we just haven’t heard what they’re working on.

And that is the problem where are the games? We are in the fourth year of this gen and they have relied heavily on money hated third party exclusive content, are they going to release them at the tail end of the gen with cross gen version for ps6? Because it sure looks like it.

 

[Z O N E]

I think one of the problems is, during the whole PS4 era, they pushed Single Player Cinematics so hard to the point that now that they need a live service game, the crowd that followed them for their original journey of single-player cinematic storytelling is wondering, "what the hell, this is not what we signed up for".

Especially since their last single-player cinematic experience was Spider-Man 2 and that came out in October of 2023.

 

[SHA]

If they can't get over 18hrs story game, cause gaas is basically intense gameplay with average cgi promo for every new season, then at least they must rely on 3rd party deals.

 

[Hudo]

I think one of the problems is, during the whole PS4 era, they pushed Single Player Cinematics so hard to the point that now that they need a live service game, the crowd that followed them for their original journey of single-player cinematic storytelling is wondering, "what the hell, this is not what we signed up for".

Especially since their last single-player cinematic experience was Spider-Man 2 and that came out in October of 2023.

Arguably their biggest "cinematic experience" studio, Naughty Dog, have yet to release something for PS5 that isn't a remaster. And the PS5 is approaching 4 years on the market in a few months.

 

[The Chairman]

What path?

This path

 

[StereoVsn]

Gran Turismo 7, God of War Ragnarok, Rise of the Ronin.

GT7 became good after like a year of patching. GoW was meh, Rise of Ronin and FFVII Rebirth were not Sony games and Ronin was overall pretty weak.

 

[Z O N E]

Arguably their biggest "cinematic experience" studio, Naughty Dog, have yet to release something for PS5 that isn't a remaster. And the PS5 is approaching 4 years on the market in a few months.

That right there, is my BIGGEST issue with Sony too.

The Last of Us 1 has 3 versions.
The Last of Us 2 has 2 versions.

Since the release of The Last of Us Part 2, The Last of Us 1 got remastered and The Last of Us 2 got remastered.

It seems like they're trying to bank on future media with their 1st party titles, as we've seen that with Concord having that Amazon deal. Which makes sense as to why we won't get a Bloodborne remake as they can't do anything else with that IP in terms of a movie or TV show.

 

[Loxus]

It's easy to understand, really.

AAA single-player games are taking long to make, which will result in some periods of no revenue from sales. Even Mark Cerny talked about this, often taking longer to make than a console, which takes 4 years to make.

Single-player games give out a large amount of revenue upon release but with a week are two, sales decline rapidly and single-player releases are far apart.

With live service games, if successful, can bring it a large amount of revenue far longer periods of time than single-player games.

This revenue can help fund more single-player games, which is much needed as we see Sony releasing their games on PC to gain some revenue for funding.

A strategy from before was including multi-player with single-player. The multi-player would include in-game purchases, which would add a small amount of revenue on top of revenue from sales.

Sony isn't stopping releasing single-player games, it's just that making these games takes long these days. So I don't see what the problem is in filling in the gaps for adding revenue.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Goot thing I had a bad internet to read forums in PS3 era, missed so many SONY DOOMED threads. That were more justified too.

If PS5 is a disaster for Sony, oh boy, some other companies are dreaming of this level of cataclysm.

 

[Evil Calvin]

Gran Turismo 7, God of War Ragnarok, Rise of the Ronin.

Sequel.......sequel.......derivative (and Sony only publishes Team Ninja games...they are Koei Tecmo). Not unique games at all.

 

[deriks]

Sony is not losing already because Xbox basically lives through services with games and not the other way around. Nintendo is the only one that understand gaming for real

 

[TheGodfather07]

Unfortunately sony have no competition. That's why they can experiment like this.

 

[bitbydeath]

I doubt that Naughty Dog has three full development teams. If they have, where are their games? We can surely say that Insomniac have multiples teams because they put a lot of games in market in a short time frame, but we can't say the same for Naughty Dog or every other Sony studio.

It’s two now AFAIK, the third was the MP.
Last of Us Pt3 and a new Sci-fi IP.

Naughty Dog confirms multiple single-player games in development following The Last Of Us Online's cancellation

The studio doubles down on single-player

www.gamesradar.com

 

[bitbydeath]

And that is the problem where are the games? We are in the fourth year of this gen and they have relied heavily on money hated third party exclusive content, are they going to release them at the tail end of the gen with cross gen version for ps6? Because it sure looks like it.

In development.
I agree they should be less secretive and revealing games sooner.

 

[bitbydeath]

This path

New studio, not an SP one.

 

[hinch7]

Which is why they are course correcting now and cancelling a lot of these live service titles. Jim Ryan really fucked up before he up went.

Its not trend chasing more than trying to make the the next Fortnite. Aka the money spinner every games company strives for. Why bother making more games when you can sell skins for $20 a pop.

 

[The Cockatrice]

After Concord floping and Marathon being a fucking disaster, they are probably rethinking their strategy, however thats going to take a few years whics means we aint eating anything good for the next years, at least nothing exclusive to the PS5. They're going to get some sales from PS5 pro from the dumbasses who waste money but thats about it. PS5 generation has been below average compared to the others. Anyone saying otherwise is delusional af.

 

[Neolombax]

What if the trend was single player games, should Sony avoid that too?

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Making a mountain out of a molehill: The Thread

 

[Duchess]

You ask me, Sony peaked with the PS4. We got so many damn amazing titles in that gen:

God of War
Spider-Man
Ghost of Tsushima
Days Gone
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Uncharted 4 / Lost Legacy
Last of Us Part 2
Until Dawn

Sure, there were a few mid titles, such as a game called Bloodborne, that was quickly forgotten, but you get the drift.

 

[nial]

GT7 became good after like a year of patching. GoW was meh, Rise of Ronin and FFVII Rebirth were not Sony games and Ronin was overall pretty weak.

I mean, you can feel whatever you want about them, but that doesn't change anything. Also, I only mentioned Rise of the Ronin and not Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the former is indeed a Sony game and this argument is weird because 97% of their JRPGs weren't actually developed by their internal studios.

 

[Rudius]

I'm very glad for every gaas that fail.

 

[killatopak]

What if the trend was single player games, should Sony avoid that too?

They wouldn't be trend chasers then. They would be the trend to chase.

 

[Lunarorbit]

Jim Ryan did Sony no favors when he left. Sure he had fun at MS expense during the Activision trial but he's a lawyer so that's he's wheelhouse.

He let media molecule do whatever for a decade. Same with this concord bs. He didn't understand bungies leadership and how shit they were. Him and hulst really messed up their mp initiative

 

[RCX]

Like almost everyone else they're probably too late to the party.

You'll still be able to get games like Deadlock and Helldivers that break out and make a good niche for themselves but if Sony was hoping to create a live-service monster then thats never going to happen.

Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, Warzone etc are "forever" games (I dont like this but its apparent that they are). The people who play them stick with them and it'll take something truly special to break into that echelon. Chasing trends and copying others is unlikely to help Sony achieve this.

 

[AV]

People seriously gonna forget about all this when the reveal the next third person single player narrative driven action adventure game in September

 

[Luipadre]

People seriously gonna forget about all this when the reveal the next third person single player narrative driven action adventure game in September

They aint gonna reveal shit in september. It will be a shitty SoP with 3rd party stuff at best

 

[Z O N E]

You ask me, Sony peaked with the PS4. We got so many damn amazing titles in that gen:

God of War
Spider-Man
Ghost of Tsushima
Days Gone
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Uncharted 4 / Lost Legacy
Last of Us Part 2
Until Dawn

Sure, there were a few mid titles, such as a game called Bloodborne, that was quickly forgotten, but you get the drift.

That's also the crux of their problem.

They've fostered this "we want a single-player cinematic experience" crowd and now that they're trying to get into GASS (live service) that same crowd they fostered is nowhere to be seen.

 

[TintoConCasera]

People seriously gonna forget about all this when the reveal the next third person single player narrative driven action adventure game in September

Will it have stealth mechanics about hiding in some bushes, a bow and crafting mechanics? O my I can't wait.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Where are the games like Stellar Blade or Astrobot on PS3?

The best you could do is an action game that Sony paid a developer exclusivity for, and one other game?

Where’s?

Heavenly Sword
Puppeteer
Loco Roco
Super Stardust HD
Motorstorm
Resistance Fall of Man
The Last Guy
MAG
White Knight Chronicles
Infamous
Pixeljunk Shooter
Demon’s Souls
Flower

This is just PS3 and ignores a lot of other Sony PS3 games. PS2 list would be much larger.

Sony’s obviously not doomed in any way. Their main savior is making PlayStation owners subscribe to play online. Without that service money coming in, who knows how bad off they’d be.

 

[tmlDan]

GT7 is a good game, God of War Ragnarök is a great game but a grind fest i couldn't get my self to play another carbon copy of GOW. Rise of Ronin i have but have not played yet busy with life but i have played enough team ninja games to know the formula.

grind fest? you havent played it or you are so bad at video games you needed to grind to pass a part lol

 

[Three]

The best you could do is an action game that Sony paid a developer exclusivity for, and one other game?

Where’s?

Heavenly Sword
Puppeteer
Loco Roco
Super Stardust HD
Motorstorm
Resistance Fall of Man
The Last Guy
MAG
White Knight Chronicles
Infamous
Pixeljunk Shooter
Demon’s Souls
Flower

This is just PS3 and ignores a lot of other Sony PS3 games. PS2 list would be much larger.

Sony’s obviously not doomed in any way. Their main savior is making PlayStation owners subscribe to play online. Without that service money coming in, who knows how bad off they’d be.

Yes, but you're ignoring what I said in the next line:

It's easy to say it doesn't match PS3 exactly but the landscape of game releases has changed

And what's the difference between Heavenly Sword and Stellar Blade?
I'm not saying an industry shift hasn't occurred. I'm saying those single player non-GaaS games exist and you can enjoy those without trying to moan about the existence of live service games from new studios even. I'm not sure why people are gatekeeping Playstation from creating live service games while ignoring or even cheering the industry shift in other places. Look at releases for Rare, look at releases of Rockstar, Bethesda, Epic, etc. Bunch of single player game releases during past gens. Mostly living off a single live service game today.

 

[gatti-man]

Purchasing Bungie wasn’t a bad idea if they actually invest in the destiny IP with a new game and better structure/direction. Instead they are trying to cut budgets and hedge bets with a 7 year old destiny 2 that is not very fun to enter (try making a new toon with no gear it sucks) for new players. Sony is mismanaging bungies IP

 

[hinch7]

Purchasing Bungie wasn’t a bad idea if they actually invest in the destiny IP with a new game and better structure/direction. Instead they are trying to cut budgets and hedge bets with a 7 year old destiny 2 that is not very fun to enter (try making a new toon with no gear it sucks) for new players. Sony is mismanaging bungies IP

I'm guessing they were pretty hands off, expecting them to bring in money from Destiny 2 and DLC. While providing good support and insight for their current plans for live service games; at the time.

Except they (Bungie) were burning away money without giving anything back. And with how bad Marathon's supposed development is going, I'm assuming thats the straw that broke the camel's back for Sony.

 

[Madserb2023]

There is no issue with chasing a trend, the issue is chasing a trend 8 years after it was trend. Game development is too long now. I prefer Nintendo's mentality where they either completely ignore the current thing and just make what they want to or try and establish a trend where they are in control

 

[Lupin25]

Astro Bot is most anticipated though, so the timing of this thread is pretty bad.

I couldn’t care less about the GaaS strategy. I didn’t care for Helldivers 2 either. Focus on what you enjoy the most, which are SP titles.

It was like this last-gen until 2016 pretty much, outside of Bloodborne. I’m not going to be the guy that shits on Sony, then a year or 2 from now, you’re back on the wagon because you see:

DS2, Ghost of Tsushima 2, Marvel’s Venom
Wolverine, Bluepoint’s new IP, Cory Barlog’s new IP, Naughty Dog’s new IP, etc.

 

[Calverz]

Sony shouldn’t have abandoned multiplayer modes in their games ps4 gen onwards. The entire focus on single player only games has now caught up with them imo. If they at least mandated some multiplayer modes in their first party games, they would have a better idea of what worked with their fans and what didn’t. They then could have built upon this knowledge in their chase towards live/GAAS titles today. It always struck me as odd that their big games on ps4 had no multiplayer. Spiderman, gow, tlou2, got, days gone etc.

 

[Mr Moose]

Is it L Lumpyoatmeal day off or something?

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Concord is a bomb, but Helldivers 2 is a huge success.

It wouldnt look bad if Bungie was humming along fine. If they were, it'd be rock solid Bungie + H2 countering Concord and any cancelled games. But since Bungie tanked and laid off people starting in 2023, that acquisition and GAAS strategy overshadows even H2.

 

[Physiognomonics]

This is false.



They still do.


What path?

No, they don't. We have seen they have frozen the investments on single player production, what worked for them before. On the other hand all their cash has been put into trend chasing trends. Subs, GAAS, and also applying DEI ideology to all their current western output, soon japanese output.

They also almost completely stopped their diverse portfolio initiative. Indies, VR, risky single player games etc.

EDIT: about Helldivers 2, again it's just a luck buy from Sony. They were lucky to buy this existing passion project. This is not a game they ordered like Concord.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Yes, but you're ignoring what I said in the next line:


And what's the difference between Heavenly Sword and Stellar Blade?
I'm not saying an industry shift hasn't occurred. I'm saying those single player non-GaaS games exist and you can enjoy those without trying to moan about the existence of live service games from new studios even. I'm not sure why people are gatekeeping Playstation from creating live service games while ignoring or even cheering the industry shift in other places. Look at releases for Rare, look at releases of Rockstar, Bethesda, Epic, etc. Bunch of single player game releases during past gens. Mostly living off a single live service game today.

I’m be honest, I don’t really care about the existence of GaaS games. I’m not a fan of it, but it seems like a necessary evil for AAA publisher to have in their portfolio of games.

As for the difference between Heavenly Sword and Stellar Blade, that’s pretty easy, Heavenly Sword was a second party release developed under Sony to be exclusive to their PS3. Stellar Blade was a multiplatform release that Sony looked at and paid the developer to cancel the Xbox port, and delay the PC version. Sony then published and marketed it as one of their games.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

EDIT: about Helldivers 2, again it's just a luck buy from Sony. They were lucky to buy this existing passion project. This is not a game they ordered like Concord.

Sony also didnt order Concord.

Concord was already in development when Sony came into the picture.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Sony games oozes moxie they’ve always supported their consoles, my favorite Sony game growing up was sly cooper, socom was special, I was comfortable playing killzone 2 when the industry was centered around call of duty, I think uncharted 2 personally was better in story areas, multiplayer than uncharted 4. Give Sony another season and year, a lot of games are going to run wild like GT8, God of war 3, naughty dog, insomanic, and other ones.

 

[Swagballs717]

You wanna talk about "disastrous", just look at Xbox

Phil's entire strategy for the brand seems to be "Just keep buying game studios and hope the problem solves itself"

 

[Three]

I’m be honest, I don’t really care about the existence of GaaS games. I’m not a fan of it, but it seems like a necessary evil for AAA publisher to have in their portfolio of games.

As for the difference between Heavenly Sword and Stellar Blade, that’s pretty easy, Heavenly Sword was a second party release developed under Sony to be exclusive to their PS3. Stellar Blade was a multiplatform release that Sony looked at and paid the developer to cancel the Xbox port, and delay the PC version. Sony then published and marketed it as one of their games.

Stellar Blade is a "second party" release just like Heavenly Sword. They're the first party publisher of the game and paid a third party to create it.

 

[Hudo]

You wanna talk about "disastrous", just look at Xbox

Phil's entire strategy for the brand seems to be "Just keep buying game studios and hope the problem solves itself"

I am pretty happy with Microsoft's RTS strategy.

 

[Lumpyoatmeal]

Is it L Lumpyoatmeal day off or something?

Lol man I was playing Playstation games when most of you were still in diapers. When you had to rub some alcohol on the disc to make it to the license black screen. I recently found a copy of GTA II for my Playstation in my storage, I’m trying to remember when I bought this.

 

[King Dazzar]

Lol man I was playing Playstation games when most of you were still in diapers. When you had to rub some alcohol on the disc to make it to the license black screen. I recently found a copy of GTA II for my Playstation in my storage, I’m trying to remember when I bought this.

Discs as in CD's. What a luxury. I remember cassettes and gaming in black and white, as thats all there was. I think you'd be surprised at how broad many peoples gaming experiences reach on here.

Back on topic. Sony/PlayStation are far from some great customer friendly & focused, shining star of gaming perfection. But they are still where I reckon my gaming enjoyment will primarily come from. Its a shame so much time and resource is going to waste. But I'm sure there's some single player brilliance yet to come.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

Their SP studios are still SP studios, nothing changed. They even acquired more SP studios than they previously had, we just haven’t heard what they’re working on.

Its quite easy, Sony has a finite amount of money to spent on creating games, with the goal of growing their business.
Option A) make more AAA SP games,
Option B) make GAAS Games only, or
Option C) split resources and do some AAA SP and GAAS games.

To say that their GAAS option has no effect on their SP output is just not how a business works. If Sony had gone for option A, they would have 20 studios making AAA SP games. And that would have been a valid option too. They want to grow, either by more SP games, or GAAS or a mix of booth.

Sony would never have the same amount of studios they had in the PS4 era regardless of options. They have to grow.

--> They choose not to grow their AAA SP output. The two new SP focused Devs aren't offsetting the closure of their PS4 Era SP focused Studios.

 

[Lumpyoatmeal]

Discs as in CD's. What a luxury. I remember cassettes and gaming in black and white, as thats all there was. I think you'd be surprised at how broad many peoples gaming experiences reach on here.

I’m all for gamers having a wide broad experience but I don’t personally correlate that with today’s Playstation fan; I don’t find anything appealing about getting your hand held in an on-rail single player game, I would prefer a wider variety of genres from Sony.