120°

Sony’s Ego Will Be the Death Of Them

Joseph DiGrado writes: "First and foremost I am a huge fan of Sony and in fact a sony fanboy, but lets keep it real and kick the ballistics why don’t we. Ever since Sony’s success with the PS1 and PS2 they seem to have let their ego take over. Yes, the PS2 was successful, and they dumped a lot of money into the PS3 because they had it. It’s not their fault that it didn’t sell like they planned, well not fully. But that’s a totally different discussion. What’s most important is what they do with the PS4; judging by what they have learned. And it doesn’t seem like they have learned their lesson yet..."

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realgamernewz.com
NYC_Gamer4042d ago (Edited 4042d ago )

I disagree,Sony have listened and built PS4 based on demands from developers inside of the industry...Sony will even allow for self published indie software to be on PS4 and have developers decide on the price or F2p...PS4 will be one of the most developer friendly/open consoles on the market.

PoSTedUP4042d ago (Edited 4042d ago )

you're right yes they have. i'm not knocking you but that's not what the article touches upon. but it is a good positive thing they are making it more suitable for developers this time around.

MysticStrummer4042d ago

Yeah I guess you wouldn't want the article to mention things that disprove your premise. smh

Donnieboi4042d ago

This article is baseless.

Such strong delusional nonsense.

Hicken4041d ago

How can you say "it doesn't seem like they've learned their lesson yet" when it seems EXACTLY like they've learned their lesson?

More developer friendly, meaning third parties will get better results. They even went as far as to ask developers what they wanted first, so that problem isn't there.

Less exotic parts. This means the cost to produce the thing will be down. Which means the launch price should also be down significantly.

No promises of excessive features. Everything they've shown so far seems feasible, though it may not ALL be available day 1. And there's a large variety of things coming which look quite good.

Loads of software at launch. There's really little else that needs to be said about that: there will be plenty of games- GOOD games- to play when the PS4 releases.

Looking at the article- which I told myself I wasn't gonna do, at first- you seem to be basing your stance on the fact that Sony's intent to bring out quality hardware and software.

... that doesn't make sense. It doesn't take arrogance to do that. That's more something you do when you CARE, not when you're full of yourself. When you're vested in your craft, you take losses like they did on the PS3... which they don't seem to be about to do with the PS4, by the way.

In any case, the entire article is off-base.

MikeMyers4041d ago (Edited 4041d ago )

It will only be the death of them if they keep coming out with products that are expensive to make but people are not willing to pay for them. The PS3 started out that way, even at $599 they were losing money. Vita was promoted as a high end handheld gaming device and sales haven't really shown a huge demand for that. Other divisions have also felt it. Samsung have come in and took over the TV market that Sony used to dominate. Again consumers are not willing to pay a premium at times.

Now fast forward to the PS4 and while the products sounds very good they could be facing shortfalls again with profit returns. That is unless they can price it accordingly and consumers buy it. Right now it looks like a high end gaming console so what will the price be and will Sony once again be selling it at a loss? Apparently the Wii U is sold at a loss and it's not selling very well. Hardware sales for the PS3 and Xbox 360 I think are down year over year.

We can all be very positive and all love what we think the PS4 will be but in the end consumers will dictate its fate. The market is changing all the time and peoples interest and free time are being placed in various areas. In a world where there is so much media it can be hard to come out with a device that consumers will crave. It's also a much more competitive market than when Sony first came into the scene. The landscape has drastically changed.

Sony has been humbled by the PS3 experience. They seem to be listening more to what game developers want but again nothing is going to guarantee its success. I think the industry itself is in need of change. We seen far too many ip's run its course and gameplay being all too familiar (not singling out Sony but all game development as a whole).

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4041d ago
BeAGamer4042d ago

this article should be directed towards Microsoft

AngelicIceDiamond4042d ago (Edited 4041d ago )

How does MS have an Ego?

Instead of disagreeing can I have Explanation please?

majiebeast4042d ago (Edited 4042d ago )

YEAH HOW DARE THEY MAKE A CONSOLE FOR DEVELOPERS THATS JUST ARROGANT! /S

If anything Sony has become more humble not making developers jump through hoops for them and embracing indie developers.

Also they have completely let go of the Japan knows best mentality, with Mark Cerny being the lead designer behind the PS4. The man is a legend in the industry he made marble madness when he was 17-18 and then went on to cocreate Crash,Sonic and Spyro among others. If you pull up his Wiki page you get a list of games that most developers would be jealous of.

Root4042d ago (Edited 4042d ago )

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992, Genesis) — Producer

Crash Bandicoot (1996, PlayStation) — Executive Producer

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (1997, PlayStation) — Producer, Designer

Spyro the Dragon (1998, PlayStation) — Executive Producer, Designer

Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (1998, PlayStation) — Executive Producer, Designer

Spyro the Dragon 2: Ripto's Rage! (1999, PlayStation) — Executive Producer

Crash Bash (2000, PlayStation) — Producer, Designer

Spyro: Year of the Dragon (2000, PlayStation) — Design Consultant

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001, PS2) — Programmer

Ratchet and Clank (2002, PS2) - Designer

Jak II (2003, PS2) — Programmer, Designer

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (2003, PS2) — Designer

Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (2004, PS2) — Design Consultant

Resistance: Fall of Man (2006, PS3) — Design Consultant

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007, PS3) — Design Consultant

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (2007, PS3) — Design Consultant

Resistance 2 (2008, PS3) — Designer

God of War III (2010, PS3) — Design Consultant

Killzone 3 (2011, PS3) — Design Consultant

Wow he's worked on all the top PS games in some way...even Sonic with Sega

DOMination-4042d ago

Losing that Japan knows vest thing is very important. PS3 had some strange design decisions and most of them revolved around the Japanese thinking online connectivity was a gimmick and wouldn't take off.

Cerny is a legend. Has ny utmost respect. I like everything I've seen of the ps4 OS. And Sony are much more humble and better for it too than 7 years ago.

Root4042d ago (Edited 4042d ago )

They are not arrogant at all now, they learnt there lesson with the PS3 launch when they underestimated Microsoft.

If anything Microsoft and even Nintendo are more ego filled then Sony

"And it doesn’t seem like they have learned their lesson yet"

Oh yeah...listening to developers and even gamers complaints is them not learning their lesson /s

bicfitness4042d ago

Three paragraphs of myopic, self-indulgent whining is what qualifies as an "article" these days? My God, standards have never been so low. I don't care which of the Big Three its about, but this sort of low-grade crap shouldn't even get voted out of pending.

The average N4G troll posts better, more substantial rants than this. 3/10.

doogiebear4042d ago

I voted the site down. Let us all do that. This article is just a rant. And a poorly written one, at that.

moegooner884042d ago (Edited 4042d ago )

" Sony needs to think smarter in terms of making money and less about having the best quality ".

Why not both ?, and we currently have no idea about the PS4 price point, whether it will be profitable on launch or not; article is based on assumptions and speculations, rather than facts.

Silly gameAr4042d ago

The fact that they actually wrote that just blow my mind. My head is literally a mushroom cloud right now.

Minato-Namikaze4042d ago

He's literally asking sony to not make quality devices. Just wow........

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280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

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techraptor.net
ChasterMies12d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken11d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga11d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken11d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6411d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long11d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197211d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic11d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 11d ago
DivineHand12511d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91311d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer11d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91311d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit11d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 11d ago
Christopher12d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6911d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit11d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher11d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken11d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197211d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic11d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2311d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218311d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder11d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts11d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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80°

Sony May Soon Let You Decide How Much NPCs Talk In Games

Sony has patented to add multiple dialogue modes to let players switch between how many conversations with NPCs they want in the game.

blackblades18d ago

Sony is like the only ones outta the 3 that has atuff like like this pop up changing thing in ways.

just_looken17d ago

Sony in the past has always been first at bat with new ideas/tech but in the end never fully use it or just toss it away.

blackblades17d ago

I think they did use some but yeah most usually never happened but at least they thought about it. Sony seeks things like this and other, Nintendo seek different ways of playing going by there different controler designs and console designs.

just_looken17d ago (Edited 17d ago )

some of the other stuff sony want's/owns never used
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://www.eurogamer.net/s...
https://metro.co.uk/2023/03...
https://decrypt.co/114754/s...

monitor/adjust game difficultly as you play
https://www.techradar.com/g...

Sony nfts
https://www.theblock.co/pos...

Pay ai to play the game for you
https://thebusinessofesport...

Oh all the above last 12 months

I just imagine a evil scientist with test subjects when it comes down to sony recent patent reports.

Kaii17d ago

Will we get dialogue options that won't spoil puzzles in a matter of seconds? :p

280°

Judge rules in PlayStation's favour in $500m patent infringement lawsuit

Genuine Enabling Technology was seeking damages, claiming the tech allowing PlayStation consoles and controllers to communicate infringes its rights.

Read Full Story >>
gamesindustry.biz
S2Killinit19d ago

Big victory for Sony. And a long time coming.

DarXyde19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

Crazy to think the savings from this lawsuit allows them to develop one AAA game.

Make it Bloodborne 2, please and thank you.

19d ago
Profchaos19d ago

Sounds like patent trolling they tried the same thing against Nintendo with the same pattern.

Motion and control input traversing over higher and lower frequencies seperate from each other allowing the controller to do both

Pyrofire9519d ago

Patents suck. Most of them are complete garbage.

Knightofelemia19d ago

So to recoup the money Genuine is going to take on Nintendo or Microsoft next. I hate patent lawyers they are some of the worst bottom feeders out there.

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