130°

PlayStation Europe CEO Jim Ryan on the future of Playtation Vita

Key Sony executive on how Vita can become a profitable playground for other publishers and the future of the PS3.

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computerandvideogames.com
Protagonist4267d ago (Edited 4267d ago )

Thanks for a great Interview. PlayStation Europe CEO Jim Ryan did a great job with the PSVITA and PS3, what a show it was.

BrutallyBlunt4267d ago (Edited 4267d ago )

I liked the interview too, he seemed to be quite honest.

Some highlighted quotes
Question aksed -"I just wonder what's happened to the casual market. It feels like it has left the traditional games business.

Answer -Well we still have a significant PSP business in many markets, which is something that tends to be forgotten. But I think a certain amount of that market has found its way onto smartphones and tablets."

At least they acknowledge the trends happening and see more markets have risen because of it. People DO play games on smartphones and tablets so of course some potential Vita sales will have to deal with those consumers even though they don't buy tablets and smartphones just for games. Ask yourself this, now that PS1 games are on smartphones and tablets are they now not considered real games?

"Yeah the development environments are rather different. PS Vita is a more PC-based environment whereas the PS3 is a more bespoke development environment. So the cross-over between both is rather limited."

That was bound to be the case. The Playstation 3 came out years ago and Vita was a different direction for Sony. They wanted Vita to be a more friendly system for game developers. So you have two different architectures and two different experiences. This is why comparing the PS3/Vita combo to the Wii U doesn't make much sense and why cross game play and buy one get both versions will be limited.

"there are so many platforms for games that these publishers have to place bets carefully. It's the job of the platform holder to explain why betting on their console is good business."

This is true and why we won't be seeing too many games that make full use of the hardware. 3rd party publishers focus more on selling to as wide of a userbase as possible. It's the same reason why things like the Playstation Move get very little support from them. If Vita sales do well then expect those publishers to take more chances. Trouble is you need unique experiences to get consumers to buy that particular hardware. That's the job of the 1st party and games like Tearaway are a great example.

"I think Nintendo is always a competitor"

Of course they are. That's why it was ridiculous of Jack Tretton to dismiss the DS and 3DS crowd like that.

Question asked "And there was no mention of the new PS3 either and-"

Answer "-Which new PS3? [laughs]"

Almost sounds to me like they are waiting for the official price of the Wii U and release date to try and counter it and take some of the headlines away. Not a direct competitor but if they can get consumers still on the fence to buy a much cheaper slimmer PS3 then why not?

"Also I would say, and certainly for the next five years, that disc-based distribution is going to be the norm."

The flip side to that is there are some Vita games that can only be bought digitally just like some Playstation 3 games. They are the smaller titles but they can still be good ones. Sound Shapes and Journey come to mind. So we are already in the transition phase of buying digital only. Big titles will remain disc based and will also offer a digital version too. Those titles have a much larger investment so they want as many people to have access to them as possible. So you have a trade-off of having digital only and getting all those resources back by cutting out the used market/piracy/and the middlemen retailer but also limiting your customer base or a wider audience but more costs for shipping, loss of revenue through used game sales and piracy.

Blankman854267d ago

I'm just glad people are no longer lying to themselves and saying Vita does not need saving (looking at you GrGr) 2.2 million is indeed worrying for a product that was meant to sell 10 million for the year.
Bright side is that from here it can only get better.

HarryMasonHerpderp4267d ago (Edited 4267d ago )

2.2 million in 6 months isn't all that bad, it's not great but this time next year I expect the Vita to of shifted at least 10 million.
It just needs more marketing especially TV ads I haven't seen one in the UK and more third party support from developers will help a lot more. People are genuinely happy once they have one so it's a great system it just needs more games and stronger advertising. People doubted the PSP and thats sold 53 million units.

THESONYPS34267d ago

Actually the PSP has sold 74.96 million units.

dark-hollow4267d ago

It IS bad!

When your system is going neck to neck against the dreamcast launch sales then you know something is wrong.

Blankman854267d ago

Except it's been out since December, that's 8 months. It has sold only 400k in the last 4 months.

4267d ago Replies(1)
remanutd554267d ago

what a great interview, this is one of the few interesting articles on this site anyways, if it were up to me i'd put every ELITE studio to work on simultaneous projects on psvita and ps4 launch line up, i'd put Sucker Punch, Evolution Studios, Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica, Polyphony Digital, Japan Studios, Guerrilla Games, Media Molecule and more to develop new original games on the vita ( in other words i'd bring the best to give me the best) just like Mm and GG proved it at Gamescon, i'd take an aggressive marketing approach, instead of marketing games by themselves i would create psvita on the go entertainment ads (showcasing vita games, features and applications), i would take a little more emphasis on casual gamers.

price cut is coming but after the holidays but i would bundle a 16 gb memory card with the system and lower the price on all memory cards, i would get rid of the 4 gb memory card and create a 64 gb one at a reasonable price.

joeorc4267d ago

"But how can PS Vita appeal to the more casual audience? What does it have?"

A: Well, the games we create for the PlayStation Mobile initiative are compatible with Vita and we see Vita as being one of the primary devices for that content. We have a lot of Vita network games that are lighter touch but are priced accordingly. So I think there's a reasonable amount of things now that will appeal to that side of the market.

Many people said Sony has not learned about, the past mistakes about the mobile gaming space and that Sony need's more unique Pick up and Play games to cater to the casual crowd for the PSVita to be viable.

Well i think this interview show's that Sony has learned and they are doing exactly that, and that is going forward to provide both types of game play offering's for the consumer, i think that is what most would agree would be a good thing. Why not have both type's of content. what does it hurt to have both.

150°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos1d 18h ago (Edited 1d 18h ago )

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers1d 14h ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

Profchaos23h ago(Edited 23h ago)

How rediculas really. You can't say a word that's allowed in most PG films and prime time TV but the game is based around killing the enemy team using guns, explosives etc.

It's just backwards.

just_looken1d 1h ago

What your talking about is called block list

In 2006 a spaceship dropped of the playstation 3/xbox 360 i say that that generation was the last great gen with game functions/tech that has yet to comeback

Anyhow the playstation 3 if you block listed a id they could not talk to you in chatroom with either text or voice. But that was pre mind fucked 2018 when people were more human than sheep.

But hey gta 6 is coming out billion dollar budget without a single player custom character creator and without singeplayer coop off/online something saints row 1-3 had on the xbox 360.

z2g1d 10h ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing1d 10h ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H91d 10h ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

jambola1d 6h ago

I genuinely get a bit worried sometimes when a friend says something that could be offensive In a party
Because I have no trouble believing some bans would happen when in a private party for saying something wrong

SegaSaturn6691d 9h ago

I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.

Popsicle1d 9h ago

Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.

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130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg2d ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos2d ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola1d 21h ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

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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
ChasterMies22d 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_looken22d ago

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

Cacabunga22d ago

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

just_looken22d 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-6422d 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_Long22d 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.

Einhander197221d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic21d 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 21d ago
DivineHand12522d 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.

Joe91322d 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_Observer22d 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.

S2Killinit22d ago (Edited 22d 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.

Joe91321d 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.

S2Killinit21d 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 21d ago
Christopher22d 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.

CrimsonWing6921d ago (Edited 21d 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.

S2Killinit21d 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_Mal22d ago (Edited 22d 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.

Christopher22d 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_looken22d 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

Einhander197221d ago (Edited 21d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic21d 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.

romulus2322d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218322d 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.

S2Killinit21d ago (Edited 21d 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.

mastershredder22d 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.

crazyCoconuts22d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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