150°

'Starhawk' developer LightBox Interactive hit with layoffs, moving from console development to iOS

Polygon writes: "LightBox Interactive, the Austin-based developer behind PlayStation 3 game Starhawk, has laid off 24 of its employees, studio founder and president Dylan Jobe tells Polygon. The layoffs are part of a "shift in product strategy" at LightBox, Jobe says, which includes a move away from traditional console development."

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theverge.com
ChunkyLover534200d ago

That is too bad, always sad to see people laid off, and its even worse when a decent console game developer switches to IOS development.

Starhawk was fun, had zero advertising and deserved better. Hope those guys find work soon.

hkgamer4200d ago

Agree. Starhawk was promoted a little by Sony, but when it came out I didn't even know about it.

It's also very sad to see game studios laying people off and going the iOS route. Actually it feels a little strange that these studios go the iOS route when they probably know nothing about making games for the mass public.

iOS is not about making great games, its more about making attractive games that go viral.

ikkokucrisis4200d ago

Hmm, I was planning to buy the Multi-player component after playing the Single Player free on Plus+ later this month (because of the spend $100 get $20 back sale on PSN).

If LB is not going to do any more PS3 work are they gonna drop support for the *Hawk games as well?

DeforMAKulizer4200d ago

Sony said that Sony Santa Monica will continue the support for the game.

yesmynameissumo4200d ago

I think marketing is the Bane to Sony's Batman. It's breaking its back by not promoting...well, anything. It's shit like this that makes me convinced Insomniac's decision to go 3rd party was in the best interest of the studio. Look at Resistance 3. One of the best, if not THE best, shooter of 2011 and Sony barely promoted it. They set good and great games up to fail. I love PlayStation and the games the 1st parties put out, that's why I'm so critical. It's great to have "all these exclusives" but what's the point if 2 or 3 are marketed?

blue_cheese4200d ago

like i've been saying although Sony has far more, and sometimes far better exclusive games; when it comes for these games to actually sell, these games fall flat on their face. if resistance 3 had been a third party title it would have sold a lot better on the xbox360 and would have brought more support to these games. i still feel that a lot of sony's exclusive developers should go multiplatform, its only hurting them.

yesmynameissumo4200d ago

I don't think R3 would have been an insta-buy on the 360. The flip side to that coin is this also happens on the 360, only not as often, because their aren't a lot (comparatively) of exclusives coming from 1st party studios. Forza isn't a massive seller. Fable isn't. Kinect games haven't been. They all just have commercials and ads to at least make people AWARE the damn games exist. The results have been doing well enough for sequels to be made.

ChronoJoe4200d ago

You do actually realise that Sony's exclusive developers are contracted and paid a salary? Regardless of the success of their product.

Futhermore, most are first party. Only Insomniac and one or two others are '2nd party' (which is technically just third). For most of the studio it's insignificant if EA or Sony are effectively paying their wages, they just need to get decent contracts in. Sony probably weren't willing to support Insomniac / Resistance, as much as previously based on the underperformance of their more recent games, hence Insomniacs move.

Whilst I don't disagree with the idea that most developers would be more successful as third party, pretty much all would, even Microsofts - you seem to missunderstand why developers produce games exclusively or one platform in the first place. It's not because they believe their dependent on sales figures and believe that doing so will sell their game better, any third party dev that produces a game exclusively for one platform has a heap load of financial support that they wouldn't otherwise get.

In this case, you cry about this studio failing and collapsing, the reality is. It was a studio brought together to produce one of Sony's intellectual properties. It would not have existed without Sony's intellectual / financial backing so naturally layoffs after the deliverable for the project they were contracted for, were delivered... were inevitable.

BattleAxe4200d ago (Edited 4200d ago )

Resistance 3 killed itself. While it had a great single player campaign, the multiplayer was the worst in the series. They went from 8 Player Co-op with matchmaking in Resistance 2, down to 2 player co-op without matchmaking in Resistance 3. They went from 40 player matches in Resistance: Fall of Man and 60 player matches in Resistance 2 all the way down to 16 player matches in Resistance 3. Can you see the difference? Any true fan of the series knows these facts.

With Starhawk, they apparently didn't do a very good job with the single player campaign, but the online portion is alot of fun. I didn't bother to buy Starhawk at launch, but I just bought the Mulitplayer Edition when it released as a stand alone game around two weeks ago, and it was money well spent. With Warhawk, they had to deal with the fact that there wasn't a very big install base on the PS3 when this game released. I would say that their lack of success comes from poor timing for Warhawk, and producing a game where only 50% of it was good with Starhawk. Switching to IOS development won't help them at all.

Blankman854200d ago

Sumo, Fable 2 and 3 sold over 5 million each, so did Forza 3. Forza 2 sold over 4 million. Granted these are VGChartz numbers, but still.
You could have picked Viva pinata, Alan Wake, Crackdown or something. Also, Dance Central and Kinect Sports both sold over 3 million.

smashcrashbash4200d ago

You just babble the same thing every ignorant fanboy says all the time. You pretend that every game on the 360 get the attention it deserves and always think that every game on then PS3 would be better received on the 360. What about all the failed games that are on the 360? What happened to those. Do you pretend they don't exist or something? And what about all the Kinect games that fall flat on their face? They had commercials but barely sold even close the number of people that own a Kinect system. No one receives anything better on any system. They all have their sellers and their not so good sellers.Stop repeating the same BS every time. you can't just make such a general statement. Resistance could have sold even less on the 360 for all you know.StarHawk could have been ignored completely.

neoMAXMLC4200d ago

Yeah, and Alan Wake would have done better on the PS3. So would Forza.

This myth that games always do better on the 360 is absolute bullcrap.

trouble_bubble4200d ago (Edited 4200d ago )

Ndvihu...NO FABLE GAME has sold over 5 million according to YOUR source...vgchartz http://www.vgchartz.com/gam... .

Forza 2 hasn't passed 4 mil' either according to YOUR source, nor has any Dance Central game passed your claim of 3 mil' http://www.vgchartz.com/gam... .

What's your angle? Didn't think someone would check or what? Dear gawd man, Sumo never even tracked http://www.vgchartz.com/gam... . Wow lmao

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4200d ago
Ben_Grimm4200d ago

People really need to stop with the "Sony doesn't promote" hard enough excuse. Sony put out dozens of commercials for R3, billboards and ads everywhere. I saw commercial spots for Starhawk and ads at local gamestops and other stores that carry electronics. The fact is as good as these games were the interests in them are low.

People keep saying that Sony has all these great IP's, but if the interest isn't there then what good are they? I loved Warhawk but I never got a chance to play Starhawk only because at the time there were other games that sparked my interest more. The same could be said for me and Twisted Metal.

Here's hoping that these guys return to console game making, great talent like this belongs on a big screen not a small handheld device.

ginsunuva4200d ago

No. People ACTUALLY don't know about these games. Every time I mention any ps3 game to anyone I know, they've never heard of it in their lives. Ps3 owners are an older, more mature demographic who are more stingy when spending because their parents aren't buying their stuff anymore. And they don't have the social networking of younger kids and teens on wii and xbox, which is a major component of selling products - word of mouth.

maniacmayhem4200d ago

@gin

I'm going to have to STRONGLY disagree. Just because you may know people that don't know any PS3 games doesn't mean Sony doesn't promote. I know just as many people that do know PS3 games.

"Ps3 owners are an older, more mature demographic who are more stingy"

C'mon now, that is just a load of pure snob, BS. Being the more mature console doesn't stop CoD and other main stream games from being the number one franchises on both ps3 and 360.

If it were a true older demographic then they would be much more informed of ps3 releases due to internet news and other media outlets that older folks have more access too.

blue_cheese4200d ago

this brings me back to my point that although sony is a great company, some games like starhawk under preform on the console. whereas if this game would have been released on the xbox360, people would have bought this game in droves considering the audience of xbox360 doesn't have a game similar to this. these guys were great developers, hope the laid off find work in the future.

BigStef714200d ago

Not at all. If it isn't a big franchise like Halo Gears Fable or Forza then it doesn't sell well on 360.

blue_cheese4200d ago

false COD sells 2 to 1 on 360, im not a fanboy but third party games tend to sell a lot better on 360, i only plat my ps3 for exclusives.

xabmol4200d ago

Big states that if it is not a 'big franchise' then it will not sell well on the 360.

Then Blue say that CoD sells 2 to 1 on the 360 as if this is a counter argument.

Isn't that just saying the same exact thing that Big said? Is CoD not a big franchise now?! O.o

Jazz41084200d ago

How do u think these games like forza and halo and gears got started? They were new ips that were well recieved.

Ducky4200d ago (Edited 4200d ago )

One of the few developers that actually made multiplayer games that went beyond the cookie-cutter experience and yet it falters.

You'd think with all the people that complain about online shooters all being casual and generic, Starhawk would've done better. Sadly most big publishers will just see this as another reason to play it safe.

PinkFunk4200d ago

I absolutely loved Starhawk. If I still had my PS3 (I moved to the UK, couldn't take it with me), I'd be playing the sh*t out of it right now.

I remember playing the beta and thinking, 'my goodness, they've changed everything, this is potentially going to be a massive hit'. I wish they had sold more... because I thought it was freakin' brilliant.

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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
ChasterMies13d 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_looken13d ago

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

Cacabunga13d ago

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

just_looken13d 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-6413d 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_Long13d 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.

Einhander197213d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic13d 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 13d ago
DivineHand12513d 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.

Joe91313d 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_Observer13d 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.

S2Killinit13d ago (Edited 13d 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.

Joe91312d 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.

S2Killinit12d 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 12d ago
Christopher13d 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.

CrimsonWing6912d ago (Edited 12d 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.

S2Killinit12d 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_Mal13d ago (Edited 13d 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.

Christopher13d 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_looken13d 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

Einhander197213d ago (Edited 13d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic13d 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.

romulus2313d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218313d 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.

S2Killinit12d ago (Edited 12d 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.

mastershredder13d 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.

crazyCoconuts13d 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.

blackblades19d ago

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

just_looken19d 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.

blackblades19d 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_looken19d ago (Edited 19d 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.

Kaii19d 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.

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gamesindustry.biz
S2Killinit21d ago

Big victory for Sony. And a long time coming.

DarXyde21d ago (Edited 21d ago )

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

Make it Bloodborne 2, please and thank you.

21d ago
Profchaos21d 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

Pyrofire9521d ago

Patents suck. Most of them are complete garbage.

Knightofelemia21d 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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