120°

Winning the console wars: Sony's not-so-secret weapon

Destructoid - This next generation of gaming is looking to provide the biggest industry shake-up in decades, with dedicated console manufacturers facing ever-growing competition from tablet devices, smartphones, and an upcoming wave of budget consoles like the Ouya.

This is why I was so bewildered by Sony’s over-hyped PlayStation 4 reveal earlier this month, an event which seemed almost completely ignorant of this coming shift in the marketplace. I’d expected to bear witness to some sort of master plan from one of the leading console manufactures. Instead we were treated to the non-news of another Final Fantasy game and a two-year late Diablo III port, each new awkward PR robot that took the stage helping to reinforce the idea that Sony had no idea what they were doing.

Read Full Story >>
destructoid.com
Jaqen_Hghar4069d ago

A man is...unsure what conference a writer was watching on the 20th. A man saw many interesting titles and nothing but praise from developers and fans. A man is more hyped for this console than any in the past and will buy launch day for the first time.

jmac534069d ago

A man must choose 3 to die...

Jaqen_Hghar4069d ago

name a name and a man will give them to the red god

Jaqen_Hghar4068d ago

look at a man's name and read "A Song of Ice and Fire" or watch "Game of Thrones" on HBO

4069d ago Replies(3)
_LarZen_4069d ago

"with dedicated console manufacturers facing ever-growing competition from tablet devices, smartphones, and an upcoming wave of budget consoles like the Ouya"

I did not bother to read any more. Phones and phone games in a box like Ouya is not a growing competition, it is not even in the same league.

It is beyond me how a little faction of gaming reporters have started to think mobile and tablet games is taking over for real games on consoles and pc.

I have no clue what world you people live in, it certainly is not the same world I live in.

3dawg4069d ago

i agree with your point. i read the article and the author basically explains why ps+ is a better value than any services out there; therefore it's key to winning next gen. ;) i'll still click agree even though you didnt read it

JoeReno4069d ago

I stopped reading at that exact point also. Hahaha

panbit864069d ago

If they come up with a service like Netflix but for games it will destroy the competition! With the full Playstation libraby it would be HUGE! (PS1,PS2,PS3,PS4,PSP,PSV!!!)

Dragos754069d ago

And have it stream with no issues.....I doubt it.

ThatXboxGuy4069d ago

Gaikai has proven reliable.Onlive on the other hand..

Blastoise4069d ago

I love PS+, I still can't get over how epic it is. Looking forward to the March update, gonna get some MGS on my Vita :)

Show all comments (28)
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.

Read Full Story >>
techraptor.net
ChasterMies19d 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_looken19d ago

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

Cacabunga19d ago

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

just_looken19d 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-6419d 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_Long19d 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.

Einhander197219d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic19d 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 19d ago
DivineHand12519d 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.

Joe91319d 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_Observer19d 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.

S2Killinit19d ago (Edited 19d 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.

Joe91318d 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.

S2Killinit18d 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 18d ago
Christopher19d 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.

CrimsonWing6918d ago (Edited 18d 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.

S2Killinit18d 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_Mal19d ago (Edited 19d 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.

Christopher19d 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_looken19d 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

Einhander197219d ago (Edited 19d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic19d 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.

romulus2319d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218319d 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.

S2Killinit18d ago (Edited 18d 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.

mastershredder19d 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.

crazyCoconuts19d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

Show all comments (43)
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.

blackblades25d ago

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

just_looken25d 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.

blackblades25d 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_looken25d ago (Edited 25d 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.

Kaii25d 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
S2Killinit27d ago

Big victory for Sony. And a long time coming.

DarXyde27d ago (Edited 27d ago )

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

Make it Bloodborne 2, please and thank you.

26d ago
Profchaos27d 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

Pyrofire9527d ago

Patents suck. Most of them are complete garbage.

Knightofelemia27d 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.

Show all comments (13)