210°

Sony: PlayStation business needs to be profitable this year

Sony's UK MD Feral Gara talks about PS4 needing to be profitable this financial year and the price of premium games.

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gamesindustry.biz
NameRemoved00173970d ago (Edited 3970d ago )

Sony, you have done a enough I can guarantee you atleast $400 + Destiny, killzone and infamous second son and Playstation Plus purchased right now.

blitz06233970d ago

Alright people, time to give them what they deserve for staying conservative and avoiding the route Microsoft took.

RiPPn3970d ago

Same here, thanks Best Buy and your $40 deal!!

badz1493970d ago

you'll always have business with me, Sony!

M-M3970d ago

You finally made a comment in a console related article without saying anything about PCs. I'm proud of you.

Dir_en_grey3970d ago

Release them games and you can have all my money =)

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3970d ago
Akuma2K3970d ago

With the complete turn around sony has done from the PS3 to PS4, i don't think they'll have any problems concerning any financial difficulty as far as selling PS4 games or consoles.....best believe they're making a profit much more quickly this next gen than they did with the PS3.

insomnium23970d ago

Yeah the only problem they WILL have is keeping up with the demand for PS4. I hope you launch this beast ww in 2013. Don't make us europeans wait again. There shouldn't be a problem aquiering the components for PS4 so keep the factories pumping out PS4s so we can all enjoy it this holiday season Sony. That's an order!

Akuma2K3970d ago

I'm sure the first batch of PS4 consoles will run quickly and there will be shortages all over, but because it didn't take as much money to build the PS4 (compared to the PS3 launching at $600 to make a profit) i think sony will be able to keep up with the demand at least by 50% and i think the shortages won't last that long but that depends on the area its going to.

Serg3970d ago

@Akuma2K

The PS3 wasn't profitable at $599, the launch unit was costing them ~$900 per console. Meaning they lost $300 every time someone bought a PS3 for $599.

SaffronCurse3970d ago

They'll definitely get my business.
Nintendo as well.

NatureOfLogic3970d ago

I plan to get the WiiU too, but I'm just waiting on a HD zelda announcement.

Bathyj3970d ago

Its amazing but WiiU seems to be enjoying a small resurgence in popularity since MS showed Xbone and stunk up the joint.

Its the same reason I always like standing next to fat people.

humbleopinion3970d ago

Resurgence? What Resurgence!?
While both the PS4 and Xbox One day one editions are outsold ing Amazon, with the regular versions trading blows for the first place in their charts, the WiiU currently sits at around #300-#400 place: below the X360, PS3 and even the good old Wii.

At the same time, the best selling WiiU game (NSMBU) barely makes it to the top 100 right now, whereas multiple unreleased games for both the PS4 and Xbone are making it way higher. In what retailer (and/or planet) are you seeing a resurgence in WiiU popularity?

Bathyj3970d ago

I just meant there seem to be a lot more people talking about it now.

RiPPn3970d ago (Edited 3970d ago )

I'll snag a Wii U also, but not til it get's a price drop, $350 for it now that the PS4 is $399 seems absurd.

d_dogg20073970d ago

Sony has been getting my business since ps1 and will continue getting my business till the very end!! Sony consoles are the greatest consoles a gamer can ask for!

latincooker2143970d ago

same here d dogg. Sony the only thing im saying to you is take my damn money already;) PS4 FTW;)

d_dogg20073969d ago

I don't think I have ever been so hyped for a console release in my life! Everything about the PS4 to me screams PS2 greatness! Sony is doing this so perfectly and I think if they pull it off it will reunite gamers under one roof who have been split ever since the Cancer (Microsoft) has made its appearance in the industry!

AznGaara3970d ago

"Expect premium games to carry a fairly premium price tag." This has me a bit worried. Back in February Jack Tretton said PS4 games will be from $.99 to $60 so I hope they don't go over $60 for these AAA games.

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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 4h ago (Edited 1d 4h 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 ago

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

Profchaos9h ago(Edited 9h 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_looken11h 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.

z2g21h ago

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

phoenixwing20h ago

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

H920h ago

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

jambola17h 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

SegaSaturn66919h ago

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

Popsicle19h 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.

jznrpg1d 12h 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.

Profchaos1d 12h ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion1d 11h ago (Edited 1d 11h ago )

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola1d 7h 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

Show all comments (8)
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
ChasterMies21d 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_looken21d ago

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

Cacabunga21d ago

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

just_looken21d 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-6421d 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_Long21d 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
DivineHand12521d 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.

Joe91321d 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_Observer21d 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.

S2Killinit21d ago (Edited 21d 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.

Joe91320d 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.

S2Killinit20d 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 20d ago
Christopher21d 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.

S2Killinit20d 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_Mal21d ago (Edited 21d 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.

Christopher21d 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_looken21d 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.

romulus2321d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218321d 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.

S2Killinit20d ago (Edited 20d 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.

mastershredder21d 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.

crazyCoconuts21d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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