Sony’s Jim Ryan: Blockbuster Games Cost $100M+, Bringing New IP To Market Is “Very Risky"

Sony Jim Ryan has commented on the development cost of blockbuster games and how it is risky to release a new IP on a console.

[Jin_Sakai]

Thankfully those risk have paid off. Just look at Ghost of Tsushima and Horizon: Zero Dawn

[Nitrowolf2]

Yep, and I know Days Gone got mixed reviews, but I loved that game and hope it gets a sequel

[RaiderNation]

It will. Despite the mixed reviews, the game did very well commercially. Im certain it will get a sequel, unless Bend decides to do another IP.

[Kurisu]

I bought Days Gone in a digital sale but I never got around to playing it. I've given my PS4 to my sister for now until I get a PS5 next year sometime, probably when Horizon Forbidden West comes out. I'll have so much to play as I've yet to play Ghosts or The Last of Us II, either.

[Ausbo]

Yeah I believe days gone sold really well. I remember it being high on the charts months later.
Even though it wasn’t received as well as other Sony games, I think it will definitely get a sequel.

[spwittbold]

I think they would given it's likely cheaper to build upon a current IP than develop a whole new one.

[bouzebbal]

Very risky, yet the manage to pull it off and nail it everytime..
Days Gone Tsushima Horizon The Order

[S2Killinit]

Days gone was one of the most fun games of the generation for me. Thats saying something considering how many greats we had.

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

Win some, loose some.
For every 5 Horizons, you'll get one Days Gone.
Doesn't mean you have to stop making Horizons just because you got one Days Gone.

[mikeslemonade]

That’s charge us $70 or even $80 please

[Kurisu]

I can't wait to replay HZD on PS5. Only then will I be ready for Forbidden West. HZD looked great on my base PS4 at 1080p with HDR, so I'm looking forward to experiencing the game again at Pro settings on PS5 before playing the sequel.

[Rude-ro]

It is jaw dropping.
So many visual wow moments...
But that first time you progress into the night... just wow.

[lukasmain]

Sony are amazing. They let Guerilla Games go away from Shooters to make whatever they wanted, and they chose to make Horizon Zero Dawn. The rest is history. Sony take risks with their amazing game studios. MS never takes risks in game development and that showed the entirety of Xbox One generation. This gen? We'll see

[Sitdown]

"Never:? Sea of Thieves wasn't a risk? Don't know why people feel the need to speak in definitive terms. Scalebound was also also a risk, and one that didn't pan out as favorable to date.

[sinspirit]

A much simpler game with barebones content at launch despite a major studios development. Not really taking risks seriously. And, again. Scalebound was not taken seriously as they decided to can it because they thought it to be risky to go any further rather than salvage it. You're rewarding them without even releasing it? Lol.

[Baza]

Sea of thieves is your argument.. lol

[neutralgamer1992]

Sitdown

How's that a risk when it launched with next to no content and it got a pass because it was on gamepass. Quality wise ms has a lot of catching up to do when compared to sony and nintendo

[Sitdown]

Do you all even pay attention to what you post? You say the game had no content. How would that NOT be a risk, of spending money and releasing a game with little content, from a key developer that most of you all claim is not even a shell of its former self?

So if Scalebound was not being taken serious, you are saying Microsoft burned money just for the fun?

But somehow you ask think Sony took a risk by letting itd proven developers continued to do what they have been doing. You all are such a contradiction.

[sinspirit]

@sitdown

Lol.. You must trolling.

So they take risks by releasing unfinished games AND by canceling projects. Not by putting actual effort into a fully realized project with a great release? Sony spends years perfecting games and allowing their studios to adopt entirely new gameplay concepts. MS earns a participation trophy at best.

[Critic4l_Strik3]

Dude, Sea Of Thieves might be a fun game, but it is by no means a blockbuster game in the same league as Ghost of Tsushima or HZD.

[Sitdown]

@Critic4l_Strik3
Not a single person said Sea of Thieves was a blockbuster. This whole thread has nothing to do with blockbusters.

[DOMination-]

There's loads of examples of MS taking big risks:
Kameo
Viva Pinata
Shadowrun

Need I go on?

[yeahokwhatever]

i want another KZ though.

[blackblades]

Expensive, people definitely shouldnt cry over the price increase.

[Blank]

Because they clearly are so POOR! And they don’t include micro transactions, season, or battle passes in full priced games and make billions from said things. You should keep that mentality on being a fool with money, these corps love easy quiet fools like you not fighting back with your wallet wide open for that next piece of overpriced skin.

[Silly gameAr]

I think you're taking that frustration out on the wrong corp. You might need to direct that energy to the one that actually said they were going to adapt the GaaS model.

[russo121]

I see this commentaries from Jim just to justify price increases. He's just being what he is, an executive trying to make more money with the same recipe, which is great for Sony but greedy. Sony has previously launched great exclusives without price hikes, but now due to economics, due to inflation, due to whatever you can think about, is a valid excuse to their goal. I cannot argue their decision because that's their business and they run it as they want, but don't think nor suppose people can't read between the lines.

[Class_Viceroy]

It is his job, and people need to quit acting like Executives are supposed to do anything different. Phil Spencer does the same thing just in a different style. He talks a great game, but has not delivered anything exciting to the video game industry in 7 years since he took over. And it took him a whole lot of cash just to wow anyone. Good job bro. I’ll be impressed when you release 3 very good new games that’s not Gears, Halo or Forza or any continuation of an IP that you bought.

These are for-profit businesses people. Can we all just move on? They made the decision, you can either choose to buy them, or not. None of you are entitled to these games, or their prices. And you can make a point with your purchasing decision. If you’re that upset, Dont buy any $70 game for a couple years. If there are that many of you out there, Sony will be hurting in there sales revenue.

Video games still provide the best bang for your buck in terms of entertainment. Most of Sony’s games are 15-30 hours of quality story, gameplay and graphics. That’s $2-5/hour of entertainment at $70. Better than the film industry outside of $5 matinees (which every area doesn’t have), sitting down at a good restaurant, golfing, etc...

[battletrax]

I wouldn't spend 100 million dollars developing an art piece or new product over years. Only to sell it for $60 and a risk it won't make back the cash spent.

I'll get down voted for this but games are cheap considering how much money it costs to make.

If its too much wait for price drops a few months later.

[Imalwaysright]

People should stop bending over to these companies and shouldn't listen to what corporate mouthpieces have to say because well... https://www.pushsquare.com/...

When will gamers realize that the gaming industry is an absolute anti-consumer joke and that they shouldn't ever listen to what the people that are part of it have to say?

[SmokinAces]

So they made a lot of money becasue people love and buy their games whats that got to do with the fact these games cost a lot of money to make as he is saying?

[Imalwaysright]

Yes they made a lot of money and still you can see some chumps defending the decisions these companies make like the one I replied to.

[Blank]

What got me was your blanket statement, so I responded in a blanket matter. I appreciate those people that “cry” over the price increase. Why would you spend time suppressing them? I can safely bet that you must’ve made at least a single purchase on a game that went on sale physical or digital.

[purple101]

straight after that comment, he said - we are committed to these types of games and have seen massive growth in this area.

just incase anyone was worried.

[spwittbold]

I'd like to see a full general analysis of what break even in terms of sales is along with the required IRR they both utilize to move forward with big projects like this.

[Deathdeliverer]

Man, I was already thinking this but it’s nice to hear it confirmed. Sony takes risk. The dualsense could have been universally trashed. The PlayStation VR could have been the worst selling VR option instead of the best selling. Ghost of Tsushima could have been trash, the God of War reboot could have started a revolt, Blu-Ray could have been HD-DVD, CDs as a game storage device could have never happened, and even a classic like Shadow of the Colossus could have stayed a shadow. I’ll gladly pay that extra $10 for Sony to stay as they have been.
Sure we can nit pick ANY company and zero in on negatives, but damn. The good FAR outweighs the bad and how can you NOT support them.

[S2Killinit]

This ^

[Atticus_finch]

Well said. If there is one company that deserves my 70 it's Sony.

[specialguest]

Of course you would gladly pay an extra $10, because you're a loyal fanboy. Sony could literally do anything and you'll find a reason to justify it

[Deathdeliverer]

Wow! Defensive much @specialguest? Dispute what I said. I’ll wait.

[coolastheycome]

So true! They could charge $100 a game and a fanboy will still justify it. Fools and their money.

[XxSPIDEYxX]

If creating new IPs are getting risky, why not revive some old ones. Socom, The Getaway, Warhawk, Syphon Filter. Maybe even Jak and Daxter?

[Teflon02]

While I want 4 of the 5 back for sure. Bringing back IP's doesn't promise sales either

[ShadowWolf712]

Reviving old IP is a risk too, dude. lol

They don't guarantee sales. Look at MediEvil. Was hardly a huge seller despite being a labor of love, and critics slammed it for not updating the "out-of-date" gameplay. But had they changed that gameplay, do you think that would have gone over well with the diehards?

[jBlakeeper]

Ghost of Tsushima is my favorite new ip from the PS4 generation. I love the environment of that game. It’s simply stunning.

[throne]

guess his comments further emphasize not going the full gamepass route on new released games.

[Batnut00]

I don't know, maybe stop with the massive open-worlds and scale back than if the budgets are that ridiculous.

[CrimsonWing69]

I really dislike this guy.

[Aussieguy]

The only problem I have with game prices increasing is, that they shouldnt be the same price digitally as the physical copies (specially Sony games) as Sony doesnt have to pay a fee to put them on the store like other companies since they own it.

I think Digital games from Sony should be cheaper then the physical copies 100%.

[S2Killinit]

In a perfect world, yes 100%. But its possible that some of the cost is being offset by the savings in the digital sales. Otherwise I agree wholeheartedly

[Teflon02]

They did that on Vita for a while, but then some devs had an issue with it after like the first year and they were forced to have some games cheaper and some the same price. Was a whole mess and a half for years. Better for communication sake to keep it one price

[1nsomniac]

Give it a rest Jim. All everybody wants is new IP's. No one wants the same shit churned out year after year. I know that suits your agenda because it makes more money because you just recycle old assets but no one else cares... & if blockbuster games are now costing 100m+ then that's due to pure stupidity & bullshit, nothing else!

[S2Killinit]

Their game and VR development deserved a standing ovation from gamers. Truly

[RgR]

Nobody dared to comment on Kratos due to its popularity. But days gone was an easy target for many agendas out there. That game is easily one of the better open world survival games out there.

[Spartacus10]

I'm playing it now. Easy 10/10 for gameplay and graphics but the characters are so boring and the story is your usual generic "humans are either pacifists or murdering thieves after an apocalypse, and all is not as it seems so there must be a conspiracy which I must uncover!". It is under-rated though.

[RgR]

Umm well that's not my takeaway from the story.

Was definitely not boring to me. But you should finish it

[Harkins1721]

They make up a decent amount with ps+ subs. However if you have a problem with the $70 price tag, just wait 2 months. Sales usually happen and reduced most games by $20.

[Cmoney007]

I'm not that happy with Sony right now, but they have given me many hours of enjoyment.

[Binarycode]

I still don't see how games cost $100 million.

Show me the breakdown.

[ikarodemon]

Solution just do 5 AA games or 15 A games instead of one AAA game with the same money. You are welcome!

[Silly gameAr]

No thanks. That's how we get games that are half finished, and have questionable quality.

[Gameseeker_Frampt]

I really cannot stand Jim Ryan and at least this interview explains why for the first time since I started gaming with Sony during the PS3 that there hasn't been any announced new IPs to look forward to. Businessman Jim seems to only care about profits, which is probably why he never talks about any games he enjoys.

If you are going to be in charge of Sony, at least know the history. "They cost more than $100m dollars to make these days and in order to be able to do that and bring new IP to the market – which is a very risky thing and and we did four times in the PS4 generation." Except it wasn't four times.

New first-party Sony IPs released on PS4
- Knack, Driveclub, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Days Gone, Concrete Genie, Dreams, and Ghost of Tsushima
- there was also The Last Guardian as well as the PSVR games AstroBot and Blood & Truth

Also, $100 million was the budget for The Last of Us Part 2 - Horizon: Zero Dawn cost less than half that to make. I don't think any new Sony IP cost $100 million so using that figure to justify not making new IPs is just pathetic.

[Mister_Wolf]

New IP are risky yes. But when they’re based on a tried and tested 3rd person format which has dominated on the PlayStation ecosystem it isn’t as risky as he claims.

Case and point, Days Gone, mixed reviews, still sold buckets.

The other reason the risk isn’t that high for PlayStation platform, is that they have deservedly built up an image of trust and quality over the years. Their games will still sell well regardless of reviews.

[Artemidorus]

It's toxic gaming, repeated unfinished betas with Micros everywhere and people are willing to pay more and more for it year after year.

It's why many with new ideas end up not doing very much with them as you cannot compete.

[Bronbron92]

Yeh I agree with this for any new AAA game for Xbox to be in gamepass day isn’t right you’re developers work hard for their games and it’s a slap to the face to see your big project played for only 15$ I feel like eventually Microsoft’s is either going to raise the price of gamepass or have new games added 1-2 after release

[MADGameR]

They still make a profit. They made back $150 Million in profit with Ghosts of Tsushima alone. TLOU2 made back over half of 1 Billion $ in profit.

[yeahokwhatever]

well, yeah

[Starman69]

Do it!!

[akaFullMetal]

I assume some games may come to pc after a few years on playstation. By that time most people would get it pretty cheap on the console and when it slowing in sales in it's twilight years, a new ground of customers can enjoy the game that may not have a console. Everyone wins.

[CertifiedGamer]

Sony is now feeling the effects of moving there headquarters from Japan to USA. Now investment in new IP is risky, I don’t ever remember Sony being like this in the past.

[minhlongmotor]

Wow! good job

[Rimeskeem]

If you keep the quality you got, you have nothing to worry about!

[agent4532]

I thougby digital distribution was going to reduce videogame costs. What happened to all the talk about developing games easier by utilizing PC technology. Is not that many games nowadays that use A-list actors. Nothing makes sense anymore