750°

Sony's Shuhei Yoshida admits Disappointment with PS4 First Party Title Review Scores

We are recently hearing of the growing mixed reviews of some of PS4's launch games specifically Killzone Shadow Fall and Knack. While Resogun ultimately got positive scores, Yoshida-san admits great dissatisfaction with the scores of the flagship titles Killzone and Knack. Yoshida says that, despite this, it should not affect PS4's launch that much. The following article probes on Yoshida-san's interview with GamesIndustry International.

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digitalspy.co.uk
Ksar4229d ago ShowReplies(3)
Malice-Flare4229d ago

i only hope they're as harsh to XB1 games as they are here. any leniency towards will reveal their bias...

unfortunately, that will also generate clicks...

osprey194229d ago

Come on, lets face it xb1 got more awards for its games than anyone in history. And lets face it knack is designed for young kids, and as good as killzone is 8/10 by many reviewers, its a game that many fps fans are either playing cod or battlefield 4. But u Neva knw Sony might announce a cool exclusive or two.

listenkids4229d ago

What awards? Because E3 awards mean shit, look at Swtor.

osprey194229d ago

Errrm games that got a ton of awards at games conventions tend to have high sales.....so it does mean something

tigertom534229d ago

Titanfall has taken home the The Future award at Tokyo Game Show!
GamesCom Best Next Generation Console Game: Titanfall Award
GamesCOm
Best Racing Game: Forza Motorsport 5
Just to name a few

mikeslemonade4229d ago (Edited 4229d ago )

^
And where do those games sit in the Amazon rankings? 10 PS4 items in the top 10.

http://www.amazon.com/best-...

Even on N4G the xbox camp talks more about Forza and Ryse in comparison to Titanfall. If I was getting a X1 I'd get Titanfall over anything.

LeCreuset4229d ago

So Knack is designed for young kids (Why is that exactly? It's cartoony? Are Mario, Crash Bandicoot, Ratchet and Clank designed for young kids?) and this should somehow impact its review score? Honestly, the only shots I ever hear taken at Knack around here are the "it's kiddy" talking point.

As for Killzone, are we really saying that we think the mess that is COD: Ghosts deserves a better rating?

osprey194229d ago

I dnt like cod or bf4. Im just saying people who are fans of fps will be playing them, and if killzone 2 was anything to go by, the sequal wont kill either of them.

And knack? When i say kiddy, i mean that's its target audience. Older people will play it but not enough to consider it an overwhelming success.
But back to my main point, launch wise, xb1 simply has the better games. Case closed.

mikeslemonade4229d ago

I don't care about launch. It could have launched with no games and I can still go on PS+ and play games for free.

And even with what you said. It works in PS4's favor in regards to multiplatform games since PS4 is the cheaper system. The gamer will likely look at the PS4 first before they consider the alternative if they want to play COD, BF, or AC.

Computersaysno4229d ago

Good lord.

Its a launch review with a couple dozen games out. If you are buying the machine based on its launch titles you would never have bought a PS2.

But it is at least better than the PS2 launch.

The consoles don't usually get any sort of momentum games wise until at least 12 months after they launch

frostypants4228d ago

Every PS4 exclusive launch title could get 0s, and I still wouldn't spend $100 extra dollars for the One hardware. Sorry. I'm buying hardware right now. Nobody can deny that the software will be there for both systems.

nukeitall4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

I think Xbox One has a killer launch lineup, and Titanfalls in March next year, it is something to really look forward to.

KZ Shadowfall is the only game I'm interrested in on PS4 of all games shown, and that turned out to be a dud as evident by the poor metacritic score of 74%:

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

I'm decided to give my pre-order to a family member instead that loves Sony. I will get a PS4 when I see something interesting.

WrAiTh Sp3cTr34228d ago

You don't care about launch because you don't have anything to care about for launch, lol. Have as seat...

ftrain4228d ago

You must be living under a rock to not understand that titanfall got more than half of those awards, and it's not even an exclusive, if you actually took away titanfall awards ps4 launch exclusives actually got 3 more awards. I also wouldn't be talking about awards at E3 when Sony usually wins most of them every year(last year had a ton for the las of us). Sony exclusives also usually get rated higher, top 50 to 30 exclusives is highest on PS3 compared to 360 and wii.

DOOMZ4228d ago

That's right & in the end, its all about the games

Dasteru4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

@tigertom53:

Meh, both Project Cars & GT6 look much better than Forza 5 imo.

DragonKnight4228d ago

@Knack haters: You say that the game is "kiddy" in one breath, and yet would praise a kiddy game on the X1 in another. You also ignore that Knack is extremely difficult.

Don't judge a game by its boxart.

GadgetGooch4228d ago

Cheeseus, How many SONY fanboys in here are butt hurt lmao....

Dasteru4227d ago

Just to clarify my last post, i was talking about for gameplay, not visuals. Although Project Cars looks alot better than Forza 5 anyway. GT6 i just meant for gameplay.

+ Show (14) more repliesLast reply 4227d ago
sincitysir14229d ago

Unfortunately it's gonna happen.

Vojkan4229d ago

they will not be harsh to X1. Remember how media was hidding RROD it issues for 2 years? Until MS admited.
US media is biased, I know it sounds imature but is really the case.
I like how they try to place PS4 as if it has no games. Ignore multiplatform games, focus on exclusives.
The point is, buying PS4 now or 1 years from now is the same, price won't change, maybe 50 bucks, but is it worth it. 50 bucks to skip on PS4 for a year? Don't think so.
Play multiplatform games for now (if you don't like exclusives) then get ready for huge exclusives from Jan going forward.
Very simple imo.

BTW watch Polygon give great score to Ryse

Ol_G4229d ago

Exclusives is a reason to buy consoles not multiplats

xPhearR3dx4229d ago

The reason media outlets are mentioning exclusives is because those are the games that are going to drive people to want to take the jump to next gen on day 1. Sure, there's all the sports games and COD/BF. But you can play those on 360/PS3. So at launch those exclusives are what differentiates the Xbox One and PS4.

People like me, I don't really care, I like being a first adopter. So I'm waiting for my PS4 to be delivered tomorrow. As a media outlet though, you have to look at all the angels and ask yourself. Is spending 400-500 dollars REALLY worth playing Killzone and Knack, or Forza and Dead Rising.

If not, as you suggested, it might be better to wait until January or even a little after that to make the jump to next-gen consoles.

Mystogan4229d ago

Ryse is a good game now.

Obscure_Observer4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

@Vojkan

Oh man, come on! As they did with Resogun and the Playstation 4 system?

The 5 to KSF seems unfair i do agreed. But, Knack? Check Eurogamer! Are they biased now too?

The only problem with Polygon by reviewing PS4 products is KSF. And that seems a isolated reviewer´s point of view. Man´s definitely sucks on FPS games. So, blame it on the entire Staff is equally unfair.

And what about Gameinformer and all the " fun as dialing cellphone numbers" crap? Seems fair for most users here. And what about that score given to Knack? 8.25? Talk about biased.

People has selective memory around here.

GrandTheftZamboni4228d ago

Media are biased. Need proof? Minor difference in resolution last gen in favour of 360 was a big deal back then. This gen, 57% more pixels by PS4 is negligible.

BABY-JEDI4228d ago

Polygons choice of reviewer is unfortunate (as he has a history of disliking KZ). As this has resulted in a negatively skewed review. People who enjoy KZ mechanics will really enjoy Shadowfall. Others, not so much I guess.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4228d ago
Irishguy954229d ago (Edited 4229d ago )

So if X1 games score higher = Bias. Right

We all know X1 has a better launch line up that Ps4.

I personally epect Ryse to score ****, dead rising to score average like Killzone. And Forza/Killer instinct to score high

Polygon are extremely biased, MS could have no exclusives at launch and polygon would say they have better exclusives. However, regardless...MS have had the better launch lineup for months, especially after DriveClub got delayed. Deal with it. Don't deny it. We all know Sony has a better lineup next year. But Day 1, MS clearly has it. More games, more diverse set of genre, more AAA. Simple as that.

i've been saying Knack looks like crap for months, why? Because it looks like a poor, slow paced action adventure. Uninspired gameplay. It deserves those score. Ryse is confirmed to play like crap. Killzone is falling apart, they didn't know what to put in new, so they stuck in Slow mo and see through walls? Really? Dead rising, I never liked them for various reasons involving boring and repetitive. Now, Forza has always been a good racer, not as good as GT. But still good. Killer instinct just looks awesome. Overall a very dissapointing yet expected array of games for the console launchs. We have to wait till March

Infamous, Titanfall, Witcher 3. One of the best open world games ever, one of the best Shooters ever, and one of the best RPGS. Is what I predict

Also, I don't know why people keep bringing up polyhgon, they are not the only reviewer out their, they even gave Knack a 6, which is much higher than alot of reviewers. For both Knack and Killzone, the averages are very clear. Alot of reviewers believe them to be poor/average

Hellsvacancy4229d ago

Polygon will agree with you i'm very sure

FullMetalTech4229d ago

You missed them streaming PS4 titles yesterday. They were really low blowing everything on the PS4. Very unprofessional and child like. Nothing constructive or even critisms about any of fhe titles just jokes and bad one liners. Id take anything they say with a grain of salt at this point.

Ratty4229d ago

The better launch lineup claim is not a fact. It's opinion. Like you who sees the Xbox One launch lineup as the best, I see the PS4 launch lineup as the best but in truth, I think both are pretty weak. It's the games that are coming that I really want.

LeCreuset4229d ago

Have you ever heard of the fallacy known as a strawman argument? That's what you did. The point wasn't that if they score higher the reviews must be biased. The point was that the reviews are biased if those titles are reviewed with leniency.

Deltaguy4228d ago

hit the nail on the head..ps4s lackluster launch titles coming to bite sony in the ass..after watch dogs got delayed there was no reason to game on a ps4...knack and killzone is garbage and iv'e been saying for months that these games will flop....i was right lol

Prime1574228d ago

I think the over hype for the console clouded people's perspective on all these games. Everyone over hypes things and then the game can't live up to the hype, because your mind needs to be blown away.

Would be curious to see what these reviews would get if they came out on ps3 with ps3 graphics.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4228d ago
Blackdeath_6634229d ago

the polygon reviews are bogus and i think KZ was harshly criticised they didn't give COD have as much shit yet that game is broken but ultimately its not the end of the world

Mystogan4229d ago

Killzone is a shitty halo-wannabe and will always be shitty. I'm not sure why you guys expected anything else this time. Sure it has better graphics now. But good graphics only get you so far in a review.

DOMination-4229d ago

Shitty is a bit harsh. I feel its very generic and formulaic. Its certainly not as bad as 5/10 but an 8 seems fair.

solidjun54229d ago

"Killzone is a shitty halo-wannabe and will always be shitty"

Shows how much you know, since KZ2 was highly received and KZ3 was decent. Unlike you, I actually played the games. So forgive us for expecting decent reviews. And it has received decent reviews.

frostypants4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

KZ has always had it rough. Halo games comes out with very meh graphics that play like every generic shooter ever made: "10!!!". Killzone games come out with amazing graphics and have an unmistakable feel to them: "There's nothing unique about it...7". I don't get it. Well I DO get it...it's payola...but I don't get why gamers are so easily fooled by it.

My dirty secret: I personally don't really like Halo OR Killzone. But I have played both series and Killzone has always had more going for it IMO. Halo...even the new ones...looks and plays like PC shooters from the 1990s.

Boody-Bandit4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

The ONLY thing Killzone and Halo have in common is they are shooters. If Killzone played like Halo I wouldn't buy it.

I have Halo burnout. It just hasn't evolved enough for me over the years. I got to the 3rd level of Halo 4, ejected the game and gave it to my son. He use to be a Halo fanatic. He finished the SP and played the MP maybe 12 hours online and than traded it in.

IMO Killzone is so much more fun to play than Halo. It's not even close. Again, in my opinion.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4228d ago
kratos_TheGoat4229d ago (Edited 4229d ago )

you sound mad not all have the same opinion as you wishing xbox games to be harsh what wrong with this site. I play ki, ryse & dr3 and all of them all fun games like kz sf

FunkMacNasty4228d ago

Crazy..

If XB1 launch exclusives are better received by game critics then its "TOTAAAALLLL BIASSS MAN!!"

But if the tables were turned and Sony launch exclusives were better recieved you bunch of bitches would be all "GREEEEEATNESSSS AWAAAAAIIITS!!!!!!"

Two sensible points I'd like to make:

1.) These are launch titles. They're nothing more than slightly optimized versions of things we've already seen this generation. In two years PS4 games will be blowing our friggin' minds, once devs have a full picture of where they can really go with the hardware

2.) When a game or franchise you like gets a lower review score than you expected, It shouldnt hinder your enjoyment of said game. And If seeing your favorite game or console exclusive get a low score gives you the same feeling that you get when Your team makes it all the way to the championship and loses, then you are playing games for all the wrong reasons.

Objective4229d ago

So you have already decided that a good score for Xbox games must mean bias... Haha

mii-gamer4229d ago

that's a rather immature way to think. Enjoy your games, it does not need to be a competition all the time. Besides, launch games have never been special - PS4 is guaranteed to get awesome games in the future, if it hasn't got it already.

Thatguy-3104229d ago

Idk its the beginning of the cycle and let's not forget that sony kept pumping exclusives after exclusives these past few years. If xbox one lunch games do good then good for them. Infamous Second son is right around the corner and I'm pretty sure some unannounced games from sony studio's will be announced. At the start of a generation there are hardly any games that get 90+ it takes time my friends.

JamieL4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

Excuses, all I hear in this thread is excuses. This whole time the PS4 has been portrayed as a totally FLAWLESS gamers wet dream in every conceivable way, the games were treated with the same hype, and now they’re out, and falling short of the hype that’s ok because _______. MS has been under a microscope by these same Sony apologist since the reveal, now excuses, excuses, excuses, excuses. Why not be so understanding with MS issues? I'm not saying I disagree with the excuses, I know Sony always pumps out games, but they're still excuses. The PS4 way supposed to be completely FLAWLESS, and now reviews are falling short, there are 100's of reasons this is 100% acceptable.

jetlian4229d ago

Rin your making the assumption xbo games will be as bad as ps4's !

knack looked limited when it was first revealed

webeblazing4229d ago

They got the gfx part down now Sony need to learn how to execute. No matter how much I love their games they always lack that addictive gameplay that lesser quality games have. They need to bring so com back real socom . I bet someone name nauty dog games missing the point

Prime1574228d ago

Old socom would struggle in this shooter generation. Hence knack.

I play games to play what the dev is trying to give me. Maybe I'm just easily amused.

GraveLord4228d ago

Ryse already has bad first impressions.

DR3 has technical issues and seems to be just a souped-up 360 game(if that).

Forza 5 will probably be the best reviewed, but most don't care for the series since its turned into a yearly franchise.

CrossingEden4228d ago

Bias? Maybe higher review scores for xb1 title means *GASP* that it has better games. -_-

FunkMacNasty4228d ago

IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!

1080p upscaled from 720p!?! PREPOSTEROUS!

GREATNESS AWAITS!!

/s ;-)

Prime1574228d ago

Or the lack of hype for ms has games that surprise you.

It's all in the hype. I find myself loving games more when I have absolutely 0 hype for it.

CYCLEGAMER4228d ago

But what if the xbox 1 games don't deserve it?

sAVAge_bEaST4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

Oh it will reveal the bias.. And I will not click on a Polygon Article ever again, and I would use AdBlock if I were to.

Retroman4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

@ rinkuchal this not directed at you. speaking in general.

"YOSHIDA disappointed with ps4 first party title review"

possibility: possibly gamers might be TIRED of killzone?? and dont understand KNACK?? im guessing here not knocking any consoles down.
p.s.
this has nothing to do with which console have the most AWARDS who give a rat-ass how many awards games receives?? it is about FUN,gaming,winning,beating the game at the end of the game you saying: HELL YEAH!!! BRAGGING TO YOUR FRIENDS YOU BEAT IT.

yeahokchief4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

They're not being "harsh". They are doing their job...

I expected this. So many of the titles are yearly IPs that don't even require the added hardware power. I mean you look at a review by Totalbuscuit and he's just laughing at how the game has such steep requirements for the same gameplay with horrible textures in the latest CoD.

This is not exactly how you want to be quoted in the media about your games:

"The game wasn't designed [to meet specific] review scores," Yoshida continued. "I was hoping Knack could score in the mid-70s and last I checked it's around 59-60, so I'm hoping it goes up.

"The game uses only three buttons to play, so it's not the type of game reviewers would score high for the launch of a next-gen system.

So WHY are they asking us to fork over $400 for the tech now if they don't even have a single goddamn game worth playing on it?!?!?! Not to mention the networks with things like gaiki not even being ready until 2014?!

AND IF ITS A 3 BUTTON GAME THEN WHY ARE YOU CHARGING $60 FOR IT?! Jesus.

Sooooo glad i cancelled my PS4 preorder a few weeks ago. THEY HAD ME WITH THAT PRESENTATION WITH THE LAUNCH DATE. I had my preorder with amazon seconds after they announced it. But the games here are just DISMAL. ALL YEARLY CASHGRABS and only ONE solid first party game which apparently is only a 74% or slightly below average.

I'm VERY DISAPPOINTED with the launch window they chose instead of holding back for 2014 for games like watchdogs and other first party titles. I will be waiting for a bundle deal if I'm still playing games.

I might decide to build a PC instead or just quit the hobby entirely. Leaning towards being done with it entirely. Dark Souls 2 will be a good game to go out on.

XboxFun4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

I love it, the child mentality!

Sony fanboys actually hoping that Xbox One games score just as low.

If not this means the media is bias!!

You sony fanboys are way too funny. Metascors don't matter unless the score is high, every website is bias if they score your games lower, MS pays for every bad review, Xbox games should be scored lower or else it's an agenda against Sony.

C'mon, do you not see the absolute ridiculousness of all these statements. And yet you all claim your not conspiracy theorists?

So is it safe for me to say that if any Xbox One bad scores get reported that the media is biased, journalists are lazy or Sony paid them off...can I too use this excuse?

CJDUNCAN4228d ago

but what if the games on x1 are really good, would you still consider it biased?

nosferatuzodd4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

noop microsoft has polygon in there pocket and all that awards mean shit how can you award a game that no one plays its like bmw claiming to have a car that's better than everything out but guess what? no one tested it or drive it

edit XboxFun you're going to sit there and rant about Sony fanboys when microsft gives polygon 750.00 dollars just to be there when sony drops games and give it 6 and 5 out of 10 you're saying that's not the case who is the delusional; here

yeahokchie you're really going to quit gaming just because idiots say the games rank low why not play it for youre self and make up you re own mind damn follow on herds we the sheeple only listen to others and follow on

yeahokchief4228d ago (Edited 4228d ago )

No i'd quit gaming because its a huge waste of time and now it's just being milked by large publishers making rehashed AAA games that arent even fun to play

there are of course a few gems mixed in there that make all their bullshit easier to swallow but they are becoming few and far between.

NewZealander4228d ago

its not a matter of being harsh, its in the consumers interest to give reviews based on the content, good or bad.

no way would i have pre ordered knack, its a game with no proven track record, and to be honest i don't care if its aimed at kids or not, the character designs are awful, and the graphics are about as average as it gets, i don't believe theres any bias going on, from all accounts the game is a flop.

killzone SF looks good, and i enjoyed KZ3, and its mostly getting decent scores, nothing to complain about there.

badkolo4228d ago

harsh, are you kidding me, if the games stinkl they stink,. plain and simple, your such a troll just by saying what you said

Ps4Console4228d ago

KillZone had mostly high scores it was only a couple of average scores & they were saying the game looked out of this world , I can't comment on Knack because I haven't seen the reviews on Knack .

Mister_Dawg4228d ago

Why should they be just as harsh to XB1 games?
The whole point should be about reviewing fairly.
Should it not?

pheature4228d ago

but sure its going to generate clicks anyway as people are already interested.

+ Show (22) more repliesLast reply 4227d ago
M-M4229d ago (Edited 4229d ago )

After watching Yoshida play Knack on the live stream on hard difficulty, I really don't think it deserves the scores it gets(they could/should be higher).

GentlemenRUs4229d ago (Edited 4229d ago )

Give it a little bit of time, The scores will soon perk up :P

EDIT: It might be just community scores and an attack by fanboys :(

P.S. http://i.imgur.com/VrUP9Fe....

Skate-AK4229d ago (Edited 4229d ago )

I watched the stream of Knack and it looked great. Was just like a Pixar movie.

Thehyph4229d ago

No joke, man.
I don't care what the reviews say about it. I think it looks dope. Every PlayStation has had these kind of 3D action platform games, and I hope the trend continues even if knack got burned.
Insomniac, Sucker Punch and Naughty Dog all (more or less) cut their teeth on these kinds of games, and look where they are now.

Moncole4229d ago

Knack looks incredibly dull. All its is a brawler that looks boring to play.

Show all comments (153)
220°

Shuhei Yoshida warns subscription services could become 'dangerous' for developers

'If the big companies dictate what games can be created, I don't think that will advance the industry.' -Shihei Yoshida

Read Full Story >>
gamedeveloper.com
Sonyslave314d ago

🙄 same guy who said 80$ is a steal lol and according to him M$ shouldnt put good on a services🤣 wtf

Obscure_Observer13d ago

Talks about "innovation" while all his previous company is focused on is GaaS and Remasters. Smh.

This guy is a walking contradiction.

pwnmaster300013d ago

This makes no sense at all.
What does his PREVIOUS company have to do with him and his statement??
Did he have a say on what they are doing? Could of sworn that was Jim Ryan’s fault?

Outside_ofthe_Box13d ago

"This guy is a walking contradiction."

The irony

Profchaos13d ago (Edited 13d ago )

Yet he was In charge and led the PlayStation to overtake xbox

Console VR was birthed because if him he pushed the whole psvr project if that isn't innovative then what is.

Doesn't matter how many alts you use to try and constuct ab alt narrative shu is highly respected in the industry and has done as much for gaming as some of the best names in the industry

Obscure_Observer12d ago (Edited 12d ago )

@Profchaos

I don´t care what he did in the past.

Sony didn´t cared for him either as he was forced to accept a role as CEO of Indie games or get out! After everything he done for the company.

https://www.eurogamer.net/f...

I been seeing LOTS of innovative day one games on Gamepass (Including Clair Obscur) and all I´ve been seeing for Playstation first party @Full Priced is mostly (but not only) GaaS and Remasters. Deny all you want, that´s the truth.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 12d ago
XiNatsuDragnel14d ago

I can agree with that on some level

robtion13d ago

Subscription services are absolutely awful. They have essentially destroyed the movie industry and unfortunately gaming may be next.

In the long term you will end up needing 10 different subscriptions and the prices will keep going up while the quality keeps going down.

MrDead13d ago

Subscription services have f***ed the movie industry and it's work force, caused massive studio buyups by companies like Disney consolidating huge parts of the industry under one roof and have creatively sterilised the IP's they've gobbled up. The same thing is happening to gaming, MS being the main greedy piggy.

goken13d ago

Well… if you’re talking about the US movie industry, then I couldn’t agreed with you more.
But the movie industry isn’t just the US. For some other countries, it’s been considered good. Like where i am, the movie industry here used to be terrible, now it’s a bit less terrible. Mostly this is because in the past movies only can make money mostly on it’s cinema run, but now after the cinema run they can get some funds from the subscription services. Which helps significantly.
But these movies mostly suck due to the low budgets and general lack of talent lol

Vits13d ago

I get what he's saying, but I don’t think we need subscription services to see a lot of the problems he's pointing out. All we really have to do is look at the gaming industry over the last two console generations. Even without subscriptions, the big AAA publishers have already been moving in a direction where almost every game feels like it's built from the same template. It’s all about streamlined, safe design choices that are meant to appeal to the widest possible audience. At this point, you could probably ask an AI to make a AAA game from a certain publisher and it would spit out something pretty close to what they’re actually making.

Now, about the whole “walled garden” thing... that’s not some future problem, it’s already here. Consoles have always worked like that. Their entire business model is based on controlling what gets released on their platforms. Sure, maybe they’re not as locked down as the extreme examples people bring up, but the end result is similar. If you’re not making the kind of game the platform holder wants, you’re probably not getting through the door. We’ve seen it with Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, even Valve does this in its own way with Steam. So yeah, the issue isn’t new or exclusive to subscription services.

Would a subscription-only future make that problem worse? Sure, it definitely could. But I don’t think we’re heading in that direction anytime soon. Unless physical hardware truly becomes a thing of the past and everyone switches to streaming games, I just don’t see subscriptions becoming the dominant model. They’ll stick around as an option, but I doubt they’ll take over completely.

Now, what will take over completely is digital media, and that’s a whole different issue that’s going to hit us a lot sooner. PC and mobile are already basically 100% digital, and that makes up around 70% of the gaming market. The remaining 30% is consoles, and even there we’re seeing the shift. Sony’s removing the disc drive from boxed consoles, Nintendo is releasing just one super expensive 64GB cartridge for their new system, which means almost all third-party publishers will end up going digital and Microsoft is mostly digital already. You either get a digital-only or a physical box with disc that only acts as a activation key. So yeah, that future’s already knocking on the door and the damage will be enormous.

CrimsonWing6913d ago

Right, because then you can’t sell individual games at $80, which is an incredible value for the consumer!

BLow13d ago (Edited 13d ago )

I find this statement quite telling. Apparently a certain fan base wasn't buying games at $60 or $70 dollars either. That's why the Gamepass model exists with day and date. What was the excuse then?

We as gamers want it all but don't want to pay for anything. Well, I take that back. A good chunk of them. You don't have to buy a game at $80. Wait for to go down in price. Most gamers have a massive backlog. Play those games until the one you wants drops and n price. Simple

goken13d ago

I never buy any games at full price, it’s up to the consumer to wait for a price cut.

Generally I don’t buy above $10, normally around $5. So don’t agree with 80 70 60? Just wait a bit

CrimsonWing6913d ago

Totally fair if that approach works for you, but the flip side is that some dev studios do rely on full-price sales to stay afloat—especially smaller or AA teams. The ‘just wait for a sale’ mindset can really hurt games that aren’t backed by massive budgets or publishers.

It’s also kind of a bummer to finally see a game release you’ve been hyped for, only to feel like you have to wait another year or two just to get a decent discount.

That said, I think the deeper issue is with bloated dev budgets. It’s wild seeing games like First Berserker or Expedition 33 launching at $50 while still managing to look great and make a profit. Meanwhile, some AAA studios say $70 isn’t enough to break even. That raises real questions about where the money’s going and whether the pricing problem is actually a budgeting problem.

thorstein12d ago

To me, it depends on who made it and who will profit.

I bought No Man's Sky back in 2016. They gave me all updates, PSVR,PS5, and PSVR2 versions all for free.

That makes it worth every dollar I spent. Same with Balatro, Stardew Valley, Dave the Diver etc.

Chevalier13d ago

Yeah weird it's like a certain fan base that doesn't buy ANY games and their sales cratered that was why prices has gone up to $80...... hmmm...... they've the same one that has tried to buy up the industry and now has to release games on competing platforms to be viable now...... but you know the studio/company slipped my mind

goken12d ago

You have a point on the bloated development budgets.

I mean look at black myth wukong’s $80m budget vs the $150-200m (possibly more) budget of concord.

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290°

Former PlayStation boss says 'stupid money' crippled the game industry

Shuhei Yoshida offers his take on the recent industry implosion and ponders whether there's light at the end of the tunnel.

Read Full Story >>
gamedeveloper.com
Jin_Sakai23d ago (Edited 23d ago )

Greed crippled the game industry and other things I won’t go into.

DarXyde22d ago

Ironically, so did tech advancements.
New tech creates pressure to take full advantage of the power for people to feel a box is worth it. That expectation bloats team sizes (and by extension, costs) and to be more secure in a high risk-high reward project, they play it safe (which is why I think a lot of the industry is facing creative bankruptcy). Few franchises are proper exceptions because they're damn near entitled to a ROI.

But other than that? I'd say the adoption of Blu-ray in the PS3 kind of acted as the architect to some of the things some of us hate today. The decision to adopt it resulted in painfully show loading times because the drive was slow in the PS3. The result was mandating every console to have an HDD for installs, and Xbox 360 then discontinued those arcade models and every console came with an HDD. That adopted standard lead to a lot of games that were physical only to be available via download and that laid a path for digital distribution and the gradual death of physical media we're witnessing now. It was always going to be this way eventually, but it's hard to think that guaranteeing a HDD didn't lay some important groundwork. And now with crazy fast SSD storage and download speeds, it's gotten worse and now we're bloody streaming games via cloud computing.

Rage7722d ago

Really great take on how we got to this point. Will add that the weaponizing/monetizing of the "console warring" concept, accelerated/facilitated all of your points. When you take what used to be simple bantering and jabbing between different fanbases and throw money/resources at it as the most effective marketing tool, instead of improving any areas that might add longevity to your products, you only improve sales while creating a destructive environment. Which now has come full circle. Gaming media/tech sites capitalized on this as well. So we now end up in a landscape where we get less for more, nobody is held accountable (unless you are Nintendo in which case, you will always be blamed for everything including world hunger) and what you now call and parade as "greed" to defend you own greedy company is years upon years of every asshat that has paid in $$$ what these companies get away with today, but yeah that "burn" or "you got ratioed" or "fanboy" this and that was worth it huh.

ZycoFox23d ago

It's also screwing over gamers with limited budgets for PC hardware, well Nvidia is trying to at least.

Knushwood Butt23d ago

OK, but what did Shu do about this while he was working in the industry?
If he felt so strongly about it, why didn't he quit sooner?
I'm honestly getting a bit tired of seeing this guy come out with all this stuff, week after week, yet he didn't seem to do anything about it when he was a prominent figure IN the industry.
*I got passed over for the CEO role and sidelined into an Indies CRM role, but I just sucked it up and did it for several years.* Great.

Lightning7723d ago (Edited 23d ago )

"If he felt so strongly about it, why didn't he quit sooner?"

Jim Ryan held him and down and demoted him to Indy role as you pointed out. We all wondered why Shuhei was never put in charge in the past and everyone else seemingly passing him up in high position's. Everyone getting promoted except him. He also spoke up about the LS awhile ago then folded and was actually help make Concord.

If it's not making the most money and attempt to have conversation that maximize profit they won't promote. Why? Because Shuhei was seemingly for the ppl.

Despite his 80$ comment on games.

Knushwood Butt23d ago (Edited 23d ago )

'then folded and was actually help make Concord'.
Right, so once again he just sucked it up and went against what he thought was the correct path.
He also clearly didn't turn things around for Concord.
Seriously, if he felt so strongly about this stuff he should have quit ages ago; not just suck it up for years and then bitch about it to the public AFTER he quit.

zaanan22d ago

Agree.
It’s easy to armchair QB other people’s decisions, but it’s all speculation. Maybe he loved Sony and wanted to see if things would turn around. It’s also hard to leave a place when you have been there so long. You think you have friends who will help you out, until you don’t. The corporate world really is dog eat dog. Having obligations like family also makes you do things you may not want to do in a perfect world. But this world is far from perfect, and so are we. So I will cut Shu some slack.

Lightning7723d ago

"Right, so once again he just sucked it up at went against what he thought was the correct path."

I mean yeah. He didn't have much of a choice. It was either go with what Jim wanted or get fired.

He went against LS but had to help with it anyway. Probably talked about all the bad spending that Sony was doing (and still are.) Corps don't want you to talk sense, they want to I to talk cents. That's goes for everybody.

Not sure why he didn't leave earlier he probably wanted to wait for the right opportunity to leave on a high note or leave on his terms. Much better than getting forced out.

Knushwood Butt22d ago

Yeah, and sure, leadership don't want anyone rocking the boat; they just want 'yes' people through the ranks, but Shu didn't quit and make a point; he sucked it up for months or years. Nor did he go out on a high note.
If he felt so strongly about this stuff he should have told Jim to shove it, and join xbox, but he didn't.

thorstein22d ago

At least he's talking about it and it's not just some anonymous internet person. That's why I posted his take. He was on the inside.

He knows better than most what's going on.

We live in a weird world where primary sources don't mean anything, evidence and reason hold no weight, but rumors and speculation hold the day.

Knushwood Butt22d ago

Yeah, agree in general, but pretty much everything he's said since he quit could have been covered in a 30 minute interview.
Next week:
In a new interview, Shu reveals that he knew factions was going to get canned months in advance, but was powerless to do anything about it so just sat back and kept his mouth shut (and getting a juicy salary).

SO71D22d ago

@Knushwood You don't work do you?

Knushwood Butt22d ago

I don't work for a corporation.

Outside_ofthe_Box22d ago

@SO1D

Was just going to say this. You can say this about anybody. Anyone on n4g that complains about greed but are doing nothing at their jobs to stop it... How dare you!

Knushwood Butt22d ago

@ Outside

It's not just greed though; it's flat out bad decisions and poor leadership, and Shu was one of those leaders.

Christopher22d ago

Because everyone knows you can really change the industry by quitting and being an outsider. I mean, his comments now aren't changing the industry at all. What would have been the advantage of doing it 8 years earlier?

Knushwood Butt22d ago

He didn't, and doesn't, have to be an outsider though.

And great job by him calling out all of this stuff in hindsight. 'The Embracer thing turned out to be a train wreck'. Was he predicting this as it was happening?

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Lightning7723d ago (Edited 23d ago )

As gamers we also need to make it clear what we want. Do we want fancy RT and RT
shadows, global illumination etc? Oh that's right we have to do the internet thing and brag about all those things. What we need is innovative gameplay mechanics and deeper more dynamic story telling and reactive realistic worlds and characters imo. Emphasis on Innovative gameplay mechanics. Expedition 33 was made by a tiny group of 30 ppl. Not sure what the budget was but I know it wasn't no 400m$ project or nothing crazy like that.

They join the Baldurs Gate team for being independent and releasing great game with out corporate meddling and stupidly big budget's that kills jobs and studios. If more groups get to together remain independent and create games for gamers and fans this industry would be better off in the future. Again it's about getting away from big corpos because corpos aren't gonna change, ever, they're just not. Scary to be out on your own? Yes but high risk high reward again as we've seen.

anast22d ago

I like how they talk like this is a recent phenomenon.

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70°

Shuhei Yoshida Shares How His Crucial Feedback Played A Role In The Success Of Gran Turismo

Former Sony Interactive Entertainment executive Shuhei Yoshida has shared how his feedback played a role in the success of Gran Turismo.

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twistedvoxel.com
Knushwood Butt37d ago

To this day, anyone that plays a GT game for the first time and doesn't have experience with this kind of game will crash at the first corner, so not really sure what Shu is claiming here. I literally saw this happen a few months ago at an event where they had GT7 with VR2 up on a stage and members of the public got to try it out.