Keiichiro Toyama Left Sony To "Keep Making Games In His Own Style"

Silent Hill and Gravity Rush creator Keiichiro Toyama has revealed why he left Sony, citing a wish to make games according to his own creative vision.

[Jin_Sakai]

Doesn’t Sony give creative freedom? They let Guerrilla Games make Horizon instead of another Killzone that was an established IP.

[Sonyslave3]

Killzone was not all that good, so i dont blame sony for moving on from that ip.

[Elda]

Killzone 2 & 3 were pretty good.

[CaptainHenry916]

Killzone 2 was good can't say the same about all the others

[MrSwankSinatra]

Killzone 2 was good the hell

[BlaqMagiq1]

Killzone 2 was one of the best shooters of its generation.

[bujasem_89]

Let's not even mention killzone. Gravity rush, I'm almost done with 2 after playing the first on vita.

There's nothing our there like it. I wonder how his vision was steered when I genuinely have never experienced something like that game so chill yet extremely complex.

[Ratchet75]

Killzone 2 was dope and way ahead technically than anything else on ps3/360 when it first came out.
😉

[TheColbertinator]

Killzone 2 was good but the franchise itself has rarely been healthy. Too much struggle to find its identity and can no longer even compete with titans like Battlefield, COD, Halo, Overwatch and many others.

[ArnoDorian]

Dude... Killzone 2 and 3 were great. Specifically Killzone 2 Quit smoking expired weed!!

[bouzebbal]

How many of them did you pay? And how long?
KZ2 KZ3 Liberation Mercenaries are damn good.. I haven't played first one but I did play Shadow Fall and I thought it was inferior to the 4 I mentioned. I got platinum in SF KZ2 and KZ3 so I know what I'm talking about.
KZ3 with move was the best thing I played with motion controls, it was so intuitive.. Even in 3D. Thing was ahead of its time

[Sonic-and-Crash]

Shame ..GRush series and especially GR1 had so unique atmosphere, feeling and immersive world that few came close to it .... He s a true talented guy imo....

i hope whatever he develops next to release it on PStation also and dont be another of these simple bigger-sallary moves

[Tech5]

probably he wants to make a game that has a lot of suggestive themes.
i'm thinking that would probably be where Sony, MS and Nintendo would typically enter the chat.

[zawepa]

Silent Hill had lots of suggestive themes though. i hope his next project won't be cut or edited upon porting it to other platforms.

[goldwyncq]

They allowed GG to make a third person action adventure open world game because it's already a proven genre. If it was something more experimental like the indie games you see on steam they'd be a lot more hesitant letting them do their own thing.

[DarXyde]

It's probably connected to Jim Ryan. That's my hunch.

[AnotherGamer]

They do to an extend, the only problem is that the Gravity games didn't sell at all.

[Drithe]

Sony is extremely woke. So no they do in fact stifle creativity. No nudity or sexy anime with large boobs. lol. Maybe this happened after Dragon's Crown came out?

[Edgelordsupreme]

Ahhh yes the pinnacle of creativity, nudity and sexy anime with large boobs. Go outside.

[-Foxtrot]

Huh. Since when didn't Sony allow creative freedom

This is a company that supported The Last Guardian for 7 years, even something like Dreams.

[Omegasyde]

I think there’s more to it. You provided two good examples

[StoneyYoshi]

Do you have any examples to provide for or against Foxtrot?

Sounds to me like Sony didn't greenlight his game pitch so he decided to leave and make the game with his own team. Just because Sony gives creative freedom to their devs doesn't mean Sony's just going to greenlight anything that lands at their feet.

Toyama is obviously very passionate about his idea and wants to see it come to fruition. I don't think this has anything to do with Sony not allowing creative freedom. And I'm sure the disappointing sales of Gravity Rush 1/2 didn't help in his favor. They are still fantastic games but it didn't cater to a huge audience like a lot of their other exclusive titles.

[neutralgamer1992]

Omegasyde

Dreams was rebooted for times during development. Sony could have canceled it at any time out of the three console makers they're probably the one that take the most chances.

Here's another fact when kojima became a free agent every publisher wanted him to present them with the tech demo Sony basically gave him a blank check and said do what you want to do that's not my words that's his. they even let him tour all the first party studios to see if one of their engines could be used for his next game to cut down on the development time

[Omegasyde]

Stoney-

Let’s see Kojima made death stranding for creative freedom example

Let’s see against his example (which um I’m sorta having to some homework)
.
.
Gran Tourismo 7? Since it’s seems thats all Polyphony studio does?

And more for what Foxtrot is stating just look at what Sony greenlit for PSVR...not all of them were shooters or interactive stories on rails.

[DOMination-]

Think back two generations ago, we got a lot of games that were great (El-Shaddai, Majin, Enslaved, Catherine, Folklore..) but never got sequels because they were niche and barely broke even.

Sony are better than most publishers but they will still want to see profit. This guy has a bad track record of making games that the general public find compelling.

[isarai]

Maybe it's a recent change what with their HQ moving to California

[fsfsxii]

because they censored the anime titties? lmao

[jukins]

Nah its just business. While his ideas and games are "good" sony is puahing for less experiments and more sure sellers. We'll habe to see if they lose anything during the transition. I expect less "freedom" games from sony in the future

[BehindTheRows]

Eh, the article states that he simply wanted to go it on his own, not that Sony held him back or kept him from making what he wanted (something they are known to allow their teams to do).

[Vegamyster]

He doesn't outright say it but it's definitely implied, he wants to make smaller niche games rather than a game with broader appeal and needed to make his own studio to do that according to him.

[BehindTheRows]

@Vegamyster

It is not implied that Sony denied him, rather, he wants to make games on a smaller scale than what Sony is after. His visions weren’t being stunted by them, he simply is choosing a smaller budget to reach said vision. That’s the difference and they get the benefit of the doubt given their track record.

[Vegamyster]

“ Toyama says the audience for gaming "has become wider" in recent years, especially for companies like Sony.”

“ Toyama says his games "choose their audience, in a way". Toyama goes on to say that he wants to make games people
will still love decades from now, and to do so, it was necessary to open his own gaming studio rather than stay with Sony.”

He doesn’t mention anything about budget and to create the game he wanted he needed his own studio, that directly implies they wanted something different than what he wanted to make.

[BehindTheRows]

@Vegamyster

He understands Sony’s aim for the mass audience and he’s after something else. That isn’t “I want to make this and they stopped me dead”.

“ However, rather than chasing mass audience appeal, Toyama says his games "choose their audience, in a way".

A broader aim =! a forced retention. He’s also able to make it on his own and has high respect for them (as per Japanese articles on this subject).

[BehindTheRows]

“However the gaming industry has rapidly grown globally and is still drastically changing all the time. Day by day, living in these times, I have felt the need for a substantial change to pursue my own ambitions. This is why I have decided to become independent”.

“ Still, SIE was a very good environment, so I was not able to leave the office until now, but this year there was a big change in the environment in the industry due to the coronavirus, so I thought that if I were to become independent, it would be only now.”

He sees this as a broader, industry shift and he joined TLG devs to form his own studio that focuses on smaller projects. Not due to an artistic hold back from Sony.

So, on that, we can agree to disagree.

[Brazz]

it's most likely due to sony being more focused on delivering "big blockbusters" than "medium/small size". he probably wants to keep making games on the scale of gravity rush.

[Godmars290]

Its also the same company that phased out 2D in favor of 3D gaming. That's pushed for "cinematic" gaming or what I've been calling "Drama Simulators".

Where MS favors "social" or "community" gaming because such also favors subscription services, Sony's become more about movies in gaming rather than see it as the separate media platform that it is.

[Magatsuhi]

Ah yes especially bloodborne, such a cinematic masterpiece...

[P_Bomb]

I don’t think it’s completely black or white. Is Dreams a non-community movie? GoT Legends? Phil Spencer went to Japan and came back with Yakuza, not Fall Guys.

[isarai]

Demon's Souls, Sackboy Adventure, Destruction Allstars disagree

[Godmars290]

"Destruction Allstars"

An online, $70 multiplayer title put on PS+ for "free" after notable backlash that it was going to be a $70 title?

"I don’t think it’s completely black or white."

Its not black and white, there are of course exceptions, the thing is - again - where MS leans mainly one way Sony leans another. And where Sony leans is towards big budgeted cinematic, drama scripted titles. Which is why I commented as I did in regards to a known dev leaving Sony because he can't make the games he wants as a Sony dev.

If Sony continues as they are there they're only going to go from "AAA" to "AAAA" to "nth-A" when they - and MS - need smaller budgeted creative diversity.

"Phil Spencer went to Japan and came back with Yakuza, not Fall Guys."

1) Fall Guys is from British devs.
2) Yakuza, isn't exclusive and was hardly built up by Xbox.
3) If Fall Guy was exclusive to Xbox, when they had f2p behind a paywall, even accounting for no paywall on PC, would it be as popular/known as it is now?

[Sayai jin]

According to this dev, that's your answer.

[InUrFoxHole]

Lol never blindly believe in any company. You're in for a rude awakening if you do. Which do you think is more believable...
1. Sony is the perfect fit for every dev and their dreams.
2. Sony said no to this specific devs creative vision

[Jericho1337]

Because Jim Ryan is at the helm now and is clearly a money man. Why do you think they’re churning out sequels at the moment?

[Silly gameAr]

I wish him the best of luck. I hope he finds someone that will support his creative vision for as long as Sony did with The Last Guardian. I don't know many companies that will take creative freedom away, and let someone work on a project for several years at the same time.

Then again, the headline probably just focused on whatever he said that would get hits and attention.

[StoneyYoshi]

"Then again, the headline probably just focused on whatever he said that would get hits and attention."

You hit the nail on the head.

[Zhipp]

Just because they supported the Last Guardian for as long as they did does not mean they would do that for every game. They're still a company. Even Sony has limits. I imagine if Team ICO didn't have such a pedegree and wasn't so beloved by fans and critics alike they would have canceled the game for sure -- and I wouldn't have blamed them either. There's hardly any excuse for a game like that to take 7+ years to develop. Naughty Dog released 4 blockbuster games between two different generations in the time it took TLG to release. That's insane!

[CrimsonWing69]

Hey, man, just give me a Silent Hill spiritual successor and I'm good.

[The_Sage]

Dude wants to make characters that have 10 year old faces with scantily clad pornstar bodies. If course Sony is going to tell him to pump the brakes.

[InUrFoxHole]

Because that's stopped sony/ms before? Get real man

[gold_drake]

seems to odd to me cause we've seen games like Dream, Fall guys or heck, even the last guardian, im sure that they have meetings like any other company and maybe the pitch just wasnt great.

id would say that about some other very specific gaming platform, but not sony, im sorry. fanboy or not. the games we've got for Playstation speak volumes.

[Zhipp]

I've seen Fall Guys mentioned in this context a few times. Am I missing something? What does Fall Guys have to do with this?

[gold_drake]

creative freedom.
its not a AAA game, but instead a online multiplayer only. the game could have bombed but it didnt. id say it falls under that umbrella where ppl just take a risk and go for it. i could be wrong tho

[Zhipp]

Yes, but Sony didn't publish Fall Guys, right? I thought that was Devolver Digital, whose entire MO is supporting off-beat projects like that.

[Edgelordsupreme]

He's in damage control mode, the thing is he's to special to even realize this isn't a "negative" against Sony. It's a business that deals with artists, at some point thats going to clash with some of these artists and publishers. A artist saying "fine I'm taking my work elsewhere" isn't as incendiary as people think.

[JL2930]

I don't blame him, he wants to make video game not interactive movies.

[drizzom]

Speaking truth. Pretty fed up with all these "movie games". 90% obnoxiously overblown Hollywood performance 10% actual game with fun robust game mechanics.

[JL2930]

You can't tell nothing to fanboys, they will eat shit and call it caviar. A big reason why gaming is going downhill fast.

[Thundercat77]

No one but Sony and him will really know what happened here.

It's best not to jump to any theory or conclusion.

[Mr_Luke]

Well, Xbox fanboys already know the truth as you can see around. They're a reliable source, i think they had microphones there somewhere, hidden, listening to the chat between the guy and Sony.

Do i really need to add the "/s"? :P

[goldwyncq]

I get what he's saying. Most Playstation exclusives from the past decade feel manufactured and very safe and while the stories are generally good, the gameplay side of them could use to take a bit more risk. For that reason, Media Molecule is the most underrated of Sony's studios because they're pretty much the only ones trying to reinvent and experiment with new gameplay instead of just rehashing what's already been done before.

[Zhipp]

Japan studio as well. They kinda disappeared last gen, but they were behind The Astro Boy games.

[Rimeskeem]

So he just became self-employed because he wanted complete creative freedom. I don't know why this has to be controversial.

[Sitdown]

Because it goes against the narrative that Sony fans like to regurgitate.

[Rimeskeem]

So one person goes against the flow which means that the whole thing falls apart?

[garos82]

thats disheartening to hear. Sony get your sh*t together. you built a reputation of having your developers be free to create what they want, dont ruin it

[goldwyncq]

Sony won't give developers complete freedom over their craft unless they're Hideo Kojima or Neil Druckmann.

[FallenAngel1984]

Thanks for giving us Gravity Rush

[phoenixwing]

I bought both games awhile ago. They're fun.

[plmkoh]

The man's had 20 years at Sony to create avant garde work, and then suddenly people are questioning "creative freedom" at Sony?

Sounds like gas lighting to me.

[Ausbo]

Or maybe it has to do with the recent change in leadership in the manner of Jim Ryan and Herman hulst.

We will never know.

[Games1st]

His next games should be very interesting.

[sourOG]

Good for him, I hope it works out.

[Fluttershy77]

Go for it Keiichiro! Super creative fella, I don't think he will have a lot of problems finding funding.