Sony’s Breakout Video Game Owes its Success to a Hazmat Suit

One of Sony Group Corp.’s biggest hits this year for the PlayStation 5 came from a little-known studio with no video game experience. It was an unusual gamble for the normally risk-averse Sony and it might not have happened but for a series of unforeseen events.

[blackblades]

Good for them

[darkrider]

With so many milked franchises beyond belief, it's very good for something new to have success.

[13sentinel]

"It was an unusual gamble for the normally risk-averse Sony and it might not have happened but for a series of unforeseen events."

Umm whaa? And bloomberg continues with this bullshit narrative. How hilarious I'll commend you, you stick to your guns at least. You're ignorant pompous fools, but at least you stick to the imaginary narratives you create.

[Chevalier]

Yeah first thing I noticed. Risk adverse? They take way more risk than Nintendo or Xbox. They have the most diverse game line up and products like PSVR, Dual Sense etc.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

@Darkstudios

To anyone who doesn't know, this is another spam account made just 1 hour ago by the banned Zmorin18 ( https://n4g.com/user/commen...

Imagine complaining about copy and pasting when that's what you've been doing with most of your spare time, spamming this site non-stop for at least the last year or so. Get a life, lad.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Idk know if I fully agree, Nintendo sometimes takes quite big risks that don't always pay off for them (omg, the WiiU, that was not thought out well enough).

[jznrpg]

Yeah …. They never takes risks on smaller games like Ico , Concrete Genie , Puppeteer , Rain, Little Big Planet , Tokyo Jungle , Journey , Flower , SoTC , Astro Bot , Fat Princess , every VR game
and a bunch more smaller games .

[RpgSama]

Not only small ones, they gave a team like Guerrilla that up until then was a FPS developer the go ahead to make Horizon, Kojima with Death Stranding giving him the Decima Engine, Returnal to Housemarque, Ghost of Tsushima, Dreams with Media Molecule, most of what they do is take risks, nobody delivers more new IPs each generation.

[Pancit_Canton]

They created more new IP than Nintendo & Microsoft combined. This is not new for Sony to nurtured and grow independent Studio. Haven studio is another example of independent partnership with Sony.

[r2oB]

@ darkstudios

Do you realize Steam is the storefront, not the publisher/developer of 99.99999999….% of the games they offer. That’s like saying GameStop has tons of IPs, sound dumb right? Please choose the following option that best describes you:

A) You don’t think before you speak
B) You’re a troll
C) Both A and B

[goldwyncq]

Is it really wrong though? Almost all of their biggest games are third-person cinematic action-adventure games with a heavy emphasis on narrative. Only a few titles like Astro Bot, Returnal, and Media Molecule's games have tried to innovate when it comes to gameplay, everything else has been very safe.

[ColtPSSX]

Really games like
Flower
Concrete genie
Little big planet
Heavy rain
Detroit becomes human
Guardian
Death stranding
Demon souls before the formula was famous
Etc
Even the new cat game where your a freaking cat.
Sony is not known to play it safe.
Just cause their popular games is all cinematic does not mean they don’t go for risky games. It’s not their fault the consumers want those style of games.

Hell look all hell blade.

[Atticus_finch]

Yea it's wrong.

[ColtPSSX]

@Darkstudio

Lol is the guy who Keeps making accounts and getting banned.

[13sentinel]

"Is it really wrong though?"

Yes, next.

[DigitallyAfflicted]

I know. Sony did build their success on risk from day one... And it did fail at times too

[Ninver]

Blacklisted for false journalism

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Ember Lab developed and published Kena:Bridge of Spirits, the title is their’s not Sony’s.

[Chevalier]

So you didn't read the article is what you're saying?

"then struck a deal with Sony for funding and marketing support."

You don't think funding the game by a studio with NO experience making games is NOT a risk?! Giving them all the development kits and supporting them with the cost along the way?! Uhhh okay so go ahead and explain how that's 'risk adverse' then. Risk adverse would literally be the opposite of that

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Title of article “ Sony’s Breakout Video Game Owes its Success to a Hazmat Suit”

[CobraKai]

You guys are both right. It’s not a Sony game like Horizon or Uncharted, but Sony did take most of the risk by funding the game and it’s marketing from an inexperienced developer. If or when it comes to Xbox, MS can feel safe knowing they got a solid game without risking anything

[Terry_B]

yeah..the headline is..bad worded.

[Knightofelemia]

@Sciurus_vulgaris

It depends how the contract is hammered out a publisher could own the ip and or rights to the ip, the publisher can also say this game will only appear on this platform, the publisher can also say ok only on this platform in this region, or said title is either an exclusive or a timed exclusive, or the publisher can say we will publish the game with no strings attached and you retain the rights and owner ship of the title. Contracts are a funny piece of paper. Microsoft published Tales of Vesperia for XB360 and it was only allowed console exclusive in certain regions. That's why Namco found a loophole in the contract to port the game to the PS3 by changing up the story and adding a new character and scenarios.

[iplay1up2]

Exactly! It also released on PC. They are also looking into an Xbox port. Sony fanboys are the absolute worst. They like to pretend PS Now, isn't on PC too.

[BehindTheRows]

Read beyond a title. It’s not that hard.

[isarai]

"Risk adverse"? WTF? SCE probably takes more risks than any other AAA publisher out there, they give more time and money to projects others would never even touch, give chance to the highly creative concepts others would change, and partner with games simply to push creativity. Not to mention dropping new IPs EVERY generation. They always have

[CobraKai]

Ember may become another developer Sony incorporates into their fold. I’m really surprised how well done this game is, and, from a developer that had zero experience, it’s even more laudable.

[SonyStyled]

I wouldn’t say zero experience as if it came from nothing. They were a motion picture studio before Kena. Kena is just their first video game, if that’s what you meant by zero experience in a game space anyway. They aren’t straight out of college

[CobraKai]

Well yeah, that’s what I meant. Zero gaming experience. I thought it was a given since the article was just about their video game

[Lexreborn2]

I’m picking Kena up after I finish Tales of Arise, then after Kena Returnal then Ratchet and Clank

[nickanasty206]

This game was awesome! Glad the studio is thriving, well deserved, especially for a first game.

[Charlieboy333]

Risk-averse? I think Bloomberg is completely reality-averse

[Imalwaysright]

Since when is Sony "risk averse"? They're one of the few publishers that aren't afraid to back up projects that aren't guaranteed commercial successes and that's actually the thing I like the most about them as a publisher. We could only hope that every publisher had the same mindset as Sony.