410°

Naughty Dog is in danger of missing the boat with the PS5

Following a string of remakes and a cancelled The Last of Us multiplayer game, Naughty Dog needs to leave a mark within the PS5 generation.

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LucasRuinedChildhood121d ago (Edited 121d ago )

The second NaughtyDog show their next game, I think we all know that any concern about them leaving a mark will be gone. NaughtyDog publicly stated that they're working on multiple big single player games and when they're shown off they'll be closer to release. Demoing TLOU2 3 years early caused some crunch so they're avoiding that now.
https://gamerant.com/naught...

SuckerPunch are also yet to leave a mark this gen or announce a PS5 game. There was a long 6 year gap between First Light and Ghost Of Tshushima too and they had to cancel another game and restart development. https://youtu.be/aR_E-nbeI4...

I think both will be fine. GOW Ragnorok and Horizon Forbidden West were iterative sequels still also made for PS4 and they still took around 5 years.

purple101121d ago

Ps5 has secret sauce, these studios just learning how to season it

-Foxtrot120d ago

And?

Yeah the next game might be great but it doesn't automatically excuse and cover up how they've handled themselves in the recent years.

You talk about Sucker Punch but at least they were focused, they had a game it didn't work, they restarted development. They didn't come out like Neil did with Factions and pretend everything was hunky dory "Yes we will have info coming at the end of the year, Yes everything is going smoothly" etc

The fact is so far for being Sonys biggest studios NaughtyDog hasn't done a new IP since TLOU in 2013 and the last NEW game in general was TLOU2 in 2020. Everything they've done has been Remasters or Remakes, hell they even took over the awful PC port of TLOU. By the time a new game comes out it will be 2025 at the earliest.

Key people have left, the work has gotten slower, structure doesn't seem to be there anymore, there's been rumours of management issues, crunch, they've cancelled something, Neil the ONLY guy in charge now seems to be more bothered about his TV show...I mean, come on. If this was any other studio these concerns would be justified.

derek120d ago

@Foxtrot, if only you where as critical of other none Sony studios your complaint would be more believable. Why should you expect ND to abandon the Tlou ip after on a mere 2 games when every other studio has made several sequels to their popular ip. You hold ND to this standard you won't hold any other studio to. The ND haters better get their complaints in now because once they show off their next game everything else will pail in comparison.

shadowknight203120d ago

Fanboyism is like the idea older generations had regarding corporations and tenure/loyalty. They all thought they mattered and cared about them. Only to realize how little do these companies people work for care about them. That same treatment, is for gaming Companies.

Redemption-64120d ago

Naughty Dog has really hurt you so so bad. It's honestly very pitiful at this point

-Foxtrot120d ago (Edited 120d ago )

@derek

Lmao I have been, I call both which is why people say the yOuR nEgAtIvE reply to me. No one is off limits

One minute you’re a Sony fanboy

The next your a Microsoft fanboy

So on and on…

@Redeption

Here he comes, upset because someone said something about a studio he adores

This is why studios fall, like BioWare, because of die hard fanboys like yourself who hates when someone says something mean about them. Bless.

I do find it adorable you have this massive thing about me, just being an overall ass about it. Not surprised at someone who boot licks GaaS games and defend them so…

None of these replies so far have actually countered my points, you think calling me as a person does that when it really doesn’t.

outsider1624120d ago

Fox, I know what you're getting at but jeeze man this whole Neil thing, you gotta let it go. The guy is a writer. You guys didnt like the story, we liked story. End of.
And as for ND, who doesnt want a new ip from them. We all do. Remember how people call out on R*? These guys haven't released a game in 10 years...q0 freaking years. 1 trailer was all it took and they forgot everything and looked forward to 2025. This will be the same with ND...unless they somehow do a redfall of some sort.

derek120d ago

@Fox, you made no valid point to address. You still haven't explained why ND should abandon Tlou after just 2 games with the ip or why anyone should expect a new game from ND now since the just released their last one just 3.5 years ago. The rest of your rant was just regurgitating internet nonsense about factions based on speculation of speculation or the fake supposed mass exodus of ND employees.

-Foxtrot120d ago

@derek

No no, you just choose to ignore points and gloss over them.

Yes the next game might be great but like I said it doesn’t excuse how they are currently handling themselves.

Sucker punch did restart development before GoT sure but going off interviews and their portfolio they seem to be better structured at the moment

Neil did continue to big up Factions, there’s a bunch of update posts on their social media. Look it up they are there

ND hasn’t done a new IP since 2013 and the last brand new game that isn’t a remaster or remake was in 2020.

Key people did leave the company, you’re talking about a mass exodus? Never mentioned those words in the above post. Key people. Which is true. Amy Hennig left, Bruce Straley, Evan Wells.

I mean I could go on, I’m not saying anything wrong. You just don’t want to admit that there’s anything wrong with ND which is why great studios can decline because die hard fanboys refuse to say anything

I remember people trying to cover BioWare in the early days and look what happened

So yeah boot lick harder I guess, they aren’t gonna give you a tour of the studio you know.

__SteakDeck__120d ago

@Redemption-64 TLOU 2 broke him since they killed his father Joel. It’s sad. We know he’ll rip whatever ND does next.

__SteakDeck__120d ago

@outsider1624 The last Rockstar game was 5 years ago. Did you forget about RDR2? Lol

-Foxtrot120d ago (Edited 120d ago )

@Steak

Oooo more personal attacks and immature responses from N4G assholes because they can’t come up with decent counter arguments. What? Did I call you out in a previous article months or years ago and you’ve held a grudge ever since?

How scary…

Yeah I didn’t care for the story in TLOU2 but even if I did and loved the sequel my opinion on ND right now wouldn’t change. I know that’s a hard pill to swallow but…that’s how it is.

120d ago
Crows90120d ago

Exactly right. Sony Fanboys will disregard valid criticism for sure. Just like Xbox Fanboys do. It's a shame because naughty dog used to be great.

repsahj120d ago

I'm sure their next game will be awesome, like what happened with TLOU2. That game is one of the best (or literally the best) looking during PS4 days. If they don't release a new PS5 exclusive game during the console's lifetime, that will be the time I will help you criticize Naughty Dog.

Tody_ZA119d ago (Edited 119d ago )

Foxtrot, whilst there are valid reasons to have concerns about Naughty Dog, the problem with many of your opinions is that you're holding unrealistic viewpoints about them that could also be applied to other Sony Studios.

Sucker Punch have two games, Infamous and Ghost of Tsushima, which came out in 2020. That's since the PS3 generation. Santa Monica has God of War only, and it took them five years to release God of War (2018) after Ascension and then almost four years to release Ragnarok (2022). Guerrilla Games made Killzone since the PS3 era and created Horizon (2017) followed by Forbidden West five years later in (2022) and their VR experience in 2023. Media Molecule released three games from 2014 to 2020. Insomniac are an exception but they have made three Spider-Man titles and a remaster across more than five years, as well as Ratchet and Clank at launch. Bluepoint Games has released four games since 2015, two remasters and two remakes.

Naughty Dog had The Last of Us Part 2 in 2020 and The Last of Us Part 1 Remake in 2022. They have three franchises, Jak and Daxter, Uncharted and The Last of Us.

Why are you acting like anything strange is going on here in terms of gaming releases? They're on par with all other Sony Studios barring Insomniac.

What I will give you however is the bad communication on Factions, key personnel leaving and an over reliance on remastering. But beyond that, we can't really say much until we see what their new IP looks like.

StoneTitan119d ago

Some key people may have left but if you take a minute to look up who is there its absolutely insane the people working there are some of the best in the industry. They will be fine

Chard119d ago (Edited 119d ago )

ND has allegedly been trying to address crunch culture, which may go some way to explaining the slower pace, and that would be a good thing.
I'm personally no longer in a rush for any game anymore as there are already more good games in existence than I'll ever have time for, plus I'm less interested in 'movie games' than I used to be.

FinalFantasyFanatic119d ago

I'm personally disappointed with Naughty Dog's output this gen, I'm more surprised that people aren't upset with them since they're only significant releases have been unnecessary remakes of games that aren't even old enough to justify the treatment.

It reminds me of Square-Enix where, for the longest time, they avoided releasing/announcing a new FF game, it's like they didn't know what to do with the franchise, so they kept using left over assets to make direct sequels and side games. I kinda feel that Naughty Dog is in the same position and just milking their most popular franchise (I'm really shocked they haven't tried to milk Uncharted as well). For me, this raises warning flags, even though I don't think Naughty Dog is quite at that point, but we'll see what happens in the next few years, surely, they would have a brand new game ready for release by then.

+ Show (15) more repliesLast reply 119d ago
Christopher120d ago

***The second NaughtyDog show their next game, I think we all know that any concern about them leaving a mark will be gone.***

I'm not into blind fan-service like this. Naughty Dog has to earn my support and right now they haven't delivered in over 3 years.

LoveSpuds119d ago (Edited 119d ago )

Listen to yourself dude, the idea that a dev team can knock out games of thie quality put out by ND every 3 years is ridiculous. It's been 3 years and for a good chunk of that 3 years we were in a global pandemic. I understand wanting to see what's next, I am hungry for that too, but the idea that because ND haven't released a 'new' game in 3 years they must be struggling is bonkers.

FinalFantasyFanatic119d ago

I think it's more annoying because instead of directing man power to a new game, they've gone to mention several times that they've directed resources and labour to producing the remakes of TLOU 1&2 which you can easily argue weren't needed.

Christopher117d ago

***Listen to yourself dude, the idea that a dev team can knock out games of thie quality put out by ND every 3 years is ridiculous.***

What they have produced in the last 3 years have been time wasters that are telling me that they're focused on old games and not new ones. Let alone having to can an ill (and IMHO wasted) attempt at a GaaS MP stand-alone game. Let alone there are two ND teams now and the one has been working on a game for over 4 years now and yet nothing on it.

Compared to what has come out of ND to what I want to see? ND has to earn my support and right now they haven't delivered in over 3 years.

CrashMania121d ago

I'm not a fan of live service at all, but I do think Factions had the potential to be pretty fun a chance of being quite popular for Sony, shame it's not being salvaged in any way, like a non-live service or a standalone non-f2p.

Certainly had more potential than Marathon and Fairgame$ lol.

Storm23120d ago

I am hoping they can use a lot of the live service factions for just a MP mode on Last of Us Part 3. Similar to the first

__SteakDeck__120d ago

@CrashMania I think you meant Concord. Marathon is being made by Bungie. They know how to make multiplayer.

isarai121d ago

I know they'll release a big title this gen, but it is really delayed as are many PlayStation 1st party studios. Likely too late to release more than one this gen though, this live service BS really jammed up everything 😞

LoveSpuds119d ago

I don't suppose the pandemic impacted on anything then?

Zenzuu120d ago

As much as I'm loving my PS5 and enjoying the games released thus far, I got to admit, despite an initial strong start with first party games, it's lacking quite a fare bit compared to previous generations.

Other than the The last of us part 1, Naughty Dog has yet to actually release a new game for PS5 whereas in the past multiple titles have come out for Psone, PS2, PS3, & PS4.

Many of Sony's other first party studio are very quiet, with no new PS5 titles announced from them... Hopefully we'll see something from their studios sooner than later.

derek120d ago (Edited 120d ago )

We are only 3 years into the generation, Sony has done far better in their release cadence then for any other generation before. People complain online too much these days becuase we are constantly told we have something to be upset about by the fake news merchant's.

isarai120d ago

This is simply not true, I've been there for every PlayStation launch, and while this one had better launch titles than say PS3, 1st party has been lacking since. 1st this cross gen stuff just made for very half step feel sequels, and although good games, they don't feel like a "next gen" thing because at their core they aren't. Now it's this live service push delaying all major projects. Year 2 is when PlayStation generations start dropping those next gen experiences, those games that wow you and show you what this new hardware can do, changing even the foundations of how games can be designed, yet here we are entering year 4 and the only 1ST party games made specifically for PS5 are Spider-Man 2, Ratchet and Clank, and Demon's Souls

the only game I see in the horizon that has been announced that is really showing the next gen I have been waiting for is GTA6.

Rude-ro120d ago

PlayStation 3 took off in year 3
PS4 took off in year 2
Ps5 is holding a line…
But has yet to scream gen defining as of yet.
I have no doubt they will…
But this is the slowest of gens as of yet and yes.. Covid had its impact.
The good news is, where Sony was going to go with live service is not the goal any longer.
They have read the market, and the market no longer is on board with “attempts” at live service.

Si-Fly119d ago

lol, your list was so short you had to add GT7 VR and HFD dlc 🤣

WelkinCole120d ago

Said the same thing and I got roasted.

PS3 gen by this time we would have Uncharted 3 already from ND.

We had shit load of 1st party AAAA games by then

__SteakDeck__120d ago (Edited 120d ago )

@Zenzuu @isarai Spiderman 2 Rift Apart, Returnal, and Demon Souls are still much better than Killzone Shadow Fall, Knack, Infamous Second Son, and The Order 1886. Yes the PS4 had more exclusives during it’s first 3 years. But they weren’t better. Give me quality>quantity. More PS5 exclusives will come.

isarai120d ago

You sure are missing a ton of games bruh. We are at the end of PS5s 3rd year, by this time on the PS4 we had

Killzone shadow fall
Knack
Playroom
Driveclub
Infamous second son
Little Big Planet 3
MLB 14
Bloodborne
MLB 15
Order 1886
Until Dawn
Ratchet and Clank
MLB 16
Last Guardian
Uncharted 4

And that doesn't include remaster/remakes, standalone expansions, VR and smaller titles like unfinished swan.

PS3 had

Genji
Resistance fall of man
Folklore
Heavenly Sword
Lair
Motorstorm
Ratchet and Clank tools of destruction
Uncharted Drake's Fortune
Warkhawk
Afrika
GT5 Prologue
Hot Shots Golf 5
Little Big Planet
MLB 08
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Resistance 2
SOCOM Navy Seals
inFamous
Killzone 2
Ratchet and Clank a crack in time
Uncharted 2

Also yes quality is also part of my issue, gowr, hfw, Smmm, and even DS are all games designed around limitations of older generations and while they are all great games, they are still ps4/3 games, just with high res and faster loading screens, but this hardware can do much more than that above previous gens, and things like R&C Rift Apart, Matrix UE5, and GTA6 are really showing what we should have been seeing as the new standard over a year ago

derek120d ago

@isarai, nope this gen we've had 2 Spiderman games a gow game, returnals, ratchet, ff16, gt7, gt7vr, hfw + burning shores, demons souls etc etc. No previous playstation has ever had this amount of quality exclusives this early, none (maybe the ps2 my memory is foggy there).

outsider1624119d ago

Yes i knw about rdr2. The point was actually about how i saw people being disgruntled because they haven't released gta since 2013..and saying how they've fallen/will fall after houser left. One trailer was all it took to frget everything..lol.

FinalFantasyFanatic119d ago

This is why I haven't bought a PS5, I just haven't had compelling reasons to do so, it's a pretty weak line up thus far compared to previous gens.

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derek120d ago

ND's last brand new release was a mere 3.5 years ago, why is everyone expecting a brand new game from them now given current dev timlines. The remakes/remasters are fine it allows the company to earn money while they cook. Especially given the technical craftsmanship on display in their games it will take time.

shadowknight203120d ago

Because as far as anyone knows, that time gap hasn't resulted in much development leading to any new releases anytime soon.

purple101120d ago

This is true
3.5 years
So they should , SHOULD have smoothing in the next 6months to 1.5 years

Which means, they SHOULD, perhaps have something to show pretty soon/ soon-ish
And IF they don’t, I will become worried too

porkChop120d ago

Naughty Dog has more than one team though. One team launched a game 3.5 years ago, and cancelled the MP project they'd broken off from that game. What have the rest of the devs been working on? How does ND have nothing new to show 3 years into a new gen? Not even a title?

Show all comments (69)
50°

Here's Everything I Expect From The Witcher 4's Combat

Danish from eXputer: "The Witcher's upcoming sequel needs to overhaul the series' combat system if it wants to make a big splash among gamers."

120°

Square & Bandai Namco Being Honest About Quality Is A Step In The Right Direction

Saad from eXputer: "After suffering from massive financial hits, Square Enix & Bandai Namco appear to be turning over a new leaf but I'm still unconvinced."

Nerdmaster7h ago(Edited 7h ago)

I was talking about games with some Japanese guys here in Japan, and it seems like around here Bandai Namco has a fame of making low-quality games, with the occasional gem.

About Square Enix, I believe they lack the capacity to improve. They should learn with Capcom (although even Capcom still makes some bad mistakes), but I don't think they ever will. They keep chasing whatever is new at the time (blockchain, AI...) to say "we innovate", without considering the public perception and if these things actually improve the games or not. Them releasing too many small games with no advertising also shows a lack of trust in its own products. Even with their biggest games, like turning FF into an action game with XVI and the very divisive plot changes regarding whispers and timelines in VII Remake, shows them trying to attract a new generation of gamers without understanding what made the series so big in the first place.

shinoff21837h ago

I want a true ff7 remake. With thatcsaid I'm way happier with 7 remake then I was with ff16. I'd still prefer turn based but square keep chasing these Lil kids

Snookies123h ago

Man, it is perfectly fine to prefer turn based. Turn based is amazing. But there's zero reason to call anyone who likes action games "lil kids". Liking one gameplay system over another does not make you more mature in any way.

VersusDMC6h ago

People love the new FF's overall...the problem is the abundance of 7's they release that lose money or make very little like diofield, star ocean divine force, Valkyrie asylum, harvestella, foam stars, etc. Advertising wouldn't have saved those games. Apparently Forespoken had a big Advertising budget but we saw how that went.

shinoff21835h ago(Edited 5h ago)

Star ocean divine force actually sold well from what I've read not ff type numbers but well enough. Was a dope game to.

FinalFantasyFanatic5h ago

Bandai Namco is going to Bandai Namco, I do believe that Square Enix can't change without changing the entire management, they've had these issues for more than a decade and haven't learnt, I have very little faith they can course correct. I'll still buy their better remasters/remakes like Star Ocean 2 though (not FF7R).

Asterphoenix2h ago

Namco is just milking the same Sword Art Online with lack of budget as well as anime IPs that don't go to decent developers like Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia. Namco deserves their losses and no future Dot Hack or Xenosaga remaster :(.

Square allocated lot of their budget on Forspoken was a mistake. Square always had management issues. Star Ocean 2 was a great remake and I found their recent entries of FF(16 and Rebirth) better than 13 and 15.
I think they were better than 360/PS3 generation where Square went really downhill.

CrimsonWing696h ago

I don’t know why NOW they decide on this, but I guess later is better than never.

120°

Baldur's Gate 4 Has a Huge Uphill Battle Without Larian

With confirmation that Larian Studios will not develop another Baldur's Gate game, the fourth entry has a major challenge on its hands.

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gamerant.com
kythlyn8h ago

Larian had big shoes to fill themselves. Hopefully another studio can pull off the same miracle, but uphill battle is an understatement at this point. It feels impossible that BG3 even exists and accomplishes what it does.

franwex8h ago

I doubt anyone will attempt a Baldur’s Gate 4 for minimum a decade. It took about 20 years to get a third one for a a reason.

shinoff21835h ago

I'd just copy every single thing larian did obviously with different story and characters. Sometimes innovation isn't needed at that particular time.