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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Community138d ago
LucasRuinedChildhood138d ago (Edited 138d 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.

purple101138d ago

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

-Foxtrot138d 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.

derek138d 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.

shadowknight203138d 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-64137d ago

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

-Foxtrot137d ago (Edited 137d 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.

outsider1624137d 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.

derek137d 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.

-Foxtrot137d 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__137d 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__137d ago

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

-Foxtrot137d ago (Edited 137d 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.

137d ago
Crows90137d 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.

repsahj137d 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.

RNTody137d ago (Edited 137d 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.

StoneTitan137d 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

Chard137d ago (Edited 137d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic136d 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.

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Christopher137d 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.

LoveSpuds137d ago (Edited 137d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic136d 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.

Christopher134d 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.

CrashMania138d 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.

Storm23137d 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__137d ago

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

isarai138d 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 😞

LoveSpuds137d ago

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

Zenzuu138d 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.

derek138d ago (Edited 138d 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.

isarai137d 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-ro137d 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-Fly137d ago

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

WelkinCole137d 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__137d ago (Edited 137d 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.

isarai137d 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

derek137d 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).

outsider1624136d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic136d 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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derek138d 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.

shadowknight203138d ago

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

purple101138d 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

porkChop137d 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?

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50°

There are no "thoughtful" ads in video games, EA

There are no thoughtful ads in Video Games, EA. Leave them be.

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190°

Bungie CTO Leaves Company After 14 Years, Joins Sony PlayStation

Bungie veteran and current CTO, Luis Villegas, has left the company after fourteen years and has joined Sony PlayStation as its new Head of Technology.

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Community3h ago
Sonic188118h ago

"I feel incredibly lucky because as part of my new role I get to still work closely with my Bungie family."

New role and more pay and still can work closely with Bungie

14h ago
fr0sty3h ago

Yeah, he basically just got a big promotion within the same parent company.

14h ago
S2Killinit2h ago

Seems logical for him and probably for PlayStation

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140°

Square Enix Is Going Multiplatform; The Layoffs & Its Past Don't Inspire Confidence

After its latest games didn't meet sales targets, Square Enix is going multiplatform but the company's track record isn't convincing.

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Community17h ago
Scissorman17h ago

Square Enix been multiplatform for decades, a few exclusively-deals doesn't make them any less multiplatform.

fr0sty17h ago

Nor is selling their games on a console with only 25 million install base going to bring their sales to where they hope they will be... Unless they somehow manage to dumb down FF7 trilogy to work on switch, they aren't going to have much luck. They already released it on PC, after all.

anast5h ago

Where are you getting that number?

SegaSaturn66917h ago

It kind of does, giving preference to a certain platform by timed exclusivity. Console ports generally feel superior. Legend of mana PC port extremely broken

neutralgamer199216h ago

Sega

It doesn’t when square themselves didn’t want to fund the development of remake. It’s only after the success of the 1st they realized their mistake but now contract is signed. If it wasn’t for Sony there would be no FF7 remakes. Same goes for silent hill 2 with Konami. They don’t want to fund AAA budget. Companies like PlayStation and Nintendo get blamed when in reality they are saving some of these franchises

Remember sega didn’t want to fund bayonetta and epic games didn’t want to fund another gears of war. It’s easy to blame console makers but they are the ones taking the risk and paying huge upfront costs without seeing the final product. FF7 remake trilogy won’t be coming to Xbox now or in the future. PlayStation and PC is what square signed up for. Sony paid them more than they would make from Xbox sales.

ravens5216h ago

I just wonder when everyone is going to demand that the Square Enix exclusives with Nintendo come to PS and Xbox. Or it's just the PS exclusives that matter lol

phoenixwing16h ago(Edited 16h ago)

I'd love for the nintendo exclusives to come to pc or ps5. They'd actually be playable then.

neutralgamer199216h ago

Raven

Exactly and that’s where square enix does more exclusive than any other platform. Gaming is square has always been very unrealistic with their sales expectations. Remember when tomb raider reboot sold 7.5 million and square said it wasn’t enough. They need to spend less on development and have more realistic expectations from sales.

And those thinking games being not on Xbox makes a difference don’t understand we have a decade plus of data showing square enix games having less than 20% of their multiplatform sales on Xbox (final fantasy series) and Nintendo consoles aren’t strong enough to run any current games. Nintendo switch should be as strong as Xbox one x atleast but we all know that’s most likely won’t happen

RoadRacer15h ago

@raven

thing is, as neutral said in their comm, the switch isn't strong enough to run flagship SE games
i think what SE does is, it makes unique games for switch only so that it has something for that console too. Thats where all the "underlined sans" rpgs go to mostly

maybe things will change when Swtich 2 drops cuz that's gonna be as strong as ps4 afaik from the rumors flying around

TheGamingHounds16h ago

@Scissorman

Your point is valid enough but when the icon of this company is limited to one console in timed-exclusivity, it means the company has crossed the line. By some degree at least

All things aside, Square itself stated "aggressive multiplatform strategies" so we all know what it's talking about

Scissorman13h ago(Edited 13h ago)

Then the headline should read "Square To Drop Exclusively Deals in Pursuit of A Sweeping Multiplatform Strategy". I don't recall this argument when Square Enix released Bravely Default, Octopath Traveler, and Triangle Strategy on one platform. And even if FF is the icon, not all of its titles have gone to one platform. We're talking about three games, one of which is already on PC. Did Square suddenly go 'multiplatform' after it released subsequent Tomb Raider sequels on more than just the Xbox? It's just a silly way of putting it.

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TheGamingHounds16h ago(Edited 16h ago)

SE needs to go all in optimization. Broken PC ports won't help its case, especially with big releases like mainline Final Fantasy

Asterphoenix16h ago

It's actually simple. What doesn't inspire confidence is Square allocating their budgets on the wrong projects such as Forspoken, Avengers, Babylons Fall and Foamstars.

Square has always been multiplatform since PS3/360 days which 80 % of their games are. People kick up a fuss over PS exclusivity but not Nintendo which has more exclusive projects console exclusive from Square.

FF16 has done ok but not enough to fix the blunders that the past mistakes Square has made with some of their projects. FF7 Rebirth is unclear we'll see a PC release for sure so it's hard to say so far not as good as they would of liked.

Then again unrealistic expectations. If it weren't for Sony these games would at least had another 2 years development time. So some people need to be realistic in that regard.

Scissorman13h ago(Edited 13h ago)

It's the blunders that set those expectations so high. If you remove those from the equation, I bet the sales numbers would be more than stellar. Square believes it's okay to release a pile of risky, middling, garbage because the big boys will ultimately subsidize the cost. Don't worry if Forspoken sells poorly, FF16 will surely sell 10 million copies to balance that right out. Oh wait, it only sold like 4 million. Well that's a disaster. Meanwhile games that sell 2 million units with comparable budgets are deemed successful.

thorstein8h ago

I would also add that FFXVI, which I loved has a hint to one of their biggest problems: the number 16.

It's a great franchise, but that's all they've become known for. Dragon Quest is my favorite all time series but it's like they don't know what to do outside of those two IPs.

Valve never makes trilogies. The idea is that they don't want to become stagnant. Gabe Newell hates the number 3.

I can't imagine their talent wouldn't want to try a new RPG.

RoadRacer15h ago

Square Enix just really need to revise its expectations. Maybe consider a change in strategy on dev end as well. Multiplat will help for sure but only good games that are marketed well will sell

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