Is Sony losing its publishing moxie?

[Billy Idol]

This is exactly what MS did last gen. Did it help selling their console this gen so far. I don't think so?!?

 

[babybumb]

This is exactly what MS did last gen. Did it help selling their console this gen so far. I don't think so?!?

Titanfall has probably sold more consoles than Sony exclusives this gen combined. The problem was the console hardware strategy

Sony selling off SOE is pretty bad sign to SCE..

 

[Billy Idol]

Did Titanfall really sold X1? It was also available on pc and thus not even a real exclusive?!?

 

[London Geezer]

I would shutdown everything but ND. The rest arent competitive in todays market.

Their job is to sell consoles and that job is done more efficiently with 3rd party timed exclusives or full exclusives

Titanfall has probably sold more consoles than Sony exclusives this gen combined. The problem was the console hardware strategy

Sony selling off SOE is pretty bad sign to SCE..

Two of the most ridiculous statements I've seen on here lately.

 

[Jwm]

Is it a larger problem with the industry? Not just Sony, I mean there were amazing games during the PS2/Xbox era that if I could just remember the names I would love to see reboots.

Edit: Time crunch, I will expound on my thought process later.

 

[Arwin]

The bigger studios should also make lots of great smaller, innovative games, to help drive progress. It shouldn't be just indies on one hand and no risk high budget exclusives on the other.

 

[Nesh]

Form The Order game thread...


I agree with you. I've associated PS with exotic titles, but I feel it's pretty generic now.

Actually, maybe it isn't, thinking aloud. We have some curios coming like TTC and Wild. And a lot of the colour of previous PlayStations came from Japanese 3rd party exclusives. Someone more knowledgable might want to list Sony first/2nd party IPs from different generations to compare. But it does feel like Sony's lost some of their sheen.

I believe it is also partly the gamers to blame. We have grown. We want something closer to realism which at the same time maintains a unique identity.
These things dont handshake very well. We have experienced tons in the real world so, trying to mimic the realism and offer something "with unique character" we havent experienced is a challenge itself.
In the old days we were more tolerant. We were getting all kinds of games like Wipeout, Crash Bandicoot, Ico, Mark of Kri, Parappa the Rapper, Jak and Daxter etc and feel satisfied with their creative approach. If we go even farther back we will see even more ridiculous concepts.
A silly looking knight that was able to shoot infinite spears while wearing just his boxers
A funny boy that shot rainbows
Snowmen in jeans
A Kiwi that threw arrows
Dragons that spat bubbles
A jungle kid that threw hammers but was also able to get a skateboard and a helmet by braking an egg
etc

Wipeout HD was a piece of art. A perfect Wipeout I can say. But people were losing their interest since probably Wipeout Fusion. Sunset Overdrive is another great game but although people think its good they dont feel like buying it. But why? They try to target a mature audience that are more attracted to realism and more down to earth scenarios these days.
On the other hand Skylanders and Mario games maintain their old character but manage to sell. Why? They dont try to offer a mature experience with an art style that doesnt appear that mature.

 

[London Geezer]

For me, part of it is that I feel I enjoy gaming a bit less than the old days. Partly it's because we've really seen it all by now, and current gaming isn't innovating as much, partly because half the time I think of how I could spend my valuable time in other more profitable ways. I'm sure there are other reasons I can't express right now, that would explain why I haven't even touched my ps4 in weeks.

But one thing is for sure, the latest supposedly AAA games I've played lack that bit of extra soul that was still present even in the last generation.

 

[ArcticCircle]

I think Yoshida and what he likes and dislikes is big part of current state of Sony exclusive games. I watched his twitch run of the Knack and somehow got the feeling he don't really understand why modern playstation fans might not like such game as much as they would have in PS or PS2 era. I'm not saying game like Knack would have been instant classic even back then, but it most cetainly wouldn't have infamous reputation as it has now. Yoshida seem to be very down to earth kind of guy but maybe times have moved past him. AAA game industry is rough place and consumers expect certain things that Sony can't or won't offer to 'em.

Other side of the coin is - Should they even do that? Or is it still better shoot in the dark and try to get lucky by creating 10 bombas and one big success. If Sony were EU or US company, they'd probably jump into Zombie train (or would have actually done that while ago) and create something like WarZ. Or maybe they'd try to create yet another moba. I don't know. I'm actually more happy that they choose to make games like Order 1886, Untill Dawn (man, that's going to be epic bomb but I look forward to it), whatever David Cage is creating, ect ect.

 

[London Geezer]

If Sony were EU or US company, they'd probably jump into Zombie train (or would have actually done that while ago) and create something like WarZ.

They did.
They shouldn't have.

 

[temesgen]

I think Sony has a lot of titles in development but if I go back and look at E3 from 2 years ago and compare that to what's been released things feel like they have been slow. That said I also think Sony is using the indie game developers to supply some of the niche risk taking variety we've seen in years past.

The diversity is there but its more formulaic in the titles we see in the pipeline. Personally I don't want to see another God of War and even Uncharted for me is coming too soon. I'd prefer to see them invest in new IPs even if the core gameplay/story is what we are familiar with.

Here is a thread on GAF discussing all the Sony first party stuff, there is a lot there but again imo its very formulaic, not as risk taking as previous generations but to some degree that makes sense with the cost of development and the opportunity that supporting indie games affords them.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=979325

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Did Titanfall really sold X1? It was also available on pc and thus not even a real exclusive?!?

PC isn't going to impact console sales significantly. People looking to game on TV aren't, by and large, the same as the people that want to game on their PC. There's some overlap but it's small.

Regards,
SB

 

[L. Scofield]

Games cost more to make and developers play it safe to avoid ending on the streets like many did last gen.

 

[orangpelupa]

@Arwin Ubisoft and Sony Japan still doing that, making small games.

I think latest from Sony Japan is the invisible boy running in the rain?

 

[joker454]

Budgets are bigger, and so risks are reduced forcing limitations on the creative folks.

Wipeout was edgy. It felt new and futuristic, probably because it was. There was no committee around at the time that could have made it.

If you're going to look at Sony exclusives, also take a look at MS exclusives like Halo 4. It's the same kind of thing. It's trying desperately not to be edgy, or take chances, while wanting the appearance of being new and edgy.

Yeah I don't think it's just Sony, it's AAA game development in general which has shifted into safe mode because the risks are just so high now. Indie games on PC (console Indie game selection is far too limited) are where the new and exciting is now for me, not from AAA studios anymore.

 

[Sigfried1977]

I think Indie games are just as guilty of playing it safe to be honest. How many 8bit looking platformers, kickstarted nostalgia trips, visual novels, walking simulators and roguelike survival games is it gonna take before we'll be just as fed up with them as we are with the state of AAA games.

 

[tuna]

Sony has pretty severe quality problems with their external developers which can be seen quite cleary with their crappy Vita ports (Jak trilogy, GoW collection etc). I think they have been infected with the "good enough" virus.

 

[Sigfried1977]

I believe it is also partly the gamers to blame. We have grown. We want something closer to realism which at the same time maintains a unique identity.
These things dont handshake very well. We have experienced tons in the real world so, trying to mimic the realism and offer something "with unique character" we havent experienced is a challenge itself.
In the old days we were more tolerant. We were getting all kinds of games like Wipeout, Crash Bandicoot, Ico, Mark of Kri, Parappa the Rapper, Jak and Daxter etc and feel satisfied with their creative approach. If we go even farther back we will see even more ridiculous concepts.
A silly looking knight that was able to shoot infinite spears while wearing just his boxers
A funny boy that shot rainbows
Snowmen in jeans
A Kiwi that threw arrows
Dragons that spat bubbles
A jungle kid that threw hammers but was also able to get a skateboard and a helmet by braking an egg
etc

Wipeout HD was a piece of art. A perfect Wipeout I can say. But people were losing their interest since probably Wipeout Fusion. Sunset Overdrive is another great game but although people think its good they dont feel like buying it. But why? They try to target a mature audience that are more attracted to realism and more down to earth scenarios these days.
On the other hand Skylanders and Mario games maintain their old character but manage to sell. Why? They dont try to offer a mature experience with an art style that doesnt appear that mature.

I think a lot of people would actually welcome ridiculous concepts. I also think Sunset Overdrive's attempt to target a mature audience was a miserable failure. I think it's probably the most obnoxious and least funny thing I've played since Matt Hazard, (and it repeats all of that game's mistakes pretty much verbatim) and I assume many people were equally perplexed by it.

 

[London Geezer]

Games cost more to make and developers play it safe to avoid ending on the streets like many did last gen.

If we take 1886 as an example, then I'm just flabbergasted by what a missed opportunity this is. God knows the budget of this game, and all they could come up with was a game that just isn't very good. Good enough, for some, but even they must think they were not going to set the world alight with the game part of their 'game'.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Yeah I don't think it's just Sony, it's AAA game development in general which has shifted into safe mode because the risks are just so high now.

This is true. If you look back over the games that really made a splash in the last decade, most of them are all safe genres: the Halo franchise, the Uncharted franchise, The Last of Us, Red Dead Redemption, the Gears of War franchise, the Grand Theft Auto franchise, the Bioshock franchise, the Elder Scrolls franchise, the Fallout franchise, the Forza franchise, the Gran Turismo franchise, the God of War franchise, the Call of Duty franchise.

Racers, third person shooters, first person shooters and RPGs, or mixes of these genres. What sets these games from their lesser brethren is simpler a grander vision that is better balanced and executed. None of these games, including The Last of Us, is doing anything groundbreaking. And I loved every single one of these that I played.