Sony Computer Entertainment acquires Media Molecule Studios

JardeL

Regular
blogpic.jpg


We’re getting married!

2010 March 2nd


After a whirlwind romance, and one beautiful child together, we are immensely excited to announce our engagement to our long term best friend and life partner, Sony Computer Entertainment!


You can read the action packed press release in our press centre. (ooh fancy!)
:D
Acclaimed developer of multi-million selling LittleBigPlanet™ joins Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios

London, 2nd March 2010 -

Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) today announced that it had acquired leading game developer Media Molecule, creator of the multi-million selling and multi-award winning PlayStation®3 (PS3™) exclusive title, LittleBigPlanet™. Media Molecule will join as part of SCE’s global development operation, SCE Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS).

In a strategic move to continue to secure excellence in game development for current and future PlayStation® platforms, the acquisition of Media Molecule formalises the successful exclusive relationship with SCE.

Media Molecule, based in Surrey, England, is the award-winning developer of LittleBigPlanet, one of the best-selling titles for PS3, a game that introduced gamers to the unique ethos of Play, Create and Share. Having seen over 2m user generated levels created for the community to download and play for free, LittleBigPlanet has completely changed the way people interact with games, whilst revolutionising the longevity of gameplay.

Having won over 90 awards for LittleBigPlanet, including 2 BAFTAs and 8 AIAS Interactive Achievement Awards, Media Molecule brings a wealth of experience and a highly talented staff into the SCE WWS family that will further strengthen the PlayStation first party studio.

Since they burst onto the gaming scene, Media Molecule have proved to be a truly exciting and innovative studio, who have proved their world-class credentials with the creation of the incredible LittleBigPlanet,” said Shuhei Yoshida, President, SCE Worldwide Studios. “SCE WWS is all about creating ambitious, innovative and ground breaking games, traits that Media Molecule clearly have. To bring them into our family proves our dedication to creating fantastic new experiences that we believe will cement our position as industry leaders.

Since Media Molecule’s inception, we’ve had a uniquely close relationship with Sony. Over the years they have consistently shown their dedication to Creative Gaming and Media Molecule, not only through their support of the company, but their willingness to take risks and embrace our often unusual approach and ideas.” said Alex Evans, co-founder of Media Molecule. “What we’ve achieved already with LittleBigPlanet has proved this to us and we’re excited by this new chapter of innovation and creative gaming, for all involved.

Studios across the SCE WWS network share technology, production methodology and creative goals to build the best possible experiences for users to enjoy the most from the PlayStation family of hardware platforms and network services. With over 2,500 employees, SCE WWS combines the talents of 15 game development studios in Japan, the USA, the UK and The Netherlands.
This is why I love SCE , encouraging devs / backing creativity & innovation. Congrats MM & SCE.
 
I believe the chief reason for this is they want ownership 'sackboy'
sony (and MS as well) have no 'true' recognizable gaming icon characters(*) like nintendo has.

he could be the face of sony game's

sackboy kart racing
sackboys super smash
etc

(*)kratos,drake etc dont cut it
 
Isn't Sackboy the face of unfinished software?

To the casual crowd (even me), I don't really care about the Play, Create, Share stats. Have not created any levels yet. I don't even know where to find the stats page.

SackBoy has inherent appeal to kids. They are too cute.

To my knowledge, there are *still* no "Play Create Share" stats in LBP 2 years after release. And where is the web API they talked about last year?

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/21/web-based-littlebigplanet-level-sharing-portal-coming-soon/

Perhaps they should stop designing costumes for a moment and finish the game?

They should keep doing it if it brings in the dough. But some update on their web integration would be nice !

Even if it's stuck together with Cross Game Chat, at least we know what's going on.
 
The PS brand doesn't need it. I don't think anyone really needs them these days. Wii would do fine on its own without Mario, although Mario works for Nintendo because he engages a particular style and play dynamic. Otherwise we don't need recognisable characters to carry a platform when platforms are known for their diversity and reaching out to broader audiences.

I'd say the reason they bought MM is exactly what it says on the tin. Sony like to secure novel artists, and they like the dynamic at MM. They don't want to let that slip and have MM's spark on rival platforms, so have sewn them up with an expectation of novel creations going forward.
 
I believe the chief reason for this is they want ownership 'sackboy'
sony (and MS as well) have no 'true' recognizable gaming icon characters(*) like nintendo has.

he could be the face of sony game's

sackboy kart racing
sackboys super smash
etc

(*)kratos,drake etc dont cut it

As far as I'm aware, they (Sony) already owned the LBP IP. As such, they wouldn't need the studio to use its assets in other properties.

If anything, I would guess the purchase was to strengthen their "Play Create Share" model. I would even venture a guess that the initial seeds for this accusation started back in Harrison's days. Publicly, he seemed to be a huge proponent of PCS, but despite being the head of WWS, little outside of LBP and now Modnation Racers actually came out of it.Perhaps this move is to help strengthen their PCS offerings in the future. This is all just speculation on my part, of course.
 
It's probably all of the above, but I thought SackBoy is already owned by Sony ? The execution, rapport, knowledge and relationships/trust with the consumers are all valuable. I think Sony also owns the LBP platform without acquiring MM.

[size=-2]I don't think SackBoy needs to tied with Play, Create, Share only. They can introduce more user concepts around it. Afterall, only a minority create. They definitely need to extend PCS further to keep the existing base happy, but at the same time, they can try out new stuff too.[/size]
 
Man, Sony really got a massive force of developers behind them over the years.
I must say though that it suprises me they bought another developer with the losses they're making left and right.
 
Why is it that they seem to buy developers but they never seem to hit the really big leagues after purchase. They have a lot of solid/great selling titles but only really one franchise in the 5M+ leagues. Naughty Dog has never made a game as big as Crash Bandicoot, essentially ever since they were bought up. Is there some kind of spark that they are missing?
 
Who's next? Naughty Dog or Insomniac?

Insomniac definitely doesn't want to be acquired based off what they've said in the past. They like their current relationship. I wonder what their doing next though because launch until 08 I guess they were top PS3 guys and now first party has raised the bar so that puts more burden on them to deliver that same level of polish and really tweak their stuff to the system's strengths.
 
Why is it that they seem to buy developers but they never seem to hit the really big leagues after purchase. They have a lot of solid/great selling titles but only really one franchise in the 5M+ leagues. Naughty Dog has never made a game as big as Crash Bandicoot, essentially ever since they were bought up. Is there some kind of spark that they are missing?

Probably too nebulous to answer. Some people don't chase after sales (e.g., Not everyone aspires to make a WiiSports game), they prefer to make games they want to play; some want to chase a vision; others want to be different. Sometimes it takes a while for consumers to warm up to new concepts. Even for the CoD series, I only heard of and bought CoD4. Then there is the question of what kind of games do PS3 users want ? It's not just Sony titles, even cross platform titles too. e.g., Bayonetta sold poorly despite positive reviews.

As long as the business units make enough money and the people like what they do, and want to do more, it's a good start.
 
Why is it that they seem to buy developers but they never seem to hit the really big leagues after purchase. They have a lot of solid/great selling titles but only really one franchise in the 5M+ leagues. Naughty Dog has never made a game as big as Crash Bandicoot, essentially ever since they were bought up. Is there some kind of spark that they are missing?

Sony have always said they will use their first party studios to fill gaps in their lineup (i.e. what third parties can't/won't make). Only recently have Sony needed their first party to make blockbusters (third party exclusives have been almost non-existent on PS3) and it is starting to happen with Uncharted 2 and GoW3 (which should do better than the PS2 ones due to increased hype and awareness of the series in PAL).
 
Probably too nebulous to answer. Some people don't chase after sales (e.g., Not everyone aspires to make a WiiSports game), they prefer to make games they want to play; some want to chase a vision; others want to be different. Sometimes it takes a while for consumers to warm up to new concepts. Even for the CoD series, I only heard of and bought CoD4. Then there is the question of what kind of games do PS3 users want ? It's not just Sony titles, even cross platform titles too. e.g., Bayonetta sold poorly despite positive reviews.

As long as the business units make enough money and the people like what they do, and want to do more, it's a good start.

I can't personally understand a business entity as part of a publicly traded company NOT attempting to maximise profits. I suspect COD 4 became massive because it gave people what they wanted, so perhaps thats the answer. Are Sony studios making the games they want to play and not the games which the widest possible audience want to play?

Sony have always said they will use their first party studios to fill gaps in their lineup (i.e. what third parties can't/won't make). Only recently have Sony needed their first party to make blockbusters (third party exclusives have been almost non-existent on PS3) and it is starting to happen with Uncharted 2 and GoW3 (which should do better than the PS2 ones due to increased hype and awareness of the series in PAL).

Nintendo does that too, but for the most part whenever they do it they achieve a lot more success in the marketplace which is perplexing.
 
Definitely would have sounded better on another day, just not coinciding with the Infinity Ward drama...
 
I can't personally understand a business entity as part of a publicly traded company NOT attempting to maximise profits.

There are more to maximizing profit than just saying it. Very often for a craft, you'll find that execution is the key. And in order to do well, you need to like the job first. If you consult for execs, then you'll get to see more varied issues than just "maximizing profit". You can drive a company or an industry to the ground by just "maximizing profit" (Look at US now). In short, success has no recipe.

I suspect COD 4 became massive because it gave people what they wanted, so perhaps thats the answer. Are Sony studios making the games they want to play and not the games which the widest possible audience want to play?

Then everyone should be making casual games since there are more of them in this world. I think CoD4 switch to modern warfare after satisfying the WWII fans.

Nintendo does that too, but for the most part whenever they do it they achieve a lot more success in the marketplace which is perplexing.

They took their time to understand their user base, and delivered. Timing was also right. They were unhappy in the GameCube era though. Remember that for one successful Wii product, there are probably many failed prototypes behind the scene.
 
Back
Top