Former PlayStation boss views Apple and Amazon as big threats to the games industry

[Would_you_kindly]

Yeah I mean it worked out in the end for both of them but IJS looking around the industry it was a steal of an acquisition given how good Insomniac is. Like yeah they didn't own any major IP but the talent alone... Sony paid $1.2b for Bungie's talent retention program by itself, every time the Insomniac acquisition is brought up it's invariably noted that the price paid was a huge bargain for Sony. I just think they could've asked for more and gotten it

They got taken for a ride with bungie there's no doubt about that they've made nothing good since their last halo game (don't care what anyone says destiny isn't good apart from the shooting) that acquisition will come back to bite them in the arse when they release what they bought

 

[Danja]

Sure, but like for 10 years of holding out I would've expected them to ask for more. Especially since they made Sony a lot of money with Spider-man

The issue here was Insomniac didn't have much IP value to their name. And Sony owned Ratchet, Resistance... Sunset Overdrive was tied up in publishing rights ownership with Xbox and Fuse is pointless.... Activision has Spyro.

Spiderman isn't a Disney IP but it made the Studio so much money, I'm sure Red Price realized it was never gonna get better for them than Spiderman. They basically made more money from Spiderman than they did with all the games they worked on since Inception.

Also Ted Price is getting old and probably wanted to make sure he secured a great retirement fund plus financial security for the foreseeable future.

Also Ratchet 2016... Was their biggest game until Spiderman. They basically saww the writing on the wall, that Playstation was their home.

 

[Gods&Monsters]

The issue here was Insomniac didn't have much IP value to their name. And Sony owned Ratchet, Resistance... Sunset Overdrive was tied up in publishing rights ownership with Xbox and Fuse is pointless.... Activision has Spyro.

Spiderman isn't a Disney IP but it made the Studio so much money, I'm sure Red Price realized it was never gonna get better for them than Spiderman. They basically made more money from Spiderman than they did with all the games they worked on since Inception.

Also Ted Price is getting old and probably wanted to make sure he secured a great retirement fund plus financial security for the foreseeable future.

Also Ratchet 2016... Was their biggest game until Spiderman. They basically saww the writing on the wall, that Playstation was their home.

Insomniac fucked around and found out they had no future without Sony. I wouldn't be surprised if they were on the verge of bankruptcy after making a deal with the devil duo Xbox-EA. That's the death touch of gaming. What the fuck was Ted Price thinking at the time?

He was too stubborn to sign with Sony.

 

[Loy310]

They really need to move HQ back to Japan, keep it fa away from MSFT and American-ization.

It's already suffering because of it at multiple levels IMO.

Japan brought us the PS3 and fucking $599. In no reality should they consider Japan. UK/EU have seen the best PS leaders.

 

[Killer_Sakoman]

Money.

Also Spiderman sold like 10-15 million at the time.

Nuh, because they experienced failure with EA and Microsoft and the situation was really bad. They chose to do it safe and join Sony

 

[Deleted member 223]

So is MS a big threat.... the one that got in.

But yes we don't need any more disruptors until the one we already have hangs the gloves. Since protecting the Windows ecosystem aka PC is a never ending fight for MS, as you can see, there is no white flag despite getting their heads punched to the dirt multiple times now.

The last thing we need for gaming is another big pocketed giant with grandiose plans of disrupting the market for monopoly end-goal dreams. We have our hands full with Redmond currently - these clowns never fail to disappoint.

Google tried to get ahead of MS and force the all-cloud future, failing spectacularly and that was extremely nice to see. As if MS tribulations and failures trying to speed the transition to the cloud could simply just banish cause hey "it's Google". Someone wasn't paying attention. Billions down the gutter - just GONEE!!

Once MS got their foot in the door (X360), every gen thereafter they've tried to change the traditional model (disrupt) with the view of not just erasing Sony's/Nintendo's marketshare....aka push them out of business but also placing PC in a favorable position (bread and butter Windows).

Disruption Attempt #1 - Xbox One era: DRM, no-used games sales, death of physical in partnership with big publishers on the back of "momentum™".

"We have an offline device for those without internet, it's called the Xbox 360". Cute little attempt at being the industry leader and dictator. Failed spectacularly.

Disruption Attempt #2 - Xbox Series era: Subscription service focus ala Netflix aka Gamepass. Subsidized and unsustainable for the rest of the players, except MS.

Goal: Push Nintendo and Sony out of business.... while putting devs in a bind and creating funding dependency.... all as part of an even bigger and grandiose dream - to bridge the gap towards an all streaming future with total control of the market - from hardware, to software, to distribution model.

In the process of failure as well thank god........not without lasting footprint and damage and they're not done yet certainly.

Since content continues to hurt MS, how about buying two of the biggest publishers in the industry and pushing for consolidation to cut corners and buy your way to success? Everything else has failed....

Disruption Attempt #3 - Xbox Series era: Industry consolidation - big Publisher acquisitions. Bethesda and ABK b2b.

Goal: Take away content from the competition and ensure your subscription service gets guaranteed top of the line exclusive and quality content to push the appeal for an otherwise failing enterprise.

Goal: "Spend Sony out of business".... not just through a subsidized subscription service but also a content hoarding arms race. The logic goes that in a race to the bottom, the better pocketed fighter wins the fight.

In short, this industry already has their hands full with a committed disruptor in Microsoft, burning billions of dollars like there is no tomorrow to do so. We don't need any more industry harm from anybody else.

Shawn, obviously, I'm sure, didn't shit on Microsoft by name in that interview, only indirectly when talking about consolidation - calling it bad for gaming - which it's. I have my reservations about Shawn.....this is the same guy that said the idea of releasing Sony exclusives to PC was his idea (no it wasn't your idea - it was Microsoft's idea - who did it for different reasons and you followed suit with the recommendation out of, imo, a false sense of security in your market position, among many other considerations - mostly all short term profit oriented).

Shawn is also a proponent of "go where the audience is" ....as if in his time at Sony he was working for a third party publishers instead of a platform holder (and what that actually means - exclusivity being baked in). Also one of those false messiahs of "anything > $0" is good (talk about brain-dead stupidity). Not sure how you could say something like that in a business environment and not feel a bit embarrassed of yourself.

He will always be remembered as the face of Sony of America during the comeback of Sony with the PS4 in Andrew House's reign. People associate way too much of the success of the PS4 with the thinking of the man - a mixed bag to say the least.

I would keep him at an arms length from PlayStation. Dumb and dumber pair: Jim Ryan and Hermen Hulsts are enough.

 

[BroodCorp]

Gaming will eventually go the way of Spotify. That makes Netflix, Amazon, Google, and Apple poised to jump in and become real competitors. It’s not about consoles. The same way the rise of streaming services wasn’t about mp3 players. The hardware phase could potentially come to an end.

Right now we’re in the .99c song phase where things are consolidating.

 

[SSfox]

They really need to move HQ back to Japan, keep it fa away from MSFT and American-ization.

It's already suffering because of it at multiple levels IMO.

Yup, Jim and Hermen don't have guts. They just to follow whatever is trending.

I'm not the biggest Nintendo fan but at least I respect how they do their own thing without following each new trend like the new morons heads at Sony.

 

[Bryank75]

Gaming will eventually go the way of Spotify. That makes Netflix, Amazon, Google, and Apple poised to jump in and become real competitors. It’s not about consoles. The same way the rise of streaming services wasn’t about mp3 players. The hardware phase could potentially come to an end.

Right now we’re in the .99c song phase where things are consolidating.

If they do follow that model, which I dont think they will.... then they are killing their own businesses. Spotify makes hardly any money and has lost billions. Disney is in a state and Netflix is an unremarkable business that makes unremarkable amounts of money and puts out unremarkable content.

The console model is the most beneficial for customers, quality and profits.

 

[Bryank75]

Japan brought us the PS3 and fucking $599. In no reality should they consider Japan. UK/EU have seen the best PS leaders.

I think the price was more a result of the architecture and engineering decisions, their hands were forced. They did correct everything during the course of the generation though.

 

[Danja]

Japan brought us the PS3 and fucking $599. In no reality should they consider Japan. UK/EU have seen the best PS leaders.

You do realize every Playstation is conceived in Japan right? Kutaragi made a fantastic console with the PS3. It was pricey but I'm so sick of people acting like the PS3 was something to be ashamed of. It's probably the most well rounded and feature rich console we'll ever get from any platform holder. I definitely miss that era of Playstation when they actually gave a shit and tried to be pro consumer and experimented with games.

 

[Loy310]

I think the price was more a result of the architecture and engineering decisions, their hands were forced. They did correct everything during the course of the generation though.

Japan over-thunk the PS3, nearly killed the brand, and gave xbox a foothold in the industry while Sony fixed the disaster. Leadership in USA and UK stepped in and saved it. I think Japan days of leading the brand are done, they effed up the PS3 gen on so many levels that i just cant see Sony putting trust in them again.

 

[KiryuRealty]

Insomniac fucked around and found out they had no future without Sony. I wouldn't be surprised if they were on the verge of bankruptcy after making a deal with the devil duo Xbox-EA. That's the death touch of gaming. What the fuck was Ted Price thinking at the time?

He was too stubborn to sign with Sony.

A lot of it with Price simply seems to be ego. Before working with Sony, Insomniac made a couple of decent games with great tech that nobody played. Then Spyro happened, which was so good Sony bought the publishing rights from Universal and EVERYONE noticed the games.

Price never liked that Sony got so much credit for Spyro and Ratchet games, yet without the aid Sony gave Insomniac, they made Fuse, which was technically solid, but completely uninspired. It almost bankrupted Insomniac. Sony offered a buyout MUTIPLE times, but it took the cratering of Sunset Overdrive to finally push Ted to take the Sony deal.

It isn't going too far to say that Insomniac would not exist today without Sony, and they likely would have faded away into obscurity without them, and Price wasn't happy about it for a long time before accepting the inevitable.

 

[Danja]

Japan over-thunk the PS3, nearly killed the brand, and gave xbox a foothold in the industry while Sony fixed the disaster. Leadership in USA and UK stepped in and saved it. I think Japan days of leading the brand are done, they effed up the PS3 gen on so many levels that i just cant see Sony putting trust in them again.

The stars aligned for the 360 starting with the PS3 getting delayed for a year and then Nvidia screwing over Sony with the processor chip. I don't think PS3 almost killed the brand lol. The PS3 was a Trojan horse for many things within Sony at the time. They did get a bit arrogant but the PS3 initial failures are exactly what made PS4 a success and why Sony is now the first party powerhouse they are today or (possibly) use to be... Time will tell.

It was still Japan that saved the Playstation brand as you put. I dunno why you continue to credit USA and UK only as if Kaz wasn't the one calling the shots

 

[Danja]

A lot of it with Price simply seems to be ego. Before working with Sony, Insomniac made a couple of decent games with great tech that nobody played. Then Spyro happened, which was so good Sony bought the publishing rights from Universal and EVERYONE noticed the games.

Price never liked that Sony got so much credit for Spyro and Ratchet games, yet without the aid Sony gave Insomniac, they made Fuse, which was technically solid, but completely uninspired. It almost bankrupted Insomniac. Sony offered a buyout MUTIPLE times, but it took the cratering of Sunset Overdrive to finally push Ted to take the Sony deal.

It isn't going too far to say that Insomniac would not exist today without Sony, and they likely would have faded away into obscurity without them, and Price wasn't happy about it for a long time before accepting the inevitable.

This is kinda painting Ted Price in a bad light? When he's actually a very positive guy and was always grateful to Playstation..there's nothing wrong if he wanted to remain independent. They stepped away from Playstation very briefly for like a year lol, because they were trying to get some IP ownership to of course give them some bargaining power for the future. Which again nothing is wrong with that. It didn't work out well for them, but to paint him as some bitter egomaniac is kinda deceitful? They stuck with Playstation through it all. Even when working with EA they still were churning out good Ratchet games. Xbox offered them IP ownership so they took the deal, they eventually learnt Microsoft only wanted to use them as a pawn in their game to get at Playstation.. and refused a sequel so they moved on.

Come 2025 they will get back publishing rights of Sunset Overdrive, and I suppose we might finally see a random stealth announcement for Playstation systems..

 

[Danja]

*double post*

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

The "Games Industry" can be seen as 3 different markets (Consoles, PC and mobile)
each have its own idiosyncrasies pros and cons.

I would say that the AAA console game business-medium is in crisis.

and as with any industry, there is a point in which consolidation and disruption is necessary and natural.

So, it doesn't matter if it is Apple, Amazon, Netflix or Papa johns....things are going to get messy. and as we stand, MS is going to have the hardest time adapting....and yep they are going to keep bleeding a ton of money

 

[Zzero]

Is he scared of saying Microsoft? They are the biggest threat to gaming by far. If Amazon gets a publisher it will stay multiplatform.

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If you read the article it sounds like the opposite. He wants gaming to "disrupt itself from within" which is what MS is trying to do.

 

[Killer_Sakoman]

The stars aligned for the 360 starting with the PS3 getting delayed for a year and then Nvidia screwing over Sony with the processor chip. I don't think PS3 almost killed the brand lol. The PS3 was a Trojan horse for many things within Sony at the time. They did get a bit arrogant but the PS3 initial failures are exactly what made PS4 a success and why Sony is now the first party powerhouse they are today or (possibly) use to be... Time will tell.

It was still Japan that saved the Playstation brand as you put. I dunno why you continue to credit USA and UK only as if Kaz wasn't the one calling the shots

Yeah, I agree. PS3 initial failure is what forced SCE to up their game development to the high standards that we have now. SCE games were just ok during PS1 and PS2 era. Their best exclusives used to come from 3rd party

 

[KiryuRealty]

And yet somehow he doesn’t view Tencent, with their ties to the Chinese government, as a threat and happily takes a paycheque from them…