Message from Hideaki & Hermen - An Exciting Future at Sony Interactive Entertainment

ChorizoPicozo

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There probably won't be a Showcase this year so...what then?
there is going to be a PS5 Pro...right?

but if we assume Play Station is not going to have any kind of showing for the rest of the year.

PR wise(even sales wise too) Sony has a comfortable cushion: Xbox Games on PS5.

while the discourse is going to get even worse, Sony is still is delivering the content (SH2, Concord, Astrobot) just enough to hold the riot for at least 6 months.

but if those games are really bad (Redfall levels of bad) then Sony is going to have a clusterfuck of PR season.


They are in the store, you can go and buy them.
The point is, the game industry as a whole is having issues releasing new "next-gen" games/New IPs. Is not just a Play Station problem at all.

Capcom:
Pragmata

Nintendo:
Metroid 4

Xbox:
State of Decay 3
Everwild
Project dark
fable
contraband

Ubisoft
skull and bones

blizzard:
Canceled MMO

etcetera.
 
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24 Jun 2022
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there is going to be a PS5 Pro...right?

but if we assume Play Station is not going to have any kind of showing for the rest of the year.

PR wise(even sales wise too) Sony has a comfortable cushion: Xbox Games on PS5.

while the discourse is going to get even worse, Sony is still is delivering the content (SH2, Concord, Astrobot) just enough to hold the riot for at least 6 months.

but if those games are really bad (Redfall levels of bad) then Sony is going to have a clusterfuck of PR season.

TBF, SH2 is Bloober Team and seemingly not with much SIE involvement given it's kinda rough-looking (IMO). Concord is a GAAS and seems "okay" but nothing amazing. Astro Bot does look great, but will it be enough?

Relying on Xbox ports doesn't even seem like a strategic thing, just more a happenstance because Microsoft had to take a way different path. If things played out differently none of these Xbox games would be coming to PS5 and then what would SIE be relying on to fill their release schedule?

The point is, the game industry as a whole is having issues releasing new "next-gen" games/New IPs. Is not just a Play Station problem at all.

Capcom:
Pragmata

Nintendo:
Metroid 4

Xbox:
State of Decay 3
Everwild
Project dark
fable
contraband

Ubisoft
skull and bones

blizzard:
Canceled MMO

etcetera.

I can excuse Nintendo because they're clearly getting software ready for Switch 2. Most systems don't end with super-strong 1P releases in their last year; PS4 (TLOU2, Ghosts of Tsushima), PS3 (TLOU, GT6), SNES/SFC and I'd argue PS2 (SotC, GT4, God of War, MGS3 etc.) are some of the only exceptions.

Unless including systems that died way before their prime. In which case Dreamcast probably qualifies. But, PS and Xbox? They just had systems release only a few years ago. Xbox is already dying out. SIE's big 1P titles are still MIA. 3P gonna 3P, but some have been delivering, like Capcom and Square-Enix, I'd argue SEGA/Atlus and Bandai-Namco too.

Basically the big Japanese 3P have been consistent this gen IMO.
 

JAHGamer

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An exciting future? Last years showcase was abysmal, the latest SoP was just as bad....we've heard PC mentioned more by SIE than PS5 the entire gen.

Best place to play where 1st party games are $70 on PS5 and $60 on PC (with all dlc). Multiplayer games running on the same servers require $80 tax on PS5 and free on PC. Yes it's the best place to play for sure. Last gen they could actually say PS was the best place to play because PC had nothing on the level of HZD, GoW, Spider-Man, Uncharted, TLOU, etc. But now, saying that PS5 is the best place to play is just a lie and they should discard that slogan immediately, it's embarrassing.
 

ChorizoPicozo

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TBF, SH2 is Bloober Team and seemingly not with much SIE involvement given it's kinda rough-looking (IMO). Concord is a GAAS and seems "okay" but nothing amazing. Astro Bot does look great, but will it be enough?
I'm talking from the PoV of having a marketing/PR beat. Exclusives games give you that.

Astrobot will be GOTY contender. don't be surprised if it gets Mid 90s on MC.


Relying on Xbox ports doesn't even seem like a strategic thing, just more a happenstance because Microsoft had to take a way different path. If things played out differently none of these Xbox games would be coming to PS5 and then
of course is not a strategy. in this case I'm talking about the online discourse. there will be drama and meltdowns if something like Gears is announced for PS5.
what would SIE be relying on to fill their release schedule?
This is why Sony needs a Showcase. they need to show the games schedule for the next 2-4 years. And we know at least Santa Monica and ND are working on new IPs.

Some people swear Sony has games ready to be shown. (Like Ghost of Tsushima 2). And they have been holding on. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I can excuse Nintendo because they're clearly getting software ready for Switch 2. Most systems don't end with super-strong 1P releases in their last year; PS4 (TLOU2, Ghosts of Tsushima), PS3 (TLOU, GT6), SNES/SFC and I'd argue PS2 (SotC, GT4, God of War, MGS3 etc.) are some of the only exceptions.

Unless including systems that died way before their prime. In which case Dreamcast probably qualifies. But, PS and Xbox? They just had systems release only a few years ago. Xbox is already dying out. SIE's big 1P titles are still MIA. 3P gonna 3P, but some have been delivering, like Capcom and Square-Enix, I'd argue SEGA/Atlus and Bandai-Namco too.

Basically the big Japanese 3P have been consistent this gen IMO.
here I'm talking about how no one is free of developmental problems or long periods without releasing a new game.

capcom has been relying on remakes. Exoprimal was meh and Pragmata has been delayed several times.

SE with Kingdom Hearts 4. (and their constant failures with GaaS)

Atlus/Sega are not strangers to remasters and they have more of a niche audience. (smaller games, longer release windows between releases)

But I think in general, the entire industry feels like they haven't being able to catch up with this "new gen".
 
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TigerFang

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People are like... Where are the games Sony?... I'm like, where are the games.... entire industry?

Their next showcase/PS5Pro reveal is their ultimatum. if they don't have a proper showing of games (Uninterrumped gameplay from first party) then ok. it's time to riot.
I have to disagree with the entire "Games?" Sentiment completely.

Games are constantly releasing, just Rebirth this year was an absoulutely incredible title, Sega constantly releasing cool games, there's just too many, try out Stellar Blade, get into the Final Fantasy Franchise, get into the Resident Evil franchise, try out some older indies like Hollow Knight, Dave The Diver, Celeste, Nioh 1&2, Shadow of paradise from 2022, there's just too many, try out Alan Wake 1&2, Rise of the Ronin has some of the best combat ever.

There are many great games that have released 2020 - 2024. Atleast that's my opinion on it.
 

Nhomnhom

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An exciting future? Last years showcase was abysmal, the latest SoP was just as bad....we've heard PC mentioned more by SIE than PS5 the entire gen.

Best place to play where 1st party games are $70 on PS5 and $60 on PC (with all dlc). Multiplayer games running on the same servers require $80 tax on PS5 and free on PC. Yes it's the best place to play for sure. Last gen they could actually say PS was the best place to play because PC had nothing on the level of HZD, GoW, Spider-Man, Uncharted, TLOU, etc. But now, saying that PS5 is the best place to play is just a lie and they should discard that slogan immediately, it's embarrassing.
Sony is betting on PlayStation players being suckers, looks like they might be right.

PS5 is for single player only game on physical media. PS+ should only be considered due to PS+ Extra only if you get it heavily discounted or if you share your account with someone else.

Sony used to get away with a lot of stuff because not only did they have many more actual exclusives to back it up they also had a lot of exclusives from third party by default.

They are setting up the PS6 for failure right now.

edit: where is the build up and hype for the PS5 Pro? Sony got bailed so hard by Xbox dying and GTA6 being a console exclusive.
 
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24 Jun 2022
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I'm talking from the PoV of having a marketing/PR beat. Exclusives games give you that.

Astrobot will be GOTY contender. don't be surprised if it gets Mid 90s on MC.

Exclusive games do give you that, but SIE's problem now (IMO) is that they don't have any genuine exclusives. Everything is assumed to get ported to PC, so as soon as they start hyping up Astro Bot, you're gonna have all the usual suspects asking "When's the Steam version?", "Astro Bot would be perfect on the new Switch!", "Why doesn't Sony port smaller games like Astro to Xbox?".

And, ironically, SIE/Sony are the ones who enabled the environment for those narratives in the first place. It's all gonna put a damper on Astro Bot hype to some effect, mainly with enthusiasts online. I don't know if or how Sony can avert that except with one obvious answer which they likely 100% are not going to do.

of course is not a strategy. in this case I'm talking about the online discourse. there will be drama and meltdowns if something like Gears is announced for PS5.

Oh for sure. Gears, Halo, Forza...if any of those get PS5 announcements there are gonna be Xbox diehards having meltdowns. That's a given.

This is why Sony needs a Showcase. they need to show the games schedule for the next 2-4 years. And we know at least Santa Monica and ND are working on new IPs.

Some people swear Sony has games ready to be shown. (Like Ghost of Tsushima 2). And they have been holding on. 🤷🏼‍♂️

They do need a Showcase, and for a multitude of reasons. But I just think the probability they have a Showcase this year is very, very low. Even if the PS5 Pro is coming this year, I don't think there will be a Showcase. And, if they do have a Showcase, they will probably also announce Steam ports of Spiderman 2 and GT7 there in not-at-all subtle ways, too.

Personally I just have little confidence in a Showcase and even if there is one, that the messaging will be on-point the way it should be.

here I'm talking about how no one is free of developmental problems or long periods without releasing a new game.

capcom has been relying on remakes. Exoprimal was meh and Pragmata has been delayed several times.

SE with Kingdom Hearts 4. (and their constant failures with GaaS)

Atlus/Sega are not strangers to remasters and they have more of a niche audience. (smaller games, longer release windows between releases)

But I think in general, the entire industry feels like they haven't being able to catch up with this "new gen".

True, if you're talking new IP the amount of releases has slowed considerably, especially among AAA. Pandemic & lockdowns can probably be blamed for that. So many companies chasing the GAAS trend is also a big part of it. In the case of companies like MS, bad management combined with relying on M&As to puff up content portfolios are other major components.

A lot of these companies have just been chasing very bad fads/trends using flimsy metrics and either not putting enough faith into the core of their business, or not iterating as they should, combined with budget bloat & creep. SIE aren't the worst offenders in this, but they have definitely let themselves be more vulnerable to those problem than they should have, IMO.
 
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ChorizoPicozo

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I have to disagree with the entire "Games?" Sentiment completely.

Games are constantly releasing, just Rebirth this year was an absoulutely incredible title, Sega constantly releasing cool games, there's just too many, try out Stellar Blade, get into the Final Fantasy Franchise, get into the Resident Evil franchise, try out some older indies like Hollow Knight, Dave The Diver, Celeste, Nioh 1&2, Shadow of paradise from 2022, there's just too many, try out Alan Wake 1&2, Rise of the Ronin has some of the best combat ever.

There are many great games that have released 2020 - 2024. Atleast that's my opinion on it.
I mean yeah, but thats not what people mean when they complain about Sony´s First Party output and/or the lack of big true "Next-Gen" showpieces from third parties. This Gen broke the system.
 

Thirty7ven

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They will have a show later in the year because they expect big releases for 25 and onwards. They can’t be aiming every game for 26, that would be insane.
 
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ghostwriter74

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I mean yeah, but thats not what people mean when they complain about Sony´s First Party output and/or the lack of big true "Next-Gen" showpieces from third parties. This Gen broke the system.
Like everyone else, Sony had to learn to develop during the pandemic. Insomniac had the advantage of being able to work decentrally with two separate studios. In addition, after the death threats against the developers of GoW Ragnarök, Sony decided to announce games at different times. This is probably why there were almost five months between the first real Spider-Man 2 trailer and the launch, and just under three months between the announcement and launch of the new Astro Bot.

It is also understandable that many third-party titles are not showpieces. On the one hand, many are still using old software like UE4, and on the other hand, the focus is still on 60 instead of 30 FPS. Even with the first UE5 demo, many developers said that no one should expect such a level of detail in games like GoW, as it takes far too much development time. Hellblade 2 was technically impressive, but during the years of development there was obviously a lack of time and money to make a real game out of it. None of this explains why FF7 Rebirth looks so bad in performance mode, but Square Enix has long since stopped claiming to set technical standards.

Compared to the PS4 generation, Sony has also released significantly more first-party titles. Many people forget that titles like Resogun, The Order or Bloodborne were not first-party titles because the studios did not belong to Sony. Nobody cared back then, but today titles like Rise of the Ronin, Death Stranding or Stellar Blade are not first party even though Sony not only publishes all the titles but also owns the Death Stranding and RotR IP.
 
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2spooky5me

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I know Hermen knows that PS fans are discontent. He can't be that oblivious, especially since he's worked at the Studio level, and knows how easy it is for fans to get upset and it's hard to win those same people back - you only get one chance.
I just hope Hermen, Noshino and the PR team get their s**t together SOONER than later (like the easy thing to do to calm the people, and make changes quickly, is to bring FOLDERS, THEMES and USB support to PS5. Boom! You just won back a metric-ton of people).

Shuhei still being the A1 Star that he is :)
 
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Banana

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Exclusive games do give you that, but SIE's problem now (IMO) is that they don't have any genuine exclusives. Everything is assumed to get ported to PC, so as soon as they start hyping up Astro Bot, you're gonna have all the usual suspects asking "When's the Steam version?", "Astro Bot would be perfect on the new Switch!", "Why doesn't Sony port smaller games like Astro to Xbox?".
Sony really should port that to Switch. It's not going to sell on PS5 or PC.
 

arvfab

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Sony not only publishes all the titles but also owns the ... RotR IP

I don't think they do:

 
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JAHGamer

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PC/Gaas push was the worst mistake Sony ever made. The worst Xbox fanboys cheering on this decision is proof of that.

Idk how they can say "the PlayStation community is at the heart of everything we do", while doing everything the PS community doesn't want.

 
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Yurinka

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there is going to be a PS5 Pro...right?
According to rumors, yes.
but if we assume Play Station is not going to have any kind of showing for the rest of the year.
Sony has multiple State of Play or similar showings every year. They already had a handful, will have more.

while the discourse is going to get even worse, Sony is still is delivering the content (SH2, Concord, Astrobot) just enough to hold the riot for at least 6 months.

but if those games are really bad (Redfall levels of bad) then Sony is going to have a clusterfuck of PR season.
In the fantasies of some people maybe, but in the reality nothing leads to think they will have any issue. Their numbers continue improving year after year.

The point is, the game industry as a whole is having issues releasing new "next-gen" games/New IPs. Is not just a Play Station problem at all.

Capcom:
Pragmata

Nintendo:
Metroid 4

Xbox:
State of Decay 3
Everwild
Project dark
fable
contraband

Ubisoft
skull and bones

blizzard:
Canceled MMO

etcetera.
Publishers aren't having any special issue. Every generation games take longer to be made, that's all. Other than that, always there has been a portion of titles that get delayed or end cancelled, or are more troublesome than usual to be made. To make games, and specially great ones, is hard.

And well, MS announced these or other games (and Nintendo with Metroid Prime 4) when they were basically just a powerpoint pitch and a CG teaser so the distance between announcement and release is going to be specially longer.

PC/Gaas push was the worst mistake Sony ever made.
Seems you missed the graph showing they made more profit this generation than in all the previous ones combined, and that up to this quarter they already will have had generated more revenue this generation than in the previous one.

Compared to the PS4 generation, Sony has also released significantly more first-party titles. Many people forget that titles like Resogun, The Order or Bloodborne were not first-party titles because the studios did not belong to Sony. Nobody cared back then, but today titles like Rise of the Ronin, Death Stranding or Stellar Blade are not first party even though Sony not only publishes all the titles but also owns the Death Stranding and RotR IP.
All these games were published by Sony, which means they were first party. And not only published them, also funded them and did put there many Sony teams to work on them. Go to check their game credits and take a look at all the Sony teams people and outsourcing teams funded by Sony that worked on them.

The lead gamedev team normally is a small portion of the people who works on a AAA game, typically only around 10%.

They will have a show later in the year because they expect big releases for 25 and onwards. They can’t be aiming every game for 26, that would be insane.
In the same way Sony has many 2024 releases, they'll also have many 2025 releases. We already know some of them like Marathon or Death Stranding 2. They could release many games more in 2025 as could be Cory's new IP, Horizon Online, Fairgame$, Firesprite's next game, Venom, etc.
 
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Neversummer

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Let's see what communication means for them. I don't really see anything changing much. This is obvious damage control because they definitely have seen the disgruntled PS5 base and the growing disdain towards the brand from their core audience.

I don't trust Hermen, so all of this is just PR nonsense.
You can definitely feel a disdain for PlayStation in general in gaming but its fans/hardcore fans been very vocal you have to look at twitter, YouTube or the PS blog to read the negative feedback.

If PS releases the PS6 in 2027 with PS current strategy of porting there games 1-2 years I don’t see many PS fans jumping to PS6 PS4 players aren’t jumping to PS5 due to the lack of PS5 exclusive so what happens with PS6 when PS5 players know PS6 games get ported to PC & with Steamdeck 2 & Switch 2 in the corner the migration to PC or Nintendo is very easy.

Steam is building I library & storefront off PS, Xbox, Steam & PC games with more & default exclusive games on Steam like Lethal Company etc. Steam is massively growing & becoming the default storefront & place to play games because it has all platform library of games + its own steam & pc exclusive that don’t go to PS.

It’s definitely pr for the disaster State of play. The PS state of play & PS brand been getting mock & talked about it like a joke a 180 from PS4 & previous PS generation. Kinda hope Xbox gets Steam on its handheld for next gen just to further make PS question why tf they releasing games to other platforms where they have no controls & helping direct competitors platform & storefront be greater destination for gaming then PS console. I like what Nintendo is doing buying a port studio to get more 3rd party games onto Nintendo platform which helps Nintendo platform & storefront. Nintendo can target PC exclusive games like lethal company which will release on Nintendo while it’s still missing on PS platforms smh nixxes is only bringing negatives to PS platform, storefront & profit maximization when Nixxes should be targeting 3rd party to port 3rd party exclusive games on either PC, Nintendo or mobile & bring them to PS platform & also make Nixxes a remake studio to remake & bring PS platform more games.
 
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2spooky5me

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Wow, GAZ is still b**t-hurt his low-tier website got shutdown, so now he’s pretending to be a PC guy now? Lmao.
 

Neversummer

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PC/Gaas push was the worst mistake Sony ever made. The worst Xbox fanboys cheering on this decision is proof of that.
Nah PS needs live service. You might not like live service but Sony needs live service games that are staples in the gaming industry to not rely on 3rd party. Live service can also expand PS ip to other platform that isn’t porting games to those platforms like Helldivers 2 having a collab w Killzone & selling Killzone armor or if Concord is a successful game they can bring sci fi characters like ratchet & clank as a hero or kratos as a hero (which would be cool & interesting to see)etc.

There’s 2 ways Sony could’ve expanded to live service & those are making them in house or partnering w 3rd party or buying 3rd party studios or publishers that have staples live service games just like MS did with ABK & Zenimax
 

anonpuffs

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Nah PS needs live service. You might not like live service but Sony needs live service games that are staples in the gaming industry to not rely on 3rd party. Live service can also expand PS ip to other platform that isn’t porting games to those platforms like Helldivers 2 having a collab w Killzone & selling Killzone armor or if Concord is a successful game they can bring sci fi characters like ratchet & clank as a hero or kratos as a hero (which would be cool & interesting to see)etc.

There’s 2 ways Sony could’ve expanded to live service & those are making them in house or partnering w 3rd party or buying 3rd party studios or publishers that have staples live service games just like MS did with ABK & Zenimax
sony already had several live service games. the problem isn't having live service games, it's forcing all their premier single player studios to do it.
 
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