REPORT: Sony plans to invest $2.1 billion in research and development for its gaming arm, focusing most of its attention on live service

[nongkris]

The future of Sony folks. Mind you all of the live service games will also be on PC. While MS is successfuly following its strategy of spending Sony of out the business, Sony is too busy trying to become Xbox lite.

Sony Investing $2.1B In Gaming R&D, Focusing on Live Service - Insider Gaming

Sony has expressed an intention to flesh out its PlayStation portfolio with live service games and has invested $2.1B to see it done.

insider-gaming.com

 

[Remember_Spinal]

Ths is old news.

And the pushback against sony making ‘live service’ games continue to be stupid after Diablo just made over half a billon dollars in a week. Sony isn’t going to “out compete” Microsoft/Activision/Blizzard/Bethesda with single player games alone

 

[Swift_Star]

Ths is old news.

And the pushback against sony making ‘live service’ games continue to be stupid after Diablo just made over half a billon dollars in a week. Sony isn’t going to “out compete” Microsoft/Activision/Blizzard/Bethesda with single player games alone

Yeah. Sony has to have an evergreen live service game to help fund the games we love and stop being dependent on 3rd parties like CoD.

 

[Jivesh1995]

I mean...they're also increasing investment in single-player titles too. The live-service push sucks but when they're successful they make a ton of money

 

[Bryank75]

If this is old, fine.

I don't want to see an over-reliance on the idea that a few live service games are going to change everything and making a big loud announcement about live service games, means that any failure is gonna be very loud too. So that was the wrong approach from the start.

 

[Kokoloko]

Yeah. Sony has to have an evergreen live service game to help fund the games we love and stop being dependent on 3rd parties like CoD.

Yep. Im sure we will still get as many great single player games as before and more

 

[anonpuffs]

2.1 billion is not enough. If they want to build their brand as the "prestige" gaming brand, the brand that delivers the best of everything, they need to invest much more than that. Especially because it's spread out between a dozen projects. Imo 2 billion on a single project (lifetime) is what they'd need to build the next big thing.

 

[Remember_Spinal]

2.1 billion is not enough. If they want to build their brand as the "prestige" gaming brand, the brand that delivers the best of everything, they need to invest much more than that. Especially because it's spread out between a dozen projects. Imo 2 billion on a single project (lifetime) is what they'd need to build the next big thing.

Its not only 2 billion, its a 2 billion increase

 

[Cool hand luke]

While MS is successfuly following its strategy of spending Sony of out the business

Unsuccessfully. Their hail Mary was rejected and the only thing that could save them (taking over ABK) is still blocked.

 

[Thunderstorm__]

This is only for R&D

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Sony plans to invest $2.1 billion in research and development for its gaming arm​

focusing most of its attention on live service​

They just don't get it

Ths is old news.

And the pushback against sony making ‘live service’ games continue to be stupid after Diablo just made over half a billon dollars in a week. Sony isn’t going to “out compete” Microsoft/Activision/Blizzard/Bethesda with single player games alone

If live-service means games like GT7 and Diablo 4 (but can actually be played offline as well, like Street Fighter 6), then I'm actually for it.

But so far the reveals we've gotten from Sony are for live-service GaaS titles that appear to be completely MP PvP/PvE-centric, and always online, with no single-player content to speak of. Either that's what we can assume (because we have so little info on them), or that seems to basically be the case with info known so far (i.e Marathon).

So I've gotta see more before seeing where that direction actually takes them in terms of being a positive.

 

[anonpuffs]

Ths is old news.

And the pushback against sony making ‘live service’ games continue to be stupid after Diablo just made over half a billon dollars in a week. Sony isn’t going to “out compete” Microsoft/Activision/Blizzard/Bethesda with single player games alone

Diablo would have made over half a billion dollars in a week regardless of live service status. Diablo 3 was a gigantic seller.

 

[nongkris]

If live-service means games like GT7 and Diablo 4 (but can actually be played offline as well, like Street Fighter 6), then I'm actually for it.

But so far the reveals we've gotten from Sony are for live-service GaaS titles that appear to be completely MP PvP/PvE-centric, and always online, with no single-player content to speak of. Either that's what we can assume (because we have so little info on them), or that seems to basically be the case with info known so far (i.e Marathon).

So I've gotta see more before seeing where that direction actually takes them in terms of being a positive.

Exactly, I was originally on board with the live service push if the games still could be played single player like the ones you named, but Sony's idea of live service seems more akin to pvp or objective based games ala Destruction All Stars.

I'm sure every thread I post on this topic will have the usual live service defenders until they release the first flop from the bunch.

 

[Muddasar]

As long as it doesn’t affect their single player output I am all for it.

Sony needs a hit or 2 in the GaaS market.

 

[Gods&Monsters]

Just buy a company already doing GAAS shit and mobile instead of doing it yourself. That's how Microsoft do it. They just add the revenue on top without doing anything.

 

[nongkris]

Just buy a company already doing GAAS shit and mobile instead of doing it yourself. That's how Microsoft do it. They just add the revenue on top without doing anything.

yep that's how most of the publishers did it, acti with king, take two with zynga and sega with rovio. The bungie acquisition should've satisfied their GaaS fever but it seems like instead they want to turn their actual studios into live service workhorses which is too much of a gamble, instead of adding it on top like you said.

 

[Mild Conviction]

I truly hope Sony is setting things up so that their live service games have no chance of stepping on each other's toes. They all need to be very different genres with different structures, otherwise a few of them will be hits, and others will succumb to an Avengers or, worse, a Babylon's Fall-like fate.

 

[Remember_Spinal]

Diablo would have made over half a billion dollars in a week regardless of live service status. Diablo 3 was a gigantic seller.

But it will continue making money, for years. Thats the difference between a sony single player game that eventually gets put on a service or severe discounts and diablo that is still charging 30 dollars for cosmetic packs. The revenue they generate from Diablo 4 this year could very well match the revenue they make from it next year

Thats what basically saved Street Fighter V after it tanked out the gate.

There’s no amount of productivity and single player games that will make up for not having an Apex, Warzone, Counterstrike, Fortnite, Diablo, Minecraft, etc. Diablo existing for Activision is like having a God of War game every year with very little development cost

 

[anonpuffs]

But it will continue making money, for years. Thats the difference between a sony single player game that eventually gets put on a service or severe discounts and diablo that is still charging 30 dollars for cosmetic packs. The revenue they generate from Diablo 4 this year could very well match the revenue they make from it next year

Thats what basically saved Street Fighter V after it tanked out the gate

It -might- continue to make money for years. Depends on how well it can maintain its base of whales. But another game could come next year and steal all those customers away.

 

[Remember_Spinal]

It -might- continue to make money for years. Depends on how well it can maintain its base of whales. But another game could come next year and steal all those customers away.

You said it yourself, Diablo is a monster franchise with a built-in installbase. Those whales are going to exist no matter what, for years to come. A game like that doesn’t die in 6 months.