Sony's future and possible studio/publisher acquisitions

[Eternal_Wings]

Sony seems to buy mostly where they lacking sorta genres in their portfolio. Actually they don’t have someone whose develop shooter, JRPG, adventures and fighting games.

Perfect for shooter would be that from CoD veterans founded studio Deviation Games, JRPG (Square Enix), Adventures(EmberLab) and for Fighting Arc System Works.

 

[ksdixon]

Yeah, for me TLOU Factions will be the litmus test to see if Sony are up to the GAAS aspirations.

I personally think they are going up against the most competitive part of the industry for no reason and as always far away hills are greener...
They are not thinking of their audience mostly being into single player story games and the fact that they nearly have a lockdown on that type of game on the highest end.

And that's fine. But these sleepy arseholes had the model for a battle royal game in the survivor vs mode in Factions.

People were saying before Left Behind DLC dropped to spin that shit off and keep a flow of maps, weapons, skills, temp perks, new vs modes... In 2013 before seasons of content drops/GAAS formed fully. There are locations from the first game not touched as an MP map, for example. There's 20 years of apolaypse and world to play with. Then in a few years when AI advances, you could have added more vs modes with infected interacting with vs players etc.

Sony have the harder part sewn-up, their crap sells. But they drag their feet on MP support and BC support and building their community like its fucking death.

It's all pure value-add, so long as MP/GAAS isnt handled like UC MP/sports games (oh dear we have to turn the servers off for this game, I guess you better buy the new shiny game, huh?). Let the MP/GAAS be its own thing, not tied to a single player game.

 

[Yurinka]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't Helldivers like... dead, simillar to Kill Strain?

It was released over 7 years ago and and wasn't a GaaS so even if it was very successful back then I assume it should be dead, like all the non GaaS games released back then. But well, I wasn't talking about Helldivers 1. I was talking about a hypothetical Helldivers 2 in the case this is the AAA game they are developing right now.

 

[Dabaus]

Hey guys first time posting here!

With Jeff grubb saying he heard Sony was trying to buy square enix and with all the timed exclusives they have together, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were next after the Bungie deal closes.

 

[Bryank75]

Hey guys first time posting here!

With Jeff grubb saying he heard Sony was trying to buy square enix and with all the timed exclusives they have together, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were next after the Bungie deal closes.

I'd be happy with that... as long as they don't forget to pick up Arc System Works too while Jim is in Japan. (Possibly)

 

[Dabaus]

I'd be happy with that... as long as they don't forget to pick up Arc System Works too while Jim is in Japan. (Possibly)

Is there a way to make it so when I get quoted or a post I made is liked or whatever I get a notification?

 

[Eternal_Wings]

Is there a way to make it so when I get quoted or a post I made is liked or whatever I get a notification?

If you get quoted or receive a reaction, then you will get a notification.

 

[Dabaus]

I wouldnt be surprised to see sony make bigger moves in japan simply because the FTC in the US seems more prying than usual. I have no idea how strict japan would be towards sony or how much leverage the American FTC has there though. As for western studios i wouldnt be surprised to see them get ember labs, deviation games, probably monsters, and arrow head. I dont think we see sony go after a large western entity, nor should they IMO. I do think they may splurge more than we think in Japan.

So to summarize, my predictions:
Square enix
Ember Labs
Deviation Games
Arrowhead
Probably Monsters, if that firewalker game is looking real good

Dark horse out of nowhere: CD project Red but i seriously doubt it.

 

[Eternal_Wings]

I wouldnt be surprised to see sony make bigger moves in japan simply because the FTC in the US seems more prying than usual. I have no idea how strict japan would be towards sony or how much leverage the American FTC has there though. As for western studios i wouldnt be surprised to see them get ember labs, deviation games, probably monsters, and arrow head. I dont think we see sony go after a large western entity, nor should they IMO. I do think they may splurge more than we think in Japan.

So to summarize, my predictions:
Square enix
Ember Labs
Deviation Games
Arrowhead
Probably Monsters, if that firewalker game is looking real good

Dark horse out of nowhere: CD project Red but i seriously doubt it.

The FTC have no word in Japan or generally outside NA. But your choice is top, I would agree to . Arrowhead and Probably Monsters I am not knowing them. But the first 3 in your ranking I would say so. Sony is lately damn quiet…

 

[Dabaus]

The FTC have no word in Japan or generally outside NA. But your choice is top, I would agree to . Arrowhead and Probably Monsters I am not knowing them. But the first 3 in your ranking I would say so. Sony is lately damn quiet…

They are a small up and coming publisher of about 3 studios. Sony is working with one of their studios (Firewalker) on a fps game made up of former destiny and irrational developers. Not to be confused with fire sprite, who sony recently bought.

 

[RE4-City]

I personally don't think Sony needs to worry about purchasing Japanese companies unless if Nintendo or somebody else plans on scooping them up (or maybe if any one of them are going out of business and Sony can save them.). I think it would be in Sony's best interest looking into getting studios that specialize in what they don't. CD Projekt RED's next game being exclusive to PS5 and PC would help in not getting Elder scrolls 6 this generation

 

[Bryank75]

I personally don't think Sony needs to worry about purchasing Japanese companies unless if Nintendo or somebody else plans on scooping them up (or maybe if any one of them are going out of business and Sony can save them.). I think it would be in Sony's best interest looking into getting studios that specialize in what they don't. CD Projekt RED's next game being exclusive to PS5 and PC would help in not getting Elder scrolls 6 this generation

I actually think CDPR is a really great pick despite CP2077. I really enjoyed CP at launch on PS5... even with the few issues and bad optimization.
There is talent there and vision.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

That Crystal Dynamics rumor was made up by the Xbox community as usually. It's the same with SEGA where they keep saying that MS will buy them for almost 20 years (since the first Xbox). It's nothing rather than made up rumors from fanboys. I only believe it when an Industry Insider (e.g. Jason Schreier, Jeff Grubb) talks about it or at least gives hints to it.

Yeah, it does seem that the CD stuff was just hopes & dreams out of the weirdest of reasons. Even weirder was them saying that Perfect Dark was a "try out" for MS to consider buying CD. Like, why the heck would CD need to "try out" for anyone, especially Microsoft? They have a legacy of solid content behind them and even with Avengers bombing still have a stronger track record than internal MS studios like 343i.

Also what did studios like inExile, Ninja Theory, Obsidian etc. do with established MS properties in a co-development fashion before being acquired? Why would Zenimax and especially ABK be exempt from needing to "prove" themselves with try-outs before being acquired? How could MS think that lowly of CD when it would not only have costed them way less than getting Zenimax, but CD themselves have a better track record than some of their own internal studios like 343i?

So along those lines, the MS acquiring CD rumors always felt kind of forced.

Not really sure whats so appealing about sega outside of Persona

Well for me, a lot of the appeal comes down to legacy content. Ristar, Outrun 2, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Streets of Rage, Shining Force III, Phantasy Star IV, Dragon Force, Jet Set Radio, and they've been the only platform holder willing to make fun of themselves with SEGAGAGA.

I think a lot of that stuff could at least get modern day remakes, like more people should definitely play Panzer Dragoon Saga, or get a chance to play remastered versions of Dragon Force 1 & 2, remasters of the Shining Force III games like Square's doing with Live A Live, etc.

Yeah, for me TLOU Factions will be the litmus test to see if Sony are up to the GAAS aspirations.

I personally think they are going up against the most competitive part of the industry for no reason and as always far away hills are greener...
They are not thinking of their audience mostly being into single player story games and the fact that they nearly have a lockdown on that type of game on the highest end.

TBH I think Sony should not have committed to so many GaaS titles right off the bat. They probably should've focused on just one or two big GaaS titles, see how they do, and then scale out to commit to more depending on performance. I don't know if they still have the Everquest IP rights, but if they do I think they should've made a new Everquest MMO one of those games (unless the rumors of Sony buying SE actually pan out, at which point it would be redundant with FF XIV already around), and TLOU Part 2 Factions the other one.

There's at least seemingly a market for some more novel live-service GaaS titles on PC, going by Steam charts. There's a dang wallpaper simulator that's usually in Top 20 on Steam player charts, other games like Farm Simulator are pretty popular seemingly. I don't know if those are actually live-service games, but there's probably an untapped market for that. At least stuff like Haven's new game look like they could be unique among the live-service crowd and I hope Sony's efforts in that space are more like that game in terms of uniqueness. They would need it in order to stand out, also I don't think these live-service games should need massive budgets, I don't think games like Counter-Strike or LoL have budgets anywhere comparable to what a typical Sony AAA action-adventure epic would have.

The most important thing IMO is that Sony don't let the live-service GaaS focus lead to a drop in the quality or quantity of the single-player story-driven AAA content. And, if the live-service stuff isn't working out, they don't kneecap the non live-service games to try bolstering it back up. If the revenue from the single-player content continues to do well or grow, then no matter what revenue the live-service games bring, it won't be enough for Sony to drop what they've become known for. I personally want to see some revivals of classic legacy IP; single-player or multi-player stuff but not necessarily the focus on mature storytelling, let the God of Wars and TLOUs do that.

I want to see stuff like Parappa/UmJammer and Tomba! come back, they don't need to be massive games at all. Maybe if Sony are ever considering Day 1 1P content for PS+ higher tiers, they could relegate it to these smaller 1P titles that don't have big budgets but have a strong nostalgia pull.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I personally don't think Sony needs to worry about purchasing Japanese companies unless if Nintendo or somebody else plans on scooping them up (or maybe if any one of them are going out of business and Sony can save them.). I think it would be in Sony's best interest looking into getting studios that specialize in what they don't. CD Projekt RED's next game being exclusive to PS5 and PC would help in not getting Elder scrolls 6 this generation

That's kind of the thing tho; there are Japanese developers & publishers who do specialize in things Sony don't. Sony doesn't have an in-house JRPG team anymore now that Japan Studio has been closed, hence the rumors about a Square-Enix acquisition.

They don't have a team for fighting games internally...even though they're synonymous with the genre outside of Smash Bros., so having an in-house team may not be necessary at the current time. Though, there is curiosity over what a team like Arc could do with a larger budget and more resources. Technically speaking tho Sony doesn't need to buy them to make that happen.

Japanese developers and publishers would also be easier for Sony to look into from a legal POV, and are generally cheaper than Western counterparts. Companies like CDPR are very talented (when they aren't being rushed by shareholders to hit a holiday release), but might be redundant considering Sony have internal teams that can make open-world RPGs of comparable scale, fidelity, and quality (and for a lot of people, superior ones at that, at least compared to what CP 2077 was for a while). Something like HFW is right up there if not better than CP 2077 in terms of fidelity, scale, production values, overall quality etc. and that was at launch let alone where it's at now with the latest patch.

Tho FWIW, CP 2077 is in a much better state these days, and the RT support on PC really gives it some amazing visuals. I'd say that version and HFW are probably tied for best-looking open-world games currently on the market, which one you actually prefer coming down to personal preferences in certain aesthetics.

 

[Muddasar]

TBH I think Sony should not have committed to so many GaaS titles right off the bat. They probably should've focused on just one or two big GaaS titles, see how they do, and then scale out to commit to more depending on performance. I don't know if they still have the Everquest IP rights, but if they do I think they should've made a new Everquest MMO one of those games (unless the rumors of Sony buying SE actually pan out, at which point it would be redundant with FF XIV already around), and TLOU Part 2 Factions the other one.

I think the decision to make 12 GaaS games has probably a lot to do with the Success/Failure rate of GaaS games.

Most GaaS games fail so Sony is probably expecting/hoping at least 2 or 3 are a success from the 12.

Even the 2 or 3 successful games will be enough to put Sony in profits.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Bryank75]

I think the decision to make 12 GaaS games has probably a lot to do with the Success/Failure rate of GaaS games.

Most GaaS games fail so Sony is probably expecting/hoping at least 2 or 3 are a success from the 12.

Even the 2 or 3 successful games will be enough to put Sony in profits.

Just my 2 cents.

and if the stats don't bare out? If all of them fail?

I have serious questions about the viability of their current strategy, being money led over vision led is a recipe for disaster IMO.

 

[Muddasar]

and if the stats don't bare out? If all of them fail?

I have serious questions about the viability of their current strategy, being money led over vision led is a recipe for disaster IMO.

That's the risk they have to take. Fortune favours the brave.

I think the Bungie games are included in the 12 so I expect those to be a success. I believe one is called Matter and they have another in development.

Factions 2 should also be successful.

Provided it doesn't affect their Single Player game output and quality, I have no issues.

 

[Eternal_Wings]

and if the stats don't bare out? If all of them fail?

I have serious questions about the viability of their current strategy, being money led over vision led is a recipe for disaster IMO.

Maybe not all of them will be (loot)shooter/science fiction or brawler like Fortnite. We could get some high quality stuff like a MMO. FF14 and The Elder Scrolls Online themselves are a GaaS type. A new MMO made by Sony would be interesting.

 

[Bryank75]

That's the risk they have to take. Fortune favours the brave.

I think the Bungie games are included in the 12 so I expect those to be a success. I believe one is called Matter and they have another in development.

Factions 2 should also be successful.

Provided it doesn't affect their Single Player game output and quality, I have no issues.

Yeah I have no worries about Bungies games taking off at all. The others... 50/50

 

[Muddasar]

Maybe not all of them will be (loot)shooter/science fiction or brawler like Fortnite. We could get some high quality stuff like a MMO. FF14 and The Elder Scrolls Online themselves are a GaaS type. A new MMO made by Sony would be interesting.

I doubt it.

Who does Sony have to make an MMORPG?

Though I wish it was the case. .