The thing is, Sony still gets those games, they just don’t make them internally anymore and they’re not all from Japan. You still get stuff like Little Devil Inside, Stray, Sifu, Solar Ash, Kena, F.I.S.T, etc. We got games from the Europe, China, Korea, North America, Japan, etc.
Those are good points; they are still getting those games and with stuff like Kena we've seen they're willing to invest in cofunding and helping with actual development, too. So, can't get mad about that.
I guess my thing then, is that I'd like if Sony were open to license out some of their own smaller IP to those types of teams if they were interested. So, Sucker Punch isn't working on a new Sly Cooper. Cool. What if Ember Lab were interested, why not license the Sly IP to them and have them make a new Sly Cooper game? That's the kind of partnership leverage I'm thinking about.
The only difference is they aren’t micro managing 20 small independent studios inside a larger one and burning a bunch of resources trying to get them out anymore like they were with Japan Studio. Indies offer a ton of variety and Sony have done a really good job of finding the best of the best and even funding them. If anything we are getting more small, higher quality games now than we did then we got in the PS3 generation.
That seems more or less true. There are specific quirkier-style games from previous gens I'd like to see come back today or don't have equivalents among indie or AA games today like the Katamari Damacy series, but that could be a situation that resolves itself in time. Sort of like how the JSR one has mostly resolved itself, as these smaller teams get more experience and make more ambitious games beyond the 8-bit stuff so many of them were almost exclusively pushing out a decade ago.
I can subsist an entire year on just indie game releases. That could have never happened back on PS3, all I need Sony to do is keep funding and curating them like they have been.
Its like how people complain that sony doesn’t make JRPG’s anymore, yet we are still getting the same amount we’ve always got, just from 3rd parties.
True; I think for the people upset with lack of Sony JRPGs tho they might mean the specific IP Sony had like Legend of Dragoon, Arc the Lad or Popolocrios. There might be issues of redundancies there though if you look at something like Dragoon and then compare it to FF XVI, or Arc the Lad and compare that with some of the 2D HD remasters Square-Enix are doing.
Can't think of much on the modern JRPG side strongly like Popolocrois, though.
I mean it both ways tbh. Sony can sign actors to act in their motion rigging and be the actor likeneses playing characters, like Dafoe and Page for Beyond Two Souls
I both think if a Sony made DPA game's story catches-on maybe that one gets a sequel game with same characters returning; but I did originally mean sort of like American Horror Story, the girl in season 1 haunted house, sat out season 2's insane Asylum, but when season 3 popped up she was a witch.
If you expand it out to a Sony produced media like a TV show, you already have casting and relationships and story done etc. You have your own in-house AHS or Creepshow anthology series.
Im not saying oversaturate everything, but you could do something with this. People still have watercooler talking moments for story things, like the new season of Stranger Things.
That's a good idea tbh, and also lets them synergize multiple divisions better. It kind of feels like KojiPro is doing that with Norman Reedus in a way; Sony have a bit of that themselves like Lance Riddick in HFW, but it's not something frequent enough to say it's a "thing" with them.
It should be something they're considering, though, as long as they don't overdo it, or force it with games where it doesn't organically fit/make sense. Something like Astrobot or GT doesn't need real-life actors/actresses with digital models, not for those types of game worlds.
They still do smaller projects like Astro, Dreams or Sackboy but they now keep mostly the role of small and unique to indies with 3rd party timed console exclusivity deals giving them the IP because it's a win/win situation.
For indies it's a better deal to have a timed console exclusive than a full exclusive because allows them to get extra revenue from the other platforms. And for Sony is better too because it's cheaper for them, so with the same amount of money they can get more games and being small titles they don't care if end later in other consoles.
Yeah, I agree with this, similar to what
@Remember_Spinal was saying. I should've clarified my thoughts initially, then; my idea is more along the lines of Sony licensing out their own smaller, more niche IP to these types of developers and fostering funding & development of games with them on those IP.
Sony may not have 1P teams interested in working on a Parappa/UmJammer game or Tomba! game, but they can license those out to 3P devs who'd want to work with those IP, and go from there.
Yup. And remember Sony has (at least) Wolverine coming too. I think their best option is to focus on Ghost of Tsushima and forget these other Sucker Punch IPs at least for a while.
In fact, with the GoT sequel I'd differentiate it a bit more from the other Sony cinematic third person action adventures and open world games by focusing a more on the ninja and specially stealth, in a some sort of Metal Gear way. Make easier and reward more to go unseen by the enemies and make more difficult and super challenging to go Rambo making it more difficult than Souls games by fighting many enemies at the same time.
I don't have many qualms about them leaving InFamous behind, for all the aforementioned reasons, and agree that Ghosts 2 should probably be their big focus for now. But if we're talking about IP with good transmedia potential, Sly Cooper is still one of those IP IMO, so I hope they are at least considering doing a new game with it in the near future or work with a 3P developer in codeveloping such a new venture down the line.
InFamous doesn't have that potential as an IP especially when compared to the Marvel IP Sony already have like Spiderman and Wolverine, so the most they'll probably do with that IP going forward is including a notable character or two as an easter egg collectible in another game. Unless they do a PS All-Stars 2, where pulling a character from the IP might make sense to fill out the roster.
In the recent Sony presentation Jim Ryan shown that even if they'll increase their bet on PC ports and mobile games they'll make way more console games than before.
Jimbo also shown there that even if they'll increase their offering on MP/GaaS games, they'll also make more traditional non-GaaS games than before.
Jimbo also shown that as Hermen Hulst said before that around half of their next games will be new IPs.
Hermen also said he's proud of more experimental, unique or small games like Astro, Dreams, Sackboy or Death Stranding and that they'll continue making games like these ones. On top of that, regarding small and unique games they mostly make them 3rd party timed console exclusives instead of mostly 2nd party full exclusive because it's a win/win both for Sony and the indies and allows Sony to get more smaller games than they got before. Jimbo also said they plan to have more 3rd party exclusives than in any previous console.
We also seen Sony numbers indicating record investment on 2nd party and also increasing the manpower of all their internal teams.
Jim Ryan basically will give us more of everything. So whatever you like, you'll get more of it than before from them. Shawn Layden didn't expect Jimbo to buy many studios, grow a lot the existing ones, partner with more external ones and to increase their offering in all platforms and game types.
Yeah I've seen the fiscal reports where they detailed their software investment plans (and hardware production projections going forward) and it looks like a sound strategy overall, even if I'm kinda questioning why so many live-service GaaS games in the mix so soon.
Similarly I'm still curious what their plans with ports to PC are going to look like; I think the live-service GaaS titles, at least some of them, may do PS5/PC Day 1 releases, but I can't picture any of the non live-service GaaS titles doing that. If in the chance that's wrong, though, and they actually DO end up trying Day 1 for something like the next TLOU or Spiderman 2 or Wolverine, how is that going to impact the numbers for those games on PS5, and the PS5 itself?
Personally I still think there's too much for them to lose to try doing that this gen. Just briefly, I can think of potential optimization issues (more platforms for Day 1 meaning optimization has to be spread out across all those platforms instead of just 1 or 2), possibly losing out on revenue (if more people on PS5 decide to buy the game on Steam Sony has to pay Valve a cut; they can work out a special deal but Valve is probably still going to get some type of cut off the game sales there), etc.
It's that and a few other reason why I don't think they're going to try Day 1 on PC for non live-service GaaS titles until they can solidify an independent storefront & launcher on PC. Even then, if PS6 is as novel design-wise as it could possibly be (I'm a big believer in PIM architectures for 10th-gen consoles), that could be another factor complicating that whole picture.
Regarding to partner with small 'boutique' 3rd party teams to allow them use PS IPs they mentioned that will do it for mobile, in addition to publish them games there. It would be cool to do it in console too to bring back some old unused IPs.
Yeah, now that you bring it up I didn't think much about the mobile side in this, but that could be an avenue for the older. dormant, more niche IPs to come back through. Mobile usually gets a bad stink, but I've been looking into Apple Arcade stuff the past few months and it seems like they have some legitimately good games there like Fantasian, Yu Suzuki's game (Air Ballet I think), and that upcoming Frogger game. Just games that don't try roping you in with predatory MTX or squeezing money out of you for the sake of it.
The kind of games that would probably find a good healthy home on one of the consoles, actually. If mobile can give us more games like that, but with some of these classic Sony IP (and not just them; Square-Enix, Capcom, Sega, Konami etc.) that can also have versions available on console digitally and/or through services like PS+, that would be awesome.
