Pretty much saved the playstation brand from the PS3 crash with his efforts in Europe.
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Fireside Chat: Jim Ryan, Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Thread starter dex3108
- Start date
I agree with you, Ryan has been running Playstation very efficiently ($5B profits last year, sick) and at the very least hasn't put himself in the way of creative people on his team. He doesn't need to entertain masses with his speeches or anything.
I know, it isn't now tho is it? Is it on Roku, Apple, Fire?
its so weird Xbox and PS keep talking about teaching more ppl but don't have TV apps.
Significantly lowering the gate to entry would probably mean getting cloud streaming not only rock solid technically, but easily accessed on all kinds of devices. Even porting to PC runs intop roblems with access to high end GPUs, never a populist item, and even less through this shortage.
I think Sony or some 1st party should do a Razer Kishi-type mobile controller, but with a 1st class software experience to match.
I think Sony or some 1st party should do a Razer Kishi-type mobile controller, but with a 1st class software experience to match.
Nintendo generally sells 10s of millions of copies of their big games, and mobile games are played by even more. Sony selling a small number of games to enthusiasts is a choice they've made, not a universal rule about the medium.
Spider-Man's at 20 million sold. What "small number of games" are we talking about here? If we're talking mobile titles, Nintendo isn't in that realm either. And frankly, if any of them want to reach a wider audience, mobile is where they'll have to go.
It's still on my music room TV. Granted that hasn't ever been connected to the Internet and I can't imagine the app even working if it was.
That's specifically what I find so funny about all the hate this guy gets. People act like he's this new guy or some dude who was just in the background for a few years but rather he's been with PlayStation since the beginning and is a major reason why the brand is so strong in places like Europe. I'd like to think he actually does know what he's doing and that's why Sony put him in the driver's seat. Time will obviously tell, but right now I think he's doing just fine.
The end goal for both MS & Sony is to put their games on everything that has a screen without it being necessary to spend $400-500 on hardware just to play their games, and yes that includes mobile.
I wish I had only 1% of Jimbo's Achievements to look back to, something to be proud of and talk about in an interview.
The only Sony game that sold as well as Spiderman (an extremely expensive license from Disney) is TLOU. But that's sort of beside the point I was making, which is just that Sony purposefully pursued a small enthusiast market. That doesn't mean that video games are only for enthusiasts.
As he mentions, 20 or 30 million is the present state, he talking about being near 100 million as a worst case and several hundered million as a best case.
I expect it but I don't think buying a console is that big a limiting factor to the sales of TLOU or GT or whatever. Those games just have limited appeal. Most games do. There are very few games that even break 10 million putting them on phones isn't going to double their sales.
The main thing that will double TLOU's sales will be the TV show
Not even The Witcher Netflix series (which was a big success WW) doubled the sales of TW3 which is available on more platforms.
TW3 didn't sell 25 million + after they aired the show and TLOU/TLOU 2 are not going to sell 20 million + after HBO series.
The Witcher 3's sales were already double that of TLOU, the Last of Us has a lot of growth left due to popularity of an hbo show
And on top of that the witcher show wasn't that good. I could see TLOU winning an Emmy with the talent behind it and budget
We'll see how they market it. Will it be "TLOU a show about a videogame" or "TLOU a cool new show". I feel the latter would be the better approach. Watching a show and playing a game are very different though so the success of the show doesn't necessarily translate to doubling of sales of the TLOU. Witcher was well received and the game got a temporary bump but nothing long lasting.
this will happen and that's mostly why they are making a remake.
Good or bad changes nothing when it was and still is one of Netflix biggest shows.
And even if TLOU HBO ends up being good, you are really ovestimating the amount of people going to buy the games afterwards. They are going to receive a sales bump, but only temporary, you saying doubling the sales meaning shipping an additional 25-30 million units which is impossible.
Lots of questions I wish were asked, but no idea what the list of "do not ask" questions were they agreed to beforehand.
I did like the part where he talked about watching the launch event with his family at home instead of at the office etc. and it was a different experience for him.
I did like the part where he talked about watching the launch event with his family at home instead of at the office etc. and it was a different experience for him.
Hey guys, how about going back on topic?
C. Ding: Well, part of this session is about looking at your career. Because there isn't a lot out there about it. You were with PlayStation since the very beginning, what were you doing back then?
J. Ryan: I was hired in 1994, the year before the launch of the first PlayStation. And my assignment was to set-up the PlayStation companies in Continental Europe. So we had maybe 20 people in this building in London focused on the UK, but we had absolutely nothing in Europe. So my task was to go out, find offices, hire people, put systems and processes in place, get sales forces, organise distribution... It started with Germany, and then it was France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia... it was a really tasking and challenging, but ultimately fulfilling couple of years.
C. Dring: Did I read somewhere you were literally going to get the furniture?
J. Ryan: I took a lease on an office in Frankfurt, and we realised that there weren't any desks or chairs in there. So, there wasn't much money lying around at that time because we hadn't sold anything. So there was no cash. So we ended up going down to IKEA and buying the desks, and after that trying to work out whether we had any money left to pay someone to assemble them, or whether we'd have to do that ourselves. Happily, given my skills as a handyman, we found the cash to have somebody assemble them, and those desks actually served us well for a number of years. I was quite proud of those desks. IKEA, I'd recommend it to anybody.
The leadership, which I was part of, was summoned over to Tokyo to sit with Ken Kuturagi, the father of PlayStation. Ken is a sort-of very imposing figure, personally and at an industry level. And he sat us down and just said: "Please change your inefficient business". So we were like 'Yeah, Ken, that's great advice, we'll go ahead and do that.' So we returned and resolved to do better. And the rest is history, because Europe ended up the lead territory with PS2.
One of the things that I am proud about there is that we kind-of pushed the envelope. We opened up markets that had never had any gaming culture ever. Middle East... people had never played games before PlayStation in the Middle East. Russia had a tiny gaming industry before PlayStation. Spain had a very small gaming industry before PlayStation. So we really pushed the envelope geographically.
Ken Kutaragi is the best! 😂
Ken Kutaragi: "STOP DOING THIS! GET BETTER NOW!"
Jim Ryan: "Okay Kutaragi-san."
PlayStation becomes a monster in Europe.
🤣
C. Ding: Well, part of this session is about looking at your career. Because there isn't a lot out there about it. You were with PlayStation since the very beginning, what were you doing back then?
J. Ryan: I was hired in 1994, the year before the launch of the first PlayStation. And my assignment was to set-up the PlayStation companies in Continental Europe. So we had maybe 20 people in this building in London focused on the UK, but we had absolutely nothing in Europe. So my task was to go out, find offices, hire people, put systems and processes in place, get sales forces, organise distribution... It started with Germany, and then it was France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia... it was a really tasking and challenging, but ultimately fulfilling couple of years.
C. Dring: Did I read somewhere you were literally going to get the furniture?
J. Ryan: I took a lease on an office in Frankfurt, and we realised that there weren't any desks or chairs in there. So, there wasn't much money lying around at that time because we hadn't sold anything. So there was no cash. So we ended up going down to IKEA and buying the desks, and after that trying to work out whether we had any money left to pay someone to assemble them, or whether we'd have to do that ourselves. Happily, given my skills as a handyman, we found the cash to have somebody assemble them, and those desks actually served us well for a number of years. I was quite proud of those desks. IKEA, I'd recommend it to anybody.
The leadership, which I was part of, was summoned over to Tokyo to sit with Ken Kuturagi, the father of PlayStation. Ken is a sort-of very imposing figure, personally and at an industry level. And he sat us down and just said: "Please change your inefficient business". So we were like 'Yeah, Ken, that's great advice, we'll go ahead and do that.' So we returned and resolved to do better. And the rest is history, because Europe ended up the lead territory with PS2.
One of the things that I am proud about there is that we kind-of pushed the envelope. We opened up markets that had never had any gaming culture ever. Middle East... people had never played games before PlayStation in the Middle East. Russia had a tiny gaming industry before PlayStation. Spain had a very small gaming industry before PlayStation. So we really pushed the envelope geographically.
Ken Kutaragi is the best! 😂
Ken Kutaragi: "STOP DOING THIS! GET BETTER NOW!"
Jim Ryan: "Okay Kutaragi-san."
PlayStation becomes a monster in Europe.
🤣
Really enjoyed listening to this. I think the hot take that he's not a real gamer or doesn't care about the medium is pretty swiftly and decisively dispelled here. Obviously these are all just corporate actors, but he comes across as very passionate about the industry.
Why is that relevant? Because I don't think gaming as we currently appreciate it (as in, diverse array of titles, including high budget risks) is inevitable. Having a champion for it at the corporate level is important. The Phils and the Jims do matter, even if it's not important to "like" them.
Why is that relevant? Because I don't think gaming as we currently appreciate it (as in, diverse array of titles, including high budget risks) is inevitable. Having a champion for it at the corporate level is important. The Phils and the Jims do matter, even if it's not important to "like" them.
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Yeah, Jim has an indisputably long history with PlayStation (he was at Sony before PlayStation hit the market after all) and I feel like that history does make him more aware of how important the community is. He's been through the highs and lows, so he's taken what he's learned throughout the many years. I think his leadership is putting PlayStation in the right direction and, as a consumer, I'm excited to see where the brand goes in the coming years.
Cool vid. I remember a while back I was trying to find info on Jim Ryan's background and it seems this video is probably the only place (and maybe I'm wrong) where he discuses where he came from and of his background within PlayStation.
You can see fully well why Game Pass and XCloud are all things MS pushes. Get as many people in your ecosystem as possible. They're thinking beyond the Console, which I would too if I were them.
Exactly. Probably the hint at what they are working towards.
Jim states that it frustrates him that the art that Sony's Studios are pushing games wise are only going to reach an x amount of people worldwide. They want to reach the same level of people that music and movies do.
You can see fully well why Game Pass and XCloud are all things MS pushes. Get as many people in your ecosystem as possible. They're thinking beyond the Console, which I would too if I were them.
Exactly. Probably the hint at what they are working towards.
Jim states that it frustrates him that the art that Sony's Studios are pushing games wise are only going to reach an x amount of people worldwide. They want to reach the same level of people that music and movies do.
Nice interview. Came across as a nice guy. Nothing given away though with the questions but he wouldn't be answering any pressing ones anyways.
Speaking of business jargon, I hate the word 'solution'. I'm in sales.
This is a pretty good interview. Nothing really earth shattering, but it's interesting listening to Jim talk candidly about his experiences. Especially in regards to the PS1 and PS2 days. The story about him going to Ikea because one of their offices didn't have any furniture, and then having to confirm whether they hand the funds to get the stuff assembled or not, was amusing.
I got your point, I'm just debating the idea of it being "small" when several of their biggest franchises are 10-20m sold, their last console is their second best selling console of all time.
At what point do you expand your work until it loses any artistic value it has for the sake of raising sales? With a couple of notable exceptions in GTA and CoD, most of the best selling titles are either all-ages affairs or just largely inoffensive titles.
Maybe they should accept being fine where they are, unless their plan is to place their games on other platforms, which is only a bad thing for people who believe too strongly in console wars.
He's basically confirming what Microsoft is aiming for; a dedicated game streaming app for your TV. It's the only way they'll ever reach hundreds of millions of people. Consoles are expensive barriers that keep millions of people away from games they may otherwise adore, and Jim is a numbers guy.
I don't think it's fantasy to see Sony launch a dedicated gaming app for your TV by the beginning of the next generation.
Unfortunately that's not how business works. Not for publicly trading companies. Shareholders expect growth every year. Jim and co will be paid bonuses on growth achieved. The additional investment in acquisitions and studio expansions is based on the expectation of growth. A repeat of the incredibly successful PS4 generation isn't enough. It needs to be bigger. Hence they'll be looking beyond their plastic box, and their traditional franchises, where they have somewhat saturated, and find new demographics and markets to go after in addition.
"To gate the audience frustrates me"
This is one heck of a thing to say for the head of one of the biggest companies in gaming that has build it's company on the quality of their exclusives.
User Banned (1 Month): Hostility, history of antagonistic behavior.
You're a fucking idiot.
Seems pretty normal to me. "I want more people to experience our amazing products". I'm glad it frustrates him, that's what drives changes.
I wouldn't say it's pretty normal coming from the CEO of SIE, who have traditionally, for the past 25 years, gated their games exclusively on their platforms. It's quite a bit stronger with respect to that phrasing, than just releasing a PC port here and there, it represents - at least inferring from this statement - that he really wants to drive access to PS games everywhere. Most likely referring to streaming, but also including PC & mobile. But that's besides the point, just happy to hear it, and that he seems to be in tune with current & future market conditions.
Hm..I could agree with this. But to me, Playstation has already evolved past just their platforms. Sure they are exclusives to their console, of course, but it's all about the art they are creating now. I'm just glad that he seems to agree. I don't think the change will happen anytime soon though sadly.
Yeah I get that, and combined with their PS Productions initiative with TV/Films utilizing their IP. But it stood out to me specifically because it was in the context of limited access to the games themselves, comparing unit sales limits by being exclusive on their platforms in relation to other media i.e. music, tv/films being accessible in a multitude of ways.
Sometimes it do be like that in here. Going through the first page this was my exact response lol.
I really feel that line about gating users from enjoying the PS experience is important. Paves the way to more talks about having more of their games for the cloud and PC gaming. I always wonder if the end point for games is to dissolve the physical consoles and end up having a sort of streaming service war like how it is with TV (Netflix vs Disney+ etc...)
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I hope sooner. They already had an app a few years ago for Sony TVs and I think some Samsung's. It's ridiculous they rolled back on that.