Sony as a Publisher is on a roll and this is probably their best year. What changed?

TheRulingRing · Oct 2, 2018

Mechaplum said:
That's a pretty messy arena to fight in. They do really good SP games and are capitalising on that forte.

It's messy because the rewards are potentially greater.

RestEerie said:
oh god, please no...when every 3rd party devs are doing this, do you really want them to do the same? There's only so much loot box the market can handle.

GT Sport is a MP focused game and doesn't have lootboxes or offensive microtransactions. I want more of that.

Derrick01 said:
We have enough deathmatch games to live out several lifetimes in this industry. Now more than ever we need quality single player games, especially with Bethesda starting to pull away from them.

Not enough for me, and I don't feel that I need more SP games at all tbh.

There are plenty of quality single player games, despite the fear mongering around them. Maybe less as a proportion, but there are still plenty.

ThereAreFourNaan said:
They killed off a bunch of studios at the end of last gen / start of this gen that had either mp focus or at least were in genres that lent themselves well to competitive play including the SOCOM/ MAG studio, Killzone Mercenary studio, Wipeout studio, driveclub studio and their MMO developers.

They have a clear strategy and larger mp games are not currently part of it. They're happy to have MP in uncharted or TLOU, but the story focussed experience is what they've specialised in and they've shuttered numerous studios that didn't fit the direction they were headed. Sony Bend reportedly tailored their pitch for Days Gone to appeal to the leadership.

Yes it is a shame, but ultimately those studios just didn't match the required quality of a first party studio. In addition, their games were sent out to die on a floundering PS3 and shambolic PSN.

PS4 and PSN are going from strength to strength now, and Sony first party has a reputation for quality. An MP game now wouldn't be facing those obstacles.

Also, is it really a good idea to get so pigeon-holed into one archetype of game? Surely they should keep the ability to be flexible and provide a broader range of games.

jroc74 said:
If you want multi player, look for single player games with MP modes. TLoU MP still gets praises today.

To me, that should be enough.

Those are an insult to multiplayer. Light content tacked on and abused by microtransactions that can rival EA.

The worst thing is it shows how Sony has the ability to make unique MP games not served by 3rd parties.

SolidSnakex said:
Shu has even said that he wishes they were more successful on the multiplayer front. And there may be at least one game that goes after the area you desire. Guerrilla hired the director of Rainbow Six: Siege and he's currently directing a game for them. We also know that they're build toward a multi-team studio, so it seems unlikely that the game he's making is Horizon 2.

I don't believe we know that they're a multi-team studio. They may just be hiring to release their games faster, and the Siege director could just be directing Horizon 2 MP.

saenima said:
Why? Almost everyone else is doing just that. What would be the point?

Because it's their job to provide a breadth of experiences, and Sony has the opportunity to provide unique multiplayer experiences that 3rd parties can't/haven't. Things like TLOU MP, GT Sport, a potential Horizon 2 MP show this.

saenima · Oct 2, 2018

TheRulingRing said:
Because it's their job to provide a breadth of experiences, and Sony has the opportunity to provide unique multiplayer experiences that 3rd parties can't/haven't. Things like TLOU MP, GT Sport, a potential Horizon 2 MP show this.

Well not to be pedantic but their job is to provide the best value to shareholders.

But to actually address your post. A platform holder should ideally offer content that complements what's lacking in third party offerings, offer third party an appealing platform so that not only they don't skip it but actively work towards its success, and also provide extra content that appeals to more niche but significant enough audiences. Multiplayer options are a dime a dozen and there's enough competition in that camp that i don't see the point of Sony jumping into it.

Joeyro · Oct 2, 2018

I love how i can look at a game and immediately know that it's made by a Sony studio.
They're doing great.

Ringten · Oct 2, 2018

I have always loved their output. But I think it's the fact that the ps4 is doing so well, marketing and that every game they release gets the spotlight and time to breath.

I remember how in the ps3 days games were being thrown into the wild! Good games.

TheRulingRing · Oct 2, 2018

saenima said:
Well not to be pedantic but their job is to provide the best value to shareholders.

Well, yes, and creating a breadth of experiences will be better for that.

But to actually address your post. A platform holder should ideally offer content that complements what's lacking in third party offerings, offer third party an appealing platform so that not only they don't skip it but actively work towards its success, and also provide extra content that appeals to more niche but significant enough audiences. Multiplayer options are a dime a dozen and there's enough competition in that camp that i don't see the point of Sony jumping into it.

Shawn has said what they look for in first party projects is "first, best or must". Something that either hasn't been done before/isn't done enough, something that will be best in class, or something that Sony is compelled to make in their role as platform holders.

There may be many multiplayer options, but has any racing multiplayer done anything like GT Sport's driver rating system? No, GT Sport was unique and the first console racer to do something like that.

There are plenty of single player action-adventure games too, but Sony continues to do them because they are best-in-class. This is what they need to learn to do for multiplayer as well.

And they must provide solid multiplayer incentives to people who prefer MP games (the larger part of the market). MS has (had?) a reputation for providing excellent multiplayer exclusives, so people who prefer MP would have been inclined to join them (if everything else had been equal).

Jokegeta · Oct 2, 2018

AegonSnake said:
Eh Sony has been great since 2007. people just didnt see it because they chose not to.

In 2007 they had motorstorm, heavenly sword, ratchet, and warhawk. and 2 GOTY contenders Uncharted and GoW2
2008: Socom, Resistance 2, Motorstorm Pacific Rift. 2 GOTY contenders MGS4 and LBP
2009: Infamous, Ratchet Crack in Time. 2 GOTY contenders: KZ2 and U2
2010: MAG, Heavy Rain, GT5 - 1 GOTY Contender GoW 3
2011: Infamous 2, KZ3 and 3 GOTY contenders in Uncharted 3, Resistance 3, LBP2
2012: Starhawk, Twisted Metal, PS Allstars - Weak year but all good games.
2013: GoW Ascension, GT6, Beyond, KZ Shadowfall, LBP3 and GOTY contender: TLOU
2014: DriveClub and infamous Second Son. Weak year.
2015: The Order, Until Dawn and GOTY contender: Bloodborne
2016: Ratchet remake and 2 GOTY contenders: Uncharted 4 and The Last Guardian
2017: Uncharted lost legacy, Gravity Rush 2, GT Sports and GOTY contender: Horizon
2018: SOTC Remake, Detroit and 2 GOTY contenders: Spiderman and God of War.

So yeah, business as usual. They had a weak first few years because their first party studios were busy making last gen games like GT6, TLOU, GoW Ascension and Beyond, but if they dont make the same mistake again, we shouldnt have this problem.

2019: Days Gone, Death Stranding, Ghost of Tshushima and 2 GOTY contenders: Dreams and TLOU 2
2020: GT7, new bluepoint remake, uncharted reboot and GOTY contender: Horizon 2
2021: GoW 2, Spiderman 2, Detroit 2
And round and round we go.

Woooooo Thats a lot!

I remember last week people arguing and being upset that Sony actually lets their Devs take their time with their games and finish them. they actually wanted Sony to have their devs rush their games out like other companies do. smh

Omnistalgic · Oct 2, 2018

Emilijo said:
All Sony published games with metascore 90+

PlayStation

1. Gran Turismo - 96
2. Gran Turismo 2 - 93
3. Wipeout XL - 93
4. Final Fantasy VII - 92
5. PaRappa the Rapper - 92
6. Spyro: Year of the Dragon - 91
7. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped - 91
8. Ape Escape - 90

PlayStation 2

1. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec - 95
2. God of War - 94
3. God of War II - 93
4. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal - 91
5. Twisted Metal: Black - 91
6. Shadow of the Colossus - 91
7. ICO - 90
8. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando - 90
9. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy - 90

PlayStation 3

1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - 96
2. LittleBigPlanet - 95
3. The Last of Us - 95
4. God of War III - 92
5. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - 92
6. Journey - 92
7. LittleBigPlanet 2 - 91
8. MLB 10: The Show - 91
9. Killzone 2 - 91
10. MLB 11: The Show - 90
11. MLB 09: The Show - 90

PlayStation 4

1. God of War - 94
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - 93
3. Bloodborne - 92

This gen is much harder to get that high in meta now, so not sure of your point? Also Sotc has a remake that's above 90+ I believe and Astrobot is hovering 90.

Again, I don't see the point, Detroit fans will tell you in a minute it's super underrated and Spider-Man is GOTY for a lot of people as well as Horizon. Sony's output has been raised in quality, I think it's hard to argue otherwise.

Papacheeks · Oct 2, 2018

saenima said:
Well not to be pedantic but their job is to provide the best value to shareholders.

But to actually address your post. A platform holder should ideally offer content that complements what's lacking in third party offerings, offer third party an appealing platform so that not only they don't skip it but actively work towards its success, and also provide extra content that appeals to more niche but significant enough audiences. Multiplayer options are a dime a dozen and there's enough competition in that camp that i don't see the point of Sony jumping into it.

Yea, I agree. Especially when you add in games from F2P, and the likes of Fortnite, Overwatch, COD, battliefield, Rainbow Six. It's already pretty saturated. I mean I wouldn't mind something like a resistance game or campaign driven single player shooter with co-op campaign.

I feel in that arena there isn't a lot outside of Farcry and Halo.

Prototype Viktor · Oct 2, 2018

MouldyK said:
Quick Question since I'm dumb: What makes Spider-Man First Party? As I thought that goes for games that are made by companies owned by the Console Maker?

But Insomniac is Independent?

Just because I don't know the rules here and it's always baffled me.

the game is effectively 1st party but the studio that makes it is not. people like to label them 2nd party instead to avoid confusion

Kalentan · Oct 2, 2018

Emilijo said:
All Sony published games with metascore 90+

PlayStation 4

1. God of War - 94
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - 93
3. Bloodborne - 92
4. Astro Bot Rescue Mission - 90

Corrected. :)

Iwao · Oct 2, 2018

Emilijo said:
PlayStation 4

1. God of War - 94
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - 93
3. Bloodborne - 92

You seem to be missing:

4. The Last of Us Remastered - 95
5. Journey - 92
6. flower - 91
7. Shadow of the Colossus - 91
8. ASTRO BOT: Rescue Mission - 90

Tetrinski · Oct 2, 2018

Omeganex9999 said:
Sony basically understood what people expect from PlayStation and started investing in their own studios heavily. Up to PS2, they didn't need to make an effort since all games wanted to be there, but when Microsoft disrupted the market with the 360 Sony had to invest on what made PSX and PS2 amazing machines: games.

They started investing heavily during the PS3 era. In PS4 we are seeing the return of that investment.

On top of that, Sony is famous in the industry for being really generous with both funds and time. Big publishers like EA and Ubisoft can't afford/don't want to have 5-year cycles for their games, but Sony and a few others can and it shows.

These are very good points and a good example of why competition is so important in the industry.

Jokegeta · Oct 2, 2018

Omnistalgic said:
This gen is much harder to get that high in meta now, so not sure of your point? Also Sotc has a remake that's above 90+ I believe and Astrobot is hovering 90.

Again, I don't see the point, Detroit fans will tell you in a minute it's super underrated and Spider-Man is GOTY for a lot of people as well as Horizon. Sony's output has been raised in quality, I think it's hard to argue otherwise.

Nah, gotta stop making this type of excuse. Devs need to just make better games, and they will get 90+. No making excuses about how hard it is.

Emilijo · Oct 2, 2018

Iwao said:
You seem to be missing:

4. The Last of Us Remastered - 95
5. Journey - 92
6. flower - 91
7. Shadow of the Colossus - 91
8. ASTRO BOT: Rescue Mission - 90

I didn't count remakes or remasters…….or VR games.

Iwao · Oct 2, 2018

Emilijo said:
…….or VR games.

VR games getting snubbed all over the place :(

Deleted member 46948 · Oct 2, 2018

TheRulingRing said:
I wish they'd chase the multiplayer fix. It's a massive hole in their line-up and makes me less interested for their games.

I wish they didn't. Everyone else is chasing it, it's not like the market isn't saturated with MP games of all kinds.

Terraforce · Oct 2, 2018

Ian Henry said:
Here we go. Going off from MetaCritic
Gran Tursimo 3: A-Spec: 95
Gran Turismo 4: 89
God Of War II : 93
God Of War: 94
Twisted Metal Black: 91
Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy: 90
Jak 2: 87
Jak 3: 84
Ico: 90
Shadow Of Colossus: 91
Ratchet & Clank: 88
R&C: Going Commando: 90
R&C: Up Your Arsenal: 91
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus: 86
Sly 2: Band Of Thieves : 88
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves : 83
SOCOM: US Navy Seals: 82
SOCOM 2: US Navy Seals: 87
SOCOM 3: US Navy Seals: 82
Dark Cloud 2: 87
Amplitude: 86
Hot Shots Golf 3: 85
WipeOut Fusion: 83

And a whole lot more. There was alot of 85+ exclusives released on that system compared to the previous. That's why I believe the PS2 to be the Foundation period as that is honestly where they began to come into their own.

These weren't releases within a year's timeframe though.

And imo comparing metacritic from a decade and a half ago to now should be taken with a grain of salt considering how vastly reviews have changed with time. God of War 2 wouldn't get a 90+ if it released in contemporary times.

DriftingSpirit · Oct 2, 2018

And Sony just dropped another 90 meta game today.

They can't stop.

Kyoufu · Oct 2, 2018

Emilijo said:
I didn't count remakes or remasters…….or VR games.

Remasters sure, but why wouldn't you count VR games? lol.

Omnistalgic · Oct 2, 2018

Emilijo said:
I didn't count remakes or remasters…….or VR games.

Why? The reason some of these games got such high reviews is because they are so much better than the original versions. It's like not giving praise for the new Smash game coming out cuz a Wii-U version exist.

Y2Kev · Oct 2, 2018

Jokegeta said:
Nah, gotta stop making this type of excuse. Devs need to just make better games, and they will get 90+. No making excuses about how hard it is.

I don't think mlb the show would get 90+ this gen if it came with Aaron judge!

Redfox088 · Oct 2, 2018

Jokegeta said:
Nah, gotta stop making this type of excuse. Devs need to just make better games, and they will get 90+. No making excuses about how hard it is.

It's true though. Innovation/immersion is a big bullet point for game design. Inputs, graphics, mechanics have reached a point of diminishing returns so it has become more difficult to release groundbreaking experiences. Name more than a handful non-Indy 90+ console game that was developed in less than 4 years. The narrative that modern AAA devs cut corners has some merit, but this has always been true. I think they're are plenty of examples of great design choices that aren't praised as highly as in the earlier days of the industry.

FIREKNIGHT2029 · Oct 2, 2018

Learning from past mistakes. The longer you are in the business and the more mistakes you make the more chances you get to learn from those mistakes. We're seeing Sony begin to realize what they are good at. They are becoming more confident in their strengths and they are allocating money, time, and resources to their devs to keep getting better.

Sony 1st party has always been good though but this gen they've really hit a very high note. I think part of it also has to do with the fact that PS4 is doing well and has a large audience. When you have a large install base it automatically breeds confidence. Sony's devs are free to experiment and try new things because they aren't too worried about their games flopping due to lack of exposure. There's an audience for just about every game they release.

jroc74 · Oct 3, 2018

TheRulingRing said:
Those are an insult to multiplayer. Light content tacked on and abused by microtransactions that can rival EA.

The worst thing is it shows how Sony has the ability to make unique MP games not served by 3rd parties.

I don't think I've heard anyone describe the MP of those 2 games that way. Except for the MTX part, lol.

The last sentence is why I bought those games up. They are serving both SP and MP.

I would like to see them do a MP only game like those tho. They do MP, it's mostly racing this gen.

darksniper · Oct 3, 2018

We've come a long way from the days when you saw a 989 game on PS1 (outside of Syphon Filter) you knew it was going to be trash. Sony has really found their footing this gen.

Y2Kev · Oct 3, 2018

*poop sound* oops Sony just pooped out another 90 meta!

Deleted member 37739 · Oct 3, 2018

Terraforce said:
These weren't releases within a year's timeframe though.

And imo comparing metacritic from a decade and a half ago to now should be taken with a grain of salt considering how vastly reviews have changed with time. God of War 2 wouldn't get a 90+ if it released in contemporary times.

There's a lot of talk of how the review scale has shifted in the past ten years and I do think there's some substance to it. Part of this, I think, is because games are becoming a more and more refined as a technical and artistic medium and publishers and developers better informed about what works and what doesn't, It's lead to an increasing design consensus across genres and platforms which is irresistible because it's reliable. In this kind of environment, I think raising the bar significantly enough to really blow away the average critic has gotten a lot more difficult.

Outside of this though, the culture of games has shifted so much, so fast. The modern audience a games journalist is trying to reach is far more numerous, switched-on, tech-savvy and exacting than they used to be and the market for video games review and commentary has absolutely exploded. Finding an audience is harder, and when found those audiences are more guarded than they once were: less interested in hearing your opinion so much as deciding whether or not your opinion is worth hearing. There's a trend toward cynicism and any pundit openly praising a game without drawing attention to a least a handful of flaws will be hit with accusations of shilling, hyperbole or rampant fanboy/girl-ism.

You see it all the time in comments sections, forums and social media and honestly, I admire critics who keep at it, because it's tough to make your content stand out for the right reasons in the modern market and it's hard to know whether it'll get either get ignored (because most people read your concluding comments on Metacritic and never clicked through) or inspire fifty pages of debate on a forum review thread, followed by a forensic dismantling of every word you ever published (we've all read 'this is that same critic that gave x game an x/10' comments).

A New Beginning · Oct 3, 2018

I can see TLOU2, Dreams and Death Stranding making this list. Hopefully also Ghost of Tsushima and some secret projects (Wild anyone?).

Deleted member 47843 · Oct 3, 2018

They got behind last gen after the bad PS3 launch with the high price due to Bluray being new (and them wanting to win the movie disc format war) and their terrible PR saying people would "work second jobs" to afford it etc.

As such they had to scrap their way back and smartly focused on expanding their development studios and building a great library of exclusives. This worked and they had a very strong second half of the generation and catching up to the 360 in sales. This trend simply carried over into this gen as they've continued to have a great library of exclusives.

The other thing they were very wise on was seeing the shift to gaming being western dominated and really building a strong stable of western devs and giving their North American and European branches a lot of power. Unlike Nintendo that stayed very Japan focused with their Kyoto office essentially running everything and NOA and NOE having little influence in the company's direction.

Ian Henry · Oct 3, 2018

Terraforce said:
These weren't releases within a year's timeframe though.

And imo comparing metacritic from a decade and a half ago to now should be taken with a grain of salt considering how vastly reviews have changed with time. God of War 2 wouldn't get a 90+ if it released in contemporary times.

My point is that they've always made highly rated games even if there were some mistakes. It's just that I don't understand why people are saying how this gen started to have them diversify when it's always been like that.
Sure it wouldn't get a 90+ today but GOW2 still a great game. Hell most of those exclusives were great.

erlim · Oct 3, 2018

Pure dumb luck. Flash in the pan. I think Nintendo had a way better year this year. I don't think Sony can catch lightning twice. Really out of all the games mentioned in the OP, I think GOW is the only title that may have a chance to be talked about in future years.

DieH@rd · Oct 3, 2018

They had a lot of good projects coming out in 2018, and it looks like 2019 will also be good [Days Gone, Dreams and I hope Tsushima or TLOU2].

Callibretto said:
I wonder if they're moving to 2 teams or next gen Horizon will simply took that much people to make

Herman Hulst has said that they are expanding because they want to make games faster.
https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/07/19/horizon-zero-dawn-dev-expands-in-order-to-make-games-faster

OléGunner said:
I watched a video of David Jaffe last week where he said Sony management is now just superb at what they do.
Beyond having quality studios, you need a world class management/production team who know how to help creatives craft their experiences with needed resources.

I believe Sony have grown exceptionally strong in this area since middle of PS3 to PS4.

Bryan Intihar from Insomniac has also said that support from PlayStation was crucial for Spiderman. They were very hands-off, allowing the creatives to mold the game almost however they wanted to.
https://youtu.be/xoP_lwh8070?t=670

at 14:45 He also praised how Mark Cerny helped him with many things [he consults and troubleshoots issues on all 1st party games].

Mechaplum · Oct 3, 2018

erlim said:
Pure dumb luck. Flash in the pan. I think Nintendo had a way better year this year. I don't think Sony can catch lightning twice. Really out of all the games mentioned in the OP, I think GOW is the only title that may have a chance to be talked about in future years.

Is this sarcasm, because my detector has been missing since I started playing Astro Bot.

Hieroph · Oct 4, 2018

FIREKNIGHT2029 said:
Learning from past mistakes. The longer you are in the business and the more mistakes you make the more chances you get to learn from those mistakes. We're seeing Sony begin to realize what they are good at. They are becoming more confident in their strengths and they are allocating money, time, and resources to their devs to keep getting better.

Sony 1st party has always been good though but this gen they've really hit a very high note. I think part of it also has to do with the fact that PS4 is doing well and has a large audience. When you have a large install base it automatically breeds confidence. Sony's devs are free to experiment and try new things because they aren't too worried about their games flopping due to lack of exposure. There's an audience for just about every game they release.

It's funny that in the beginning of this gen Sony was dissed for having "too many" third party games and not enough exclusives or first party titles, now they're delivering the biggest first party exclusives of the industry one after another while still keeping their killer third party.

Elfstruck · Oct 4, 2018

Ant_17 said:
Luck i guess.
They did had misses in the start of the gen. Order, Driveclub, Vita 1st party games in general.

You don't pump out 85+ MC games with luck.

Drencrom · Oct 4, 2018

erlim said:
Pure dumb luck. Flash in the pan. I think Nintendo had a way better year this year. I don't think Sony can catch lightning twice. Really out of all the games mentioned in the OP, I think GOW is the only title that may have a chance to be talked about in future years.

How is making several games that are both critically and sales-wise very successful "pure dumb luck"?

N.Domixis · Oct 4, 2018

darksniper said:
We've come a long way from the days when you saw a 989 game on PS1 (outside of Syphon Filter) you knew it was going to be trash. Sony has really found their footing this gen.

When you close down all the trash studios you end up leaving only the quality ones. Except for the wipeout studio. RIP.

Saint-14 · Oct 4, 2018

Mechaplum said:
Is this sarcasm, because my detector has been missing since I started playing Astro Bot.

No, that's just erlim, he really doesn't like Sony.

Sony as a Publisher is on a roll and this is probably their best year. What changed?

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