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Kotaku: PlayStation Boss Wants Change He's Not Willing To Make
- Thread starter Figments
- Start date
And I think that's the core argument of the article. Sony is acting like their end goal is to making gaming an easily accessible medium like music or film, where anyone can basically view any title on nearly any hardware. If you have an internet connection, billions of hours of music and movies are available to you. With games, it's not quite the same situation. But I don't see anything in Sony's strategy that actually reflects that goal. I see them trying to have more of a presence on mobile, but not with the same major titles you see on PS5. It's a very different strategy from what they claim to be championing.
Games like Hellblade or Bloodborne or whatever? Yeah, those won't be good for a Game Pass Stick or whatever. But something like Hades or Astro's Playroom or any of those games that can catch on quick? Those are a better fit. People who won't buy consoles/PCs want simple gameplay loops. Games like that exist on consoles now and would be a good fit for a streaming stick or smart TV
I think this is an underestimation of what game streaming platforms want to do with the industry. They're not going after casual gamers in the classic, 2006 Wii-era definition - where everyone's grandma wants a simple gameplay loop that is easy on the joints. Rather, I think the end goal of xCloud is aimed squarely at the people who only buy three games a year - Madden, FIFA, and CoD. Maybe a Skyrim, a Spider-Man, or a GTA V in a year when those hit. Fundamentally, the same hardcore games that 'traditional' gamers play - just less of them. If the experience is on point, would those people be willing to stream to their TV rather than buy a whole $500 console? And unlike the Amazons & Googles of the world, Microsoft has an existing games brand that has actual legitimacy - and can maybe sell those people on the idea, if the point of entry is easy enough. Bundle a controller with their new Samsung TV, throw in a month of Game Pass - it's not hard to see them adopting it as a lead platform.
Sure, there's complicating factors. The state of broadband alone in the US makes this a challenging task. But you see why so many players are trying to get in.
There's bigger inhibitors to ubiquity for 'playstation'-like games at the moment than the console, or even the game price.
The same problems face streaming in general in the shorter term. Many people who easily enjoy movies and music aren't engaging in these games simply because they don't appeal to them, not because of price (per a recent survey in the US).
Longer term there's the opportunity to change that, but some of the factors involved will simply take time. I think Ryan name-checked two of the factors in his interview - bringing players along as they age, and technology. For example, I can talk to my nephews about Playstation games in the way I talk to them about movies, but I can't talk to siblings merely 5 years older than me about console games at all. In 20, 30, 40+ years, talking about games like movies may be more possible intergenerationally as this 'type' of game becomes older and demographics age. But right now there's a massive chunk of the culturally engaged and culturally influential who simply have no interest.
By the time all these things coalesce - and likely much sooner - you probably won't need a $500 console to play PS games at release.
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Actually Murakami's and Sanderson's latest novels are Kindle Oasis exclusives, so...
But seriously it's a good thing Sony's announced long-term plans to increase availability of their games, whatever ever they're going to realize it. Big corporations have a lot of inertia so they're not going to introduce changes overnight, for now they're just dipping toes with late PC ports.
I hope they'll be offering their games on console+PC+streaming day 1, Sony and everybody else for that matter.
Even if you put your games for free you won't get as much as music or movies. AAA, Indies, etc, are not the type of games that masses plays. If you want those games to reach a very high audience, you'll basically need to change how those games works.
It was just a couple of years ago that they agreed a partnership with Microsoft to use their Azure datacentres. Since then there's been a pandemic, a component shortage and the launch of their new console.
It was just four months ago that Microsoft had started upgrading xCloud to Series X hardware and it was only yesterday that it was confirmed that xCloud upgrade was fully completed. Obviously for Sony it'll take even longer for the reasons mentioned earlier and they need to upgrade the servers so they can run PS5 games but also needing a solution to still have the older games that are currently on the service. With PSNow having over double the number of games that Game Pass does, it won't be an easy matter to test that they're all working fine.
On the library front they have been making improvements - the additions the past few months have been better than the PS+ games when not long ago it was thought the opposite way around. Obviously they're not having first party games on launch day but a year later isn't that bad.
Honestly, this article is such bullshit. We know Sony is working towards more and more mobile games as adaptations of their console IPs and we also know that they are beginning investment into bringing their games to PC. They're keeping their cards close to their chest, probably because their existing plans are malleable and will be implemented slowly and carefully to ensure little backlash, but those plans do exist.
The nVidia database leak included Demon's Souls, Returnal and Horizon Forbidden West on top of several PS4 games (pretty much all their big recent games except TLOU and Spider-Man) which means that PC ports of those games are in development in some form or another, and Sony also did purchase a known prestige PC porting studio in Nixxes.
If I had to guess, Sony will have a very clear release cadence for console and PC by the end of the generation; whether that's 6 month/1 year exclusivity or just straight up day and date PC releases is yet to be known, but their slow but certain expansion into the PC market aligns perfectly with what Jim Ryan was saying. The Kotaku article just seems shortsighted and begging for clicks, because hating on Jimbo seems to be the big thing
The nVidia database leak included Demon's Souls, Returnal and Horizon Forbidden West on top of several PS4 games (pretty much all their big recent games except TLOU and Spider-Man) which means that PC ports of those games are in development in some form or another, and Sony also did purchase a known prestige PC porting studio in Nixxes.
If I had to guess, Sony will have a very clear release cadence for console and PC by the end of the generation; whether that's 6 month/1 year exclusivity or just straight up day and date PC releases is yet to be known, but their slow but certain expansion into the PC market aligns perfectly with what Jim Ryan was saying. The Kotaku article just seems shortsighted and begging for clicks, because hating on Jimbo seems to be the big thing
I can see both sides of this article:
Right at this very second, PS5 is hard to get and expensive, thus making it hard for "hundreds of millions" to access their new content/IPs. That is factual, as we can see this with our own eyes
In the future, Playstation will expand to more platforms and allow their IPs to be accessed by more people. Picking up steam on PC and mobile devices will lend to this and allow content to be accessed almost anywhere.
I kind of get why Shawn Layden's point was brought up, but it's not directly related to what Jim Ryan is saying. I get it, Sony is known for their AAA games, but they do have influence in the "not so big" games as well. They also said more exclusives are in the pipeline, meaning more chances at attracting new players or different types of fans to platform.
All I can really say is, wait and see.
Right at this very second, PS5 is hard to get and expensive, thus making it hard for "hundreds of millions" to access their new content/IPs. That is factual, as we can see this with our own eyes
In the future, Playstation will expand to more platforms and allow their IPs to be accessed by more people. Picking up steam on PC and mobile devices will lend to this and allow content to be accessed almost anywhere.
I kind of get why Shawn Layden's point was brought up, but it's not directly related to what Jim Ryan is saying. I get it, Sony is known for their AAA games, but they do have influence in the "not so big" games as well. They also said more exclusives are in the pipeline, meaning more chances at attracting new players or different types of fans to platform.
All I can really say is, wait and see.
And/or wait and hope as people get older they continue to enjoy 'playstation'-style games, such that enjoyment of them eventually cuts across all demographics.
I recall when Sony's overall CEO talked about Playstation as a niche business today. And in this kind of long term view - versus movies, music - it is. Simply putting games on streaming tomorrow or charging $30 for a new release wouldn't change that. There's more that needs to happen, some of it will take time along with other things...things Jim Ryan can't do anything about. And in the meantime, given how much Sony makes on existing models, I'd expect them to be careful about not pre-empting the market.
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What do you mean "right"? Anyways I don't understand the idea that if you put a game on mobile/stream it will mean a bigger sales. It's the content that brings the customers not simply the delivery method.
Oh sure, something like Warzone on a Smart TV would be insane. But that's not quite an expansion of the market imo. It would mostly be people shifting from console to streaming, with a bump from people who would buy a console but can't afford it.
I just meant the full-on expansion market that currently has very little to no engagement with consoles. Where 90% of them aren't currently in the ecosystem of either Sony or MS or Valve, but Apple and Google.
Right, i just played through concrete genie and its one of my favorite games i played this year.
The author is not writing the headline. The article is just acknowledging the reality that the "more games in more hands" thing hasn't really happened to the extent that it could.
In other words, what Jim Ryan is saying is actually a marked shift from previous strategy. That should really be the story. Not, "Jim Ryan doesn't really want to do this because he hasn't yet."
Yeah I'm about all but ready to just see people stop linking articles from there. Everything has become hot take and clickbait central there. Shame to see what it has become.
Given that he said that he rarely posts and only does XBox OTs, posting an article that sheds a negative light on the Playstation head would at least raise eyebrows. That doesn't mean console warring was OP's intent, but considering where we are, I think it makes sense that it could be interpreted by some as such.
I think it's a little bit of a dishonest claim that they're not interested in making such change if we don't know what's going on behind the scenes. For all we know, they might well be preparing for their own Game Pass service or whatever.
But I do think that raising the price of their games to $70 and their stance against free PS4 > PS5 upgrades seems to go directly against this dream of having games being enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people.
Maybe that just means it's Jim Ryan's wish, and not Sony's. Obviously that dude isn't making decisions on his own.
But I do think that raising the price of their games to $70 and their stance against free PS4 > PS5 upgrades seems to go directly against this dream of having games being enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people.
Maybe that just means it's Jim Ryan's wish, and not Sony's. Obviously that dude isn't making decisions on his own.
I mean, I feel like a lot of those sorts of games, kinda just get mobile ports?
I think fundamentally, where I just get lost with the notion of cloud is that, it completely ignores that the way most people engage with mobile, gacha games, compared to how console/PC gamers do are just fundamentally different.
mobile games, from my experience talking with those who play them, play them as fun time wasters when they have the odd 10-15 minutes during their busy schedules.
..........I don't see most console games translating to that well.
I mean hasn't Jim Ryan been CEO for only two years? Perhaps give him time. Look what happened when Spencer took over Xbox.
Anyway, I hope they continue expanding outside of consoles. I definitely won't complain about more Sony games being on PC.
Let's not give Disney any more ideas shall we?
Anyway, I hope they continue expanding outside of consoles. I definitely won't complain about more Sony games being on PC.
Let's not give Disney any more ideas shall we?
you 1000% know they'd do it if they can get away with it
Crazy to see people go after someone like this just for posting an article(they dont like) lol.
The reactions in here to some some relatively mild criticism of Sony talking plenty of talk while very much failing to walk any kind of walk are truly remarkable.
Having the basic faculties required to observe reality?
Jim Ryan has been head of Sony for 2 years, if he practiced what he preached you'd have thought we'd have seen some sign of it by now, surely?
Having the basic faculties required to observe reality?
Jim Ryan has been head of Sony for 2 years, if he practiced what he preached you'd have thought we'd have seen some sign of it by now, surely?
I don't believe that's the primary target. It's also targeting people who would like to play console games but can't afford the hardware. There's absolutely nothing to prove here, since we have data from multiple console generations that there's many folks who bite when consoles significantly drop in price.
we already hear of very enthusiastic engagement with xCloud in Brazil, for example, where consoles are crazy expensive
i don't believe Sony is waiting for any such proof when they've been keen on streaming for a while. They did sign that deal with MS for Azure. I believe they're prioritizing their silicon for consoles first, and will turn to PSNow when the chip shortage abates
Huh? Are we living in parallel universes? While Sony raised the price of their first party titles, they drop prices reasonably and fairly quickly, unlike Nintendo, they've also started porting games to PC, and besides Horizon which was poor at launch, what other ports were, as you said, poor? Also, despite you mentioning it to try making a point, it has to be pointed out that releasing your games on PC is very different from Nintendo, plus the Nixxes acquisition shows they're serious about this new venture. They also offer a cloud service that seems to be expanding (which I won't talk about because I haven't tried PS Now, I got Game Pass for a reason).
This article is disingenuous and makes a lot of assumptions coupled with wishful thinking to drive a point that no one can say for sure yet.
As for being a PlayStation console soldier, my post history is there for everyone to see, I don't hide shit.
Smart TVs, Ultrabooks, Streaming sticks.
Im not sure why you seem to imagine that mobile phones are the Only target for PS Now and XCloud.
If you have the ''basic faculties required to observe reality'' you know that things take time to come to fruition in big companies don't you? Something that might sound simple still needs to go through a lot of different processes and people to just then, after several months or years, affect the consumer somehow.
Like, it doesn't need a lot of thinking to understand this, the PS5 itself started to be planned shortly after the PS4 was launched, why would be different in any other area of the company like services and such?
Yeah I mean it's not like they bought a studio focused on porting their games to reach a wider audience or like they hired Apple Arcade's Head of content as a VP and Head of mobile at Playstation Studios...
What do you think Jim Ryan realistically could have accomplished in this two years as SIE President that would have brought the company closer to his vision?
Nah, that ain't it. The article is being criticized for making assumptions and reaching a conclusion that can't simply be treated as definitive yet. I've criticized Sony plenty in the past, you can check my posts in threads like DualSense spring issues, their stupid stance on crossplay a few years ago, closure of digital storefronts, among others.
Signs of what? The clear issue here is assuming what one thinks they mean by reaching a bigger audience when in fact a company can go about it in a multitude of ways beyond what you or Kotaku would prefer/like.
It doesn't change that what he plans on doing isn't true, it is just that what they are planning is different then what you assume.
They recently acquired a PC porting studio, are turning their franchises to tv shows and movies and are ramping up to try again in the mobile front with hiring the former Apple Arcade content head. They have also dipped their toes in different types of games and increased accessibility for some first party titles.
The article assumes there is only one way to do things or one target to focus on when trying to more people when in fact that isn't true. They can expand their audience in a plethora of ways which in turn would expand the audience for their home console as well as people who liked the other things may in turn try the PS ecosystem.
Plus 2 years is nothing for this industry when things don't even fully materialize within the span of those years. We have games that don't even release in that timespan.
We all have to wait and see their approach first and then see the results from it. It is really premature to conclude things that have yet to even begin.
The console gen hasn't even begun, even more so thanks to COVID, things to to manifest first before we critic it.
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Honestly, what I think he really means by that quote is that he'd love for hundreds of millions of people to own a Playstation and be in the ecosystem, but the article does have a point that the only way to achieve that is to make playing those games extremely accessible (via cheap hardware or agnostic hardware ala streaming), and to have a very diverse lineup of games both in scope, genre, and price.
There are so many things that I dislike about Sony right now, the actual PS+ is horrible, we get fewer and fewer games each year (I didn't renew my PS+ sub, and probably never will again. I'm even selling my ps4 pro with 0 interest in Ps5), I miss the smaller experimental games. If this article focused on things like these it would be great, but they choose to act like they are angry with Sony lol.
From Gameindustry:
"I would also like to see a world where the games that we make at PlayStation can be enjoyed by many tens of millions of people. Perhaps hundreds of millions of people. Right now success with the current console model, a really great PlayStation hit you're talking ten or 20 million people being able to play that game"
Looks pretty obvious that he was talking about selling more Ps5
executive's PR 101
From Kotaku:
"What does he think defines PlayStation? Games, community, and "brand." What makes the PS5 so "cool?" The games of course. Which one is his favorite? Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart of course, the PS5 tech showpiece you can pick up this holiday season for $70"
it sounds like passive-aggressive hostility lmao
If anything, Sony appears to be doubling down on the prestige blockbuster model, investing heavily in a small slate of big releases. PS4 ended last generation with Marvel's Spider-Man, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Last of Us Part II, each of which released to strong sales and general critical acclaim. God of War won Game of the Year at the 2018 Game Awards. Herman Hulst, previously head of Guerilla Games, maker of Horizon Zero Dawn, was promoted to head of Sony Worldwide Studios. And now 2022 is set to bring sequels to many of these games, with others coming not long after. It might continue to make the PS5 the 'coolest' console on the market, but it doesn't seem like a recipe for reaching anyone not already onboard.
I don't understand what they are complaining about. Each company does its own things, Nintendo has its strategy, MS has its strategy and so does Sony.
The PS5 might even sell another 30 million more. But that would still put it behind the best selling console of all time: The PS2. A console for which, it could be noted, there was the most astonishing array of games of all lengths and budgets.
Kotaku, please.
"For us to grow the audience for gaming, we have to go where they are," Layden told GamesIndustry.biz back in the summer. "We've been here 25 years, they know where we are, and they haven't come yet. And there's a reason. We need to discover and interrogate that reason."
I'm sure there are many reasons, but I'm doubtful another Horizon Zero Dawn or God of War will be the answer.
From Gameindustry:
"I would also like to see a world where the games that we make at PlayStation can be enjoyed by many tens of millions of people. Perhaps hundreds of millions of people. Right now success with the current console model, a really great PlayStation hit you're talking ten or 20 million people being able to play that game"
Looks pretty obvious that he was talking about selling more Ps5
executive's PR 101
From Kotaku:
"What does he think defines PlayStation? Games, community, and "brand." What makes the PS5 so "cool?" The games of course. Which one is his favorite? Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart of course, the PS5 tech showpiece you can pick up this holiday season for $70"
it sounds like passive-aggressive hostility lmao
If anything, Sony appears to be doubling down on the prestige blockbuster model, investing heavily in a small slate of big releases. PS4 ended last generation with Marvel's Spider-Man, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Last of Us Part II, each of which released to strong sales and general critical acclaim. God of War won Game of the Year at the 2018 Game Awards. Herman Hulst, previously head of Guerilla Games, maker of Horizon Zero Dawn, was promoted to head of Sony Worldwide Studios. And now 2022 is set to bring sequels to many of these games, with others coming not long after. It might continue to make the PS5 the 'coolest' console on the market, but it doesn't seem like a recipe for reaching anyone not already onboard.
I don't understand what they are complaining about. Each company does its own things, Nintendo has its strategy, MS has its strategy and so does Sony.
The PS5 might even sell another 30 million more. But that would still put it behind the best selling console of all time: The PS2. A console for which, it could be noted, there was the most astonishing array of games of all lengths and budgets.
Kotaku, please.
"For us to grow the audience for gaming, we have to go where they are," Layden told GamesIndustry.biz back in the summer. "We've been here 25 years, they know where we are, and they haven't come yet. And there's a reason. We need to discover and interrogate that reason."
I'm sure there are many reasons, but I'm doubtful another Horizon Zero Dawn or God of War will be the answer.
This is so funny to read
I'm at a point where I just think Jimbo likes stirring the pot on purpose to ruffle feathers online.
Phil Spencer has been head of Xbox for 7 years and it's only in the last couple of years that he has managed to shift the focus on Xbox and implement new business strategies.
These things take time.
or people just enjoy hating him cause theres nothing from that interview that should be ruffling anyones feathers. I haven't heard a more toothless interview in a long time
I get the gist of what the Kotaku Author wants to get across.
Jim Ryan talks about a Sony that has games that are as culturally important as other media and will be enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people.
Which can't be achieved by the PS5 alone. Unless Sony somehow manages what Microsoft claimed at the start of the XBONE/PS4 era (a billion consoles sold per generation)
So either they go into the gamepass model plus day1 PC releases
or they invest heavily into mobile gaming (and possibly scale down AAA releases).
Don't know what Sony fans fear more.
Jim Ryan talks about a Sony that has games that are as culturally important as other media and will be enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people.
Which can't be achieved by the PS5 alone. Unless Sony somehow manages what Microsoft claimed at the start of the XBONE/PS4 era (a billion consoles sold per generation)
So either they go into the gamepass model plus day1 PC releases
or they invest heavily into mobile gaming (and possibly scale down AAA releases).
Don't know what Sony fans fear more.
The article is reaching for a conclusion by basing his comment of what he wants/hopes PS can do in the future, by comparing it to what currently exists. So yeah, it completely misses the point. Besides, moves have absolutely been made in that direction with: acquiring Nixxes & announcing more PC ports, hiring Apple's VP of Content to lead SIE's Mobile Portfolio/Strategy, signing an MOU with Microsoft for Azure, leveraging their IP across other media (films/television), comments on service/subscription updates/upgrades in relation to GP, expanding the portfolio/diversity of games i.e. MP to reach a different audience, even the recent upgrade of PSNow to stream in 1080p (while not great, clearly investing in it on the back end).
I have plenty of criticisms with Sony/PS, but this article exists within the context of what Jim Ryan said in an interview regarding the future direction of the brand, without a single bit of investigation into what they have been doing to move in that direction.
2 years is also a minuscule amount of time to shift an organization of that size, whilst in the middle of a pandemic and launching a new console generation.. Let alone that they actually have been making changes in that direction as reiterated multiple times.