ArmGunar

PlayStatistician
Member
Oct 30, 2017
6,527
"The second area is in our marketing. The first global campaign that we ran was around Spider-Man. It's a great game obviously, but it also ended up as PlayStation's bestselling first-party game. It was one global campaign conceived and executed in an outstanding manner, as opposed to three different regional campaigns that are often executed very well, but the same thing in essence done three times.
"You see that again with the new global brand campaign. It's slightly different here because it uses a global framework, but with regional applications. The European execution showcases FIFA principally, the US execution showcases Fortnite, and the Japanese execution showcases Final Fantasy VII. Again, this is one campaign with tailored regional executions, but the campaign is just done once. These are areas where we see having a global approach as being logical -- necessary perhaps -- and certainly beneficial to the gaming community."

Well Jim seems to know what he is doing
He has taken great decisions so far
 

Ushay

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,444
Interesting article, I wonder how the infrastructure changes will affect their output in 1P, if any at all. I think these were likely oriented towards the new hardware delivery.

The new singular approach to marketing is working wonders for them I think.
 

Acquiescence

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
10,257
Lake Titicaca
80


Don't let his charming good looks fool you, this man is ruthless to the core.
 

Rowsdower

Shinra Employee of The Wise Ones
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
17,162
Canada
Good article. Ryan comes across well, except he forgot the PS1 sold 100 mil.

Also this quote:

That process, this time around, has been massively more streamlined compared to anything we've done in the past. The product planners are now having one conversation instead of three different regional conversations, where they needed to reconcile positions that were often conflicting or contradictory, with an endless process of iteration and consensus. That's not happening anymore. We have one conversation and we get on and do stuff.

makes a lot of sense. Must have been difficult to get three different teams to work together.

Edit: I also really like this.

Becoming a global organisation does not, in any way, shape or form, mean becoming an American organisation. I'm living proof of that"
 

Kemono

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,721
"100 million is obviously a very notable landmark for any console," he begins. "We've only done it once before. "

What?

He's the head honcho how doesn't he know it's the 3rd time for them to reach 100 million. They did it twice before the PS4 with the PS1 and the PS2...

Great start for "Why would anybody play this?" Jimbo.
 

Xando

Member
Oct 28, 2017
27,928
"You know my background -- I built many of the teams in Europe," Ryan responds. "They're still there, all of these country-level managers who are outstanding, tough, professional and dedicated PlayStation executives. I submit that when it comes to our country-level activity, we've never spent more time focusing on getting that right.

"In the larger Western European economies, we're spending time, energy and money on executing campaigns around the enhancement of our digital proposition at retail, in a way that we've never really done before. This is obviously such a big part of our business. And at the other end, in what we call opportunity markets -- I prefer that to the rather patronising term of 'emerging markets' -- we have a very significant programme of investment in people, offices and marketing dollars.


"Closest to your home is probably Eastern Europe, where we are building a big PlayStation team there. We are building sizeable PlayStation businesses in Bulgaria, Romania, we're in the Czech Republic now and Hungary. There is serious investment going on and that has been on-going for a couple of years.

"Yes, we feel we need to become a more global organisation, but this is absolutely not at the expense of our in-market strength at a country level. And I really want to reinforce the point that globalisation does not mean Americanisation, or vice versa. Becoming a global organisation does not, in any way, shape or form, mean becoming an American organisation. I'm living proof of that, as a good Geordie boy sitting here running PlayStation."
Good to hear they're expanding their european approach. That's the difference maker to Nintendo and Xbox.
 

gofreak

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,848
Wow, Christopher Dring probably can't believe he baited Jim Ryan into a response piece! I suppose it shows Sony, Ryan even personally, is listening.
 

crimilde

"This guy are sick" and Corrupted by Vengeance
Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,006
"In the larger Western European economies, we're spending time, energy and money on executing campaigns around the enhancement of our digital proposition at retail, in a way that we've never really done before. This is obviously such a big part of our business. And at the other end, in what we call opportunity markets -- I prefer that to the rather patronising term of 'emerging markets' -- we have a very significant programme of investment in people, offices and marketing dollars.

"Closest to your home is probably Eastern Europe, where we are building a big PlayStation team there. We are building sizeable PlayStation businesses in Bulgaria, Romania, we're in the Czech Republic now and Hungary. There is serious investment going on and that has been on-going for a couple of years.

As a Romanian I have definitely felt this. There has been Days Gone marketing on buses, Spider-man in metro stations and on trains, ads on TV, loads of events organized.
This makes me really happy for the future. I'm glad Jim is paying attention to their smaller markets too.
 

Kolx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,505
"One thing that makes me particularly optimistic that what we're hearing from developers and publishers, is the ease in which they are able to get code running on PlayStation 5 is way beyond any experience they've had on any other PlayStation platform."

I am going to give you some examples. One is around the productisation of PlayStation 5, the definition of the feature set, of the development and the implementation of those features. That process, this time around, has been massively more streamlined compared to anything we've done in the past. The product planners are now having one conversation instead of three different regional conversations, where they needed to reconcile positions that were often conflicting or contradictory, with an endless process of iteration and consensus. That's not happening anymore. We have one conversation and we get on and do stuff.

"The second area is in our marketing. The first global campaign that we ran was around Spider-Man. It's a great game obviously, but it also ended up as PlayStation's bestselling first-party game. It was one global campaign conceived and executed in an outstanding manner, as opposed to three different regional campaigns that are often executed very well, but the same thing in essence done three times.

"You see that again with the new global brand campaign. It's slightly different here because it uses a global framework, but with regional applications. The European execution showcases FIFA principally, the US execution showcases Fortnite, and the Japanese execution showcases Final Fantasy VII. Again, this is one campaign with tailored regional executions, but the campaign is just done once. These are areas where we see having a global approach as being logical -- necessary perhaps -- and certainly beneficial to the gaming community."

"Closest to your home is probably Eastern Europe, where we are building a big PlayStation team there. We are building sizeable PlayStation businesses in Bulgaria, Romania, we're in the Czech Republic now and Hungary. There is serious investment going on and that has been on-going for a couple of years.

"Yes, we feel we need to become a more global organisation, but this is absolutely not at the expense of our in-market strength at a country level. And I really want to reinforce the point that globalisation does not mean Americanisation, or vice versa. Becoming a global organisation does not, in any way, shape or form, mean becoming an American organisation. I'm living proof of that, as a good Geordie boy sitting here running PlayStation."

"The nature of AAA PlayStation 4 and certainly PlayStation 5 development... We're obviously not going to have Worldwide Studios make a game for one specific European country," Ryan says. "And that might have been the case back in the PSP times with Invizimals [which was popular in Spain]. I think this will be where Shuhei Yoshida's new task [of working with indies] will come in. If we are nimble, flexible and global, we can work with smaller developers to allow those countries' specific needs to be met."

"The cloud is probably the most visible and topical manifestation of that. Because if you foresee a world in five years time where a significant amount of gaming content is distributed via the cloud, and games are made in a way that takes advantage of the cloud, then clearly organisational models that support that distribution scenario are going to be different to the organisation models that support physical products or digital downloads. Everybody, not just PlayStation, is in for a rollercoaster ride of constant evolution.

About Stadia and the cloud "Yes, there are many questions where we don't have the answer yet. But I continue to be immensely optimistic, because we do have very strong core assets in our locker; the brand, the content and the community. Yes, there will be disruption. Yes, there will be new entrants with deep pockets and strengths in areas where distribution of content creation might move. But those new entrants don't yet have the strengths that we have, which have taken us many years to painstakingly accumulate. And all of those strengths [the brand, content and community]... They may not be readily understood in business terms, but they're much valued, much trusted and much loved by those who play PlayStation games. If we play to those strengths, I see no reason for us not to be really optimistic about the future."

"We are taking this very seriously. The commitment we've made in terms of price cuts, the investment in content, the marketing campaign... It's a pretty vivid illustration of that seriousness. We've been doing this for a number of years and very quietly we've been taking an awful lot from it

"It's an area that is fast changing and fluid," notes Ryan. "The nature and scale of some of the first-party games that we are making leads us to think that, right now, it's better to spend energy on making sure that the launch of those games is a massive entertainment event. I would cite God of War and Spider-Man, and The Last of Us 2 next year will fall into that category.

"That's where we stand right now. But our stance on the inclusion of first-party games in PlayStation Now in terms of what we've done this month is very different to our stance 12 months ago. I don't want to say this is what PlayStation Now is going to be like forever. But certainly right now, given how some of our first party IP is incredibly special and valuable, we just want to treat them with amazing care and respect, and have those launches be clean and pure."

Studio acquisitions "We are always looking, but we are careful about who we look at and talk to. Buying studios right now is a very expensive undertaking. It is most definitely a seller's market. There is room for us to do more in that area, but we have to make sure that the company is right. The integration side of things... which is a boring business thing to talk about, but the world is littered with illustrations of that going catastrophically wrong post-acquisition.

"So we have to have confidence around that. It has to sit well with our portfolio. It's a very different world to the one when we acquired Guerrilla in 2005. You need to exercise a great deal of attention."

The interesting tidbits in that interview
 

RestEerie

Banned
Aug 20, 2018
13,618
Well Jim seems to know what he is doing
He has taken great decisions so far

i mean, despite a few 'Ops' moment of the past and commentary from ERA's armchair analysts, the fact that he leads Playstation Europe for the longest time and that being one of their most successful (if not most) markets means certainly he knows what he's doing.....at least in terms of regional translation.
 

RestEerie

Banned
Aug 20, 2018
13,618
This is a good quote:

"The nature of AAA PlayStation 4 and certainly PlayStation 5 development... We're obviously not going to have Worldwide Studios make a game for one specific European country," Ryan says. "And that might have been the case back in the PSP times with Invizimals [which was popular in Spain]. I think this will be where Shuhei Yoshida's new task [of working with indies] will come in. If we are nimble, flexible and global, we can work with smaller developers to allow those countries' specific needs to be met."
 

ArmGunar

PlayStatistician
Member
Oct 30, 2017
6,527
i mean, despite a few 'Ops' moment of the past and commentary from ERA's armchair analysts, the fact that he leads Playstation Europe for the longest time and that being one of their most successful (if not most) markets means certainly he knows what he's doing.....at least in terms of regional translation.
I guess he was head of SIEE, he followed the global stance of the company (crossplay/BC)
Now he is head of SIE, we saw him finalize the "crossplay beta" for example, that's good

But yeah, his job at SIEE is a big plus
 

vivftp

Member
Oct 29, 2017
20,131
Great interview!

I'm really liking Jim Ryan's vision for the PS brand and that he's not willing to sit on his ass and coast on their success.
 

Omnistalgic

self-requested temp ban
Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,012
NJ
Pretty good read tbh...Head of GG now overseeing WWS, Shu taking care of Indies, and Cerny back at PS5 development.

Sony could have another big gen.
 

Nostradamus

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,286
I really like his comment about studio acquisitions and how it often leads to disastrous results. It's very important to take careful steps instead of just throwing money around because it could ultimately lead to a path of irrelevance for a studio.
 

gofreak

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,848
I think it's a very good, reassuring interview.

I think it's clear that for Ryan, when he spoke previously about his biggest priority being to combat complacency, he was talking very materially about making sure Sony didn't get 'stuck' doing things the same way as always and necessarily expecting the same results. That this wouldn't necessarily work in a changing industry.
 

Kilgore

Member
Feb 5, 2018
3,539
On one side, it seems Sony is making too many changes after one of their most succesful generations and that's a bit dangerous. On the other side it's good Sony is not expecting the next gen to be exact the same as this one and being able to make changes and try different approaches.
 

gofreak

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,848
Oh, this was the guy that Sony didn't want to talk openly to people about the changes being made?

He wrote the 'The industry is looking at Sony to see what's next for the console business. At the moment, Xbox is the one providing all the answers' editorial. I'm sure he didn't expect to get a Jim Ryan interview in response, but it worked!
 

Astandahl

Member
Oct 28, 2017
9,060
Lot of things make a lot of sense but again execution will be crucial.

I have to say the marketing campaign behind Spider Man was simply perfect from reveal trailers, ads, packaging, bundle strategy etc. Also asking Marvel for support was another brilliant idea considering how good they are at marketing stuff.
 
Dec 15, 2017
1,590
Becoming a global organization yet PS now is not available in South America... a subcontinent that is basically sonyland.
 

SolidSnakex

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,930
He wrote the 'The industry is looking at Sony to see what's next for the console business. At the moment, Xbox is the one providing all the answers' editorial. I'm sure he didn't expect to get a Jim Ryan interview in response, but it worked!

Jim always handles the interviewer that gives tough questions (I think it's the guy from Metro) well, so I guess being called out to some extent seemed like a challenge to him.
 

vivftp

Member
Oct 29, 2017
20,131
Becoming a global organization yet PS now is not available in South America... a subcontinent that is basically sonyland.

Give it time, expanding a streaming service is a very different beast than just tossing a new product onto store shelves. They're working on shifting PS Now to Azure servers which will greatly increase the reach of the service into more countries, we just have to let them do their thing.
 
Feb 15, 2019
2,559
Jim to me looks like an older looking Gordon Ramsay with shorter hair. At least more than the football manager.

694940094001_5785739310001_5785732559001-vs.jpg
 

tzare

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,145
Catalunya
Very informative interview, really obvious that Sony aren't resting on their laurels, and quietly changing and adapting to be ready, less big headlines and more background work.
Really good to see that they keep their tailored approach to smaller markets, that is what really makes PlayStation huge.
 

Carn

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,073
The Netherlands
Some good quotes/observations in that article. Also illustrates why "suddenly becoming a platformholder/publisher" like Google with Stadia is a humongous challenge. The technology is just 1 part of the puzzle.
 

TheGhost

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,137
Long Island
I like this Jim Ryan guy, he has been doing nothing but great work since the Layden departure and actually makes me excited for a PS5 now.
 
Feb 15, 2019
2,559
I'm now imagining him visiting 1st Party studios and complaining about how the games look like garbage and throwing their computers in the trash

Just imagine classic Gordon Ramsay quotes but with games.
" After trying Knack: "This isn't a game, this is a mistake. This is a Japanese tragedy."
"This game is so unfinished, Todd Howard wants to steal the code and make ES 6 with it."
 

Last_colossi

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
4,272
Australia
Good article. Ryan comes across well, except he forgot the PS1 sold 100 mil.

Well...

Jim Ryan said:
I was at a Gran Turismo event recently where they had PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 games, and the PS1 and the PS2 games, they looked ancient, like why would anybody play this?"

VG247

He probably honestly forgot since he doesn't seem to give a rats ass about PlayStation's past.
 

DigSCCP

Banned
Nov 16, 2017
4,201
Great interview Jimbo !
Looks like Sony knows exaclty what took them to this position but at the same time is open minded to understand the market changes.
Really confident about Playstation future under Jim´s helmet.
Also the changes with Herman and Yoshi looks like are great moves.
Looking foward to see how will they handle PS5 transition, reveal, software, services and PSVR support.
By words it seems they are in the right path now let´s wait for the actions.