Jason Schreier: Sony's Obsession with Blockbusters is Stirring Unrest Within PS Empire

[DonFerrari]

LudicrousSpeed said:

DonFerrari said:

The proportion seem very close, almost half of the titles were new IP both in PS3 and PS4, the total quantity reduced but that is easily explained by development time taking longer each gen.

Seems close? It's 139 games vs 63. That's close? 63 new IP's vs 30. That's close? Those numbers aren't close. And who cares if almost half the titles on both lists are new IP's which one gen has less than half as many games overall. And the dev time is taking longer by design, it's not a catch all excuse for lower output. GG could have put out a Killzone sequel in less time than it took them to make Horizon. SP could have done another Infamous or smaller type game in less time than it took them to make Ghosts. And no, I'm not saying they should have made those sequels instead of the new IP's, I am just using them as an example. There are plenty of devs who put out AA or smaller scale AAA titles in 2-3 years still. Sony however is focusing on blockbusters so those have even longer than normal development times. Which means less games, and means less risk. That's the issue.

Yes, we all know a AAA blockbuster game takes longer to make than other games. That wasn't the point. The point was Sony used to have a good balance of those types of games and others but are now focusing solely on developing the huge ones. Don't be surprised when the PS5 output is even less than PS4.

It looks like you ignored the word proportion. It was half the titles on PS3 and PS4, that means proportion is close, the risk of new IPs is close. Development time increased and that is why the total number of SW released decrease, but at the same time the quality, reception and sales increased enough to not only cover it but also make the total sales much higher and break records bringing a lot more profit. Not sure why you think that is a problem.

Yes the higher development title picked all companies, that is why most have put a lot less SW and some that tried to be stubborn had to change their ways (looking at you Assassins Creed yearly releases and the increase in studios for some other IPs to keep it year schedule).

The point is Sony is making what is best for them, while still supporting smaller games be it through second party or third party and also releases first party smaller scale games. PS5 launch had much more exclusives than PS4 even though PS4 was receiving big games until the end of its life. Astro`s Playroom, Sackboy adventure and many other aren`t AAA blockbuster as well.