| Doctor_MG said: Bold 1: Yes, from a business point of view, but remember I'm not arguing from a business point of view. I identify that they've been very successful recently. Whether that is because of the AAA focus or just overall great brand recognition I'm not sure, but they've been successful so I'm not surprised they are sticking with it. I'm essentially arguing from my point of view as a consumer and a Playstation fan. Playstation has always offered me a wide variety of exclusives to play. The PS4 is the first Playstation console I've owned where my best memories aren't with exclusives, but third party multiplatform games. If this is the direction they are taking the PS5 I don't think I'm going to buy one. Bold 2 and Bold 3: This is predicated on the assumption that the IP's which are not continuing did not have lasting appeal. I think this is an erroneous assumption because there are some games Sony simply stopped making despite the success (e.g. Resistance or Jak and Daxter). Could these games have had lasting appeal? Possibly, but we wont know until Sony gives it a shot. We've seen franchises that were once very unappealing after numerous entries (Tony Hawk, Crash Bandicoot) revamped to great success. We've also seen franchises that didn't perform terribly well initially come back with greater success (Shadow of the Colossus). Utilizing these older IP's for smaller budget titles would not stop them from emphasizing the AAA blockbusters and it would also allow them to gauge interest for these other IP's. Nostalgia is a helluva drug. Bold 4: First off, I'm insulted about your remark of Sony Japan! Astrobot and Gravity Rush are some of my favorite new IP's from Sony in the last 10 years. Second, I think games like Nier and Nioh would have been made regardless of Sony's investment. I would prefer Sony to fund games that would not have been made without their influence/investment. And don't worry about the Xbox comment. I sold my Xbox One in 2017 for a new 3DS and never looked back. Still hoping Halo Infinite turns out good though. Also hoping that Sony develops a Sunset Overdrive sequel since they own the IP now, but with this news it makes it less likely. |
1. I think for a PS fan you should realise that both go hand in hand, good business means continuity of the brand, and no SONY AA or AAA games without good business. Especially when you're main competitor has the second biggest cash reserve in the world that grows every quarter, and the minute they started taking the console business seriously, Phil snapped his fingers and Bethesda with all its IPs are now Xbox. It was cute to see PS fans believing SONY could win a bidding war against MS and buy SE lol. I know the story was false, but it's a good example if why SONY must be a good run business and grow organically as whatever chances they had at buying big third party studios have now completely vanished. Does that involve growing pains like decreased software output? Sure, but it's necessary if you don't want to be PS to be a third party machine, and that what it's been when compared to Nintendo's consoles.
2. Maybe, just maybe, the reason that most of those IPs have stopped being made because of declining sales? Taking one of the examples you gave, we know Resistance 3 sold LESS THAN HALF of what Resistance 2 did in its first month in the USA, accordingly, we know that the IP was declining in popularity, not growing. If at one point SONY decides to give Resistance another chance, great, if not, I won't hold it against them, really.
3. With that said, some (not all) of SONY'S IPs are worth revisiting and reviving. A lot of their games were diluted and experienced fatigue because of milking. For example, Twisted Metal is one of the games ever made, the IP has always had an immense potential, especially now with online gaming and games like PUBG being so popular. I believe we'll get a Twisted Metal entry this generation, and if my judgement is correct, it will be a good one because SONY's less accepting of mediocrity these days.
And sure, maybe the IPs that you're interested in can make a great comeback, but unlike MS's resources, most companies resources are finite, so prioritisation is key. Besides, I feel like many are being purposefully ignorant of titles like Returnal, Sackboy Adventure, Astroboy. It's honestly not as black and white as many are portraying it be. Returnal over another Résistance any day of the week! And after Returnal, I, like many, expect Homesquare to be become a first party studio.
Prioritisation and funding AA games that leads to organic expansion? what can I say but business well-run (might be too late, though!). And don't get me wrong, there is a lot of criticism to throw around at SONY, but not because they're not making more forgettable games. For instance, why are not talking about how PS NOW is playing catch up to xCloud when SONY was way ahead of the competition not so long ago, gg SONY, gg....
4. SONY Japan: Astroboy, yes, I agree. The good news? The team that made Astroboy is still with SONY, they were not let go. I never owned a Vita but I borrowed it for the sake of trying, and as someone who personally played Gravity Rush, good riddance, honestly 
As for you preferring more Gravity Rush than Nioh or Nier exclusivity. I get where you're coming from, but that's a terrible business decision for the PS brand as a whole. With Nier, you're taking about an IP that became bigger than Kingdom Heart under the PS umbrella and revenues that SONY must have shared with SE, I'd take that over Gravity Rush, easily. You may not buy the PS5, but in the long-run, you'll become more appreciative of SONY's decisions as a gamer, I think.
Finally, I can't stress enough on how it's not as black and white as it's made out to be. The no more AA games narrative is baffling when the PS5 line up has Sackboy, Astroboy, Returnal, Demon Souls, Destructive allstars and Ratchet & Clank. I just can't.
Last edited by LurkerJ - on 17 April 2021
