shikamaru317 said:
Sure, from a business perspective I'm sure he was seen as a success by the Sony executives and board of directors. Playstation continued to perform well and even grow during a global pandemic afterall. I do think it's a pretty damning indictment to his image though just how many Sony gamers dislike him. While the suits may remember Ryan fondly, I see quite alot of actual gamers, even PS only gamers, that are rejoicing at his stepping down. They hated how strongly he focused on GaaS games, they hated how he closed down 3 studios after taking over, they hated how he shat on the idea of PS1, PS2, and PS3 being added to PS5 back compat and ridiculed the concept of BC. I think ultimately he may be remembered as either the the worst or 2nd worst Playstation head by most gamers, hard to say how is image will end up compared to Jack Tretton's in the end. |
I disagree, on the net as always people who have something to grip about are the ones that well grip you will hear the most. You are prone to see more negative comments then positive on the net than anything else. I also do not get this focus on GAAS games as Sony continue to pump out the same games that have made them successful but on that same point, if all you do is the same type of games all the time, you miss another segment of your customer base that want something else. All Sony acquisition have been very strategic in the sense they all mesh very well with what the company has done best as well as build for the future.
The Bungie acquisition to me is a very smart move. It gives them expertise in an area they lack and also put them in a position to bring out a GAAS game that actually does not blow up on arrival like Hyena for CA. People do not hate GAAS games because GAAS games are huge. Just because you hear grumbling from the people who do not play those games which would be myself included, does not mean its not a viable segement of gaming.
This is the difference when listening to gamers who have no real clue about running a company compared to understanding how the market works and how to position your company for success. It does not matter if gamers did not like how he closed down those studios, there were probably a lot of reason for the closures that we have no clue about just like how MS closed down Lionhead. What we see on the surface is only just the tip of the iceberg and we rarely see all the decisions that lead up to such a situation. Like I said, under Jim Ryan, PS has run not only smoothy but has exceeded all metrics each year. With stiff competition from MS which have bigger pockets and Nintendo who just knows how to care out their own space, the fact that Sony continue to not only do great but improve their position on all fronts cannot be ignored. That is hard to do as you only have to look at MS to understand even when you have a great team and you work hard with big pockets, shit can happen to derail all your efforts. So I highly doubt Sony or Jim care if gamers consider him 2nd worse PS head because I am sure in the business world where it really counts, he will definitely not be considered as such.
