Jim Ryan Retires, Connie Booth leaving after 34 years, Layoffs at Sony, Multiplayer games Cancelled

[Swanlee]

@bof

… It’s strange to think of gamers as a monolithic block who all like the same things. There’s clearly an audience for GaaS like Fortnight or Call of Duty, which are huge successes, but a large part of the Playstation audience is very attached to the console’s single-player heritage and reviles anything multiplayer. In my opinion, there’s probably a generational gap here, with younger players more open to GaaS than a lot of old-timers like us. Due to a lack of knowledge, many people also have a very caricatured and negative view of GaaS, whereas many games apply the formula in a moderate and very relevant way (particularly at Xbox).

I think more and more Sony only gamers tastes are isolated from the general gamers. I think if this continues gaming will splinter and Sony related gaming will just become it’s own thing while the rest of the gaming world progresses and moves on.

It’s not apparent now but Xbox really owns a huge portion of several major major gaming IP pillars, they even own whole sections of genre’s like FPS, western RPG’s, racing, Real Time strategy etc.

Over time actual real gamers are not going to be able to ignore that while “Sony” Gamers will just shrink more and more into their Sony only world.

Xbox now has a first party you can’t ignore if you actually like games

[Swanlee]

@KakkaKarrotKake

I don’t think people should be getting too alarmed just yet despite the many not so great things that have happened the last year or so but it definitely not all sunshine and rainbows over there

People see all these Playstation sales and that’s their barometer for success when quite frankly it means less than ever, you only have to look at Japan where they are selling plenty of consoles but software sales are terrible

They just aren’t particularly well set up for the future right now imo

It’s funny how MS and Sony are the exact opposite. Sony sells hardware but does not make much off software while MS makes most of their money off games and services.

The key difference is MS is setup much better for the future and can adapt to up coming trends while Sony solely depends on hardware sales and are facing smaller profits cause that is all their business revolves around.

[KakkaKarrotKake]

@Swanlee

It’s funny how MS and Sony are the exact opposite. Sony sells hardware but does not make much off software while MS makes most of their money off games and services.

The key difference is MS is setup much better for the future and can adapt to up coming trends while Sony solely depends on hardware sales and are facing smaller profits cause that is all their business revolves around.

I feel like the only company that will be able to get away with the 1 platform and one platform only approach is Nintendo

Their games cost so much less than everyone elses and still sell 10s of millions more than the competition, they have less revenue but their profits are extremely high

Meanwhile Sony is similar but the games cost 100s of millions to make but tend to sell far less, it’s just inevitable that Sony will follow down the same kind of ecosystem approach Xbox currently have otherwise they will be left behind

[howlingmosquito (mosquito)]

Sony needs to stop cancelling PS5 games, especially with Xbox cancelling PS5 games too

[Sparda3g]

I have seen discussion about Sony is likely hitting multiple roadblocks but they will recover. While I do agree, there are few points I want to address, of course, in my opinion. No doubt they will recover be fine, but the competition will continue to get worse with the pace it’s going.

Nintendo is very likely to reveal the next generation platform next year. Japanese developers, especially small studios, are already migrating over Nintendo platform to the point it becomes exclusive. That or prefer them to receive marketing. Sony is lucky to have Square creating games that is too powerful for Switch; however, if the next one can make it work, then exclusivity is no more. You can bet Square would love to market Dragon Quest or even Final Fantasy on Switch 2.

Now let’s go back to 360 era. Xbox was kicking Sony’s arse pretty badly in the beginning. How did Sony bounce back? Exclusivity? Yes, but not the only factor. Many would forget that despite Sony outputting new exclusive games that are well received, there were other factors to count on. For starter, Wii trend was phasing out in the second half. Not to mention, more games were catering to casual with Wii Fit and Sports Resort. We weren’t receiving like at least 3 Nintendo franchise games like Switch, including remakes.

Now we come to Xbox. 360 was a juggernaut and consumers, mainly in USA, were ready to go all Xbox. That is until Don Mattrick’s vision to cater more on casual took over. People were seeing Xbox no longer prioritized core gaming. With Wii and Xbox focused heavily on casual, PS3 looked like an attractive console to get. Word of mouth begin to spread, Xbox and Wii continue to turn away, and then going into PS4, well, you can understand why the momentum went full speed ahead.

Wii U was a total disaster and Xbox One had controversial choices and lack of option to not buy Kinect were a recipe for PS to become the leader. Timing is everything and for Xbox, it was the worst timing to let them surpass them. Nintendo got lucky with Switch because of a really neat hardware in terms of capability. So what about Xbox? Switch got themselves rolling in the middle of last gen, while Xbox Series just started three years ago. Not to mention, Nintendo’s name remained powerful, so their bounce back is much easier.

Now we come to this. Xbox is back being ambitious or rather even more so than ever. Nintendo continue to dominant the world. Sony remains the leader, but shortcomings are becoming apparent. Like Xbox in last gen, they can’t afford to stumble here. By stumble, I mean make others look good to invest. While console sale is strong on PS, the engagement is not. Undoubtedly, both Xbox and Nintendo are taking them away, now that their position are not only healthy but growing.

A mistake is not an option.

[howlingmosquito (mosquito)]

@Sparda3g

Xbox was kicking Sony’s arse pretty badly in the beginning. How did Sony bounce back?

They didnt. By the time Kinect launched it was being outsold by the 360 by the biggest margin. Steve Balmer got up on stage and proudly announced it.

[Sparda3g]

@howlingmosquito

They didnt. By the time Kinect launched it was being outsold by the 360 by the biggest margin.

I said beginning and whether they passed Sony earlier or not, the margin was not that far apart like last gen or this. PS3 had awful ports, weak launch, and at that time, even media were bashing them, which in hindsight, felt like we hit multiverse.

[Swanlee]

@KakkaKarrotKake

I feel like the only company that will be able to get away with the 1 platform and one platform only approach is Nintendo

Their games cost so much less than everyone elses and still sell 10s of millions more than the competition, they have less revenue but their profits are extremely high

Meanwhile Sony is similar but the games cost 100s of millions to make but tend to sell far less, it’s just inevitable that Sony will follow down the same kind of ecosystem approach Xbox currently have otherwise they will be left behind

Yep, and as seen by the recent Sony issues with GAAS MS is WAY ahead of them on that front. MS already has their many GAAS games out now and most of them are doing very well, then combine the revenue from gamepass itself and MS is setup well for a diverse future while Sony is a day late and a dollar short in GAAS and aren’t even really trying in Mobile.

If Sony hardware sales ever slow down they are screwed. Sony just depends to much on ONE thing and it’s not going to last forever.

[Sparda3g]

https://x.com/missmayim/status/1735814025001509226?s=46&t=O_AGT9SEnlptKOF_2SxtqQ

Damn, even in entertainment, no one is safe from Sony.

[CallMeCraig]

@bof

It’s strange to think of gamers as a monolithic block who all like the same things. There’s clearly an audience for GaaS like Fortnight or Call of Duty, which are huge successes, but a large part of the Playstation audience is very attached to the console’s single-player heritage and reviles anything multiplayer. In my opinion, there’s probably a generational gap here, with younger players more open to GaaS than a lot of old-timers like us.

a large part of the most vocal audience

https://twitter.com/MatPiscatella/status/1734937334054015466

https://twitter.com/MatPiscatella/status/1734937389687267706

[BRiT]

@CallMeCraig

a large part of the most vocal audience

Yes. It’s very much where reality does not reflect what the most vocal part claims.

[strawman]

One thing that amazes me is how good Sony is at PR and how much goodwill they have.

When Sega cancelled Hyenas (a GAAS project) and Creative Assembly was said to be focusing on their core strengths (ie. Total War), no one was sugarcoating the news. When Sony cancelled TLOU Online (again, a GAAS project) so many people praised the decision. When Sony announced the delay of half of their live service games, Gamespot touted it as “Sony is focusing on quality over quantity with its live service push”

(this is from my browser history… at least Gamespot had the decency to remove the tweet eventually)

This is such a bizarro world, any other publisher and the alerm bells would be superloud.

[howlingmosquito (mosquito)]

@strawman

…One thing that amazes me is how good Sony is at PR and how much goodwill they have. When Sega cancelled Hyenas (a GAAS project) and Creative Assembly was said to be focusing on their core strengths (ie. Total War), no one was sugarcoating the news. When Sony cancelled TLOU Online (again, a GAAS project) so many people praised the decision. When Sony announced the delay of half of their live service games, Gamespot touted it as “Sony is focusing on quality over quantity with its live service push” (this is from my browser history… at least Gamespot had the decency to remove the tweet eventually) obraz1018×47 3.48 KB This is such a bizarro world, any other publisher and the alerm bells would be superloud.

Never underestimate Playstation fanboys to give unlimited passes to exclusives missing modes, lowered framerates and 1400p resolutions but never let anyone forget that co-op was late on the other guys games.

They 100% know what they’re doing here.

Naughty Dog didnt opt to choose single player games, they tried and failed to do what lots of other developers take in stride and they were unable to deliver. Just like Uncharted 4 at 1080p/60fps.

[strawman]

@howlingmosquito

Never underestimate Playstation fanboys to give unlimited passes to exclusives missing modes, lowered framerates and 1400p resolutions but never let anyone forget that co-op was late on the other guys games.

They 100% know what they’re doing here.

Naughty Dog didnt opt to choose single player games, they tried and failed to do what lots of other developers take in stride and they were unable to deliver. Just like Uncharted 4 at 1080p/60fps.

I can imagine the meetings at Sony’s HQ:

• Hey Jim, the TLOU Online development is proceeding super smoothly and the game is super fun to play, internal tests indicate one of the best multiplayer modes ever.
• You know what Hermen, we already have too many GAAS titles in the pipeline, let’s can it after 5 years of development and put ND back on single-player games.

Sounds legit

[clashfan]

@strawman

…One thing that amazes me is how good Sony is at PR and how much goodwill they have. When Sega cancelled Hyenas (a GAAS project) and Creative Assembly was said to be focusing on their core strengths (ie. Total War), no one was sugarcoating the news. When Sony cancelled TLOU Online (again, a GAAS project) so many people praised the decision. When Sony announced the delay of half of their live service games, Gamespot touted it as “Sony is focusing on quality over quantity with its live service push” (this is from my browser history… at least Gamespot had the decency to remove the tweet eventually) obraz1018×47 3.48 KB This is such a bizarro world, any other publisher and the alerm bells would be superloud.

The first few months after Halo Infinite was release was not good for 343, seasons was late and had very little content. 343 deservedly got criticism from press and fans. ND totally cancels a mode they announced but this is good news?

[ThePastyBandit (Dean)]

@Sparda3g

…ntendo got lucky with Switch because of a really neat hardware in terms of capability. So what about Xbox? Switch got themselves rolling in the middle of last gen, while Xbox Series just started three years ago. Not to mention, Nintendo’s name remained powerful, so their bounce back is much easier. Now we come to this. Xbox is back being ambitious or rather even more so than ever. Nintendo continue to dominant the world. Sony remains the leader, but shortcomings are becoming apparent. Like Xbox in last gen, they can’t afford to stumble here. By stumble, I mean make others look good to invest. While console sale is strong on PS, the engagement is not. Undoubtedly, both Xbox and Nintendo are taking them away, now that their position are not only healthy but growing. A mistake is not an option.

Agree with this it’ll take a few more mistakes but things will begin turning if Xbox keep producing good games, it might not show for 1,2 maybe 3 years but if xbox can keep pumping commercial hits and if PlayStation continue stumbling by the next gen Xbox, the decision won’t be as easy to pick up a PlayStation as it was this gen.

Just have to play the long game

[BRiT]

Since the discussion was happening in multiple threads, moved the leaks into its own thread. Feel free to retitle it to something better.

That Insomniac Leaks spoiler filled discussion

Basically everything from Wolverine’s pre production has leaked, and a lot of new WIP stuff, including playable PS5 files.

[shootyshootybangbang]

@shootyshootybangbang

Is PlayStation ok?

I guess that would be a no.

[BRiT]

More layoffs and a studio closure?

Sony Reportedly Planning More Layoffs For PlayStation Studios, Including Insomniac

Sony may be planning layoffs for various PlayStation studios, including Insomniac Games. The documents found also suggest there could be “one studio closure”.

The specific information, relayed originally by Kotaku, about Sony’s plans for PlayStation studios was discovered in documents from the extensive ransomware leak that targeted Insomniac Games.

Sony Reportedly Planning More Layoffs For PlayStation Studios - Insider Gaming