Congrats to both studios. Very well deserved.
Competition be a hell of a thing.
And to the people putting any thought into the “PlayStation bought these studios to keep Xbox away” have to remember Phil specifically mentioned there wasn’t much interest in developers that only work on one platform (presumably, one console that’s not Xbox).
I think Resogun is a great game but I prefer the ground based twin stick shooters of Dead Nation and Alienation. While it’s not my favorite (Alienation is my favorite), I do think Nex Machina is their best pure arcade shooter.
I haven’t played Returnal because im not into rogue like games at all but those who have played it enjoyed it and thought it was great. It’s just not for everyone including me.
I loved Days Gone but in general, it seems like Returnal is the far better game especially on a technical level. Housemarque’s MC average is like an 82 or something when you remove the duplicates. I prefer Days Gone but it seems like Housemarque already surpassed Bend Studio.
I don’t see it as reactionary because it does fit with what Sony has done in regards to every studio they’ve acquired. It’s not like it’s a rare thing. Every studio that Sony has acquired was a studio that they worked with for years if not over a decade before acquiring. Also, Sony doesn’t need 20+ studios like Microsoft does because they don’t have a subscription service that needs to be filled with content on a monthly basis. Even if Microsoft didn’t acquire ZeniMax, I still believe that Sony would have acquired Housemarque because it fits their history in regards to how they acquire development studios. I see Bluepoint Games next and wouldn’t be surprised if Sumo Digital ends up being acquired by them as well.
Bend with Days Gone delivered on scope, scale, technology and story to such a higher degree than Housemarque on Returnal that there really isn’t a comparison to be had from my perspective, so agree to disagree.
To reiterate, that is a core pillar of PlayStation’s biggest franchises. Building an open-world, having a cinematic slant, delivering a narrative driven experience, showcasing technology to enhance the visual medium. I don’t think Returnal does any of this (yes, I acknowledge the DualSense support), nor any previous Housemarque title. That’s why I don’t think they fit.
Yet, Days Gone wasn’t good enough for PlayStation. They experiment with different things via small teams like Asobi and PixelOpus, but those studios’ games reflect their respective budgets. Is Housemarque going to be cut a AAA 100m+ check to go make Returnal 2 or another arcade oriented experience that imitates PlayStation games on a surface level? Apparently so, and I don’t think it’s going to work out for either party.
That’s largely not what people go to PlayStation exclusives for. Hell, there’s a reason Housemarque was trying to produce a battle royale prior to Returnal (very reminiscent of Boss Key) and complaining that arcade was dead… because nobody bought their games. I don’t think Housemarque has the ability or internal philosophy to produce a game that demands $70 in content. Any success Returnal saw was at least in part due to being a launch window title. It’s certainly the reason I bought a copy—wanting something new to play in my PS5 collecting dust. Housemarque will have to evolve into an unidentifiable studio to make it at PlayStation and I’m skeptical of the talent to lean into those areas I mentioned above. These are new waters for their team.
Now, if this is the game that sold PlayStation on Housemarque, but they weren’t previously sold on the studio’s past output, I consider that reactionary to a degree. On that same note, I’m sure PlayStation thought at some level, if we don’t grab Housemarque then someone else will. That’s another part reactionary and justifiable given the current landscape. Looking at Xbox Game Studios growing to double the size of your own first-party, you’d be an dumb not to react and try to buy somebody. Housemarque fit the bill—but do they truly fit with PlayStation? Again, I say I don’t think so.
I also don’t see this the same way as you do at any level really. I actually think it’s wrong for lack of a more courteous word to think that PlayStation could operate as they currently do while Xbox begins to deliver new games every quarter. The quality doesn’t even have to be good, so long as you’re cannibalizing people’s time that could be spent on PlayStation. That’s an entirely different conversation.
Also, Metacritic truly means nothing if the goal is an intelligent conversation. There’s too much nuance and context that numbers aren’t going to tell you. We’ll see how it pans out. I’m not wishing Housemarque ill will or anything, it’s just where I stand on all of this and I’m not really going to be convinced otherwise until I see it for myself.
But also back to my first point and really the most important one, I don’t think a Housemarque makes very good games. I know it’s a forum so we have a back and forth or whatever, and I’m glad you enjoy some of them, but I just don’t care. I think their output largely blows chunks. You should maybe give Returnal a try though, and see how that game reinforces or reshapes your view on the studio. Avoiding it because of its genre is sort of a key part of my point.
As someone who loves Days Gone, I can agree on some points but the game just didn’t hit with the vast majority of PlayStation fans. I do believe that Returnal would have been better if it wasn’t rogue like and instead was just a straight forward game. I think Housemarque will be great with Sony because their track record proves it.
It’s all good though. Not every game is for everyone. I have loved Housemarque since Outland in 2011 (and then went back to play Dead Nation) and the only disappointment for me was Matterfall and that has more to do with releasing after Nex Machina when it should have been released before Nex Machina.
We’ll see how it all plays out though over the next several years.
To be fair, Days Gone likely well outsold Returnal.
True but having a user install base of 120m compared to under 10m isn’t a fair comparison because Days Gone should sell more.
But we’re also talking about a more core audience of early adopters who would be the audience to purchase Returnal en masse and again, it does get a launch window boost, too.
I AIN’T PICKING UP WHAT YOU’RE PUTTING DOWN, SIR.
Agree to disagree.
True but again, I have bought almost every Housemarque game but Returnal being rogue like isn’t for me so it’s a pass. I’m expecting that a lot of people who passed on the game did so for the same reason. Also, the percentage is just so small, it’s not a fair comparison.
This is one of the most sincere articles ever written by a studio (from August 2017):
It’s basically Housemarque saying “hey, we know our games are great and that you love them all, but they are not paying the bills”.
However despite critical success and numerous awards, our games just haven’t sold in significant numbers. While some of them have reached a massive audience due to free game offerings across various digital sales channels, this unfortunately doesn’t help pay for development, which gets costly for high production quality.
Lackluster sales of Nex Machina have led us to the thinking that it is time to bring our longstanding commitment to the arcade genre to an end. While this genre will always hold a special place in our hearts, the industry is moving more toward multiplayer experiences with strong, robust communities, and it’s time for Housemarque to move forward with the industry.
A year later they announced that “instead of shutting down” they would be making “the jump to AAA development”.
I think it’s fair to reach the following conclusion:
Oh well. You will always live in my heart, Super Stardust.
that would be a little bit disappointing. If Sony pays the bills they should be able to create the games they really want to make.
I don’t think that their arcade output is necessarily dead, although it will probably be secondary to their new blockbuster focus. If Sony are really preparing their answer to Game Pass, and they’d be crazy not to, then the kinds of games that Housemarque has built their reputation on could find new life on the service.
I jokingly said earlier today that had Microsoft acquired Housemarque, they would already have three different internal studios working on four different genres, including their dream project and optimizing freaking Dead Nation for the Series X|S. 
Now I’m only expecting a Returnal spin-off to drop in 2022.
It does not make a lot of sense for the people who celebrate when smaller devs with a history with the platform are acquired but when large publishers with a history with a platform are acquired its bad.
I mean both situations lead to the same industry consolidation outcome, its just working with individual devs on a 2nd party like basis and then aquireing them will just take longer to get there.
I dont think the way sony and xbox currently handle internal studios is that different. When Jim ryan likes to boast about how playstation develops studio realtionships and build devs in some special way, its marketing bullshit. The truth is the input sony + xbox have on studios is limited to budget, freedom and internal studio communication. We know that sony + xbox have the same approach now, they both have internal GDC like events where there stdios meet and can share ideas and technology. The only difference between will be budgets. Sony dont have a special formula, at the end of the day its the ability of the studio which determines game quality.
At least they are in the same mood as Playstation and not investing in developing minor games.
I don’t like the approach because Playstation used to do a great job with minor budget games. I hope Xbox fills this gap, since game pass model helps this games to be profitable.
Another Sony acquisition, it seems:
This is interesting cause they dont make games.
