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[hemo memo]

Jim Ryan was such a legend that they need two people to fill his shoes. Incredible.

Jim Ryan was so bad that they made sure to put 2 people so a single person can do as much damage if he screwed up, like Jim.

 

[xrnzaaas]

The more time passes the more going back to PC gaming is starting to make sense.

 

[midnightAI]

The more time passes the more going back to PC gaming is starting to make sense.

Going back to PC gaming? Consoles have been around longer than PC's

 

[Fabieter]

Going back to PC gaming? Consoles have been around longer than PC's

But he was probably on pc and thought switching to consoles had some benefits which aint that many anymore tho.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Yep I meant for me, I was a PC gamer until the mid/late 2000s.

Also helps there are a lot more options with laptops or handheld devices being powerful.

 

[Hypereides]

Hulst appears to be a bit of a muppet to me to be honest. Nishino I know nothing about, I hope both of them can strive for creative, small, fun games.

My dude, I understand you want to be hopeful, as do I, but this is not going to happen. That old Sony ship sailed away a long time ago. Modern Sony game division is investor and shareholder driven enterprise.

I would be positively surprised if this would be the case, but I really don't see that happening.

 

[SNG32]

You've never heard of Helldivers 2?

I believe that game would have been the standalone Factions multiplayer game from Naughty Dogg before they decided to can it, after realizing how much work and time it would take away from making AAA singleplayer games that meets their standard.

I wasn’t talking about helldivers 2. I was more alluding to the flagship franchises like Uncharted, Twisted Metal, Last of Us, and Spider-man launching day and date.

 

[Audiophile]

Oh god damn it not Hemorrhoid Holster.

Ooofftt, scrub my brain of these images..

 

[cash_longfellow]

There is no discussion without different opinions on something. It's not like it some proven fact that they will do a bad job but it still can be said..

Absolutely…the same way I can say what I said. The problem is, no one is discussing it here, they are just automatically concluding they will do a bad job with nothing to back it up.

 

[Fabieter]

Absolutely…the same way I can say what I said. The problem is, no one is discussing it here, they are just automatically concluding they will do a bad job with nothing to back it up.

It is more of a gut feeling for me rn, since he didn't do alot that's actually visible tbh. There was a rumor that he was a main driver for the japan studios closure which alone would be enough to hate him. But most games that came to ps5 got greenlit under layden and yoshida and we have some kind of drought rn. So there has to be some kind of mismanagement on their end.

 

[nial]

It was Shuhei Yoshida. He's the man to sign all the deals with new Asian devs, from Mihoyo to Shift Up, Hermen couldn't even remember their names.

It wasn't, I already told you that Mihoyo and the like are part of their SIEJA third-party relations team which is headed by Kiichiro Urata.
Stellar Blade is 100% Hermen Hulst, there's a reason he's literally created as PS Studios president while Shuhei Yoshida is simply mentioned as 'special thanks'.
I already said this, but people call Hermen Hulst incompetent over stuff that also happened with Shuhei Yoshida, can you at least be consistent?

 

[cash_longfellow]

It is more of a gut feeling for me rn, since he didn't do alot that's actually visible tbh. There was a rumor that he was a main driver for the japan studios closure which alone would be enough to hate him. But most games that came to ps5 got greenlit under layden and yoshida and we have some kind of drought rn. So there has to be some kind of mismanagement on their end.

Fair enough. The shift to GAAS was dumb, but I think they realize that, and the little bit of a drought is because they had to shift back their focus. Who knows though, the whole industry feels dry at this point.

 

[midnightAI]

But he was probably on pc and thought switching to consoles had some benefits which aint that many anymore tho.

For me it's always about the games, I like the games Sony makes, and I am not prepared to wait a year or more. (There's also price, convenience, ecosystem etc.)

 

[nial]

There was a rumor that he was a main driver for the japan studios closure which alone would be enough to hate him.

Yeah by David Jaffe, I already explained what actually happened.

It was a reorganization in the truest sense of the word, WWS had a global structure that had 3 branches across the world; WWS Europe, WWS America and WWS Japan Studio.
When it all became PS Studios, the structure was like this; PS Studios Europe, PS Studios (located in America), and PS Studios (located in Japan). Notice how both the American and Japanese branches share the same name? That has to do with the fact that it's the same case for each SIE company; you have SIE Europe Ltd., SIE LLC (located in America) and SIE Inc. (located in Japan).
If you people still can't understand how it all works, I can't help you anymore.

tl;dr: their current Japanese PS Studios branch is functionally the same thing as Japan Studio. The division currently holds the Team Asobi and External Development departments, along with localisation and many others.

 

[midnightAI]

Fair enough. The shift to GAAS was dumb, but I think they realize that, and the little bit of a drought is because they had to shift back their focus. Who knows though, the whole industry feels dry at this point.

It simply just takes a long time to create the types of games Sony creates, I don't think GAAS has pushed much back (maybe Naughty Dog, but they are a large studio so they should have been able to cope, their next game is rumoured to be a new IP which can take longer also) . As I mentioned previously, their top studios released games right at the back end of the PS4 gen, so shouldn't be too long before we get announcements (end of this month hopefully)

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

It wasn't, I already told you that Mihoyo and the like are part of their SIEJA third-party relations team which is headed by Kiichiro Urata.
Stellar Blade is 100% Hermen Hulst, there's a reason he's literally created as PS Studios president while Shuhei Yoshida is simply mentioned as 'special thanks'.
I already said this, but people call Hermen Hulst incompetent over stuff that also happened with Shuhei Yoshida, can you at least be consistent?

Well when you put it like that I may consider letting him be my best friend

 

[Fabieter]

For me it's always about the games, I like the games Sony makes, and I am not prepared to wait a year or more. (There's also price, convenience, ecosystem etc.)

I love consoles too and iam a big sony fan but objectevly to get your console fix and the high end gaming the best combo going forward is gonna be switch/pc without a doubt. I also expect the ecosystem of sony to land on pc sometimes in the future. Its gonna be rough for sony and I expect them to raise prices again and again to stay on a stable level with their console as more and more people leave them.

Yeah by David Jaffe, I already explained what actually happened.

tl;dr: their current Japanese PS Studios branch is functionally the same thing as Japan Studio. The division currently holds the Team Asobi and External Development departments, along with localisation and many others.

Yea but most of its 500 employees were fired. Why didn't they held on them.

Japan studios games didn't sell that way but it added to their library and made the whole console and ecosystem more desirable. The magic is fading.

I expect hulst to be the spencer of playstation.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

I love consoles too and iam a big sony fan but objectevly to get your console fix and the high end gaming the best combo going forward is gonna be switch/pc without a doubt. I also expect the ecosystem of sony to land on pc sometimes in the future. Its gonna be rough for sony and I expect them to raise prices again and again to stay on a stable level with their console as more and more people leave them.



Yea but most of its 500 employees were fired. Why didn't they held on them.

Japan studios games didn't sell that way but it added to their library and made the whole console and ecosystem more desirable. The magic is fading.

I expect hulst to be the spencer of playstation.

Where the hell did you get 500 from. They werent even half that size

 

[StereoVsn]

PS business is too big for one man to handle. Part of the reason why Ryan has left.

It sounds logical and both CEOs are from Sony, so it could’ve been way worse.

This is nonsense. Plenty of companies larger than PlayStation division have a single CEO. Not sure what Sony is trying to accomplish here.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

It wasn't, I already told you that Mihoyo and the like are part of their SIEJA third-party relations team which is headed by Kiichiro Urata.
Stellar Blade is 100% Hermen Hulst, there's a reason he's literally created as PS Studios president while Shuhei Yoshida is simply mentioned as 'special thanks'.
I already said this, but people call Hermen Hulst incompetent over stuff that also happened with Shuhei Yoshida, can you at least be consistent?

He's credited as president because he is the head of PS Studios. It's a formality. However, in interviews Kim mentions and thanks Shu. It was him he contacted and it was him who went to Korea and approved the project. Hermen was too busy canceling Factions thanks to the invaluable advice of Bungie.

The relationship with Mihoyo and other Chinese devs is part of the China Hero Project initiative also led by Shu, as head of indie games. His job is to find new talents, something he has delivered big time. He is the type of gamer exec that PS badly needs. Hermen will make Phil Spencer look competent.

 

[Fake]

Dear lord, not this fucking Hermen Hulst.

 

[Fabieter]

Where the hell did you get 500 from. They werent even half that size

SIE Japan Studio was a Japanese game developer located in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1993 as one of the earliest game development studios under Sony Interactive Entertainment, and operated under the SIE Worldwide Studios banner. As of 2017, the studio comprised of at least 200 employees. [

Could have sworn they were bigger, well its still suck the same tho.

 

[StereoVsn]

Absolutely…the same way I can say what I said. The problem is, no one is discussing it here, they are just automatically concluding they will do a bad job with nothing to back it up.

Here is just one example of a potential issue. Hulst is responsible for software sales and is going to be driven to increase them. So for him a short time window release on PC would be good.

The other guy is responsible for console sales. To him title exclusivity would be good.

These are somewhat competing priorities and I can’t help but think these people will clash because their division performance will be depending on different milestones.

 

[Gaiff]

Hulst is very close with my favorite my favorite Sony studio, Nixxes

 

[Fabieter]

Here is just one example of a potential issue. Hulst is responsible for software sales and is going to be driven to increase them. So for him a short time window release on PC would be good.

The other guy is responsible for console sales. To him title exclusivity would be good.

These are somewhat competing priorities and I can’t help but think these people will clash because their division performance will be depending on different milestones.

When you need both but cant do both the justice that's needed for success its gonna have to fail tho.

 

[midnightAI]

Here is just one example of a potential issue. Hulst is responsible for software sales and is going to be driven to increase them. So for him a short time window release on PC would be good.

The other guy is responsible for console sales. To him title exclusivity would be good.

These are somewhat competing priorities and I can’t help but think these people will clash because their division performance will be depending on different milestones.

And they can't continue to have them timed exclusive because...?

There are many ways to increase sales other than putting first party games on PC, heck most people complain about the lack of first party, just releasing new first party games on PS5 would do that (and then on PC a year later)

 

[Neofire]

Oh I think it doesn't matter if he's doing pc ports, he will run it in the ground anyway.

Him wanting to focus on PC is just a highlight of the number one detriment to the PlayStation platforms. Other than that you are correct.

 

[Fabieter]

And they can't continue to have them timed exclusive because...?

There are many ways to increase sales other than putting first party games on PC, heck most people complain about the lack of first party, just releasing new first party games on PS5 would do that (and then on PC a year later)

The effect on timed exclusives takes a hit with every single release. People will fall less and less for it as time goes on. If you start this practice you gonna have a short term gain but longterm people will just wait. At this point just do day and date it doesn't make a big difference anymore.

 

[StereoVsn]

And they can't continue to have them timed exclusive because...?

There are many ways to increase sales other than putting first party games on PC, heck most people complain about the lack of first party, just releasing new first party games on PS5 would do that (and then on PC a year later)

I am giving an example of different goals for the division. Of one is responsible for selling the most software that will mean they will want to sell on as many platforms as possible.

This goal will conflict with hardware division goals. Again, it’s an example of a potential issue when splitting PlayStation. I am sure there are more. I guess we shall see what happens , but I remain dubious.

 

[midnightAI]

The effect on timed exclusives takes a hit with every single release. People will fall less and less for it as time goes on. If you start this practice you gonna have a short term gain but longterm people will just wait. At this point just do day and date it doesn't make a big difference anymore.

Do we see any evidence of this though? Have PlayStation sales seen any kind of mass drop off since they started releasing games 1 year+ on PC after release on PS

Hulst and those above him know why people buy PlayStation, they are dumb, they'll have watched very carefully what has happened to XBox and won't follow that route (and a huge part of lack of XBox sales is because they launch day and date on PC even though they have Gamepass which makes games basically 'free')

 

[Hudo]

Putting Hermen Hulst in any significant leadership position is a bad omen...

 

[Bartski]

 

[Fabieter]

Do we see any evidence of this though? Have PlayStation sales seen any kind of mass drop off since they started releasing games 1 year+ on PC after release on PS

Hulst and those above him know why people buy PlayStation, they are dumb, they'll have watched very carefully what has happened to XBox and won't follow that route (and a huge part of lack of XBox sales is because they launch day and date on PC even though they have Gamepass which makes games basically 'free')

The sqaure enix thread? I can safely say that most pc guys are super aware of all the timed exclusives things and they don't give a fuck to wait. With the uprise of influencers companies have an even harder sell in these things like ever before. Do I have hard non anecdotal evidence that millions of people are waiting for their game, no I don't! I don't even think sony can say for sure.

It's quite new for them to release current games after 1 year tho, but all the third party timed exclusives faded away. Well I wouldn't bet on it completely since they are already declining.

 

[BlackTron]

Wasn't Hulst already in charge of all PS studios anyway? I wouldn't expect game development direction to change that much.

 

[Fabieter]

Wasn't Hulst already in charge of all PS studios anyway? I wouldn't expect game development direction to change that much.

We are in the middle of a drought because of him so I don't hope that nothing is changing.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Maybe this means day 1 PC release after they are done with current PS backlog for PC

And while they block Ghost of Tsushima from being sold through Steam in non-PSN countries?

 

[midnightAI]

The sqaure enix thread? I can safely say that most pc guys are super aware of all the timed exclusives things and they don't give a fuck to wait. With the uprise of influencers companies have an even harder sell in these things like ever before. Do I have hard non anecdotal evidence that millions of people are waiting for their game, no I don't! I don't even think sony can say for sure.

It's quite new for them to release current games after 1 year tho, but all the third party timed exclusives faded away. Well I wouldn't bet on it completely since they are already declining.

Third party timed exclusives is a different thing though, that's more about them maximising profits by releasing on more platforms, but they don't have any hardware to sell, Sony does. Square obviously has other problems though as Capcom and Konami make platform exclusives/timed exclusives and are seeing high profits.

 

[PaintTinJr]

We are in the middle of a drought because of him so I don't hope that nothing is changing.

Not just a drought IMO, but a famine of games exploiting specific PS5 hardware to tailor games to the hardware, rather than made to be PC ported. That along with a continuation of Jim's forced dev info blackout, with no interesting hardware analysis from our man Cerny., against a farcical mantra of "let the games do the talking" (on PS5/PC)tm.

 

[BlackTron]

We are in the middle of a drought because of him so I don't hope that nothing is changing.

I agree that PS needs a shakeup so this isn't good news. Just saying, it doesn't seem to be any worse than where we currently stand either so I wouldn't overstate the "impact" of this.

 

[Fabieter]

Third party timed exclusives is a different thing though, that's more about them maximising profits by releasing on more platforms, but they don't have any hardware to sell, Sony does. Square obviously has other problems though as Capcom and Konami make platform exclusives/timed exclusives and are seeing high profits.

I think timed exclusive sony games make sure that more people stick to Playstation( not everyone will) but there wont be any grow if its known that it will br playable on other platforms.

I liked all platforms for having big exclusives. It made gaming interesting. Including more aaa pc exclusives but the truth is the times are gone aber people aint as easy to grasp as before. Let's see how it works out!

 

[Fabieter]

Not just a drought IMO, but a famine of games exploiting specific PS5 hardware to tailor games to the hardware, rather than made to be PC ported. That along with a continuation of Jim's forced dev info blackout, with no interesting hardware analysis from our man Cerny., against a farcical mantra of "let the games do the talking" (on PS5/PC)tm.

Yea the communication sucks big time tho and has to for a few years.

I agree that PS needs a shakeup so this isn't good news. Just saying, it doesn't seem to be any worse than where we currently stand either so I wouldn't overstate the "impact" of this.

Well that's true I guess.

 

[Badlucktroll]

Now go fund that Bloodborne sequel Hulst.

I feel that if they crank one out without Miyazaki it will be like dark souls 2

 

[CLW]

DUMB idea like when you claim to have 2 starting QBs you really have none. Unless they mortal Kombat to death any disagreement

 

[nial]

Yea but most of its 500 employees were fired. Why didn't they held on them.

500 employees and all or most of them fired??????
You people are just saying anything at this point. BTW, I already adressed that misconception.

Also, there weren't layoffs, you can't just do that in Japan. They were just external contractors that were never called again after their contracts expired, which was something they ALWAYS used to do, that arguably affected a lot of their development process over the course of the years.

He's credited as president because he is the head of PS Studios. It's a formality. However, in interviews Kim mentions and thanks Shu. It was him he contacted and it was him who went to Korea and approved the project. Hermen was too busy canceling Factions thanks to the invaluable advice of Bungie.

Which means that he was at the helm of all these choices, not Shuhei. Your last point does not make sense either, he has a watch on every PS Studios project. Shu cannot approve anything because it's not his job, again.

The relationship with Mihoyo and other Chinese devs is part of the China Hero Project initiative also led by Shu, as head of indie games.

It's not led by Shu, the Hero Projects are separate from the indie initiative. Most of the games he was involved with were Western AA indie stuff.

 

[Perrott]

There are a few good reasons, but here's one: Playstation Studios has been a DISASTER in the last 4 years. Hermen was the man in charge. By any normal metric, he should be fired, not promoted. He has admitted lack of supervision (!!!?) which resulted in delays and studio shutdowns. The mismanagement has been wild.

The "Disaster":

• 2020
  
  • [83MC] Astro's Playroom
  • [92MC] Demon's Souls
  • [85MC] Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
  • [TBD] Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered
  • [79MC] Sackboy: A Big Adventure
• 2021
  
  • [85MC] Death Stranding Director's Cut
  • [62MC] Destruction AllStars
  • [87MC] Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut
  • [88MC] Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
  • [86MC] Returnal
• 2022
  
  • [94MC] God of War: Ragnarök
  • [87MC] Gran Turismo 7
  • [88MC] Horizon: Forbidden West
  • [TBD] [DLC] Returnal – Ascension
  • [89MC] The Last Of Us Part I
  • [87MC] Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
• 2023
  
  • [61MC] Firewall Ultra
  • [88MC] [DLC] God of War: Ragnarök – Valhalla
  • [79MC] Horizon: Call of the Mountain
  • [82MC] [DLC] Horizon: Forbidden West – Burning Shores
  • [90MC] Marvel's Spider-Man 2
• 2024 (so far)
  
  • [82MC] Helldivers 2
  • [76MC] Rise of the Ronin
  • [90MC] The Last Of Us Part II Remastered

Shut the fuck up.

 

[Fabieter]

500 employees and all or most of them fired??????
You people are just saying anything at this point. BTW, I already adressed that misconception.


Which means that he was at the helm of all these choices, not Shuhei. Your last point does not make sense either, he has a watch on every PS Studios project. Shu cannot approve anything because it's not his job, again.

It's not led by Shu, the Hero Projects are separate from the indie initiative. Most of the games he was involved with were Western AA indie stuff.

Not expand alot of these contracts is the same as fire them. And we are three years in, they said there will be loads of partnership of xdev. Stellar blade and rise of ronin is great but their second party output in Asia wasn't actually great so far since hulst took over.

All we hear is pc ports, Horizon remakes, mmos and lego games and loads of gaas. I expect their business meeting this month to say that they will go day and date which will be the next blow for hulst.

 

[nial]

Not expand alot of these contracts is the same as fire them. And we are three years in, they said there will be loads of partnership of xdev. Stellar blade and rise of ronin is great but their second party output in Asia wasn't actually great so far since hulst took over.

It surely wasn't 500 developers as you said. It was SOME external producers that were never contracted again. As for bolded, yes, we are just getting started, you have Lost Soul Aside, Convallaria and Death Stranding 2 among ROTR and SB releasing in the span of a year.

 

[Alebrije]

You think just one guy can defeat this team:

Sony needed at least two...

 

[Fabieter]

It surely wasn't 500 developers as you said. It was SOME external producers that were never contracted again. As for bolded, yes, we are just getting started, you have Lost Soul Aside, Convallaria and Death Stranding 2 among ROTR and SB releasing in the span of a year.

Silent Hill creator leaves Sony to form new studio

Keiichiro Toyama, creator and director of Silent Hill, has left PlayStation after more than 20 years at SCE Japan Studi…

www.eurogamer.net

Well 1. Isn't exactly a lot 4 to 5 years in and 2. Most of those didn't have anything to do with hulst but sure he at least didn't cancel those.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Hermen was too busy canceling Factions

Why tf is nonsense like this being thrown out?

Factions cancellation was ND’s final call. They did not want to put more resources into it and take away from their SP games.

Period.