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[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

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**NOTE!!!: This is a parody. Well, the OP is. When I come across mind-numblingly stupid posts on ResetERA, like the below from user (tool) Firmus_Anguis, I like to poke fun at them. However, we can have a genuine discussion about Sony & Japan Studio with more substance than the drivel in this OP, obviously (also the actual video might be a decent watch, but I haven't watched it yet) **

===============

(the below are Firmus_Anguis's words, NOT mine. You couldn't pay me to be this stupid)

Sony really fucked up with this, IMO... Them strictly looking at the bottom line and completely ignoring the artistic value these smaller games brought to the table is a tragedy.

The internal power struggle at Sony might've just been about this. What made PlayStation so great weren't just the AAA-games - the smaller, quirkier titles carried their weight too and were always a part of that legacy.

We know what the current leadership thinks of their legacy...

Either way, Jim Ryan is a f*cking shithead mostly because of shit like this:

https://www.thegamer.com/playstation-ceo-jim-ryan-abortion-rights/

Shawn wasn't insensitive when it came to this stuff. He's actually pretty awesome.



Didn't mean to derail, but I really can't stand Jim Ryan and I have a feeling (and a Schreier article supporting said feeling) that stuff like this is mostly his fault.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Also actual opinion of mine, not Firmus': yes Shawn Layden is awesome but Jim Ryan is obviously very good at his job where it actually matters otherwise he would not have been promoted to the position. Also a lot of PS division decisions from up high come from people above Jim Ryan but if you didn't have such an imbecilic hateboner for Jim over stuff that has nothing to do with his job running a gaming division, you would realize that.

I hope you're reading this Firmus because we know a lot of Reset people lurk these threads. Do not be sorry; be better.

 

[bitbydeath]

I mean, we lost Knack
Otherwise everything else is more/less in tact.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I mean, we lost Knack
Otherwise everything else is more/less in tact.

And we're getting a Knack 3, of all things!

 

[Kilau]

Japan studio always had interesting projects. I’m not sure how things will end up but I’ll always wonder what could have been.

 

[killatopak]

Japan Studio has always been a small beacon of hope for me for a Japanese IP resurgence in the PS studios. They have plenty of excellent IPs that are unused. Kinda sad that it’s gone.

 

[BennyBlanco]

on one hand i miss tokyo jungle / puppeteer type weird stuff from sony. on the other hand it took ueda 20 years to make the last guardian and it flopped.

 

[bender]

Some thoughts on the video:

-I fucking love Ueda's game but with The Last Guardians development troubles, we should be grateful it came out in the first place. No matter Sony's leadership, a divorce was always in the forecast.
-Speaking of fucking love, Shadow Hearts holds a special place in my heart and I can't believe more companies didn't ape the Judgement Ring battle system. It's such a simple idea to keep players attention into grinds that can often be monotonous in most RPGs. But I'm super weary of Kickstarters these days. For everyone great game that comes out, we get ten or so projects that deliver very sketchy quality.
-I still hope Sony and Clap Hanz work together on another Everybody's Golf. Clap Hanz Golf has a lot of the qualities that make EG great, but it's missing a bunch of the advanced features which really make those games a cut above the competition in complexity and depth.
-Not a Gravity Rush fan, but Slitherhead looks dope.

on one hand i miss tokyo jungle / puppeteer type weird stuff from sony. on the other hand it took ueda 20 years to make the last guardian and it flopped.

Two great examples of why I wish Sony would invest more into internal AA projects with their former Japanese teams. They can obviously generate hype for smaller titles with the likes of Stray, Kena and Sifu.

 

[SSfox]

Hermen Hulst has shitty gaming tastes, now once you got this no surprise to see some shitty decisions with Sony recently. To me Ico, SOTC or Gravity Rush are much more valuable than any Marvel based game, Jade Ramond gaas or some Firespirit shooter.

At least they still have PoDi an OD Japanese studio and the best Racing car game studio, and there will be 3rd party like Capcom, SE, and Tecmo are gonna create great iconic defining games for PS5, kind of games that Sony are not and won't be capable to create by themselves, at least not under somebody like Hermen Hulst.

 

[Captain Toad]

This studio was hardly ever mentioned until they changed to Team Asobi. Now, they're suddenly this huge AAA developer.

 

[Northeastmonk]

It sucks that so many creative people left, but was it their home forever? It’s always been a business. If you look at the Saturn. People were tired of Sega at the time the Saturn/Dreamcast had launched. Some of its cult classics barely sold 500k units. It probably doesn’t get better because a team develops something that you like. It matters what the majority of sales are from. Game series like Madden, Call of Duty, and etc sell more than enough to make the publisher and the console developer money. You have millions and millions of people buy EA and Activision games, but that’s what sells. Consoles are being sold at a loss for the company and then factor in trying to develop AAA games to attract your audience. I’m sorry if I want to stay a PlayStation fan because I feel like they’ll eventually have whatever they’re known for making. I wish hard times didn’t have to fall on some of my favorite artists/developers/employees of SIE. It’s also a business that has always had business minded people behind it. I remember reading where Windows sold 500 million copies versus a million or possibly less sold of a video game on Xbox. I’d imagine this whole Sony hate is also a good narrative for their competitors.

 

[bitbydeath]

on one hand i miss tokyo jungle / puppeteer type weird stuff from sony. on the other hand it took ueda 20 years to make the last guardian and it flopped.

I bought all of Tokyo Jungles DLC, still have the dog as my avatar, and it still wasn’t enough to get a sequel.

 

[BennyBlanco]

This studio was hardly ever mentioned until they changed to Team Asobi. Now, they're suddenly this huge AAA developer.

was your first console a ps4?

 

[Captain Toad]

was your first console a ps4?

Close. Atari 2600.

 

[Hobbygaming]

I'm going to be honest, Sony Japan's games never clicked with me besides Shadow of the Colossus which I never beat

 

[BennyBlanco]

Close. Atari 2600.

then you should know better. they were prolific in ps1-ps3 era and made a bunch of handheld games.

seems a lot of them went to nintendo now.

 

[Hugare]

Also actual opinion of mine, not Firmus': yes Shawn Layden is awesome but Jim Ryan is obviously very good at his job where it actually matters otherwise he would not have been promoted to the position.

If that was true, we wouldnt see so many bosses/CEOs being shitty at their jobs

Sometimes people can fail upwards. Being at the right place at the right time, maybe.

What probably happened was: Jim Ryan said "hey, see how we are the leading platform in Europe? Yeah well, that's because of my leadership"

And we know that he had little if anything to do with this, but some executives are dumb and promoted him because of this.

 

[Gambit2483]

The Industry desperately needs more Japanese influence.

That's all I will say....

 

[Karak]

Also actual opinion of mine, not Firmus': yes Shawn Layden is awesome but Jim Ryan is obviously very good at his job where it actually matters otherwise he would not have been promoted to the position. Also a lot of PS division decisions from up high come from people above Jim Ryan but if you didn't have such an imbecilic hateboner for Jim over stuff that has nothing to do with his job running a gaming division, you would realize that.

I hope you're reading this Firmus because we know a lot of Reset people lurk these threads. Do not be sorry; be better.

He is. There is no denying it. Even if people don't like him he actually is considered insanely good.
Or as. But all things are continually changing and being considered at any company

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Some thoughts on the video:

-I fucking love Ueda's game but with The Last Guardians development troubles, we should be grateful it came out in the first place. No matter Sony's leadership, a divorce was always in the forecast.
-Speaking of fucking love, Shadow Hearts holds a special place in my heart and I can't believe more companies didn't ape the Judgement Ring battle system. It's such a simple idea to keep players attention into grinds that can often be monotonous in most RPGs. But I'm super weary of Kickstarters these days. For everyone great game that comes out, we get ten or so projects that deliver very sketchy quality.
-I still hope Sony and Clap Hanz work together on another Everybody's Golf. Clap Hanz Golf has a lot of the qualities that make EG great, but it's missing a bunch of the advanced features which really make those games a cut above the competition in complexity and depth.
-Not a Gravity Rush fan, but Slitherhead looks dope.



Two great examples of why I wish Sony would invest more into internal AA projects with their former Japanese teams. They can obviously generate hype for smaller titles with the likes of Stray, Kena and Sifu.

I always thought Shadow Hearts was a Konami IP, not Sony's. In fact I'm looking at the Wiki right now and Sony's not listed as one of the publishers, so I think the video just got that part outright wrong. But I agree it would've been neat if at least a few more JRPGs took inspiration from its game mechanics.

Mentioning stuff like Kena, Sifu & Stray, I think the two best approaches for Sony going forward are to look into maybe acquiring a couple of those teams (the one behind Sifu, and Ember Lab specifically; the dev team behind Stray may or may not be owned by Annapurna IIRC), and do what Sega does by licensing out legacy IP for smaller (hopefully AA in Sony's case) 3P developers working closely with them.

Because it's probably the only way we're going to get a new Parappa/UmJammer or Tomba! at this point tbh. Maybe mobile & PS+ would have to factor into the picture too, just make sure the quality feels like a console game in any case, like the IP deserve.

It sucks that so many creative people left, but was it their home forever? It’s always been a business. If you look at the Saturn. People were tired of Sega at the time the Saturn/Dreamcast had launched. Some of its cult classics barely sold 500k units. It probably doesn’t get better because a team develops something that you like. It matters what the majority of sales are from. Game series like Madden, Call of Duty, and etc sell more than enough to make the publisher and the console developer money. You have millions and millions of people buy EA and Activision games, but that’s what sells. Consoles are being sold at a loss for the company and then factor in trying to develop AAA games to attract your audience. I’m sorry if I want to stay a PlayStation fan because I feel like they’ll eventually have whatever they’re known for making. I wish hard times didn’t have to fall on some of my favorite artists/developers/employees of SIE. It’s also a business that has always had business minded people behind it. I remember reading where Windows sold 500 million copies versus a million or possibly less sold of a video game on Xbox. I’d imagine this whole Sony hate is also a good narrative for their competitors.

Yep, at the end of the day it's business. I can understand the emotional sentiments; I do personally miss quite a few of the smaller, more niche Sony IP including several Japan Studio titles. There're are still avenues for some of them to come back I feel, we'll just need to be a bit patient and see how things shake out.

However, if Japan Studio were basically Sony's own 343i in terms of not producing good enough results over a period of years, I'm not surprised they shuttered the studio and revamped what they could into Team Asobi. And it seems like the majority of Japan Studio talent that's since left have found good jobs at other places, someone above mentioned Nintendo picking quite a few of them up which is probably the best outcome for a lot of them. The way I see it, Sony could've been petty and kept those employees in a troubled studio not producing much content, but they decided it was a better fit for them to go to companies that might be in need of their talents more keenly.

I also agree tho that Japan Studio's shutting down has absolutely been used as fodder by disingenuous people to try pushing a narrative that Sony's "abandoned" Japan. Well they're at 2 million units lifetime there already and as much as some people like to bring up physical sales that suddenly doesn't become a factor when discussing Xbox in Japan even though 95% of all new releases for it in Japan are not Day 1 on GamePass so how else would those players get the games? Also that certain online retailers like Amazon Japan aren't tracked by Famitsu (apparently), and I don't know how many PlayStation publishers include digital sales alongside their physical ones, either.

If that was true, we wouldnt see so many bosses/CEOs being shitty at their jobs

Sometimes people can fail upwards. Being at the right place at the right time, maybe.

What probably happened was: Jim Ryan said "hey, see how we are the leading platform in Europe? Yeah well, that's because of my leadership"

And we know that he had little if anything to do with this, but some executives are dumb and promoted him because of this.

But Jim Ryan's been at PlayStation since the PS1 days. If he were bad at his job, Sony could've fired him any number of years ago.

Yes he wasn't the only piece of the puzzle for PlayStation's success in Europe, but if he was there as long as he's been, then he was an instrumental part at the very least. They'd have his qualifications and record of results to look at before deciding to put him in charge of the whole division, I trust that much.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Hermen Hulst has shitty gaming tastes, now once you got this no surprise to see some shitty decisions with Sony recently. To me Ico, SOTC or Gravity Rush are much more valuable than any Marvel based game, Jade Ramond gaas or some Firespirit shooter.

At least they still have PoDi an OD Japanese studio and the best Racing car game studio, and there will be 3rd party like Capcom, SE, and Tecmo are gonna create great iconic defining games for PS5, kind of games that Sony are not and won't be capable to create by themselves, at least not under somebody like Hermen Hulst.

So you blame Herman for marvel games even though it wasn't thanks to him that deal started back with Spider-Man.
Then you compare ICO, SOTC and Gravity Rush with games you haven't even seen or haven't been announced and say you prefer those and complain about his shitty taste.

Then, you compliment SE, Capcom and the other Japanese 3rd party studios for the games they do....even though Herman has clearly been making deals with all of them to have those games?

The Ronin game was during his time already, SE and Playstation haven't been this close since maybe the PS2 days and Indies are kind of covering PlayStation old school smaller games. Things have just shifted.

 

[bender]

I always thought Shadow Hearts was a Konami IP, not Sony's. In fact I'm looking at the Wiki right now and Sony's not listed as one of the publishers, so I think the video just got that part outright wrong. But I agree it would've been neat if at least a few more JRPGs took inspiration from its game mechanics.

I think it was a conflation because the Shadow Hearts spiritual successor was announce along side a Wild Hearts (?) spiritual successor.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I think it was a conflation because the Shadow Hearts spiritual successor was announce along side a Wild Hearts (?) spiritual successor.

Yeah, most likely that's the reason. The Wild Arms series is definitely Sony's thing, Shadow Hearts not so much.

Wish folks read the Kickstarter from the developer though as to why Armed Fantasia was rejected for funding. Apparently they had zero Proof of Concept. No publisher's going to blindly fund something without some mock-up of its existence, among other things.

There was just some super-weird anger from a few people that Sony were "against Japanese games" or JRPGs because they decided not to blindly fund a game with no proof of concept when the team presented it to them.

 

[Zok310]

In terms of business Sony made the right call. Folks need to move on, cause Sony has.

 

[EDMIX]

They are correct to focus on what works vs what doesn't.

The fact that they are even hiring and staffing up another studio shows it had little to do with "Japan" and more to do with that studio in general.
So to those wondering what could have been, you already got the fucking answer to that from The Last Guardian's sales....

If the game was cancelled, if it never came out, you'd just see people exaggerating making it sound like it would have or um "could" have been selling record units or something. I think people often imagine what they like, as some massive thing that would move massive units instead of objectively looking at it based on past sales, so they try to force how they feel, with how they believe everyone else might feel.

So...for just a minute folks, pretend this game never came out and was canned.

How much money do you want to bet that many on here would just pretend this was going to SAVE that studio?

Now that we know for a fact how it performed, do some of you understand why it makes sense for Sony to move on to projects or teams that are doing well? So this is personally one of my favorite games of all time and I'd love to see a 4th game in the series, but I understand why that is a risk and can't just continue that way without massive changes.

 

[bender]

Yeah, most likely that's the reason. The Wild Arms series is definitely Sony's thing, Shadow Hearts not so much.

Wish folks read the Kickstarter from the developer though as to why Armed Fantasia was rejected for funding. Apparently they had zero Proof of Concept. No publisher's going to blindly fund something without some mock-up of its existence, among other things.

There was just some super-weird anger from a few people that Sony were "against Japanese games" or JRPGs because they decided not to blindly fund a game with no proof of concept when the team presented it to them.

I can understand the frustration to an extent. Sony seems to only be interested in hitting homeruns and no matter the quality of past Japanese Studio games, those were never going to be more than a double from a sales perspective.

Like I mentioned in my first post, I've been playing a bunch of Easy Come, Easy Golf and the more I play, the more bummed out I get. Everybody's Golf was really special. But Golf Games have a limited appeal and the presentation of those games is going to further limit the appeal which is sad as they offer more depth than any other simulation on the market.

They are correct to focus on what works vs what doesn't.

To a degree, yes. But where I get concerned is that in the current environment, one underperforming game can sink a studio. In my mind, that will make most studios take less risks and just follow popular industry trends. I just wish there was a middle ground to where smaller studios or portions of studios could work on really creative projects and budget them so that selling a half million copies could be a success or if it doesn't meet sales expectations isn't the end of the world. Even failed concepts can become something greater in future projects.

 

[Punished Miku]

In terms of business Sony made the right call. Folks need to move on, cause Sony has.

I did. Buying more Switch and Xbox games than last gen.

I hope Sony rebuilds Japanese 1st party IP or even weird, niche AA IP in general. They make good AAA games but that's not all I want to play.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

I dunno man. Game Pass seems like the best avenue for the weird-ass/ Japanese as fuck games.

Weird/ but original mechanics.

Like Disaster Report/ Illbleed/ Michigan: Report from Hell/ Deadly Premonition. Just to name a few. (More memorable than you average cookie cutter western designed games)

 

[lh032]

The only game i like from Japan studio is SOTC, im still struggling to complete the last guardian as it was very repetitive.

 

[It's all in the wrist]

The best games still come out of Japan.

I will forever be upset that we're not getting sequels to Gravity Rush or another big Ueda game, but that's the way shit goes. Sony giveth, and taketh away.

One thing that would ease the blow is getting their back catalogue onto PSN.

 

[bender]

The only game i like from Japan studio is SOTC, im still struggling to complete the last guardian as it was very repetitive.

It's easily my least favorite of the "trilogy" but I'm not sure anything could escape the shadow that SOTC cast.

 

[EDMIX]

To a degree, yes. But where I get concerned is that in the current environment, one underperforming game can sink a studio. In my mind, that will make most studios take less risks and just follow popular industry trends. I just wish there was a middle ground to where smaller studios or portions of studios could work on really creative projects and budget them so that selling a half million copies could be a success or if it doesn't meet sales expectations isn't the end of the world. Even failed concepts can become something greater in future projects.

I don't know if I can say all that.

We have them with a whole VR thing going on...if thats not risk, I don't know what is.

So they are still taking risk with lots of projects, simply that those projects still need to be able to pay for themselves as this is still a business.
So their VR stuff, move stuff, that whole PlayLink shit lol They take plenty of risk still, they are merely being selective on what stays and what goes, but that is always how its been at Sony, even a big AAA project at Sony could not return for a sequel if its flops.

Look at Driveclub? Look at all of SOE? Its not merely a Japan thing, that is how they've behaved as a business for eons. So who knows how this will shape their future in Japan and small AA niche type titles, but I don't see them no longer doing those titles as I feel that is more exaggeration then anything thats going to happen or is happening now.

If they said they are not doing a VR sequel type device and only focusing on traditional AAA games and we never got Astro Bot, then maybe you'd have a better point or something. I'd say that would be a bigger sign they don't want that if anything.

ChorizoPicozo so basically those future games will just be stuff for PS Plus extra, premium etc? lol

 

[bender]

I don't know if I can say all that.

We have them with a whole VR thing going on...if thats not risk, I don't know what is.

So they are still taking risk with lots of projects, simply that those projects still need to be able to pay for themselves as this is still a business.
So their VR stuff, move stuff, that whole PlayLink shit lol They take plenty of risk still, they are merely being selective on what stays and what goes, but that is always how its been at Sony, even a big AAA project at Sony could not return for a sequel if its flops.

Look at Driveclub? Look at all of SOE? Its not merely a Japan thing, that is how they've behaved as a business for eons. So who knows how this will shape their future in Japan and small AA niche type titles, but I don't see them no longer doing those titles as I feel that is more exaggeration then anything thats going to happen or is happening now.

If they said they are not doing a VR sequel type device and only focusing on traditional AAA games and we never got Astro Bot, then maybe you'd have a better point or something. I'd say that would be a bigger sign they don't want that if anything.

ChorizoPicozo so basically those future games will just be stuff for PS Plus extra, premium etc? lol

Don't confuse my words as I'm not speaking in absolutes but this definitely feels like the direction Sony is going. I am a bit confused what Drawn to Death, Until Dawn or Concrete Genie has to do with the discussion. Those are past projects.

 

[EDMIX]

Don't confuse my words as I'm not speaking in absolutes but this definitely feels like the direction Sony is going. I am a bit confused what Drawn to Death, Until Dawn or Concrete Genie has to do with the discussion. Those are past projects.

Its to illustrate that the ideas that got left behind last gen, didn't stop them from taking risk the next gen.

So...those games have everything to do with this as one could argue all the shit that got left behind during the PS3 gen, didn't magically stop Sony from taking other risk. Its not saying they are done with risk as Move failed, its saying they moved on to VR....its saying that maybe some of those ideas failed and Sony is moving on to different risky ideas, not that they are leaving behind all risk in general as that sounds really silly when just last gen you saw those titles.


Did you not see some flops during PS3 that didn't return on PS4? Yet you still saw Until Dawn, Dreams, Concreate Genie etc.

PS2 ended with Eyetoy and Singstar stuff
PS3 literally started with that Eyetoy HD thing and ended with Move
PS4 did VR
PS5 is doing VR2

I mean, some flops might happen, they'll leave behind the titles that didn't work, do new risk going forward. So The Last Guardian not getting some 4th game doesn't mean Sony isn't taking any more risk, it means they are not with that IP anymore until something changes.

So...I don't see any evidence that Sony is going in some direction of taking less risk.

 

[bender]

So...I don't see any evidence that Sony is going in some direction of taking less risk.

We'll just have to wait and see how this generation plays out to draw any conclusions. I think you taking the risk words a little too binary also. No one is saying they are taking no risks, but rather fewer. And with their desire for blockbusters combined with development costs, you'll see fewer creative risks as well.

 

[jigglet]

The cream of the crop is jumping on the playground design bandwagon. That's where the big bucks are.

 

[EDMIX]

We'll just have to wait and see how this generation plays out to draw any conclusions. I think you taking the risk words a little too binary also. No one is saying they are taking no risks, but rather fewer. And with their desire for blockbusters combined with development costs, you'll see fewer creative risks as well.

I don't disagree that it appears that way, but we don't even have any evidence to support even that.

So we can measure by how many games Sony puts out that we might deem risky or something, but that would need to be by the end of the generation or something. So, we'll see. I still believe VR2 is the riskiest thing they can do and if they had plans to do less of that, that would be the thing they'd leave behind as I'm sure rolling that out is more costly then any of the projects any of us listed.

So I just don't see that yet and we'll have to wait till end of the generation to see how any of this played out.

 

[Zok310]

I did. Buying more Switch and Xbox games than last gen.

I hope Sony rebuilds Japanese 1st party IP or even weird, niche AA IP in general. They make good AAA games but that's not all I want to play.

I hope they dont waste any time or energy on jp 1st party.
Let that shit die, put the capital in devs that are being successful all over the world vs just 1 region.

 

[remember_spinal]

Media Molecule and Team Asobi are far more talented than whatever Japan Studio was putting out for the last 10 years.

People say they want those little quirky AA Japanese games but they don’t really support them when they come out. If there was a market for the stuff Japan Studio was doing they’d still be open. Sony isn’t scared of quirk they are scared of messy long and expensive development cycles that don’t amount to anything meaningful, critically or commercially

 

[ArtHands]

Like you guys said, Sony has moved on, while the Japanese players and devs has moved on too to Nintendo Switch and PC gaming.

 

[Reallink]

on one hand i miss tokyo jungle / puppeteer type weird stuff from sony. on the other hand it took ueda 20 years to make the last guardian and it flopped.

They are correct to focus on what works vs what doesn't.

The fact that they are even hiring and staffing up another studio shows it had little to do with "Japan" and more to do with that studio in general.
So to those wondering what could have been, you already got the fucking answer to that from The Last Guardian's sales....

If the game was cancelled, if it never came out, you'd just see people exaggerating making it sound like it would have or um "could" have been selling record units or something. I think people often imagine what they like, as some massive thing that would move massive units instead of objectively looking at it based on past sales, so they try to force how they feel, with how they believe everyone else might feel.

So...for just a minute folks, pretend this game never came out and was canned.

How much money do you want to bet that many on here would just pretend this was going to SAVE that studio?

Now that we know for a fact how it performed, do some of you understand why it makes sense for Sony to move on to projects or teams that are doing well? So this is personally one of my favorite games of all time and I'd love to see a 4th game in the series, but I understand why that is a risk and can't just continue that way without massive changes.

It should be pointed out that Japanese developer salaries are a literal fraction of their coastal Western counterparts, and the teams are typically much smaller. To put it into perspective, Sony probably could have funded 50 Last Guardians with the 4 BILLION they spent on Bungie, not sold a single copy of any of them, and still had like 1.5 Billion left over. The core Ueda Team was probably under 100 people earning an average of like $45K/yr. Naughty Dog spends more money making their Twitter meme GIF's than a year of Last Guardian's development.

 

[Godot25]

It goes hand in hand.
PlayStation sales in Japan are on decline from PS2 gen and I don't expect that PS5 will change that despite Sony's moneyhat like FF XVI. It's just not worth it for Sony to fight Nintendo there. So they are coasting along and praying that their brand will carry them forward.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

yes Shawn Layden is awesome

He was awesome. He’s just joined tencent which sucks, he could have went to any company in the world but no he has to take the silly money. Just a puppet now.

Has the balls to talk about issues in America and then on the other hand is taking CCP money, don’t see him talking about his new employers human rights abuses. He’s full of shit, but we all need to get paid so I don’t hold that against anyone. But maybe he shouldn’t come across as such a white knight on Twitter.

Ex-PlayStation Boss Shawn Layden Lands New Job at Tencent

Joins as a strategic advisor

www.pushsquare.com

 

[Amiga]

Sony focused their Japan assets into Asobi who have better quality and a stable turnout than the previous setup.

And unlike Nintendo or Sega, Sony from the start never had strong 1st party Japanese studios(other than one trick PD). most of the legacy PS2 stuff was done by 2nd/3rd party devs.

 

[Handel]

The loss of this studio and what it signals for Playstation is part of why I'm skipping PS5. Sony of old understood that there is value in arthouse titles and just smaller titles in general to help diversify a consoles line-up, and that such games don't need to sell great individually to add overall value to a console. Such titles can inspire other other developers/future developers that work the ideas from the niche titles into more mass market products, which is what happened with Ico inspiring Uncharted 2 and TLOU (among many others), and those two games are now the formula for Sony AAA as a whole. Ico is also the reason we have the Souls series, and Demon's Souls has been a boon for Sony twice now.

on one hand i miss tokyo jungle / puppeteer type weird stuff from sony. on the other hand it took ueda 20 years to make the last guardian and it flopped.

Source on TLG flopping? Not selling millions upon millions isn't flopping unless those were the internal expectations which I very much doubt since Ico and SOTC didn't sell gangbusters either.

TLG's actual active development time is much shorter than people usually believe. Development went dormant after they concluded that they couldn't make it work on PS3, and had to wait a few years for the rest of Japan Studio to be finished with other projects so that the game could be finished on PS4. If you look at Ico and SOTC both had pretty fast development times, so TLG's issues were purely technical and not an issue with Ueda as a developer.

 

[Mike Zhang]

PS5 feels so boring without those niche JP games. It's just another Xbox from western company. I'm not going to get a console this gen

 

[Bernd Lauert]

Jimbo is an ice cold businessman and from that point of view, his decisions make a lot of sense. I'll miss Sony's weird games, Gravity Rush was one of my favs on PS4.

And yes, by Spooderman standards, a game like TLG definitely flopped. But you can't tell me that those "quirky Japanese games" were a huge money pit, it's simply not true.

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

Listen: I love Final Fantasy but I also want variety from time to time. I wish PS5 also had a new Legend of Dragoon in the works. I wish Sony didn’t abandon Dark Cloud 3. Etc.

Basically I just want more exclusive big budget JRPG’s.

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

PS5 feels so boring without those niche JP games. It's just another Xbox from western company. I'm not going to get a console this gen

I mean to be fair PS5 has like 3 exclusives and personally I couldn’t care less for any of Sony’s first party games