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[Lokaum D+]

so much money, time and potential lost because corp greed, if they were making sp games we would have a lot of releases on the way, Now ? just wait till PS6.

idk how many more projects they ll cancel or how many more ll fail like Concord, but i ll tell you this, i ll not be surprise when someone leaks that Sony had lost almost a Billion on failed projects due Gass games, Concord alone cost them U$400 millions.

 

[EN250]

You had a cool shit going with Days Gone you pricks, now wasting time with GAAS trash that either dies Concord style or never see the light of day TLOUMP style, dumbasses...

 

[clarky]

Should have planned on creating cool shit 15 years ago.

 

[bitbydeath]

could they be shut down?

That’s like expecting Naughty Dog to be shutdown after their GaaS game got cancelled.

Sony isn’t that timid.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

so much money, time and potential lost because corp greed, if they were making sp games we would have a lot of releases on the way, Now ? just wait till PS6.

idk how many more projects they ll cancel or how many more ll fail like Concord, but i ll tell you this, i ll not be surprise when someone leaks that Sony had lost almost a Billion on failed projects due Gass games, Concord alone cost them U$400 millions.

From the beginning, Bungie tanked in sales and value and they paid out over $1B in employee retention fees. So it's already at $1B+. The company isnt getting that back nor is the remaining asset value of Bungie worth the same as 2022.

H2 was a big money maker, but no way does the net revenue from all the copies sold and MTX cover, Bungie, Concord/Firewalk, and the other 6 or 7 cancelled games (and any studios that go with it). I'd take a guess so far (excluding below points), Sony is down about $2B. $1.5B+ on Bungie alone + all the over stuff, countered by H2 success.

Right now, I think the remaining new GAAS games they got are:

- Marathon
- Fairgames
- Horizon MP game
- The new studio made up of leftover Deviation Studio people (shut one studio down and opened up another with some of the same people)
- There might be 1 or 2 more I forget. But at this point I think this is all that remains

 

[Hypereides]

Well I hope they do get a chance to make a game. Syphon Filter reboot, make it happen (I know, I know...).

It's a shame they were squandered on a GaaS game. Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses.

I'm not sure Hulst would allow it. They got Physint coming up from Kojima. Another stealth spy action game. It might become another TLOU vs. Days Gone 2 pitch situation where he rejects one for the other. Allegedly, Druckmann wasn't keen on seeing a DG2 compete with TLOU2 either which had some influence on the decision.

May be the issue wasn't sales related at all. We actually have no idea why it was rejected. From what I understand, the pitch for the second game didn't even get past the higher execs at Bend, let alone Sony.

I believe the top Bend folks did pitch it. PS management rejected it due to the "critical" reception (a.k.a. journos trashing it for embarrassing and loaded reasons) among other things:

https://archive.md/JMcik

[...]
This fixation on teams that churn out hits is creating unrest across Sony's portfolio of game studios. Oregon-based Sony Bend, best known for the 2019 open-world action game Days Gone, tried unsuccessfully to pitch a sequel that year, according to people familiar with the proposal. Although the first game had been profitable, its development had been lengthy and critical reception was mixed, so a Days Gone 2 wasn’t seen as a viable option.
[...]

 

[viveks86]

I believe the top Bend folks did pitch it. PS management rejected it due to the "critical" reception (a.k.a. journos trashing it for embarrassing and loaded reasons) among other reasons:

https://archive.md/JMcik

I'd rather trust the words directly from the directors (see embedded tweets and podcast):

https://icon-era.com/threads/days-gone-2-not-being-made-was-a-bend-studio-decision.13966/

It appeared they feared PS management will reject it as, back then, it had neither done those sales numbers nor been critically well received. But it never reached that level.

But even I'm torn on this as Garvin has been all over the place after he quit. Still better than a second hand source, I think.

 

[N30RYU]

Wouldn't be better for sony to show what where they doing to see ppl reception first?
Is this that crazy yo let ppl decide what they are willing to pay for?

 

[Hypereides]

I'd rather trust the words directly from the directors (see embedded tweets and podcast):

https://icon-era.com/threads/days-gone-2-not-being-made-was-a-bend-studio-decision.13966/

But even I'm torn on this as Garvin has been all over the place after he quit. Still better than a second hand source, I think.

If that's true, then the Bend team really, really needs to reassess that stance. The ripple effect/word of mouth in the gaming community has had a mostly positive response. If they still got Garvin's original sequel script lying around, they could consider repurposing it and follow it for beat.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Wouldn't be better for sony to show what where they doing to see ppl reception first?
Is this that crazy yo let ppl decide what they are willing to pay for?

Makes sense.

But gaming (like media in general), doesnt seem to do that. They work on stuff for years and then surprise the public with their new creation assuming people like it. If they do internal testing or focus groups trying to get mass approvals from the participants, it probably doesnt even mean much since so many games are bad and fail anyway.

 

[bitbydeath]

Closing evolution was the most moronic decision ever. They had so much potential.

It made no sense, they were extremely talented and turned around games at Insomniac-like speed.

 

[Sushi_Combo]

Hopefully it won't take them another 8+ years to build this "cool shit"

 

[Shifty1897]

There has to be something you can do with all those live service game assets and systems you've already made. Seems like it would doable to shift the game to a single player model with less extra work than just starting over from scratch.

 

[viveks86]

If that's true, then the Bend team really, really needs to reassess that stance. The ripple effect/word of mouth in the gaming community has had a mostly positive response. If they still got Garvin's original sequel script lying around, they could consider repurposing it and follow it for beat.

May be that’s why they are working on a remake? Test the waters to gauge reception and revisit the viability of a sequel? No idea if that rumor has any truth to it though

 

[Bernardougf]

People really think that Sony had no influencie whatsoever in Bend and Bluepoint starting Gaas Mp projects ? Really ? .... I just dont believe that, sorry ... dont even @me there is no way you can convince me that this projects werent in some shape or form heavily influenced by Sony at the time of their inception.

"Thats not what Sony do" .. lol like Sony this gen has been doing anything they "normally do"...

 

[Humdinger]

People really think that Sony had no influencie whatsoever in Bend and Bluepoint starting Gaas Mp projects ? Really ? .... I just dont believe that, sorry ... dont even @me there is no way you can convince me that this projects werent in some shape or form heavily influenced by Sony at the time of their inception.

"Thats not what Sony do" .. lol like Sony this gen has been doing anything they "normally do"...

I am sure that Sony highly incentivized, goaded, coaxed, and perhaps even pressured Bend and Bluepoint into doing Live service games. Sony was drooling at the mouth for Live service when these games were conceived, and both Bend and Bluepoint are SP studios with no experience developing GaaS titles. The idea that they would decide, on their own, to develop Live service titles is not plausible.

 

[Donald mac Ronald]

How can a studio work on something for 5 years and just have nothing to show

 

[TheGodfather07]

It made no sense, they were extremely talented and turned around games at Insomniac-like speed.

Really lame from Sony. Why so ruthless with them? Should have let them create another motorstorm or even an open world racing game like forza horizon.

 

[FF:Enhanced_Reality]

Bend are no strangers to having games cancelled. They'll bounce back.

 

[Embearded]

Great. Sony had the foundation of Days Gone and now they've just made Bend jerk off for 4 years.

This.

They could have released DG2 which would have made them money and establish the IP in the process.
But no, they had to make another GaaS...

Sony is literally throwing shit on the wall and hope something sticks.

 

[Games of Today]

This.

They could have released DG2 which would have made them money and establish the IP in the process.
But no, they had to make another GaaS...

Sony is literally throwing shit on the wall and hope something sticks.

I'm just so tired of all this horseshit. If they would just do what they did during PS3's life cycle they would shitting in high cotton at this point.

 

[Thief1987]

I'm just so tired of all this horseshit. If they would just do what they did during PS3's life cycle they would shitting in high cotton at this point.

They had Kaz at the helm then, now they have Hulst. Chances of quick resolution of the crisis are non-existent, at least until this clownshow at the top.

 

[ProtoByte]

See you on the PS6, dumbass.

No, Days Gone was not all that, certainly not after 6 years of dev.

 

[Embearded]

They had Kaz at the helm then, now they have Hulst, chances of quick resolution of the crisis are not existing, at least until this clownshow at the top.

If i remember correctly, unlike Hulst, Kaz wasn't coming from a specific studio so he didn't push a game like Hulst does with Horizon.

Don't get me wrong, i like Horizon and enjoyed both games very much, but it's not a system seller and will never be.

 

[yogaflame]

Well i hope they work on Days gone 2 and syphon filter sequel on this Ps5 generation.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Great. Sony had the foundation of Days Gone and now they've just made Bend jerk off for 4 years.

5 years and change actually

 

[Dorago]

They graduate from an expensive private high school having performed no demonstrable work.

They attend a $50,000 / year College and perform no demonstrable work.

They get hired for a job making $150,000 / year and do no demonstrable work.

Cargo cult education, cargo cult game development, cargo cult games.

The industry is so funded by wealth management (meaning trade union and state employee pension funds) that they seemingly can't go bankrupt no matter how much money they lose.

 

[Winkle]

Didn’t something leak about their new IP recently?

 

[adamsapple]

Didn’t something leak about their new IP recently?

Yes, it was the one with live service hooks if I'm not mistaken .. and that's the one that just got canceled, at least that's what it seems like.

If they're gonna go back to the planning stages to see what they make next, I don't expect their next new title (that isn't a remaster) for at least 3, 4 years.

I don't know if Bend is big enough to be a two project studio.

 

[FeralEcho]

Half of this generation was lost in chasing something Sony then realized it wasn't such a big deal after all...incredible

It's embarassing that the market leader of all companies would follow current trends instead of setting them like they did with the previous generations.Not only that but doing so while minimizing resources on the one thing they know for sure works,singleplayer stories. Jim Ryan's legacy - a ruined generation chasing trends.

Just axe everyone in charge of this management disaster!

 

[Perrott]

I mean, they're making a Days Gone movie and the original game is getting a remaster. Just hire the appropriate talent and make Days Gone 2 already.

 

[lughnasadh123]

Kinda jumping in here so maybe I missed it, but didn't Bend choose not to ask Sony about doing a sequel? I could have sworn they had enough autonomy to choose what they wanted to work on. So did they pick to do a GaaS game? And why did Sony cancel - mostly due to Concord's cataclysmic failure? Weird shit all around.

 

[Project EVE]

Wait they are still in the planning stage? I thought they were already making some cool stuff.

 

[Perrott]

Maybe Sony doesn't want two zombie franchises at the same time. I was actually suprised when they announced Days Gone. Even the environments looked like The Last of Us Part 2.

The Days Gone franchise wasn't going to be much of a zombie thing going forward. If you played the game, you'd know what I mean.

 

[Humdinger]

Wait they are still in the planning stage? I thought they were already making some cool stuff.

The "cool stuff" they were making (for the past 4 to 5 years) was well out of the planning stages but has now been cancelled. It was a Live service game of some type, so its cancellation is probably a good thing, although the massive waste of time and resources is a bad thing.

The community manager talking about "still planning on making cool stuff" is referring to whatever comes next for the studio, now that the GaaS game has been axed. We are assuming the studio does not follow, but who knows.

 

[yogaflame]

Wait they are still in the planning stage? I thought they were already making some cool stuff.

Sadly because Sony force them to focus on live service. But it was already cancelled and development just recently shifted back to single player game. Let us hope that there next project will launch within the ps5 life cycle. I hope its Syphon filter or Days gone.

 

[Haint]

Imagine funding several hundred people at $200K+/yr per head, possibly missing multiple entire console generations, and maybe releasing 1 game in 10 years if you're lucky. Sony's current Playstation executive team has to be the most inept groups of retards in the history of business.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Great. Sony had the foundation of Days Gone and now they've just made Bend jerk off for 4 years.

One of the only games in recent times that I've played from start to end.

They absolutely have a great world to build on. Such a crying shame that IP has been put on hold or whatever.

 

[Bernardougf]

Imagine funding several hundred people at $200K+/yr per head, possibly missing multiple entire console generations, and maybe releasing 1 game in 10 years if you're lucky. Sony's current Playstation executive team has to be the most inept groups of retards in the history of business.

 

[kiphalfton]

Bend:

 

[DinoD]

Thank you Mr Jimmy , thank you Hermit Hurst.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Watch your back, Bend. Hermen the axe man is coming for you.

 

[BlitzerRadic]

People really think that Sony had no influencie whatsoever in Bend and Bluepoint starting Gaas Mp projects ? Really ? .... I just dont believe that, sorry ... dont even @me there is no way you can convince me that this projects werent in some shape or form heavily influenced by Sony at the time of their inception.

"Thats not what Sony do" .. lol like Sony this gen has been doing anything they "normally do"...

I doubt Sony said you have to make a live service project. I believe Sony criteria for greenlighting live sevice vs single player are different. So a studio presents a live service project and Sony is more likely to take a risk and sign off since they're a crapshoot anyways in terms if they are a success if we're being honest. But its up to the studio if they want to make that kind of game or not.

 

[Arsic]

Bend over. Herman is coming.

 

[Beechos]

Ouch... please tell me this wasn't the only game they were working on after days gone.

 

[Unknown?]

Closing evolution was the most moronic decision ever. They had so much potential.

The only game they made that sold decent was Motorstorm 1. Pacific Rift sold less and Apocalypse was a bomb. Driveclub was also a bomb, didn't sell except when it was discounted to $10. Just didn't make money back.

It wasn't the same company as in the PS2 days either.

 

[Rickyiez]

What gives you the impression they've been "coasting"? Wtf.

Some if not most of the idiots in upper management that were making the decisions should be fired , not the devs . The devs were probably working hard to chase deadlines set by these idiots just for their efforts to be dismissed . It's pretty demotivating if that's the real

 

[StreetsofBeige]

The "cool stuff" they were making (for the past 4 to 5 years) was well out of the planning stages but has now been cancelled. It was a Live service game of some type, so its cancellation is probably a good thing, although the massive waste of time and resources is a bad thing.

The community manager talking about "still planning on making cool stuff" is referring to whatever comes next for the studio, now that the GaaS game has been axed. We are assuming the studio does not follow, but who knows.

Imagine funding several hundred people at $200K+/yr per head, possibly missing multiple entire console generations, and maybe releasing 1 game in 10 years if you're lucky. Sony's current Playstation executive team has to be the most inept groups of retards in the history of business.

If nothing has been shown since working on DG, it means they're still in such early stages nothing would be shown for another few years unless just by luck Bend's game got cancelled right when they wanted to show the game well on it's way in development (and would be coming out in a year or two), which I dont believe at all. I suspect what they had after 4-5 years was almost nothing. But it seems Sony is willing to keep them around for another try, which would mean the next game wont come out for another 4-5 years (middle of PS6 era). They'd literally miss the entire PS5 gen.

As I said in one of my old posts, give the studio credit. They milked those annual salaries to the bone. Good job. Assuming their next game does release in 4-5 years, that's 10 years of salary for one game. Crazy. I assume a video game maker makes decent money. For any FT employees around the whole time, take their salary and multiply by 10 before one product ships out the door.

 

[evanft]

Days Gone was not a good game. I would have no faith in anything they create.

 

[Effigenius]

Yeah, well see you in 5 years then..

5 years? We’ll see them in the unemployment line in 6 months.