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[yurinka]

I've said it before: it's going to get a lot worse for the rest of this generation.

Sure, Jan.

Meanwhile, Sony was the company that last year released more award winning games, the company that won more awards, and the company that got the game with more goty awards.

With Sony's GAAS initiative basically imploding,

It isn't. 4 of the 6 they did put in the market are very successful and have over a half a dozen more under development. The 12 IPs with GaaS plan continues there.

we're now in the drought Jim Ryan left behind.

The reality is that during the Jim Ryan era they more than doubled the devteam manpower and amount of first party games they develop at the same time.

But every generation games take longer to be made.

About half of their studios are changing direction

They are not.

Most of their heavy hitters are done for this generation

They are not at all: Sucker Punch and Kojima release this year, Bungie will release minimum Marathon (plus their spinoff Matter/'gummy bears'), Housemarque releases Saros next year, ND will release minimum Intergalactic, SSM will release minimum Cory's new IP (maybe the next GoW too), Insomniac will release Wolverine and (in case it was greenlighted) Venom, Guerrilla will release minimum Horizon Online (maybe Horizon 3 too), GT8 could be probably a launch/launch window crossgen game.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

3 posts from them in a 4-hour timespan. Did Phil's paycheck really mean they had to post this same lame post 3 separate times in a span of 4 hours on Twitter?

IGN/Eurogamer and much of the western gaming media feels as though they run off of console war clicks. They fear what happens when those clicks go away.

If Sony owns console, Nintendo owns handhelds/hybrids whatever you want to call it, and Steam owns PC... there's not much direct competition. Less competition, potentially less views.

You see it in sports with a lot of the media not wanting the Chiefs to 3peat, because fans of other teams start to check out of the process.

A lot of people will pretend as if there was a time that Sony put out 6 AAA games a year. It just never happened.

2018 was probably their biggest year from a release standpoint with God of War, Spider-Man, and Detroit Become Human...plus the SOTC remake.

They've always had 2, maybe 3 big AAA games with usually the 3rd being a more minor title, and maybe a remake or a remaster... and they've done that pretty consistently though the PS5 lifecycle.

2020
Ghost of Tsushima
Miles Morales
TLOUP2
Demon's Souls

2021 (probably the weakest year, no real surprise, delays due to covid, only 2 minor games)
Returnal
Rift Apart

2022
Gran Turismo 7
God of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
TLOUP1 Remake

2023 (really the first time where they only had 1 big game)
Spider-Man 2

2024
Helldivers 2
Astro Bot
Rise of the Ronin
Stellar Blade
Until Dawn Remake

But let's compare some "weaker years" of the PS4

I'm going to skip 2013 because it was a strong year for PS3, though people won't generally credit the PS5 for 2020

2014
Driveclub
Infamous Second Son
LBP3
TLOU Remastered

2015
Bloodborne
The Order 1886
Until Dawn
God of war 3 Remastered

2016
Uncharted 4
The Last Guardian
Ratchet and Clank remake

2017
Horizon Zero Dawn
Everybody's Golf
Gran Turismo Sport


2019
Day's Gone
Death Stranding
MediEvil remake

Even comparing Spider-Man 2 to 2019 and 2017, I'm pretty sure they'd take Spider-Man 2 over those years. And I'm sure many would take Rift Apart and Returnal over Day's Gone and Death Stranding.

 

[Three]

Not gonna read frauds gaming sites.

But this is yet another example of why PR/Marketing is important for setting narratives and building perception(reinforcing status/damage controlling-spin) and if there are competent people inside Sony, they should take note.

Ubisoft, Disney, and of course, Xbox are dealing with the consequences of bad decisions, where the outcome has been so so bad that PR/Marketing can't change public perception

PlayStation as a business just broke sales and profits records. Last year, they had several exclusive GOTY contenders/ winners and Sony has been proactive with its hero initiatives.

so, they have been killing in everything but First Party Development and PR.

The reception to the latest SoP, reflects the overall sentiment the brand has gained this generation.....is this a big deal?

If their studios/games lose cachet, so will the brand. The prime example of this happening and its consequences is Disney, and is not pretty.

IGN doing IGN things.

 

[BlackTron]

Sony isn't really coasting per se...I'd say they are scrambling behind the scenes to move everything around to get back on track, which is opposite of coasting.

Their bad predictions could have been an opening for Xbox, but luckily for Sony, they have ample support and Xbox self-destructed, so they have the wiggle room to venture out of their own mess without ceding ground or getting into big trouble.

 

[Badlucktroll]

I’m interested to see if microsoft gaming becomes the main publisher on playstation and nintendo

 

[Generic]

True.

But Sony seems to be adapting to how the market is evolving.

Back with PS3, online gaming wasn't what it is today and Sony invested heavily in AAA blockbusters.

But during PS4, online gaming exploded and we now see a big part of the gaming community invested in live service games.
Sony is going to need to adjust their business to that, hence they now invest in an area where they are lacking.

Some older gamers might hang onto gaming as it used to be, but the market has changed.

Online gaming during the PS3/X360 era was huge and Sony made sure to include a multiplayer mode in nearly every AAA game.

 

[Loope]

Doesn't seem like coasting to me. More, Sony is activelly preparing everything for the 2nd part of this gen and the 1st part of the next one.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Online gaming during the PS3/X360 era was huge and Sony made sure to include a multiplayer mode in nearly every AAA game.

I never said otherwise. It was different from today though, now that a lot of online games are live service with continuous support.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

As fan of Japanese games I’m eating damn good.

I for one never played so many Japanese games before as I do now.

Indeed

The revival of Capcom, Sega, Namco and Konami is more than making up for Sony’s slower release schedule.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Is Ziff Davis beginning to coast? With IGN/EG rageclicks up and staff IQ down, gaming's media eerie new normal takes shape​

 

[Dorago]

Sony got taken over by managers. Managers are good at (temporarily) making line go up by performing certain actions that investors like. Investors take the money stolen from working and middle class people via pension fund contributions and use it to fund disastrous political initiatives. By 2012 these investors had destroyed every other industry in America so they went after untouched entertainment spaces like video games, movies, card games, board games, etc. They've now destroyed these too. We have two to four major players making a laughably inferior product compared to five years ago even that will continue to make money because the sheep have been activated to consume.

 

[Brucey]

3 posts from them in a 4-hour timespan. Did Phil's paycheck really mean they had to post this same lame post 3 separate times in a span of 4 hours on Twitter?



Exactly!

Maybe contract requires three posts per week related to FUD, this is their Mondays work and then they can enter the eerily quiet zone for rest of week?

 

[Gorgon]

Sony got taken over by managers. Managers are good at (temporarily) making line go up by performing certain actions that investors like. Investors take the money stolen from working and middle class people via pension fund contributions and use it to fund disastrous political initiatives. By 2012 these investors had destroyed every other industry in America so they went after untouched entertainment spaces like video games, movies, card games, board games, etc. They've now destroyed these too. We have two to four major players making a laughably inferior product compared to five years ago even that will continue to make money because the sheep have been activated to consume.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Not gonna read frauds gaming sites.

But this is yet another example of why PR/Marketing is important for setting narratives and building perception(reinforcing status/damage controlling-spin) and if there are competent people inside Sony, they should take note.

Ubisoft, Disney, and of course, Xbox are dealing with the consequences of bad decisions, where the outcome has been so so bad that PR/Marketing can't change public perception

PlayStation as a business just broke sales and profits records. Last year, they had several exclusive GOTY contenders/ winners and Sony has been proactive with its hero initiatives.

so, they have been killing in everything but First Party Development and PR.

The reception to the latest SoP, reflects the overall sentiment the brand has gained this generation.....is this a big deal?

If their studios/games lose cachet, so will the brand. The prime example of this happening and its consequences is Disney, and is not pretty.

Nailed it 100%.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Sony’s coasted most of the generation. Cross gen dominated the entire thing and now they’re coasting to the PS6 for the next round of cross gen.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Microsoft are the worst propagandists on Earth but you have to give them credit for never giving up and trying until the end of time

 

[SHA]

That jump in numbers from the same people who give a 100th thought before jumping to current gen and the same people who don't want to miss MS games.

 

[tkscz]

They literally just got a new CEO less than a month ago, most likely they may be starting up new projects that they just aren't ready to announce.

 

[EN250]

Man, journos are really slow, Sony been coasting since GOWR release back in 2022...

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Sony’s coasted most of the generation. Cross gen dominated the entire thing and now they’re coasting to the PS6 for the next round of cross gen.

Cross gen is the future now and there's nothing wrong with that.

The way games are designed, very few games are held back by being cross gen with maybe the exception of streaming assets via the SSD.

From the PS5 Pro to the Nintendo Switch, Hogwarts Legacy plays very differently on each device, but the core game elements are the same.

PC has been "cross gen" for its entire existence and console gaming just got there.

To say cross gen is coasting shows a level of disconnect from reality as if running 4K60 on one console means that a 1080p30 version somehow lessens the 4K60 version...

Man, journos are really slow, Sony been coasting since GOWR release back in 2022...

Imagine coasting to GOTY and ongoing game of the year...

 

[Shaki12345]

I see a lot of people here celebrating Sony's "success" with the PS5.

It's very bad for gaming when Microsoft will someday stop making consoles and Sony can do whatever they want. The consumer will eventually correct them, but still; competition is good. And I don't count Nintendo as competition. They'll survive no matter what.

 

[EN250]

Imagine coasting to GOTY and ongoing game of the year...

I'll give you ASTRO, but that feels like a fluke more than anything, no one expected to be this good, but GOWR can't hold a candle to the GOTY2018 from the same franchise

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I'll give you ASTRO, but that feels like a fluke more than anything, no one expected to be this good, but GOWR can't hold a candle to the GOTY2018 from the same franchise

Think about what you said and then try and realize that you have massive bias.

Astro Bot is a fluke? Sony shut down Japan Studio and cultivated Team Asobi specifically. They greenlit Astro's Rescue Mission (90 metacritic, 8.9 user), Astro's Playroom (83 metacritic, 9.0 user), and then Astro Bot. You can tell yourself that that's a fluke, but it absolutely isn't.

God of War Ragnarok is like twice the length of God of War 2018 and has far better gameplay and world exploration.

Like, I don't know what to tell you. There's nothing I'm going to say that will get you to actually recognize your biases or your revisionist history.

 

[Clear]

IGN/Eurogamer and much of the western gaming media feels as though they run off of console war clicks. They fear what happens when those clicks go away.

If Sony owns console, Nintendo owns handhelds/hybrids whatever you want to call it, and Steam owns PC... there's not much direct competition. Less competition, potentially less views.

You see it in sports with a lot of the media not wanting the Chiefs to 3peat, because fans of other teams start to check out of the process.

A lot of people will pretend as if there was a time that Sony put out 6 AAA games a year. It just never happened.

2018 was probably their biggest year from a release standpoint with God of War, Spider-Man, and Detroit Become Human...plus the SOTC remake.

They've always had 2, maybe 3 big AAA games with usually the 3rd being a more minor title, and maybe a remake or a remaster... and they've done that pretty consistently though the PS5 lifecycle.

2020
Ghost of Tsushima
Miles Morales
TLOUP2
Demon's Souls

2021 (probably the weakest year, no real surprise, delays due to covid, only 2 minor games)
Returnal
Rift Apart

2022
Gran Turismo 7
God of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
TLOUP1 Remake

2023 (really the first time where they only had 1 big game)
Spider-Man 2

2024
Helldivers 2
Astro Bot
Rise of the Ronin
Stellar Blade
Until Dawn Remake

But let's compare some "weaker years" of the PS4

I'm going to skip 2013 because it was a strong year for PS3, though people won't generally credit the PS5 for 2020

2014
Driveclub
Infamous Second Son
LBP3
TLOU Remastered

2015
Bloodborne
The Order 1886
Until Dawn
God of war 3 Remastered

2016
Uncharted 4
The Last Guardian
Ratchet and Clank remake

2017
Horizon Zero Dawn
Everybody's Golf
Gran Turismo Sport


2019
Day's Gone
Death Stranding
MediEvil remake

Even comparing Spider-Man 2 to 2019 and 2017, I'm pretty sure they'd take Spider-Man 2 over those years. And I'm sure many would take Rift Apart and Returnal over Day's Gone and Death Stranding.

Great post, good job digging back into the PS4 gen to show what the launch cadence was back then.

Looking at that it makes it obvious why the big first-party announcements are few and far between on the State Of Plays.

 

[OuterLimits]

I'm a big Sony/Nintendo fan but I'm confused by so many getting bizarrely upset by this article. Seems pretty accurate to me. Sony under Ryan took a big gamble on GaaS and the Concord debacle has caused many cancellations and a change of plans.

With long development times now, it may be the PS6 before we get games from studios that recently had cancelled projects.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Great post, good job digging back into the PS4 gen to show what the launch cadence was back then.

Looking at that it makes it obvious why the big first-party announcements are few and far between on the State Of Plays.

In the past Sony was forced to show their games at e3 and would maybe do a PlayStation Experience which isn't as big as we remember.

Now they're settling for a drip feed of announcements and most of us don't like it, but given the lengths in which games take to develop.

I think we just need to come to terms with how much the industry is changing post-e3 and with a much greater multiplatform approach, it doesn't really make as much sense to spotlight 3rd party games in a big 1st party showcase.

I also think we're missing games that were supposed to release like KOTOR. The moment sony stopped doing big exclusives, the idea of showcases became more difficult to sell.

 

[TheAmazingSpiderMan]

Incompetent management with a lack of competition always leads to this.

 

[Clear]

In the past Sony was forced to show their games at e3 and would maybe do a PlayStation Experience which isn't as big as we remember.

Now they're settling for a drip feed of announcements and most of us don't like it, but given the lengths in which games take to develop.

I think we just need to come to terms with how much the industry is changing post-e3 and with a much greater multiplatform approach, it doesn't really make as much sense to spotlight 3rd party games in a big 1st party showcase.

I also think we're missing games that were supposed to release like KOTOR. The moment sony stopped doing big exclusives, the idea of showcases became more difficult to sell.

I think the reality is we're going to need to adjust to big third-party releases coming out of China, Korea, etc. With titles like Lies of P, Wu Kong, and Stellar Blade proving that they are ready and able to create notable single-player experiences.

I think the sheer speed at which these productions have ramped up in scale and frequency has taken everybody by surprise. I mean, I remember when Lost Soul Aside's announcement got a lot of attention because it was a novelty, and yet now its just one among many.. And lets be real, these are mostly these studios first releases of that type, now they've proven themselves their productivity is most likely going to accelerate.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I think the reality is we're going to need to adjust to big third-party releases coming out of China, Korea, etc. With titles like Lies of P, Wu Kong, and Stellar Blade proving that they are ready and able to create notable single-player experiences.

I think the sheer speed at which these productions have ramped up in scale and frequency has taken everybody by surprise. I mean, I remember when Lost Soul Aside's announcement got a lot of attention because it was a novelty, and yet now its just one among many.. And lets be real, these are mostly these studios first releases of that type, now they've proven themselves their productivity is most likely going to accelerate.

I think people are going to quickly get over eastern games if they don't evolve further.

Lost Soul Aside looks like a PS3 game from a design perspective. I'm not at all impressed by it. It honestly looks worse than original FF Versus 13 footage we first saw.

It's funny how we went from Dynasty Warriors having hundreds of enemies on the screen to it being acceptable to have literally one enemy on the screen at a time.

I think right now eastern games are getting a massive pass for things western games would get roasted for.

 

[FrankWza]

I see a lot of people here celebrating Sony's "success" with the PS5.

It's very bad for gaming when Microsoft will someday stop making consoles and Sony can do whatever they want. The consumer will eventually correct them, but still; competition is good. And I don't count Nintendo as competition. They'll survive no matter what.

It's OK. You can build an equivalent PC for the same price. Just hang out on ebay and buy second hand parts. Get out your soldering iron and wait for games to drop in price. Plus, you can use it to browse the internet and write term papers.

 

[Woopah]

I'm a big Sony/Nintendo fan but I'm confused by so many getting bizarrely upset by this article. Seems pretty accurate to me. Sony under Ryan took a big gamble on GaaS and the Concord debacle has caused many cancellations and a change of plans.

With long development times now, it may be the PS6 before we get games from studios that recently had cancelled projects.

My issue with the article is that it is taking the results of lengthening development times and drawing false links to performance of Xbox to come up with this claim of "coasting".

 

[mckmas8808]

Doesn't seem like coasting to me. More, Sony is activelly preparing everything for the 2nd part of this gen and the 1st part of the next one.

Sony has literally created their own A.I. method for image quality, since FSR wasn't working for them. I'd like to know how that's "coasting". The PS5 Pro LITERALLY JUST released LOL!!!

 

[mckmas8808]

I think people are going to quickly get over eastern games if they don't evolve further.

Lost Soul Aside looks like a PS3 game from a design perspective. I'm not at all impressed by it. It honestly looks worse than original FF Versus 13 footage we first saw.

It's funny how we went from Dynasty Warriors having hundreds of enemies on the screen to it being acceptable to have literally one enemy on the screen at a time.

I think right now eastern games are getting a massive pass for things western games would get roasted for.

Lost Soul Aside looks incredible! It's made by one dude, but now it's got about 30 or so people working on it. If the game sells 1 million copies, it'll easily profit. We need MORE of these games.

 

[diffusionx]

They're not coasting, they just mismanaged like five studios and had to cancel a ton of games because they were dumb as hell.

It also didn't help that two of their big games this gen were disappointing sequels to amazing PS4 games (Ragnarok and Spiderman 2). Ghost of Yotei could very easily be another one like this. Naughty Dog's new game looks stupid too. It's not good.

 

[awwr999999]

That’s was like near the end of the year. That first year with the ps2 was dreadful until then.

From an obvious sales POV no studio in their right mind wants to ship an unproven game before a certain number of consoles have already been sold.
OTOH something with massive pull like GTA6 dropping as a PS5 exclusive at the same time as the PS5 launch would have been beneficial for both Rockstar and PS.

 

[DryvBy]

If people need gaming recommendations, I'm here. In seriously drowning in good games right now from this gen. Well, and that games are way too dang long. Everything is an RPG and it's hard to finish anything unless Nintendo puts it out.

I have a kid that forces me into sessions of Wobby Life, which is kid friendly GTA. So it's going to take me 5 years to finish KCD2 and FF7 Rebirth.

 

[DKPOWPOW]

Sony been coasting since 2020. Launch with a REMAKE. LOL. Follow it up with 2 games in 2021. LMAO. Continue to put your major games on PS4 in 2022. DAYUM. Follow it up with 1 game in 2023. Fucking A. It took 4 years, to get a decent year of console exclusives. 2024 was solid.

Y’all just returning back to the cycle of fuckery. This is nuts. Fuck, I really don’t know what else to say. 3rd parties saving the day with money hats, MS fucking themselves in a corner, and Nintendo taking almost a decade to launch a successor…. PS5 has succeeded simply due to everyone else fucking around.

 

[mckmas8808]

They're not coasting, they just mismanaged like five studios and had to cancel a ton of games because they were dumb as hell.

It also didn't help that two of their big games this gen were disappointing sequels to amazing PS4 games (Ragnarok and Spiderman 2). Ghost of Yotei could very easily be another one like this. Naughty Dog's new game looks stupid too. It's not good.

While some of "yall" say the bolded.......those two sequels sold great and reviewed great by both professionals and regular users. But keep hating.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

While some of "yall" say the bolded.......those two sequels sold great and reviewed great by both professionals and regular users. But keep hating.

Same dude was shitting on Housemarque while talking up a xenoblabe remaster

Comically out of touch

 

[veterangamerUK]

Sony been coasting since 2020. Launch with a REMAKE. LOL. Follow it up with 2 games in 2021. LMAO. Continue to put your major games on PS4 in 2022. DAYUM. Follow it up with 1 game in 2023. Fucking A. It took 4 years, to get a decent year of console exclusives. 2024 was solid.

Y’all just returning back to the cycle of fuckery. This is nuts. Fuck, I really don’t know what else to say. 3rd parties saving the day with money hats, MS fucking themselves in a corner, and Nintendo taking almost a decade to launch a successor…. PS5 has succeeded simply due to everyone else fucking around.

You ever thought of getting a thesaurus?

 

[Loope]

Sony has literally created their own A.I. method for image quality, since FSR wasn't working for them. I'd like to know how that's "coasting". The PS5 Pro LITERALLY JUST released LOL!!!

Yeah, i've never been the biggest Sony fan, but facts are facts, they are not coasting at all. In the PS3 gen was pratically the same, then it was banger after banger.

 

[DKPOWPOW]

You ever thought of getting a thesauce packets from Jack in the Box

No. I make my own sauce.

And it's never weak.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

I think the reality is we're going to need to adjust to big third-party releases coming out of China, Korea, etc. With titles like Lies of P, Wu Kong, and Stellar Blade proving that they are ready and able to create notable single-player experiences.

A lot of people are still expecting the publishers and studio that made those great PS3/360 games to deliver great games and continually end up disappointed.

They need to realise the people that made them moved on and the studios remain in name only and move on themselves.