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Lets talk about Sonys First Party Studios and their upcoming Projects

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1

1.21Gigawatts

Banned
I think we'll get quite a lot of announcements at E3, even some for late 2015.

Santa Monica(GodOfWar4)
Guerilla Games(Dino Game)
BEND(OpenWorld Horror)
Media Molecule(maybe some Morpheus stuff)

I could see them all at E3 this year.
 
G

GeoramA

Member
Stig's SSM project and Bend Studios project getting canned really hurt the PS4's 1st gen lineup. It's obvious Sony planned on having those announced and ready to come out this year. Thank god for second party devs like From and RAD.
 
P

Pound_lb003

Member
eFKac said:
I remember, before PS4's launch when discussing the launch line up and 2014's outlook, people were saying "and barely any 1st party studios unveiled their projects yet!". Hell, I was one of those people.

We're over a year after the PS4 launch and funnily enough, pretty much nothing has changed.

WWS output since PS4's launch and outlook in 2015 looks really weak, I mean it's been on par with MS 1st party output, that's not good. A couple of smaller projects, few bigger releases, a racing game, mixed reception.
Quite a lot of studios were closed since 2011 and it shows. What was left was spread thin between a couple of platforms.

2012 was very weak in terms of releases, 2013 admittedly was fanstastic, probably the biggest year for WWS, 2014 weak again, and now 2015 looks meh as well, maybe some surprises, but from what we know or speculate about, nothing major.

Studio Japan and SSM seem to be becoming more of xDev America and xDev Asia, which may not be bad, but I liked their internal games and would rather them focus on that.
Media Molecule just had their 9th anniversary, their last big, major project released 4 year ago, with the next one not announced yet.
Bend as well, last game over 3 years ago with nothing announced yet, if what this latest rumoured employee is saying is true, nothing in 2015 as well.
Sure those studios might have problems as they both have switched platforms but development times are really long.

As much as I love him, maybe Yoshida should be replaced. I've had a lot of issues with some of his decisions and studios under his management in the last couple of years, a lot of studio closures since 2011, bad game platform choices in 2013, franchise mismanagement, studios not keeping up with projected release dates, project cancellations, reported chaos in studios like Studio Japan, now rumoured Bend, turmoil in Naughty Dog with UC4 and high profile staff leaving, arguably critically lower games quality as of late (I don't agree with a lot of reviews of some of the games though)

He's definitely a fantastic creative supervisor, but he's also seems so lenient. Maybe it's time for someone more of a better businessman.

As a PS4 owner I've had way bigger expectations of WWS when the PS4 was announced than I have now, which is a bit sad.
Click to expand...

Did you think all the first party studios would release a game in the first year? It's only just over a year in. The PS4 has only had one E3 since it's release!

And speaking of Shuhei, the first party studios might be lagging, but he's the guy greenlighting Bloodborne, The Order, Until Dawn, the next Ratchet and Clank. Maybe it's time to release that organising big studios to produce big games is not easy. And Shuhei isn't the guy failing to make them, he's the guy having to make the hard call when a project is going nowhere.

I say that, despite being bummed about the SSM cancellation.
 
T

TWrecks310

Banned
We should totally revisit that Verenedus list and try to decipher all the games. I would myself, but I'm a little busy at the moment.
 
B

BakedYams

Slayer of Combofiends
I'm frothing from my mouth... I can't wait for E3 to happen in 4 months. I really see Sony even upping their last presentation and going balls to the walls and releasing one titan after another. Its crazy how I'm only hyped for the PS4 cause of its potential lineup.
 
Q

QaaQer

Member
Percy said:
Three biggest studios all taking the safe (Predictable) routes on upcoming titles it seems. I'm excited at the thought of Uncharted 4 admittedly, but Santa Monica and Polyphony aren't really going to be of much use to me for a while it seems :/

Good to see so many new IPs coming from several of the others seemingly though.
Click to expand...

It is too bad Sony Santa Monica seemsm to be the uncharted + zombie apocalypse studio now, San Diego is God of War, Sucker Punch Infamous, etc.; and all the talk of open world games...so tired of that busywork/collectathon game design.

Japan studio doing something risky sounds great tho.
 
P

Pound_lb003

Member
Untalkative_Bunny said:
It is too bad Sony Santa Monica seemsm to be the uncharted + zombie apocalypse studio now, San Diego is God of War, Sucker Punch Infamous, etc.; and all the talk of open world games...so tired of that busywork/collectathon game design.

Japan studio doing something risky sounds great tho.
Click to expand...

What?

Santa Monica is God of War. Naughty Dog is Uncharted/Zombie. San Diego is Baseball.
 
J

JuanLatino

Member
John Bender said:
Seperate.
They are under Guerrilla's umbrella, but they're developing their own games (and they aren't even in the same country).
Click to expand...

ok then. Will include them separately ;)



Here is another List with from Verendus about third party exclusive games

Verendus said:
I had some second thoughts about doing this, but what the hell? I don't think it will matter if it's like this. Sony has exclusive games coming from the following:

- Sega
- Capcom
- Level-5
- Namco Bandai
- Lockstarter (lol)
- Lazyeye (lol)
- Warner Bros.
- Koei

Some others too but will not say those just yet. This isn't including partnerships which wouldn't really be third party. It's okay though guys, Sony doesn't have any money. Poor people for a reason. Lockstarter? Who has even heard of them? Exactly.

Having said that, the larger focus is on improving their first party teams and taking things from there.

Edit -

Someone in the list who shouldn't be. Removed for now...
Click to expand...


its obvious that Lockstarter = Rockstar
and Lazyeye = Activision
 
B

BakedYams

Slayer of Combofiends
Is this gonna be like the last hype thread where we all crash and burn? The sting from FFVII is still there...

Edit:

Also, I'm super excited to see Level-5's game.

Edit 2:

All these knack avatars... Verendus claimed a lot of casualties. Where is Verendus? Should make a post so our thirst can be quenched.
 
M

Magic Mushroom

Member
eFKac said:
I remember, before PS4's launch when discussing the launch line up and 2014's outlook, people were saying "and barely any 1st party studios unveiled their projects yet!". Hell, I was one of those people.

We're over a year after the PS4 launch and funnily enough, pretty much nothing has changed.

WWS output since PS4's launch and outlook in 2015 looks really weak, I mean it's been on par with MS 1st party output, that's not good. A couple of smaller projects, few bigger releases, a racing game, mixed reception.
Quite a lot of studios were closed since 2011 and it shows. What was left was spread thin between a couple of platforms.

2012 was very weak in terms of releases, 2013 admittedly was fanstastic, probably the biggest year for WWS, 2014 weak again, and now 2015 looks meh as well, maybe some surprises, but from what we know or speculate about, nothing major.

Studio Japan and SSM seem to be becoming more of xDev America and xDev Asia, which may not be bad, but I liked their internal games and would rather them focus on that.
Media Molecule just had their 9th anniversary, their last big, major project released 4 year ago, with the next one not announced yet.
Bend as well, last game over 3 years ago with nothing announced yet, if what this latest rumoured employee is saying is true, nothing in 2015 as well.
Sure those studios might have problems as they both have switched platforms but development times are really long.

As much as I love him, maybe Yoshida should be replaced. I've had a lot of issues with some of his decisions and studios under his management in the last couple of years, a lot of studio closures since 2011, bad game platform choices in 2013, franchise mismanagement, studios not keeping up with projected release dates, project cancellations, reported chaos in studios like Studio Japan, now rumoured Bend, turmoil in Naughty Dog with UC4 and high profile staff leaving, arguably critically lower games quality as of late (I don't agree with a lot of reviews of some of the games though)

He's definitely a fantastic creative supervisor, but he's also seems so lenient. Maybe it's time for someone more of a better businessman.

As a PS4 owner I've had way bigger expectations of WWS when the PS4 was announced than I have now, which is a bit sad.
Click to expand...

How is 2015 weak when you have potential GotY releases like Bloodborne and Uncharted 4, as well as interesting smaller games like The Tomorrow Children, Tearaway and Rime (perhaps Rapture as well)? Even The Order could be decent, though I have my doubts about that one.

And there might be more surprises down the line. E3 is gonna be interesting for sure. And yes, next gen console development takes time, especially with new IPs. Patience is a virtue and all that.
 
Z

Zukkoyaki

Member
BakedYams said:
Is this gonna be like the last hype thread where we all crash and burn? The sting from FFVII is still there...

Edit:

Also, I'm super excited to see Level-5's game.
Click to expand...

Unlikely. Right now we're just talking about what each studio could be working on. Not discussing FFVII Remake, Crash 4, and Shenmue as legitimate possibilities at an imminent conference.
 
E

eFKac

Member
Pound_lb003 said:
Did you think all the first party studios would release a game in the first year? It's only just over a year in. The PS4 has only had one E3 since it's release!

And speaking of Shuhei, the first party studios might be lagging, but he's the guy greenlighting Bloodborne, The Order, Until Dawn, the next Ratchet and Clank. Maybe it's time to release that organising big studios to produce big games is not easy. And Shuhei isn't the guy failing to make them, he's the guy having to make the hard call when a project is going nowhere.

I say that, despite being bummed about the SSM cancellation.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't sure, but I would expect more from the first full year than what we had and more from the second year than what we have currently announced. Thankfully Sony is doing a lot more 3rd party collaborations, I assume to fill in the gaps, so it's not like we don't have anything to look forward to, but we're talking strictly about 1st parties. And it looks like we'll have only 1 great year (2013) with 3 years meh at best, at least imo.

That's why I said that I think Shu is a fantastic creative supervisor. He greenlights bold projects with wide variety, gives a lot of creative freedom, etc. But there are a lot of issues as well as I said, that much is clear, and question is whether the bad outweights the good, and it's time to let someone else have a chance.
 
M

Machinehead

Member
Ingueferroque said:
I want their Japanese output to get its act together, the pacing of their output has just gone to shit.

Where is SIREN? Where is Gravity Daze 2? Where is Tokyo Jungle 2? And of course TLG.

Tokyo Jungle 2 makes so much sense to me, but it seems Japan disagrees.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't get it. They got amazing after management changed but after a some great games in a row they went into hiding again. I love Japan Studio and can't wait for more projects from them, it's been driving me crazy.
 
Z

Zukkoyaki

Member
Magic Mushroom said:
How is 2015 weak when you have potential GotY releases like Bloodborne and Uncharted 4, as well as interesting smaller games like The Tomorrow Children, Tearaway and Rime (perhaps Rapture as well)? Even The Order could be decent, though I have my doubts about that one.

And there might be more surprises down the line. E3 is gonna be interesting for sure. And yes, next gen console development takes time, especially with new IPs. Patience is a virtue and all that.
Click to expand...

I agree that E3 is going to be something this year. We're starting to get to the boiling point with some of the first parties. More than one have had games in development for 2-3 years or more without so much as a peep. They're bound to surface before too long.

Also, I legit expect a major exclusive from one of Sony's first parties to be announced at E3 for the fall/holiday season. Similar to how LittleBigPlanet 3 came out of nowhere last E3 and was given a November release window. I also feel this way because Uncharted 4, as big as it is and is going to be, can't be the only game they're releasing in that period. Even holiday 2014 which was deemed weak by almost everyone had two notable games in Driveclub and LBP3. My guess is Bend's game being a big surprise reveal for an October release during the conference.
 
J

Jarod McChicken

Member
eFKac said:
I remember, before PS4's launch when discussing the launch line up and 2014's outlook, people were saying "and barely any 1st party studios unveiled their projects yet!". Hell, I was one of those people.

We're over a year after the PS4 launch and funnily enough, pretty much nothing has changed.

WWS output since PS4's launch and outlook in 2015 looks really weak, I mean it's been on par with MS 1st party output, that's not good. A couple of smaller projects, few bigger releases, a racing game, mixed reception.
Quite a lot of studios were closed since 2011 and it shows. What was left was spread thin between a couple of platforms.

2012 was very weak in terms of releases, 2013 admittedly was fanstastic, probably the biggest year for WWS, 2014 weak again, and now 2015 looks meh as well, maybe some surprises, but from what we know or speculate about, nothing major.

Studio Japan and SSM seem to be becoming more of xDev America and xDev Asia, which may not be bad, but I liked their internal games and would rather them focus on that.
Media Molecule just had their 9th anniversary, their last big, major project released 4 year ago, with the next one not announced yet.
Bend as well, last game over 3 years ago with nothing announced yet, if what this latest rumoured employee is saying is true, nothing in 2015 as well.
Sure those studios might have problems as they both have switched platforms but development times are really long.

As much as I love him, maybe Yoshida should be replaced. I've had a lot of issues with some of his decisions and studios under his management in the last couple of years, a lot of studio closures since 2011, bad game platform choices in 2013, franchise mismanagement, studios not keeping up with projected release dates, project cancellations, reported chaos in studios like Studio Japan, now rumoured Bend, turmoil in Naughty Dog with UC4 and high profile staff leaving, arguably critically lower games quality as of late (I don't agree with a lot of reviews of some of the games though)

He's definitely a fantastic creative supervisor, but he's also seems so lenient. Maybe it's time for someone more of a better businessman.

As a PS4 owner I've had way bigger expectations of WWS when the PS4 was announced than I have now, which is a bit sad.
Click to expand...

Agree with pretty much EVERYTHING here. I may be too impatient but, as a whole, I find WWS productions incredibly slow compared to what we could have expected and maybe also compared to PS3 at the same time (don't quote me on that, it would demand some comparative research).

I can't believe some new IP are still not ready to be announced from studios like Guerrilla Games, Sony Bend or Media Molecule. The cancellation of the big SSM new IP is a major downer (how many years and money wasted ?). But my personal biggest deception is going to Sony Japan. Several years after the Allan Becker restructuration, we are yet to see any growth. Knack has been Knack, The Last Guardian is being developped forever and Gravity Rush 2... is still not here. I'm not saying Japan Studio should hire enough people to be as big as Nintendo, but I still dream that Sony is going to push more developments over there.

But enough whining. On the other side, Killzone and inFAMOUS did their job (I don't hate you Knack, really), Driveclub is a revelation and beauties The Order 1886 + Bloodborne are coming when Microsoft and Nintendo have absolutely nothing major to bring during Q1 2015. And as much as I love my Vita... yeah, we are lucky that WWS is now 100% PS4 focused.
 
E

eFKac

Member
Magic Mushroom said:
How is 2015 weak when you have potential GotY releases like Bloodborne and Uncharted 4, as well as interesting smaller games like The Tomorrow Children, Tearaway and Rime (perhaps Rapture as well)? Even The Order could be decent, though I have my doubts about that one.

And there might be more surprises down the line. E3 is gonna be interesting for sure. And yes, next gen console development takes time, especially with new IPs. Patience is a virtue and all that.
Click to expand...

I don't treat games like Bloodborne, the Tomorrow Children, Rime as Sony's 1st party studios games. I treat them as 3rd party exclusives in collaboration with 1st parties. We (or at least I) don't know how deep Japan Studio is involved with Bloodborne. Do they only give funds, tech, or do they have a hand in the creative aspect of the game?

That's why I'm talking about the internally developed games, when it's clear who to give credit for the games, and speaking of them, we have a expanded port - Tearaway, Uncharted 4 from ND and...?
 
L

LastNac

Member
CalamityPixel said:
I just want to see Naughty Dog not work on a cinematic third person shooter.

Uncharted
Uncharted 2
Uncharted 3
The Last of Us
Uncharted 4
TLOU 2

I'm starting to get bored with their output.

I want to see them work on something out of the ordinary that can push forward solid gameplay.

*Edit

I'd like to add that I will also die of old age before the Last Guardian is ever released.
Click to expand...

No to that.

I need my cinematic titles.
 
Z

Zukkoyaki

Member
eFKac said:
I don't treat games like Bloodborne, the Tomorrow Children, Rime as Sony's 1st party studios games. I treat them as 3rd party exclusives in collaboration with 1st parties. We (or at least I) don't know how deep Japan Studio is involved with Bloodborne. Do they only give funds, tech, or do they have a hand in the creative aspect of the game?

That's why I'm talking about the internally developed games, when it's clear who to give credit for the games, and speaking of them, we have a expanded port - Tearaway, Uncharted 4 from ND and...?
Click to expand...

I see where you're coming from but I also disagree. Bloodborne, The Order, Tomorrow Children, et cetera are still IPs owned by Sony, funded by Sony, and published by Sony. They may not own the developer, but I'd argue that they are first party exclusives. If they aren't then Super Smash Bros. Wii U isn't a first party Nintendo game since it was developed by Namco. Just my two cents.

As for the second part of your post, how little we know is almost exciting! Sony has so many internal studios and teams that are unaccounted for. Their projects have to be shown eventually.
 
E

eFKac

Member
Zukkoyaki said:
I see where you're coming from but I also disagree. Bloodborne, The Order, Tomorrow Children, et cetera are still IPs owned by Sony, funded by Sony, and published by Sony. They may not own the developer, but I'd argue that they are first party exclusives. If they aren't then Super Smash Bros. Wii U isn't a first party Nintendo game since it was developed by Namco. Just my two cents.

As for the second part of your post, how little we know is almost exciting! Sony has so many internal studios and teams that are unaccounted for. Their projects have to be shown eventually.
Click to expand...

And that's cool, agree to disagree here, it is definitely a grey area though.

Funny you say that, as it's exactly how I started my first post in this discussion, and we've been saying that 1,5 year ago and not much revealed since then :p but yeah, still waiting for the bombs to drop. At least Guerilla, ND, and Sucker Punch (not a huge fan of theirs though) seem to be really hard at work.

Edit. Is there like any notification on Gaf to tell you, you've been quoted btw?
 
I

i-Lo

Member
Great OP. It gives a sense of just how large Sony's 1st party collection is. That said, it's also disheartening to see SSM being stuck with GoW again. It would also be nice if they could produce a quality WRPG. I know the rumour about GG making such a game but their continued downward slide since the peak they reached with KZ2 (aside from visuals) doesn't inspire the most confidence.

Question:

Doesn't inFamous SS and First Light already employ PBR?
 
Shin-Ra

Shin-Ra

Junior Member
Media Molecule's new game's revealed this year.
This year will be a big one for Mm fans (I'm one of you now too!). Tearaway Unfolded is coming to PS4 and it looks gorgeous! You're also going to find out all about the project we've been working on since we finished LBP2, and I think you're going to like it.
Click to expand...

Ratchet & Clank's overdue a reveal.

Beyond: Two Souls and Journey remasters are due any time now.
 
M

Machinehead

Member
Stealth and arcade racer? Damn! I'm so in!
And Verendus, you gotta play Demon's Souls. It is amazing.

CalamityPixel said:
I just want to see Naughty Dog not work on a cinematic third person shooter.

Uncharted
Uncharted 2
Uncharted 3
The Last of Us
Uncharted 4
TLOU 2

I'm starting to get bored with their output.

I want to see them work on something out of the ordinary that can push forward solid gameplay.

*Edit

I'd like to add that I will also die of old age before the Last Guardian is ever released.
Click to expand...

Me too, dude. I mean, I love Uncharted and Last of Us, but Uncharted 4 was such an anticlimactic announcement for me. I had some hope that they would start the gen with a crazy new IP, like they usually do. I know I'll probably love the game, but I really wish they were working on something brand new and unique.
 
H

Hibiki Kurosawa

Member
Studio: Sony Japan
History: ICO, Shadow of the Collosus, Ape Escape, Rain, Patapon, Gravity Rush, Loco Roco
Ps4 History: Knack

Playstation 4 Projects:
Confirmed: The Last Guardian (Release: Keep Dreaming)

Rumours:
-Sony Japan is the biggest Studio of the WWS, so therefore they are working on several projects.
- In 2013 Allan Becker (former head of santa monica) became the new head of Sony japan, who wants to turn this studio into a big succesfull one
- Here is an interestinv Interview about his aims and the chaos that took place at sony japan
- According to Verendus Sony Japan is working on a big budget Japano RPG that could compete with Final Fantasy. Verendus said, its a very risky project and Sony Japans last attemtpt, to try something like this.
- Could Gravity Rush 2 come to Ps4 instead of the Vita?
Click to expand...

This is really the only part I care about. Give my Team ICO's The Last Guardian, Keiichiro Toyama's Gravity Rush 2 (or anything, if anything else, he's working on), and Sony's JRPG and I'll be happy!
 
J

JuanLatino

Member
Hibiki Kurosawa said:
This is really the only part I care about. Give my Team ICO's The Last Guardian, Keiichiro Toyama's Gravity Rush 2 (or anything, if anything else, he's working on), and Sony's JRPG and I'll be happy!
Click to expand...

with all those games coming to Ps4 (maybe Gravity Rush) Sony Japan could become one of the winners this gen.
 
N

Nerix

Member
Nice overview!

But isn't TLG formally still a PS3 title? Though it seems like a nobrainer that it'll be on PS4, if it's ever being released...
 
S

StrongBlackVine

Banned
I hope Sony has another AAA exclusive in addition to Uncharted 4 this Fall. That open world horror game would be my choice or
The Last Guardian
.
 
P

Pound_lb003

Member
eFKac said:
I wouldn't sure, but I would expect more from the first full year than what we had and more from the second year than what we have currently announced. Thankfully Sony is doing a lot more 3rd party collaborations, I assume to fill in the gaps, so it's not like we don't have anything to look forward to, but we're talking strictly about 1st parties. And it looks like we'll have only 1 great year (2013) with 3 years meh at best, at least imo.

That's why I said that I think Shu is a fantastic creative supervisor. He greenlights bold projects with wide variety, gives a lot of creative freedom, etc. But there are a lot of issues as well as I said, that much is clear, and question is whether the bad outweights the good, and it's time to let someone else have a chance.
Click to expand...

I don't think so. I think Shu brought with him the current culture of Playstation that has been successful, not him alone, but a huge cornerstone of it.

He is clever, and has said many times, he doesn't want it to be like last generation, where they announced everything years out. This year, there will probably be releases we don't know about. Maybe not first party.

The other thing to bear in mind, is you mentioned the critical reception of the titles, perhaps unlike Ubisoft Shu wants to make sure these games release well. Despite DriveClub, too (which they did try to push back for a year). So there is no point rushing them. Or releasing something like SSM's IP if it's going to be terrible.

Again, not to defend that decision, I think that's a travesty.
 
R

RayMaker

Banned
Like Microsoft Sony has many great devs.I am particularly interested in which direction god of war will go in and how project morpheus games will turn out.
 
I

injurai

Banned
Excited for the next GoW, R&C and Uncharted. But I know those will deliver.

Guerilla's next game is the one I'm most interested to see revealed.
 
K

kdoll08

Member
You left out the next Everybody's Golf/Hot Shots Golf from Clap Hanz/Japan studio. It was announced back in September
 
I

i-Lo

Member
RayMaker said:
Like Microsoft Sony has many great devs.I am particularly interested in which direction god of war will go in and how project morpheus games will turn out.
Click to expand...

Umm wut...

Turn 10 is the only studio that comes to mind that has been delivering quality games pretty consistently throughout its existence.

I won't comment on this further to prevent thread derail but the collections of the two aren't really comparable atm.
 
P

Pound_lb003

Member
For me, the two to anticipate wildly are SuckerPunch's next and Guerilla's next.

Just wanna know what SuckerPunch is doing. Hope it's not a new IP.
 
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