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PlayStation names Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino as its new CEOs

Just make great games and be consistent with that as best you can.

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Elios83

Member
Jim was so powerful that a Dragon Ball fusion was needed "pie_tears_joy:
Totoki stated that he could last up to a year, he run away to find the money to fund the Paramount acquisition in a few weeks loool :messenger_tears_of_joy: :pie_grinning_sweat:

Btw it's a really interesting approach that maximizes the different skills needed ( game development+contents vs hardware and platforms). I like it.
 
I also don't get the intense dislike for Hermen Hulst.

I don't dislike him, personally. But I did find his idea of wanting shorter porting windows of 1P games to PC really perplexing. In fact it was Jim Ryan who later clarified and gave the wider stagger window after that interview Hulst had (this was probably back in early 2022, maybe even earlier).

Others seem to dislike him for Horizon, which is also perplexing. Because I quite liked HFW, even if they could've done a few things differently (3rd game definitely needs a dedicated block/parry/shield button).
 

feynoob

Banned
Don't worry, he's only there for managing the 1P internal studios and transmedia stuff.



So Hulst handles the internal 1P game development and transmedia stuff, Nishino handles platform management including hardware, tech R&D, and 3P relations.

I don't know a lot about Nishino, but given Hulst was the one pushing for shorter PC stagger windows, I'm fine with this set-up. I just hope SIE actually get back on track and start prioritizing their own console again going forward. That's the big one.



I've seen his name thrown around couple of times but don't remember much beyond that.

Having said such, I don't keep track of info on stuff like this. So he could have a lot of prestige within SIE and I'd be completely unaware of it.

"He has two brains that are giving conflicting commands to his one body, so his movements are more sporadic and uncoordinated than typical one-headed snakes,"

A great quote about 2 headed snake. It might be nice for now, but soon there will be a problem in the future.

It was better to have 1 CEO managing everything. Now these 2 would have different directions that they will go.
 

MrMephistoX

Gold Member
It’s either a really good idea or a really bad one to have co-CEOs. If they can work together great but if it’s just a political clusterfuck I fully expect whoever’s strategy doesn’t pan out to announce their departure in a year or so.
 

nial

Member
I'm getting really annoyed with this attitude towards Hulst. you better calm down before I snap
But for real, I never understood the big hate on Hermen Hulst, I think most of the reasons people would cite (PC ports and GAAS) obviously came from Jim Ryan.
He wouldn’t do stellar blade.
Given his previous role as head of WWS, he was very involved in the PS Studios restructuring that, among a lot of things, expanded production into the the rest of East Asia, which includes games like Stellar Blade.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
But for real, I never understood the big hate on Hermen Hulst, I think most of the reasons people would cite (PC ports and GAAS) obviously came from Jim Ryan.

Given his previous role as head of WWS, he was very involved in the PS Studios restructuring that, among a lot of things, expanded production into the the rest of East Asia, which includes games like Stellar Blade.
OK then maybe I was wrong
 

Loomy

Thinks Microaggressions are Real
hulst made a game about robot dinosaurs boring and woke. There is no hope. He wouldn’t do stellar blade.
He will run the brand into the grave that is pc.
Hulst has never been in charge of creative at Guerilla. He was the studio manager. Saying he's responsible for the creative decisions you dislike about the game would be like saying Shannon Studstill is responsible for Kratos being a Dad to an angsty Atreus. That was all Cory and his writers.

Yes, he most likely gave his feedback and some of them were probably incorporated, but he was not the primary creative driver of anything at Guerilla.

I've seen his name thrown around couple of times but don't remember much beyond that.

Having said such, I don't keep track of info on stuff like this. So he could have a lot of prestige within SIE and I'd be completely unaware of it.
He's been around for a while, and this is a natural progression for him, which is important, because you want continuity here. Last thing Playstation needs is someone to go up to Mark Cerny and ask him "so what exactly do you do here?"
 
So who’s replacing Jim Ryan’s role as CEO of SIE?

Edit: never mind I read the article.

Let’s hope that they focus more on their core audience and console instead of pc and mobile going forward.
that sounds silly. and is the complete opposite of what will and has to happen.
 

TrebleShot

Member
I have altered the deal, pray I don't alter it further.

What an incredible moment for sony and Thier millions of fans.

As one of them I stand in solute of our new overlords may their reign bring FIRE down upon their enemies.

We worship at the altar of playstation. God bless
 

nial

Member
Isn’t Hulst the dipshit that pushed for Japan Studios to be closed?
It was a reorganization in the truest sense of the word, WWS had a global structure that had 3 branches across the world; WWS Europe, WWS America and WWS Japan Studio.
When it all became PS Studios, the structure was like this; PS Studios Europe, PS Studios (located in America), and PS Studios (located in Japan). Notice how both the American and Japanese branches share the same name? That has to do with the fact that it's the same case for each SIE company; you have SIE Europe Ltd., SIE LLC (located in America) and SIE Inc. (located in Japan).
If you people still can't understand how it all works, I can't help you anymore.
 
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Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
It actually makes a lot of sense.

They've essentially decided that the software and IP business has become too much to handle internally in addition to the hardware business.

Sony has essentially split their company into two, software and IP and hardware and services.

It let's you put tremendous pressure and attention on both avenues as each man will be laser focused on each reporting directly to totoki and they'll have to have their deliverables or be replaced.

It also ensures that an engineer is in charge of hardware and services while a creative is involved in software and IP.

It's too complex of a business for someone at least internally to take over both.

Great albeit lazy choice from Totoki who probably didn't want to go outside the business to find leadership. Both are long term Sony veterans, albeit not PS1 era. Wonder if this means someone is really impressed with PS5 Pro.
 

Katatonic

Member
Congrats Herman. I remember how gracious and how serious he was to HipHopGamer back in the day. IMO solid pick for gamers in a power share dynamic.
 

James Sawyer Ford

Gold Member
SlimySnake SlimySnake won't be happy, he blames everything on Herman lol

Congrats to Herman. I've always liked the guy. Founder of Guerrilla and built it up to where it is today as a premier studio. Takes a lot of work doing that and he knows the needs of developers and is highly capable in his role, unlike somebody named Booty.

This is good news. We were all expecting some accountant to take over SIE, but everything is in its right place.
 
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nial

Member
Why do some have beef with Hulst?
Over stuff like PC ports and GAAS which were choices made by Jim Ryan. I'm not saying that he is perfect at his job or anything, but it's not like Shuhei Yoshida was any better (many studios being closed under his watch), and look at how loved he is.
 

feynoob

Banned
SlimySnake SlimySnake won't be happy, he blames everything on Herman lol

Congrats to Herman. I've always liked the guy. Founder of Guerrilla and built it up to where it is today as a premier studio. Takes a lot of work doing that and he knows the needs of developers and is highly capable in his role, unlike somebody named Booty.
Leave booty alone man. That is a sacred 🏔️.
 

Loomy

Thinks Microaggressions are Real
It actually makes a lot of sense.

They've essentially decided that the software and IP business has become too much to handle internally in addition to the hardware business.

Sony has essentially split their company into two, software and IP and hardware and services.

It let's you put tremendous pressure and attention on both avenues as each man will be laser focused on each reporting directly to totoki and they'll have to have their deliverables or be replaced.

It also ensures that an engineer is in charge of hardware and services while a creative is involved in software and IP.

It's too complex of a business for someone at least internally to take over both.

Great albeit lazy choice from Totoki who probably didn't want to go outside the business to find leadership. Both are long term Sony veterans, albeit not PS1 era. Wonder if this means someone is really impressed with PS5 Pro.
That is not at all what happened. Playstation is still 1 company, with two people leading two parallel tracks in the company that aligns with their speciality.
 

James Sawyer Ford

Gold Member
It actually makes a lot of sense.

They've essentially decided that the software and IP business has become too much to handle internally in addition to the hardware business.

Sony has essentially split their company into two, software and IP and hardware and services.

It let's you put tremendous pressure and attention on both avenues as each man will be laser focused on each reporting directly to totoki and they'll have to have their deliverables or be replaced.

It also ensures that an engineer is in charge of hardware and services while a creative is involved in software and IP.

It's too complex of a business for someone at least internally to take over both.

Great albeit lazy choice from Totoki who probably didn't want to go outside the business to find leadership. Both are long term Sony veterans, albeit not PS1 era. Wonder if this means someone is really impressed with PS5 Pro.

Yep it's a great decision and should avoid BAD decisions being made from someone outside of their wheelhouse of expertise. Obviously there will be cross collaboration between the two.
 
That move only really canned Knack, they weren’t doing much else. We still got Stellar Blade, Rise of Ronin and a dedicated Astrobot Team from them.

Uh, no. Japan Studio had way more than just the “Knack” team. Stellar Blade is Korean, and Rise of the Ronin wasn’t made with supplemental staff like Bloodborne was. A lot of staff were laid off and a lot of talent was let go.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
Lets see what happens. 🤷‍♂️

Pretty much how I feel about it. Hulst has a chance to kick off his co-tenure with awesome games starting with the rumored showcase. Now that they have this announcement completed, perhaps we will get a date for the show.

Really hope this one is heavy on single player and light on the Gaas. Time will tell if these are good hires or not.
 
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Jigsaah

Member
So I'm a bit confused. Why is Hulst a bad choice. I get the woke stuff...but is that it really? Someone explain please?
 

nial

Member
A lot of staff were laid off and a lot of talent was let go.
Also, there weren't layoffs, you can't just do that in Japan. They were just external contractors that were never called again after their contracts expired, which was something they ALWAYS used to do, that arguably affected a lot of their development process over the course of the years.
 
Im surprised about most reactions here.
At least the guy ahead of the studios is someone that used to be a game developer and knows his way around the industry and isn’t a corporate suit only.

The way they split the business is actually interesting. Herman gets the software and the other guy the hardware (which is developed in japan anyway) snd the more burocratic side of the business it seems, like deals, etc
 
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AGRacing

Member
Some might wonder if these two will get along…. But as long as these 2 men can agree to dump a ton of time and hundreds of millions of dollars into GAAS games that never come out … they’ll make a great team!
 

mortal

Banned
Over stuff like PC ports and GAAS which were choices made by Jim Ryan. I'm not saying that he is perfect at his job or anything, but it's not like Shuhei Yoshida was any better (many studios being closed under his watch), and look at how loved he is.
It seems like no one is perfect enough for some PS fans. Considering how expensive AAA game development has become, I like the PC ports as they give their 1st party titles and opportunity to sell even more copies and find a greater audience.
Their initial all-in approach to GaaS was foolish, and they seemed to have pulled back thankfully, although it would be just as foolish of them to not pursue GaaS whatsoever imo.

I don't know the man personally, but he seems like an alright guy from his public appearances, and having someone with actual game dev experience and perspective at the executive level is more reassuring than some bean counter type.
 
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