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[diffusionx]

Santa Monica and Naughty Dog were historically led by multiple people (and kinda still is), same goes for XDev and many other (but not all) Sony teams. Insomniac is akin of a rare exclusion because it was founded as an outside studio.

Naughty Dog was run by 2 until Neil took over. But the difference between 2 and 3 is more significant than it first seems. With 2, you call up the other guy and hash out a solution if there is disagreement. I still think it's worse than 1 but it can work if it is the right people. But with 3, A can call B and freeze C out, or B can call C and freeze A out, etc. It's a much more complex arrangement and there's a reason it's not very common.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Naughty Dog was run by 2 until Neil took over. But the difference between 2 and 3 is more significant than it first seems. With 2, you call up the other guy and hash out a solution if there is disagreement. I still think it's worse than 1 but it can work if it is the right people. But with 3, A can call B and freeze C out, or B can call C and freeze A out, etc. It's a much more complex arrangement and there's a reason it's not very common.

Ted made this decision, I think it’s in good hands and he knows what he’s doing

IG is a bigger studio than ND

Ultimately Hermen greenlights their projects, and these studio heads are there to execute their domain of expertise

I don’t think there’s going to be a ton of drama/strife, IG runs one of the most efficient studios in gaming

 

[SmokedMeat]

Hell of a career, enjoy retirement.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

These people are basically leading their branches

Hermen Hulst is the overseeing person across all studios.

Co-heads are the norm everywhere in Sony now

Edit: also

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Reviews

Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miles Morales, return for an exciting new adventure in Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise for PS5. Swing, jump and utilize the new Web Wings to travel across Marvel’s New York, quickly switching between Peter Parker and Miles Morales to experience different stories and...

www.metacritic.com

Sounds expensive at the very least.

Either they're paying the dual/multiple leads each a reduced salary or they really want to multiply their cost of running the business for no good reason.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Sounds expensive at the very least.

Either they're paying the dual/multiple leads each a reduced salary or they really want to multiply their cost of running the business for no good reason.

Probably cheaper, these people are doing their current jobs, and this avoids another middle man above them

 

[hemo memo]

Maybe Sony management forced him to work on a GaaS.

 

[DeepSpace5D]

All the best. Thanks for Ratchet & Clank.

 

[EN250]

Won't say anything negative about these big guys leaving and why it happens, just that man should have pockets full after selling to Sony, so good for him

 

[RoboFu]

That's a function of you getting older...

People are always going to leave.

A lot of gamers remind me of kids who don't think their teachers exist outside of school and have never seen them go for bathroom breaks.

These people are human too. They get old, make money, and retire. That's what happens or they find they're not happy in their current jobs. Not everyone wants to make AAA games for the rest of their lives.

How many people do you see in gaming in their 70 years old? Outside of Miyamoto, it's pretty rare. Putting 20+ years in one company is pretty rare these days, but somehow people expect 30-40 years?

Also though you see a lot of higher ups leave a company a year after a big change like changing CEOS because either A. they do not like the new people in charge ( which is a common reason for older people to retire) or B. They got "Let GO" . They sign a contract to stay a year to make for "smooth transition" and get a big bonus to do so.

 

[Topher]

You see that as micromanagement because of "reasons"

Before PlayStation Studios formerly WWS came to be, Sony's development was all over the place and the results were spotty like Microsoft's.

In 2005, Sony had Polyphony Digital, Naughty Dog, and Santa Monica had just made God of War... outside of that internal studio development was no bueno and certainly not consistent.

In 2005, Sony established Worldwide Studios and since they've built out a studio business group that has been the best in the business with studios globally, utilizing the strengths of each studio to bolster each other.

They're so accomplished that any stumbles from any of their studios becomes headline news on gaming forums.

So yeah, I wouldn't call it micromanagement, I'd call it a successful business model.

It was a joke. Guess it didn't hit

 

[Hudo]

Why is one guy replaced with 3?

 

[farmerboy]

Hope he does a long form interview somewhere. Would love to sit and listen to him talk for an hour or more on his career. It'd be fascinating to listen to someone who's been there from the start.

Onwards and upwards Ted.

 

[Paasei]

He was there from the very beginning, no? Spyro is a big part of my younger years in gaming. Wish him all the very best.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Look like Insomniac's transformation into a corpo slop factory is complete. Shame.

 

[mansoor1980]

awful news , first yoshida gone and now ted.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

alright folks time to load this thread up with DEI and Woke related comments

I don’t know, one of the three replacements is a total Chad.

 

[photogaz]

This is just part of any buyout - The owner will be contractually be obliged to stay x amount of time in order to get the final amount he was offered for the company. That time is now up. Happy retirement.

 

[Syphon Filter]

Bad loss, one of the few decent people in that company. insominac is woke trash now.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

So which of the 3 has pronouns in their Linkedin bios?

 

[sono]

He earned a great retirement. Awesome studio.

Why is one guy replaced with 3?

There can only be one


Left

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Also though you see a lot of higher ups leave a company a year after a big change like changing CEOS because either A. they do not like the new people in charge ( which is a common reason for older people to retire) or B. They got "Let GO" . They sign a contract to stay a year to make for "smooth transition" and get a big bonus to do so.

Herman Hulst has been his "boss" since 2019... Herman becoming CEO of the studio business group has zero impact on Ted Price or Insomniac...

 

[Moriarty1889]

Best of luck to him. I remember when he was doing an interview for Resistance Fall of Man for the PS3 and explained how the PS3’s SPUs allowed for the different type of effects the hedgehog grenades had in the environments among other things. He was a legend and behind so many great games. Will be missed and very very hard to replace.

 

[Forsete]

Noooo.

But we should be happy for him. Thanks for all the games.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

I wonder if were still getting a new Ratchet in 2034 after all the superhero slop is done?

 

[SkylineRKR]

Ted Price did a lot of interviews when the PS3 was just around.

Insomniac has been a great studio. Fuse was probably their biggest misfire since their debut game Disruptor, and it mightve been down to EA as Overstrike looked more promising. I can do without the Marvel slop but Crack in Time, Resistance 1 and 3 were a few of the best games on PS3.

I should try to pick Into the Nexus one day. I actually liked it a ton but then just stopped because the PS4 arrived.

 

[Omnipunctual Godot]

Sony is rapidly changing. Interesting times.

Yeah, but will they have equally talented people to replace the massive brain-drain they're experiencing? I'm worried the answer is no. I don't see any bright young visionaries on the horizon to replace the aging ones. Not in AAA, anyway.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Yeah, but will they have equally talented people to replace the massive brain-drain they're experiencing? I'm worried the answer is no. I don't see any bright young visionaries on the horizon to replace the aging ones. Not in AAA, anyway.

What brain drain?

IG has one of the most technically competent leads in engine development and their games have never been more complex

 

[LRKD]

I remember back when he insisted that they wouldn't sell out, and that they were happy as a independent studio.

 

[BennyBlanco]

This is just part of any buyout - The owner will be contractually be obliged to stay x amount of time in order to get the final amount he was offered for the company. That time is now up. Happy retirement.

Yup, the director of Returnal and Nex Machina also dipped from Housemarque after he got all his retention bonuses

 

[AlphaDump]

Ted Price - thank you for all the amazing games and the memories they created. You have always been a positive force in gaming.

Sony - get your shit together.

 

[diffusionx]

Price always going to leave at some point, and he presided over SM2 which was a major disappointment and has let the studio be infiltrated by too many ideologues. Fantastic overall career, but it's a healthy and potentially re-energizing thing for him to pass the torch.

3 guys though? Yeah, I don't like that. We'll see how the games turn out going forward, but it's not the greatest thing that they can't find one Lisan Al Gaib! at a studio of that calibre.

Spiderman 2 is a great game, outside of the fact that it is comically woke.

Like I said, he's still very young and Sony is losing one of the best people they have. I wouldnt be surprised if he opens a new studio sooner or later. And yea they should have just replaced him with one guy.

 

[Imtjnotu]

I'm guessing he was forced out because they wanted him to make a live service Horizon

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Spiderman 2 is a great game, outside of the fact that it is comically woke.

Like I said, he's still very young and Sony is losing one of the best people they have. I wouldnt be surprised if he opens a new studio sooner or later. And yea they should have just replaced him with one guy.

He says he’s retired from the industry

I doubt he comes back, the man achieved everything he could in his career from nothing to one of the industry’s most successful studios

Sounds like he just wants to enjoy retirement and gaming as a consumer

 

[diffusionx]

He says he’s retired from the industry

I doubt he comes back, the man achieved everything he could in his career from nothing to one of the industry’s most successful studios

Sounds like he just wants to enjoy retirement and gaming as a consumer

yea we'll see

type A guys like this usually don't stay still and just play golf the rest of their life.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

yea we'll see

type A guys like this usually don't stay still and just play golf the rest of their life.

Ted seems more grounded and not type A

He may consult or something but I think he just wants to enjoy spare time, you can’t do that running a studio

 

[poppabk]

“Speaking of which, despite a challenging 2024, Insomniacs stayed fully focused on building games for our fans. As a result of the team’s persistence and collaboration, we’re in one of the strongest positions we’ve experienced in years, with each game in development looking beautiful and playing fantastic.”

Shame they will all look beautiful and play fantastic in the same way.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Shame they will all look beautiful and play fantastic in the same way.

Their next game is Wolverine, same in what way?

 

[nial]

yet another OG from the old days

Are we talking November 2019 here?

 

[diffusionx]

Are we talking November 2019 here?

he founded Insomniac before the PSX came out!

 

[nial]

he founded Insomniac before the PSX came out!

Oh, I know that, but he wasn't exactly affiliated with Sony until 5 years ago.

 

[HYDE]

Ted Price…no!!!

Happy retirement gaming legend.
Thanks for these 16 games:

1998 Spyro the Dragon 1
1999 Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage
2000 Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon
2002 Ratchet & Clank 1
2003 Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando
2004 Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal
2007 R&C Future: Tools Of Destruction
2008 R&C Future: Quest For Booty
2009 R&C Future: A Crack In Time
2013 Ratchet & Clank: Into The Nexus
2014 Sunset Overdrive
2016 Ratchet & Clank
2018 Spider-Man 1
2020 Spider-Man: Miles Morales
2021 Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart
2023 Spider-Man 2

 

[poppabk]

Their next game is Wolverine, same in what way?

I mean from the leaked footage it was very reminiscent of spiderman just without the swinging.

 

[HYDE]

Oh, I know that, but he wasn't exactly affiliated with Sony until 5 years ago.

Wrong! They had working relationships since Crash Bandicoot 1 engine was lent to them to create the first Spyro Dragon game.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I mean from the leaked footage it was very reminiscent of spiderman just without the swinging.

Hmmm…not really, combat completely different, camera style different, focus on parkour, not open world but hub based

I don’t see how that’s the same at all really

 

[nial]

Wrong! They had working relationships since Crash Bandicoot 1 engine was lent to them to create the first Spyro Dragon game.

That's just a close relationship, not exactly being affiliated with them.

 

[HYDE]

That's just a close relationship, not exactly being affiliated with them.

They had a bit of falling out for a few years and flirted with EA and Microsoft but ultimately made their way back home to Sony. Best studio purchase easily. Yes they were affiliated making exclusives for decades.

Their association or relationship is with a company…Sony & PlayStation for nearly the entirety of their existence as a studio…is that not an affiliation?

 

[nial]

They had a bit of falling out for a few years and flirted with EA and Microsoft but ultimately made their way back home to Sony. Best studio purchase easily. Yes they were affiliated making exclusives for decades.

Insomniac's very last game before being acquired by Sony was published by Meta.
Again, what you're mentioning isn't anything other than a very close relationship.

 

[HYDE]

Insomniac's very last game before being acquired by Sony was published by Meta.
Again, what you're mentioning isn't anything other than a very close relationship.

Anyways back on topic.

 

[Moriarty1889]

Ted Price…no!!!

Happy retirement gaming legend.
Thanks for these 16 games:

1998 Spyro the Dragon 1
1999 Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage
2000 Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon
2002 Ratchet & Clank 1
2003 Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando
2004 Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal
2007 R&C Future: Tools Of Destruction
2008 R&C Future: Quest For Booty
2009 R&C Future: A Crack In Time
2013 Ratchet & Clank: Into The Nexus
2014 Sunset Overdrive
2016 Ratchet & Clank
2018 Spider-Man 1
2020 Spider-Man: Miles Morales
2021 Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart
2023 Spider-Man 2

Also the Resistance Trilogy one of the best FPS on the PS3 imo.

 

[simpatico]

Pfft. Bailing off the ship just because making Marvel tie-ins for the rest of his professional life doesn't jive with his "artistic sensibilities" probably. Sony probably needs some single player focused, experienced, proven guys like Ted to help correct course! Tons of guys with 2-year community college game dev degrees would KILL to be able to make Marvel sloppa for the rest of their professional lives. When did Ted get prissy?

Three "co-Studio Heads"

This just means no one will ever be able to get a definitive answer about a problem immediately.