In the gaming industry, there have been certain “phases” from key developers or publishers that have either set them up for life or have caused serious harm/issues that we’re still dealing with to this day. One such phase was when Sony and Microsoft went on a buying spree and attempted to get as many dev teams as they could to make them exclusive and thus “grow the brand.” While this may have seemed like a great idea at first, it has come at a serious cost, and for PlayStation Studios, that cost is both the quality and frequency of games that they have made, and the question of what’s coming next.
As you all likely know, while the PS5 is selling strongly, the games that have been exclusive to it and are also worthy of praise are few and far between. Yes, we have Ghost of Yotei coming out later this year, but how many other exclusives can you seriously name? Exactly. The problem here is that we KNOW that PlayStation Studios has plenty of teams hard at work on “something,” but it’s not exactly clear what. Plus, we know that despite NUMEROUS failures in recent times, Sony is bent on doing live-service games, and that has caused its own set of problems.
Enter Hermen Hulst, the head of PlayStation Studios, and the guy who’s been trying to “steer the ship” in recent times. He talked with the Financial Times about the state of the exclusive studios and what might come next, including the future of IP development:
“We take a very intentional approach to IP creation […] understanding how a new concept can turn into an iconic franchise for PlayStation that can then again become a franchise for people beyond gaming.”
That’s easy for him to say, but it doesn’t explain much, now does it? That being said, one thing he did admit is that he wants these teams to go be able to create titles that’ll help with the “overall revenue growth” of the company, which says quite a bit about Sony’s focus, while also stating that if another massive failure is on the way, they want to pull the cord quickly:
“I don’t want teams to always play it safe, but I would like for us, when we fail, to fail early and cheaply.”
So, where does that leave us? With more questions than answers, per usual. Sony isn’t failing right now, but it is idling, and that could be a huge detriment to things going forward.
