Sony Buys Bluepoint Games and Housemarque

[EDGES]

waste of time and money for House, Bluepoint on the other hand, amazing buy, they are tech wiz

Edited June 29, 2021 by LockheedPrime

[Tsundokuist]

In all honesty, I don’t rate PlayStation Studios highly, Polyphony lost their magic around the PS2 era and most of the other studios just pump out mindless games that exist simply to drag-out a mediocre story by people who’d clearly rather be working for HBO or Pixar. 

 

Bluepoint however would be an AMAZING get. I think their Shadow of the Colossus remake was easily the best looking game of the PS4 generation and their Demon’s Souls remake is by far the single most anticipated game in my backlog.
 

Hopefully they’re already working on a Bloodborne remake…

[steel6burgh]

1 hour ago, Ac3dUd3- said:

Cant say I care about Housemarque, Ive only played Dead nation from them so this acquisition means nothing to me.

 

I am excited about Bluepoint though

You should try some of the others like Resogun and Nex Machina  the are a bit more impressive than Dead Nation although I think Dead nation is a pretty fun game.  Most people can't put Resogun, down very addictive gameplay.

[peffsi]

I totally expected these two studios to be the next to be acquired by Sony. I'm happy for Housemarque. They were in financial trouble before Sony gave them the opportunity to make Returnal.

 

I think this is what Sony had in mind when they say they prefer "organic growth". People made fun of them for saying it after the Bethesda news, but I think it makes sense. Partner with a studio for several years. Show them how amazing it is to work with Sony and all their support studios and (apparently) polished development pipeline. Then, if the project turns out well, offer them a permanent spot inside the company. I think they are going this route with the announced partnerships with new studios (Haven, Firewalk, Deviation).

 

Personally, I don't enjoy Housemarque's style of game that much, and Bluepoint has yet to do anything notable outside of remakes, so... a big shrug from me. But I can't deny that both studios' games have been high quality (from what I hear). And I'd much rather they stay with PlayStation instead of taking a big cheque from Microsoft. At least Bluepoint has a rich history of PlayStation IPs to choose from, if they don't want to make their own original game.

[Ekir]

I'm fine with the housemarque acquisition, I love their games and I want to see more arcades done by them.

 

About bluepoint... in case they confirm it in the end, I hope this gets also confirmed and with a good agreement:

then we could dream. MG and SH remakes, by bluepoint?? hell yeah

[dakk55]

I hope that if Sony does end up having Bluepoint under their "Umbrella", they would put them to work making HD ports of the popular PS2/PS3 games. It sure would be nice to be able to play the older games on the newer consoles.

[Seasonreaper]

Having Bluepoint under their umbrella for full remakes of some of Sony's all time classics would be impressive, not gonna lie. There's a ton of PS2/PS3 games that I'm sure people would love a modern, updated version of, and Bluepoint seem to know what they're doing.

 

Housemarque I'm happy about as their games are fantastic. Kinda niche (maybe except Returnal, but I can't play that yet) but Nex Machina, Dead Nation and Resogun all play great, and they were on the verge of going out of business if Returnal didn't succeed, so having Sony as a safety net is promising.

 

Sure, neither of these are on the same scale as Zenimax, but they're both decent acquisitions, and in both cases are a long time coming, since they've both worked with Sony closely for a good while now. Probably way more likely to buy games by Bluepoint or Housemarque than anything under Zenimax's umbrella other than id, anyway.

[yowzagabowza]

That's nice. I love Housemarque (though going rogue-like is a huge disappointment for me) but if Bluepoint just means more remakes then I could have done without them being exclusive. 

[KondeBra]

Not having a Elders Scrolls game is a huge loss, but having Bluepoint as a quality remake studio is great, specially with rumours like this:

 

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tech/gaming/legacy-kain-soul-reaver-apparently-22064558

 

As for Housemarque, I really enjoyed Dead Nation and Alienation, but wasn't curious about their other games.

[Cryogenicide_X]

5 hours ago, Quixotesque said:

Now all I want is a Jak & Daxter remake made by BluePoint

Parasite Eve remake please ?

[TJ_Solo]

6 hours ago, Sergen said:

Microsoft: Bethesda

Sony: Housemarque

 

Is this going to appease the people who begged Sony to buy a powerful game studio in retaliation to Microsoft buying Bethesda? We shall see

 

I generally prefer the aquistions that seem to happen naturally and/or "just makes sense". 
These look to be more inline with stuff that just makes sense like when Sony bought Insomniac and, to turn back time, when they bought Naughty Dog.

 

I don't believe in revenge buying or buying out of spite or buying for bragging rights. Sadly, many  people stuck in the console war do.

Edited June 29, 2021 by TJ_Solo

[Obscure_Ale]

2 hours ago, dakk55 said:

I hope that if Sony does end up having Bluepoint under their "Umbrella", they would put them to work making HD ports of the popular PS2/PS3 games. It sure would be nice to be able to play the older games on the newer consoles.

I hope the complete opposite in that if Sony do indeed buy Bluepoint they have done so to greenlight them to make an original game. I know there were some rumours quite some time ago that Bluepoint wanted to break away from Remasters/Remakes and work on their own project so hopefully this acquisition will give them the funding and support to do so I don't see much value in buying them otherwise.

[Kal-El457]

I don't think acquiring Housemarque is that big a deal, they haven't exactly made AAA successful titles but it could be worthwhile down the road if they do deliver a super well received title. Bluepoint is probably more appealing now but only if they start making new IP's of their own, remakes/remasters are fine but a lot of ppl view them as cash grabs or low effort, etc..they do very good remasters and DS' remake for PS5 was awesome as a launch title but they need a bit more IMO.

 

P.S

 

You'd think since they love throwing money and buying studios that they'd throw some of that to make psn better/improve app support/social features etc. "Only On PlayStation" is the only thing that keeps them afloat. There hasn't been any substantial improvements to PS5 features since launch and PS4 had communities removed. They then removed 99% of social features on the PS Website...

[DrBloodmoney]

15 minutes ago, Kal-El457 said:

I don't think acquiring Housemarque is that big a deal, they haven't exactly made AAA successful titles but it could be worthwhile down the road if they do deliver a super well received title. Bluepoint is probably more appealing now but only if they start making new IP's of their own, remakes/remasters are fine but a lot of ppl view them as cash grabs or low effort, etc..they do very good remasters and DS' remake for PS5 was awesome as a launch title but they need a bit more IMO

So…

 

…what you’re saying is, Sony should take the two studios they have bought…

…each a recognised experts in their specific fields (Housemarque for incredible Arcade / Roguelike games, and Bluepoint as the industry leader in remakes and remasters)…

…each lauded and applauded for their work in those fields, by critics and players alike, with a consistently that is almost unmatched…

 

…and, rather than make use of that incredible wealth of specific knowledge and expertise…

…instead, put them to work, on generic new ‘Triple A’ IP that they have no experience with?

 

That sounds like a recipe that would result in the loss of two great, niche studios, and two B-grade, forgettable, half-hearted ‘AAA-lite’ The Order: 1886 type debacles…

[Zephrese]

49 minutes ago, TJ_Solo said:

I generally prefer the aquistions that seem to happen naturally and/or "just makes sense". 
These look to be more inline with stuff that just makes sense like when Sony bought Insomniac and, to turn back time, when they bought Naughty Dog.

 

I don't believe in revenge buying or buying out of spite or buying for bragging rights. Sadly, many  people stuck in the console war do.

 

That, and the ZeniMax/Bethesda acquisition to me feels like it goes against the very "pro-consumer" message façade Microsoft's been touting since they screwed themselves over during the previous generation.

It just felt like malicious monopolization along the same lines of what Disney did with Fox, something that just doesn't sit right with me and I'd still criticize Sony for if they had been the ones to buy Bethesda instead.

 

So it's just extremely disheartening and concerning to see so many people defend or applaud the practice, at least imo.

I had been increasingly impressed and happy with the changes Microsoft had made over the last few years, but ever since they revealed the Series X/S they've continued to disappoint me yet again...

 

Edited June 29, 2021 by Zephrese

[turniplord]

29 minutes ago, Kal-El457 said:

I don't think acquiring Housemarque is that big a deal, they haven't exactly made AAA successful titles but it could be worthwhile down the road if they do deliver a super well received title. Bluepoint is probably more appealing now but only if they start making new IP's of their own, remakes/remasters are fine but a lot of ppl view them as cash grabs or low effort, etc..they do very good remasters and DS' remake for PS5 was awesome as a launch title but they need a bit more IMO.

 

P.S

 

You'd think since they love throwing money and buying studios that they'd throw some of that to make psn better/improve app support/social features etc. "Only On PlayStation" is the only thing that keeps them afloat. There hasn't been any substantial improvements to PS5 features since launch and PS4 had communities removed. They then removed 99% of social features on the PS Website...

PlayStation has partnered with Discord a few months back. Chances are, they're removing all of the legacy social functions because they're about to full merge with Discord and implement a lot of new social features - possibly.

The question is, does that then mean the Discord features will be pulled out of Xbox?

[BrandedBerserk]

7 hours ago, TheArcadeKid said:

Sony's presumably doing this to save/make a little more money later down the line. Again, it's smart, but it's not going to protect them from the onslaught of Xbox console exclusives that'll be rolling out over the next two or three years.

 

I don't think Sony has to protect themselves from that seeing as they've been dominating with exclusives for so many years now and are already on track to do it again with what's been released for ps5 so far. They showed off a lot of promising exclusives to come but those games also need to be great for them to even be compared to what Sony has been releasing over the last few years imo. 

[Slava]

SIE basically saved Housemarque when they were in financial trouble a few years ago. Nex Machina and Matterfall, both amazing games, weren't successful in terms of sales numbers. The studio even declared the arcade genre dead and tried their hand at a battle royale project with Stormdivers right around the time when this genre blew up. IMO, that game was about to flop even harder. The collaboration with PlayStation Studios and Sony's funding were exactly what the studio needed. And given the history of their relationship with Sony, it only makes sense that both would feel like expanding on it.

 

It sounds like their next game will be bigger and more ambitious than Returnal, but I hope that at some point the studio will have enough people to split the team, so a part of it could go back to their roots and make a new juicy arcade style title. I would very much like to see them prove that arcade genre isn't dead.

[majob]

Two studios that already worked closely with Sony for years so this isn't really a splash and the same could be said about their previous acquisitions as well. Sony hasn't ever really gone out of their way to buy a studio they haven't been close with most likely to avoid the problems like SE encountered with they acquired Eidos. I Honestly wish they'd do more though, MS will buy the rug from under them at the rate they're going.

[TheArcadeKid]

45 minutes ago, BrandedBerserk said:

 

I don't think Sony has to protect themselves from that seeing as they've been dominating with exclusives for so many years now and are already on track to do it again with what's been released for ps5 so far. They showed off a lot of promising exclusives to come but those games also need to be great for them to even be compared to what Sony has been releasing over the last few years imo. 

There's truth in that, but I still think the ZeniMax buy-out will hit Sony (and the PS5 userbase) pretty hard. Sony's first-party line-up is increasingly dominated by third-person action-adventures: God of War, Horizon, Days Gone, The Last of Us, Spider-Man, Ghost of Tsushima. An impressive line-up, but one that hardly covers all the bases.

 

Killzone and Resistance are apparently dead, so there are no exclusive FPS titles that I can think of. Sony shut down Evolution and Studio Liverpool, so their only exclusive racer is now the once-every-five-years-maybe Gran Turismo. And as far as RPGs go, the best they've got is a (admittedly very well-received) remake of the 11-year-old Demon's Souls, and timed exclusivity on Final Fantasy XVI and possibly FFVII Remake Part 2. 

 

Meanwhile, Xbox owners now get the universally-recognised Doom series, the generally recognisable Wolfenstein, four(!) sprawling RPGs in Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Starfield and The Outer Worlds 2, and whatever genre-blending game Arkane is cooking up. A lot of first-person shooters and role-playing games: exactly what gave Microsoft the edge over Sony in the Xbox 360's first few years. 

 

You're right - Sony has been dominating with exclusives, and for a long time too. But I don't think last gen's winning formula will keep them in first place this gen, especially considering the scope of their triple-A line-up seems to be shrinking, not growing. 

[Helyx]

Strong play on Sony's part. Housemarque makes phenomenal twin-stick games and Bluepoint earned the most praise from me of anyone due to their faithful version of Demon's Souls.

[TJ_Solo]

14 minutes ago, TheArcadeKid said:

There's truth in that, but I still think the ZeniMax buy-out will hit Sony (and the PS5 userbase) pretty hard. Sony's first-party line-up is increasingly dominated by third-person action-adventures: God of War, Horizon, Days Gone, The Last of Us, Spider-Man, Ghost of Tsushima. An impressive line-up, but one that hardly covers all the bases.

 

Killzone and Resistance are apparently dead, so there are no exclusive FPS titles that I can think of. Sony shut down Evolution and Studio Liverpool, so their only exclusive racer is now the once-every-five-years-maybe Gran Turismo. And as far as RPGs go, the best they've got is a (admittedly very well-received) remake of the 11-year-old Demon's Souls, and timed exclusivity on Final Fantasy XVI and possibly FFVII Remake Part 2. 

 

Meanwhile, Xbox owners now get the universally-recognised Doom series, the generally recognisable Wolfenstein, four(!) sprawling RPGs in Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Starfield and The Outer Worlds 2, and whatever genre-blending game Arkane is cooking up. A lot of first-person shooters and role-playing games: exactly what gave Microsoft the edge over Sony in the Xbox 360's first few years. 

 

You're right - Sony has been dominating with exclusives, and for a long time too. But I don't think last gen's winning formula will keep them in first place this gen, especially considering the scope of their triple-A line-up seems to be shrinking, not growing. 

 

Sony's dominate 3rd person games will be toppled by Xbox's 1st person games. Gotcha.

Why haven't those games outted or beat Sony's in terms of sales and acclaim before being acquired by Xbox tho?

 

Imagine trying to win a gen 3 years late.

 

[DeepEyes7]

Great news! I have been waiting for Sony to buy BluePoint for a long time.... Now go and make a MGS Remake! Ok, I can dream...

[TheArcadeKid]

8 minutes ago, TJ_Solo said:

 

Sony's dominate 3rd person games will be toppled by Xbox's 1st person games. Gotcha.

Why haven't those games outted or beat Sony's in terms of sales and acclaim before being acquired by Xbox tho?

 

Imagine trying to win a gen 3 years late.

 

The critical reception of ZeniMax games is very comparable to Sony's first-party games. Some of Sony's, like God of War, tend to do slightly better - and some, like Days Gone, tend to do slightly worse. Either way, the Metacritic for all the big titles tends to range from the high 80s to low 90s. If you want to talk about player reception, again, same story: the vast majority of ZeniMax and Sony Studios games are more or less equally respected. Sometimes you even get an outlier like Fallout 76 or The Last of Us Part II.

 

I don't have sales figures for all these games on hand, but I know ZeniMax must have been doing rather well for themselves, considering the $7,500,000,000 valuation. And you can bet Microsoft's planning on making back every single dollar. 

 

But most of this is irrelevant. Unless ZeniMax is losing by a large margin - which they obviously, obviously aren't - then it's not about "beating" Sony on acclaim or sales. It's about whether ZeniMax has an attractive line-up of games spanning a good range of genres. Which they do. It's not going to make Sony's own games worse - but it does have the potential to make PS5 a less attractive console to people looking for more exclusives than Sony's usual third-person action-adventures.

 

An old console manufacturer called Sega once tried to coast on the success of its arcade games. Although Sony won't end up going the same way, their sale figures absolutely will take a hit if they think different takes on the the same genre will keep them in first place this gen.

[TJ_Solo]

Quote

I don't have sales figures for all these games on hand, but I know ZeniMax must have been doing rather well for themselves, considering the $7,500,000,000 valuation. And you can bet Microsoft's planning on making back every single dollar. 

 

Said evauluation is based on games that were sold on Sony, Nintendo, Xbox, PC, and mobile platforms. 
MS getting that money back isn't even worth dreaming about since MS doesn't post or share sales numbers for their games anymore. 
However, 3rd party publishers have offered a window into how thier multiplat games perform on various consoles, sales wise. So MS making that money back in sales without Nintendo and Sony is very slow process. Still, owning that many studios do bring up the matter saving money from not needing to pay for gamepass and exclusive deals. (more contract and money stuff that isn't being openly disclosed) 

Perhaps the shell game being played by MS can pay off. It won't be from conventional dominance or marketshare like we can easily see from Sony, Nintendo, and all other normal businesses. 

 

Quote

An old console manufacturer called Sega once tried to coast on the success of its arcade games. Although Sony won't end up going the same way, their sale figures absolutely will take a hit if they think different takes on the the same genre will keep them in first place this gen.

 

SEGA rushed and was beaten to market in terms of hardware and software. Sony out played them, clearly and conventionally. This win you are assigning to Xbox is odd since they are still behind on games, still seems to have a weird contention between Windows, their two consoles, and their azure gaming services. They are chasing all the rabbits. Sony is complacent? You conclude this because they actually put out new games with new ideas for the launch window of their new console? Intriguing. 

 

Quote

The critical reception of ZeniMax games is very comparable to Sony's first-party games.

 

Not when one stops measuring reception by the number of memes 4chan and twitter can generate per hour. 
In the last 6 months, Insomniac alone has put out content that surpassed Zenimax/Bethesda publishing's output of the last 3 years.

 
I don't know about metacritic but I know when playing games such as God of War, Spider-man, Ghost of Tsushima, and Horizon Zero Dawn that each game felt like an extremely well coordinate experince that defined the generation they were a part of. I feel that this feeling was be a part of new PS5 games from Sony this gen.(many have already happened). Whatever number is paired with Bethesda published games from last gen none gave me a similar level of mastery or euphoria. FO4 was neat and ambitious but pails in comparison to previous games in the series. Skyrim is a PS3 game not PS4. It didn't feel fresh on PS4. Doom. I'll say Doom pulled it off. It was near perfect. 

 

My question remains. If Bethesda games are so good, then why have they not surpassed Sony games yet? What is it about Xbox exclusivness that somehow makes these games now leagues above Sony games? Have you even seen any gameplay from an Xbox exclusive game from Bethesda/Zenimax? Yet, Bethesda's standard 1st person forumla isn't failing them but Sony's 3rd person games is a failing point. If having and showing and publishing games in a timely manner for the new generation isn't a winning formula then I may need to find a new planet to live on. 

Edited June 30, 2021 by TJ_Solo