Sony Game & Network Services Presentation - May 2022

[Slava]

15 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

Don’t quote me on this, but I heard someone say Nintendo is now more appealing to Japanese devs, although there is only so much you can do with the Switch given the vastly underpowered specs. 

 

I just googled, Switch overtook PS4's lifetime sales numbers back in 2019. In terms of latest yearly sales, it's outselling every console including PS5 in Japan. Although, that one is less surprising. So I guess, it would make sense why Switch appeals to Japanese devs so much.

[majob]

39 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

There’s that censorship thread that highlights many Japanese titles not making it to Sony platforms. 
 

Sony hasn’t felt like a Japanese company and it’s been this way for quite some time. 
 

Don’t quote me on this, but I heard someone say Nintendo is now more appealing to Japanese devs, although there is only so much you can do with the Switch given the vastly underpowered specs. 
 

I honestly don’t care about a lot of these modern games that try to look photorealistic in 4K resolution and 60 frames-per-second. 

I never said censorship wasn't happening, I said the policy isn't just the whimsy of a California department and Sony is an international company, not solely a japanese one. There are non japanese on their board of directors. And I've already stated that Sony switched focus to the market they made most of their money from and japan's relevance in the gaming market is no longer top dog and nor has it been for some time. What are you trying to say?

 

39 minutes ago, Slava said:

 

Was it made by Sony?

 

Everything stated in my post is in relation to Sony (until the Nintendo part). 

 

What comes to my mind when I think about PlayStation mobile games is titles like Uncharted: Fortune Hunter and Run Sackboy! Run! 

Made by Sony the same way Uncharted is made by Naughty Dog but published by Sony. The point is that Sony has experience with mobile considering they run one of the most successful mobile games out right now.

[AJ_Radio]

2 hours ago, majob said:

I never said censorship wasn't happening, I said the policy isn't just the whimsy of a California department and Sony is an international company, not solely a japanese one. There are non japanese on their board of directors. And I've already stated that Sony switched focus to the market they made most of their money from and japan's relevance in the gaming market is no longer top dog and nor has it been for some time. What are you trying to say?

 

Are you trying to say Sony was already going thru changes prior to the move in 2016?

 

The games we praise the most as westerners such as Elden Ring probably aren't even a thing in Japan.

 

The fact that a post that you felt was projecting too much that has +9 upvotes means you think otherwise. If Sony is going to continue on its current course as top dog here in the West, probably means I will switch back to PC gaming, as I have done before in the past.

[Infected Elite]

5 hours ago, AJ_Radio said:

Not happy about the news whatsoever. 
 

Just take me back to the early - mid 2000s 

nothing is stopping you from playing early-mid 2000s games.

 

You're also never happy with Sony. Quite surprised you still support them by purchasing their games and products.

[Helyx]

On 5/26/2022 at 3:13 PM, Tirmata said:

What is your thought?

 

DLC, F2P and MTX can all fuck right off.

[KondeBra]

A shitty future in gaming is coming.

 

Fuck Jim Ryan.

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by KondeBra

[Sendai-Horatio]

5 minutes ago, KondeBra said:

A shitty future in gaming is coming.

 

Fuck Jim Ryan.

 

I don't see how this is bad since it's stuff people are already doing and it's not going to infringe on the output of their single player games.

 

They're still putting out the games that people know them for and they're doing live service stuff on top of it.

[AJ_Radio]

2 hours ago, KondeBra said:

A shitty future in gaming is coming.

 

Fuck Jim Ryan.

 

 

I already predicted this a few years ago in fact. Now it's just a lot more obvious. That's why I will never settle for the non disc PS5 console because that just means I have to get everything digital. If your account goes kaput for whatever reason, then you just lost your entire access to your digital library.

 

How more people don't realize this is beyond me.

Edited May 29, 2022 by AJ_Radio

[BrandedBerserk]

On 2022-05-27 at 6:32 AM, JusttJD said:

In the end, there are plenty of games out there, many more than the average person could ever play.

Play what you like, and ignore what you don't like. (I know, people ignoring something that they don't like won't ever happen these days... would be nice though.)

 

Such a simple thing so many don't seem to understand. Focus on the stuff you do like instead of the shit you don't and you'll find there's still a lot to be enjoyed. Some act as if quality doesn't exist anymore while pointing to the bad examples as if that's the standard. 

Edited May 29, 2022 by BrandedBerserk

[majob]

6 hours ago, AJ_Radio said:

 

Are you trying to say Sony was already going thru changes prior to the move in 2016?

 

The games we praise the most as westerners such as Elden Ring probably aren't even a thing in Japan.

 

The fact that a post that you felt was projecting too much that has +9 upvotes means you think otherwise. If Sony is going to continue on its current course as top dog here in the West, probably means I will switch back to PC gaming, as I have done before in the past.

Moves like SIE to California are planned well in advance and usually have a ground stage one or two years ahead and Sony was an international company long before they moved SIE to the US. Sony Pictures was already there as well as Sony Music. It hasn't been a strictly japanese company for years. HQ in Tokyo runs the show of course but they have larger concerns than just the japanese market. Elden Ring is one game, check the best out the common annual best sellers and you'll see many of those games are western and this isn't an East vs West thing but Japan isn't on the pedestal people here assume it's on. And the amount of likes the post has doesn't matter, it just means those people are just as ill informed. 

Edited May 29, 2022 by majob

[eduardohrks]

Really don´t like the general direction things are going, still I hope to find stuff to enjoy in the upcoming years, the thing is the list keeps getting smaller when I look at my options. It´s like: screw it old customers because PS5´s are selling in China ! and, by the way, don´t forget to buy my stocks !

 

This Jim Ryan person just get on my nerves, just hearing the name makes me uneasy. As a mature grown adult who plays games since childhood as a hobby I can only hope he understood when he must not kill older previous gen systems (looking at you PS4, PS3 already being softly killed). Ryan ! People like me still live and appreciate previous gen, and guess what ? (since the presentation is about economics), like it or not people like me are the money makers nowadays, taking stuff away from me would make myself be less inclined to buy the expensive PS5 not just for me but for my offspring as well.

 

By the way I miss the days when mobiles were just phones, reading some stuff nowadays just makes me feel like a dinossaur the world needs to exterminate.

 

 

[Slava]

10 hours ago, majob said:

Made by Sony the same way Uncharted is made by Naughty Dog but published by Sony. The point is that Sony has experience with mobile considering they run one of the most successful mobile games out right now.

 

Ok, I didn't know that Fate GO was published by a Sony subsidiary. It counts, then. I see your point. There are still differences with Uncharted, but it's just details.

 

 

[Dangisuckatgamin]

I’ll remain over here getting my games for $20-30 (or less if I’m on the fence about the game) and only buying dlc if it comes in a decent bundle (Minecraft dungeons- 6 dlcs for $20 and I put 30 extra hours already in it) or a major discount.

This direction is going to hurt Sony more when more and more follow suit lol

[majob]

1 hour ago, Dangisuckatgamin said:

I’ll remain over here getting my games for $20-30 (or less if I’m on the fence about the game) and only buying dlc if it comes in a decent bundle (Minecraft dungeons- 6 dlcs for $20 and I put 30 extra hours already in it) or a major discount.

This direction is going to hurt Sony more when more and more follow suit lol

DLC and microtransaction sales annually have revenue in the billions and revenue went UP, not down. Now to be honest most of that comes from a small fraction we like to call "whales" but the point is that you're going to be disappointed if you think there's going to be a significant movement hurting this practice.

 

4 hours ago, eduardohrks said:

 

SIE just launched a game preservation program with this in mind and keep in mind that maintaining the infrastructure around these aging systems costs more than it brings in and Sony are also hardly the only ones who sunset old consoles. Everyone does this, it's inevitable, nothing lasts forever. I certainly can't connect my dreamcast to the internet anymore and play anything online.

[MidnightDragon]

Though it sucks, ultimately Sony wants to make money.

[AJ_-_808]

3 hours ago, majob said:

 

SIE just launched a game preservation program with this in mind and keep in mind that maintaining the infrastructure around these aging systems costs more than it brings in and Sony are also hardly the only ones who sunset old consoles. Everyone does this, it's inevitable, nothing lasts forever. I certainly can't connect my dreamcast to the internet anymore and play anything online.

 

Stop using logic and common sense in your arguments. Seriously, how dare you!

[AJ_Radio]

7 hours ago, majob said:

SIE just launched a game preservation program with this in mind and keep in mind that maintaining the infrastructure around these aging systems costs more than it brings in and Sony are also hardly the only ones who sunset old consoles. Everyone does this, it's inevitable, nothing lasts forever. I certainly can't connect my dreamcast to the internet anymore and play anything online.

What I don’t understand is why they’ve taken some features away from the PS4. 
 

Keep in mind that not everybody can afford a PS5, even though they’re more readily available now than they were at launch.

[Nelson_]

On 5/26/2022 at 11:59 PM, SegaJAM said:

 

"For the players" was a campaign created by Japan-based PlayStation in 2013, which was incredibly successful in restoring faith back into the PS brand after many questionable choices they made during the PS3's era. Unfortunately, they've undone almost everything they've accomplished by handing the reigns over to the US with dumbass Jim Ryan and California-based PS. Completely alienating Japan and Japanese devs, increased censorship, more focus on f2p/microtransaction nonsense, more focus on platforms that AREN'T their base consoles, punishing users of legacy platforms (PS3/Vita), and all sorts of other strange anti-consumer practices that have taken place since PlayStation's relocation.

 

Couldn't have said better myself, you got my vote.

[AJ_Radio]

8 minutes ago, Nelson_ said:

 

Couldn't have said better myself, you got my vote.

I think it’s also interesting that quality control was different prior to the move to the US. 
 

What I noticed a few months after they made the move in early 2016 was we suddenly started seeing games like Orc Slayer. Then towards the end of the year, we get My Name is Mayo. 
 

You used to never see shovelware on the PS Store. Now it’s essentially another Steam. Some great games, but you have to dig through a lot more trash to find the gems.

[Paperclip1776]

On 5/26/2022 at 3:13 PM, Tirmata said:

Sony just shared investor presentation today.

 

It gives lots of insight where Playstation gaming will go in the future, but gaming is a very dynamic industry, so who knows.

My key takeaways are:

- DLCs will be more important in gaming or at least they expect to monetize them more. Hope this won't cause more unfinished base games.

- F2P games have significant revenue share on digital spendings, so we might see more free games with microtransactions

- I am not sure how they measured the existing PS Plus subscription satisfaction and achieved 33% extremely satisfied  No one asked me in past 6 years

- In slide 34, they say in 3 years the console releases will be only half of the releases by Sony, which is a significant and bold change. I don't think it will turn out that way, but wonder what they have in mind.

- It seems PSVR2 will get 20+ 'major' games

 

I don't want to be negative, but I personally don't like the shift to mobile gaming, F2P games, or tons of DLCs. Probably, it is because I am getting old and the popular gaming is changing with the new generation. I'll be happy with a few quality games per year anyways, there are much to play already.

 

What is your thought?

 

 

In the OP, the highlighted section above seems to be a little off from what I read.  I don't believe Sony is stating in slide 34 that in 3 years the console releases will only be half of the releases by Sony.

 

The information I also saw from VGC (https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/playstation-says-half-of-its-releases-will-be-on-pc-and-mobile-by-2025/) was that half of it's annual releases will be on PC and mobile in 3 years (2025).  This doesn't mean in 3 years that console releases will only be half, this means they are increasing the number of PC and mobile ports to half of the games launched on PS5 or future Playstation consoles.  

 

From my perspective, there's nothing negative about this at all.  More new IP is being invested by Playstation for future titles.  More PS games will be available in PC and mobile formats.  I'm personally only in the PS ecosystem myself so PC and mobile ports don't impact me directly but it does indirectly, especially if they gain additional revenue within these additional markets.  

 

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by Paperclip1776
Updated info