Shuhei on No Man's Sky

[StrickenBiged]

Eurogamer are reporting on a conversation one of their journalists had with Shuhei Yoshida at Tokyo Game Show.

 

They asked about No Man's Sky's marketing, and whether Shu had any thoughts. 

 

Shuhei responded as follows:

 

 

"I had the opportunity to play the game right before launch - and I restarted playing the game on launch day with the Day One patch - so I could see the struggle for the developers to get the game out in the state that they wanted."

 

Yoshida said that personally, he "really enjoyed" playing No Man's Sky but could appreciate why others might not feel the same way.

 

"I understand some of the criticisms especially Sean Murray is getting, because he sounded like he was promising more features in the game from day one.

 

"It wasn't a great PR strategy, because he didn't have a PR person helping him, and in the end he is an indie developer. But he says their plan is to continue to develop No Man's Sky features and such, and I'm looking forward to continuing to play the game."

 

When asked whether Shuhei felt that the "No Man's Sky" controversy had harmed the PlayStation brand at all, he added:

 

 

 

"I am super happy with the game actually, and I'm amazed with the sales the game has gotten, so I'm not the right person to judge if it has 'harmed' the PlayStation brand. I personally don't think so. If anything, I am proud that people can play No Man's Sky on PS4 as well as PC."

 

______________________________________

 

Thoughts? Is Shu trying to distance PlayStation from accusations that it was complicit in misleading marketing? Is he trying to say that Hello Games is still working on the features which Hello Games/Sean Murray said would be in the game, but weren't in the launch game by the time it launched?

[starcrunch061]

Thoughts? Is Shu trying to distance PlayStation from accusations that it was complicit in misleading marketing? Is he trying to say that Hello Games is still working on the features which Hello Games/Sean Murray said would be in the game, but weren't in the launch game by the time it launched?

 

I find that any time a large business lets one of its people off of the leash to interview, there is purpose behind it. My personal feeling is that this is more than just a guy talking about his experiences.

[Satoshi Ookami]

Apart from the fact that we only got the translation so we can't be sure what Shu actually said...

It's more like 'We got money out of it, it's successful.'

[CrimsonFalzar]

My thoughts on this game have always been if you like this kinda game you like it, If you don't you don't. 

Not much else to say...

 

Just deff not a game I'd buy LOL

Edited September 16, 2016 by ChastityFail

[StrickenBiged]

I find that any time a large business lets one of its people off of the leash to interview, there is purpose behind it. My personal feeling is that this is more than just a guy talking about his experiences.

 

I dunno. I've always felt that Shuhei has been trusted to be "off the leash" for a while now. One, he has been at the game long enough to know what he can and can't say. Two, they're happy enough for him to do things like an interview with Kinda Funny a year or so ago. (Could have been scripted, I guess, but I think those guys are too straight up for that.) Three, Shu is fairly senior - someone from middle management running their mouth is one thing, when one of the bosses does it it's another. 

[starcrunch061]

I dunno. I've always felt that Shuhei has been trusted to be "off the leash" for a while now. One, he has been at the game long enough to know what he can and can't say. Two, they're happy enough for him to do things like an interview with Kinda Funny a year or so ago. (Could have been scripted, I guess, but I think those guys are too straight up for that.) Three, Shu is fairly senior - someone from middle management running their mouth is one thing, when one of the bosses does it it's another. 

 

This is Japan, though. Their bosses are kind of...stupid.

 

Call me cynical, but when I read the comments, I wondered if maybe this was a way to deflect criticism from Sony.

Apart from the fact that we only got the translation so we can't be sure what Shu actually said...

 

This is true as well, although I also think that these Japanese management types often use the excuse of poor translation to cover up their idiocy.

[StrickenBiged]

Interesting how Shu said outright that Hello Games didn't employ a good PR strategy. It appears as if he understands the feelings some players have had towards NMS. 

[FlareXV]

Thoughts? Is Shu trying to distance PlayStation from accusations that it was complicit in misleading marketing? Is he trying to say that Hello Games is still working on the features which Hello Games/Sean Murray said would be in the game, but weren't in the launch game by the time it launched?

 

Shu just like Phil, will bend the truth to the general audience so they can distant themselves away from PR messes.

 

The lesson in all of this is don't make promises you can't keep especially if you haven't proved yourself, I just hope HGames learns from this.

[StrickenBiged]

The lesson in all of this is don't make promises you can't keep especially if you haven't proved yourself, I just hope HGames learns from this.

 

Shu:

 

 

 

I understand some of the criticisms especially Sean Murray is getting, because he sounded like he was promising more features in the game from day one.

 

I'm still holding out hope that Sean Murray was talking about what the game would go on to become, rather than what it would launch as. It's somewhat irrational, I know, but I'm going to give them the chance to try to build on the base game.

 

Sold on lies... I'm not going to deny that what they presented was more than what we got. 

 

I hoping the game ends up a bit like Minecraft, which also began life as a fairly simple building game, before going on to get a story mode, etc. Could happen.

 

What would be really helpful is any kind of statement from Hello Games about what exactly they are planning. Are they going to bring in MP or not? Is there going to be more robust trading or not? Are more fauna presets going to go into the game or not? Planetary rotation, etc etc etc.

Edited September 16, 2016 by StrickenBiged

[madbuk]

Hello Games are the ones at fault? Who would've thought

 

I think it's disgusting that HG, and especially Sean Murray (the guy above) are getting away with this blatant false advertisement. That shit is illegal and for good reason, in my eyes this is no different to Alien: Colonial Marines.

Sean is quite a clever con artist though, he tricked a lot of people. It honestly would not surprise me if he (and his team) managed to trick Sony originally by overselling the game. I really don't believe Sony deserves any blame in this, unless it's confirmed that they were aware from the very beginning that No Man's Sky was being sold on lies and empty promises.

 

Edit: Also, thanks for simply copying the article title, Stricken. GAF have a thread about the article too and the OP titled the thread "Shuhei Yoshida blames Hello Games for No Man's Sky PR", which is missing the point a bit and half the posts are talking about clickbait instead of the actual article lol

Edited September 16, 2016 by madbuk

[StrickenBiged]

"There are those who die heroes, and those who live long enough to become a gif."

 

- Me, just now. 

 

 

 

Hello Games are the ones at fault? Who would've thought

 

I think it's disgusting that HG, and especially Sean Murray (the guy above) are getting away with this blatant false advertisement. That shit is illegal and for good reason, in my eyes this is no different to Alien: Colonial Marines.

Sean is quite a clever con artist though, he tricked a lot of people. It honestly would not surprise me if he (and his team) managed to trick Sony originally by overselling the game. I really don't believe Sony deserves any blame in this, unless it's confirmed that they were aware from the very beginning that No Man's Sky was being sold on lies and empty promises.

 

I think you're being a bit harsh to him personally. Like I alluded to, there's still the chance that the vision Sean Murray was outlining whenever he spoke about the game was where he hoped the game would end up, not necessarily how it would launch. It's also true that games change during development, although I note that Sean was also making statements about what would be in the game just 2 months prior to launch. 

 

If that is the case though, I agree that they should have been very up front about it. 

[madbuk]

"There are those who die heroes, and those who live long enough to become a gif."

 

- Me, just now. 

 

 

 

 

I think you're being a bit harsh to him personally. Like I alluded to, there's still the chance that the vision Sean Murray was outlining whenever he spoke about the game was where he hoped the game would end up, not necessarily how it would launch. It's also true that games change during development, although I note that Sean was also making statements about what would be in the game just 2 months prior to launch. 

 

If that is the case though, I agree that they should have been very up front about it. 

He was doing it after launch, too. He posted on Twitter after the two streamers met each other how incredible it was that it only took 2 days for people to meet, and that they fully intended for this to happen because they put systems in place to help you find other players... Even though multiplayer doesn't actually exist.

This heavily implies that the reason they couldn't see each other was because of server errors, not because there is actually no MP at all. Unless he's just a deluded fanboy about his own game, and believes that one of his co-workers implemented MP while he was busy doing his own work, I don't see how this isn't an outright lie

[StrickenBiged]

[snip]

 

Yeah, who knows. They need to make a statement addressing all this shit before it hurts them irreparably. 

 

Edit:

 

Their latest news item on the game's site did include this:

 

What matters now, as always, is what we do rather than what we say. We’re developers, and our focus is first on resolving any issues people have with the game as it is, then on future free updates which will improve, expand and build on the No Man’s Sky universe.

 

Giving them the benefit of the doubt, it could be that Sean Murray was selling "the game as it will become" rather than the game as it would launch. 

 

Still naughty as hell though, even if true.

Edited September 16, 2016 by StrickenBiged

[madbuk]

Yeah, who knows. They need to make a statement addressing all this shit before it hurts them irreparably. 

I agree, and it's surprised me that it is taking them so long. They don't really need to say anything right now, they've gotten their money already, but they can't avoid it forever. When they begin marketing their next game, I'm almost certain that one of the first things they'll be asked is whether it'll deliver better than NMS did if they don't begin to address NMS before then. And the longer they wait, the more damage it'll do imo. Maybe they think, or hope, it'll be something we can all look back on in a few years and laugh about?

[Remilia Scarlet]

I love Yoshida-san. He tells it like it is and isn't afraid to say the things that other people won't.

[damon8r351]

Thoughts? Is Shu trying to distance PlayStation from accusations that it was complicit in misleading marketing? Is he trying to say that Hello Games is still working on the features which Hello Games/Sean Murray said would be in the game, but weren't in the launch game by the time it launched?

 

Complicit? It's Sony's fault that it's a controversial game. If Sony hadn't thrown their weight behind the game and made it as big a deal as it was, it would've been just another indie game from a small studio made for a particular niche of gamers that are interested in the type of game it was. It would've largely escaped notice from the vast majority of gamers, the developers wouldn't have been in front of the camera as much letting their mouths get themselves in trouble, and it wouldn't have cost as much as it did. Sony put it at the same level as a GTA or CoD or Assassin's Creed, but it's by far not at that level. The controversy is by far not completely the developers' fault, Sony was the one that made it a big deal. The developers' made some promises to try to live up to the hype Sony was creating for them, and didn't quite get there because they are a literal shade tree game studio: 5 guys who love their job working out of some house.

[madbuk]

Complicit? It's Sony's fault that it's a controversial game. If Sony hadn't thrown their weight behind the game and made it as big a deal as it was, it would've been just another indie game from a small studio made for a particular niche of gamers that are interested in the type of game it was. It would've largely escaped notice from the vast majority of gamers, the developers wouldn't have been in front of the camera as much letting their mouths get themselves in trouble, and it wouldn't have cost as much as it did. Sony put it at the same level as a GTA or CoD or Assassin's Creed, but it's by far not at that level. The controversy is by far not completely the developers' fault, Sony was the one that made it a big deal. The developers' made some promises to try to live up to the hype Sony was creating for them, and didn't quite get there because they are a literal shade tree game studio: 5 guys who love their job working out of some house.

But you can't throw the blame on Sony either. We don't know all the details, and to me it really does seem likely that Sean deceived Sony too, and oversold the game to them to get their support. If he fooled Sony, the blame goes back to him (and thus Hello Games). And then we're just victim blaming which is pretty shitty.

Or maybe Sony say how deceptive Sean was and thought "this guy could easily fool millions with some support from us!"

 

We just don't know. As it is, Sean was the one who spouted all the bullshit, not Sony, and thus Sean should be the one getting the blame.

 

Edit: And about the bolded part, I doubt it. A lot of indies get attention without much support from Sony/Microsoft, and a fairly unique game like No Man's Sky would've gotten a lot of attention, I imagine. Especially with all the promises Sean made. The only difference is it probably wouldn't have gotten screen time at E3 or similar conferences.

Edited September 16, 2016 by madbuk

[xZoneHunter]

At least he has the decency to say ANYTHING.

 

Sean on the other hand is still on radio silence.

[damon8r351]

But you can't throw the blame on Sony either. We don't know all the details, and to me it really does seem likely that Sean deceived Sony too, and oversold the game to them to get their support. If he fooled Sony, the blame goes back to him (and thus Hello Games). And then we're just victim blaming which is pretty shitty.

Or maybe Sony say how deceptive Sean was and thought "this guy could easily fool millions with some support from us!"

 

We just don't know. As it is, Sean was the one who spouted all the bullshit, not Sony, and thus Sean should be the one getting the blame.

 

I'm not going to waste my breath, because I know from experience it's not worth it and I don't want to mess with a warning point, but just so it's not unknown, I vigorously disagree with every single pixel of that.

[Brawler]

I'm not going to waste my breath, because I know from experience it's not worth it and I don't want to mess with a warning point, but just so it's not unknown, I vigorously disagree with every single pixel of that.

 

You won't get a warning point for providing a counter argument. Unless, of course, your argument is just calling him an idiot for not agreeing with you or something of that nature. 

[StrickenBiged]

But you can't throw the blame on Sony either. We don't know all the details, and to me it really does seem likely that Sean deceived Sony too, and oversold the game to them to get their support. If he fooled Sony, the blame goes back to him (and thus Hello Games). And then we're just victim blaming which is pretty shitty.

Or maybe Sony say how deceptive Sean was and thought "this guy could easily fool millions with some support from us!"

 

We just don't know. As it is, Sean was the one who spouted all the bullshit, not Sony, and thus Sean should be the one getting the blame.

 

Edit: And about the bolded part, I doubt it. A lot of indies get attention without much support from Sony/Microsoft, and a fairly unique game like No Man's Sky would've gotten a lot of attention, I imagine. Especially with all the promises Sean made. The only difference is it probably wouldn't have gotten screen time at E3 or similar conferences.

 

I'm not going to waste my breath, because I know from experience it's not worth it and I don't want to mess with a warning point, but just so it's not unknown, I vigorously disagree with every single pixel of that.

 

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

 

Sony gave them a huge promotional platform, yes, and HG/SM either exaggerated the features that would be in the game or failed to clarify that they were speaking about "the game as it would become" as opposed to the launch game. (Both are bad.)

 

It'd probably be wrong to blame either party exclusively, and it is a bit of the old "chicken and egg" conundrum. Would anyone care if they hadn't received the attention they got after Sony invited them on stage? Would Sean have felt compelled to make promises that put his game on a par with the big AAA games laboured on by teams of thousands had he not got that attention? Who knows.

 

How should Sony have known what state NMS would launch in - did they have a crystal ball?

 

In an alternate history, NMS might have launched as it did, and been an indie darling. As updates roll out in the following months and years, it would receive more and more attention and probably attract a lot of goodwill. 

[HaSoOoN-MHD]

LOL yeah right because that money Sony funneled into the marketing had absolutely nothing to do with the hype. Bald faced PR lies.

[MesopithecusUK]

 

How should Sony have known what state NMS would launch in - did they have a crystal ball?

 

 

 

I heard something recently in a fan made video (so sadly, no link to an actual article) that the reason for No Man's Sky initial delay was that it failed to pass Sony QA.  How it passed Sony QA with what was released is beyond me, given all the crashing issues alone that I had (not counting any other issues)

 

Whether that information is correct or not, the game would've still had to go through Sony QA before being released so Sony would've had an idea of the state of the game before it hit the commercial markets.  

 

 

All I want is an official statement from Sean Murray or Hello Games.

[Stevieboy]

Posts have been removed. Can we keep this thread on topic please.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Stevieboy

[StrickenBiged]

I heard something recently in a fan made video (so sadly, no link to an actual article) that the reason for No Man's Sky initial delay was that it failed to pass Sony QA.  How it passed Sony QA with what was released is beyond me, given all the crashing issues alone that I had (not counting any other issues)

 

Whether that information is correct or not, the game would've still had to go through Sony QA before being released so Sony would've had an idea of the state of the game before it hit the commercial markets.  

 

 

All I want is an official statement from Sean Murray or Hello Games.

 

What I meant was, at the time that Sony became involved, how would they have known that Hello Games was overestimating its own capabilities (assuming that HG gave Sony a similar pitch to that which the consumers received)?

 

Obviously at QA it should have been apparent that the game did not live up to the expectations. But even then, I infer from the rising amount of dross games on PSN that Sony's certification QA is just an exercise in making sure that the game runs, not that it's any good or meets any pre-launch hype.

 

As for the crashing issues, I read something put out by HG that many of these were caused by a hardware issue that they had not anticipated. Perhaps there are some slight variations in the chipsets of PS4s, and some of these caused issues which they didn't cause on whatever dev kits HG were using?