I Would’ve Resisted Live-Service Push in Sony’s First-Party

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Summary

  • Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida says that live-service games are “risky,” and he would push back against Sony’s focus on the genre.
  • Sony’s 2024 live-service game releases had mixed results, with Helldivers 2 finding incredible success, while Concord’s launch was a disaster.
  • Sony recently canceled multiple live-service projects, including a live-service God of War game.

From 2008 to 2019, Shuhei Yoshida, then-President of SIE Worldwide Studios, often expressed his reservations about Sony’s financial commitment towards live-service PlayStation games. Although some of these games have achieved notable success, Sony’s PlayStation brand is currently grappling with several underperforming launches and shelved live-service projects as the interest in this genre appears to be dwindling.

2024 was an intriguing year for Sony’s live-service titles, with “Helldivers 2” setting a new record as the fastest-selling title under PlayStation Studios, while “Concord,” developed by Firewalk Studios, unfortunately faced a disastrous debut. The multiplayer hero shooter was pulled from servers merely two weeks after its release, and all purchases were refunded, ultimately leading to the closure of the studio. It seems that the live-service model, increasingly popular in recent times, has left some gamers feeling exhausted with frequent updates and additions. Now, a revered figure from PlayStation’s past is weighing in on this topic.

Speaking with Kinda Funny Games, ex-PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida expressed that the live-service model is a risky approach, and if he were current CEO Hermen Hulst, he would advocate against Sony’s emphasis on this genre. “I believe they recognized it was risky. The likelihood of a game thriving in this fiercely competitive genre would be minimal,” Yoshida noted. Interestingly, Helldivers 2 exceeded expectations, so success can’t be predicted in this industry. If I were in Hermen’s position, I might have attempted to steer clear of that path. Perhaps my removal from first-party roles was due to this difference in opinion!” Notably, Yoshida was one of the founding members of the PlayStation project initiated in 1993, and he was instrumental in creating hit titles such as Gran Turismo and Ape Escape for the console.

Former PlayStation Exec Was Against Sony’s Live-Service Push

According to Sony President Hiroki Totoki, the company has taken valuable lessons from its 2024 live-service launches, as he shared their insights during a financial call. Importantly, Totoki mentioned that Sony is still in the learning process, acknowledging that the launch of new intellectual properties (IP) always carries significant risks. In reference to the troubled launch of Concord, Totoki admitted that they should have identified the game’s problems much earlier during its development, although he also pointed out that the game’s release timing might have exacerbated other issues. Concord was launched only a few days after the popular Soulslike game, Black Myth: Wukong.

This month, industry source Jason Schrier revealed that Sony scrapped two online multiplayer games, one being an undisclosed action game from the makers of “Days Gone”, Bend Studio. The other was a live-service “God of War” game developed by Bluepoint Games, known for their work on the “Demon’s Souls” remake. It remains uncertain if Sony will continue to push for online multiplayer games in the future, but they have indeed canceled several others recently, including a “Twisted Metal” project and “The Last of Us Online”.

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2025-01-17 20:56