Shuhei Yoshida Said He’d Resist PlayStation Live Service Push

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Summary

  • Yoshida wasn’t in favor of PlayStation’s live service direction, suggesting it might have played a role in his removal.
  • Pursuing live service games is risky, especially for Sony, after the failure of Concord and server shutdown.
  • Sony president Hiroki Totoki aims to approach live service games with caution to avoid repeating the Concord disaster.

Despite Helldivers 2 effectively nailing the elements of a live service game, the opposite was true for Concord, an unfortunate title whose performance was so dismal that its servers were deactivated merely two weeks post-launch. Regrettably, the team responsible for it had to cease operations.

Previously at Sony, Shuhei Yoshida – who spent an impressive 31 years with the company – has expressed some reservations about the live service model compared to other industry leaders. In November, he announced his departure from Sony. During his tenure, Yoshida served as president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios from 2008 until 2019 when he stepped down to concentrate on fostering independent game developers instead.

Yoshida Wasn’t A Fan Of PlayStation’s Live Service Push

During an extensive conversation with Kinda Funny Games, Yoshida frequently discussed this topic and hinted that if he were in Hermen Hulst’s role as co-CEO at Sony Interactive Entertainment, he might opt against pursuing a live service model. Jokingly, Yoshida suggested that maybe this is one reason for his removal from that position.

As a passionate gaming enthusiast, I found myself in charge of our budget, meaning it was my role to decide where the funds were best allocated for game development. If the company was contemplating this shift towards live service games, it wouldn’t have been prudent to abandon projects like another God of War or single-player game entirely and funnel all resources into live service titles instead.

Yoshida goes on to say, “But after I departed and Hulst took the helm, the company provided us with significantly more resources. I believe they didn’t instruct Hulst to cease creating single-player games. Instead, they said something like ‘these games are exceptional, carry on with them, and we’ll supply you with extra resources for these live service games to experiment with.’ I’m certain they were aware it was a risky move. The probability of a game thriving in this highly competitive genre would be slim.

Despite the recognized risk, the company equipped Hermen with the necessary tools and opportunity to give it a shot. To me, this approach seems commendable, and I’m hopeful that some of the games will be successful. Fortunately, Helldivers 2 turned out to be a hit, surprising many. This unpredictability is what makes this industry exciting. I can only wish that Hermen’s strategy proves fruitful in the end. If I were in Hermen’s shoes, I might have hesitated in that direction. Perhaps that’s one reason they replaced me in the first-party, Yoshida concluded.

It’s challenging not to feel empathy towards Yoshida in this situation, as pursuing that elusive live service success is extremely tough, even for seasoned developers who have extensive experience with multiplayer games. Here’s hoping Sony approaches the genre with a bit more caution, and since President Hiroki Totoki stated last year that they aim to implement additional checks, it seems like they want to prevent another Concord-like incident.

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2025-01-16 22:08