Support NeoGAF

[Topher]

HIROKI TOTOKI SAYS THERE’S “ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE” AT THE DESTINY STUDIO

Sony president and PlayStation chairman Hiroki Totoki has said Bungie could be better at assuming responsibility for its development timelines.

During a Q&A session following Sony’s latest financial results briefing, Totoki was asked for an update on Bungie, and whether he had any initiatives planned for the studio in the next financial year.

Totoki replied that while he was impressed by Bungie’s ability as a video game developer, he felt it could make improvements from a business perspective.

“I visited the Bungie studios and had meetings with [the] management,” he said, “and I saw that employees working at the studios were highly motivated, showing great creativity as well as an impressive knowledge of live services.

“However, I also felt that there was room for improvement from a business perspective with regard to areas such as the use of business expenses and assuming accountability for development timelines. I hope to continue the dialogue and come up with some good solutions.”

When Totoki originally answered this question last week, the live English translation provided by Sony referred to PlayStation studios in general.

However, Sony has now released a new official translation, which it says “is intended to replace the simultaneous translation of the question and answer session previously provided”, and this new translation refers to Bungie specifically.

It was reported in December that Bungie’s position as an independent subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is under threat.

When the PlayStation maker announced its intention to acquire the Destiny studio in 2022, it said Bungie would “continue to operate independently, maintaining the ability to self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play”.

However, an IGN report stated that the company’s board structure is contingent on Bungie hitting certain financial goals, and if it fails to do so Sony can reportedly choose to dissolve the existing board and assume full control of the company.

Last October, Bungie’s staff were reportedly warned that revenue was running at around 45% below projections for the year, which was said to have been attributed to poor player retention for Destiny 2.

Struggling to meet its targets and with the threat of a potential Sony takeover looming, Bungie’s leadership reportedly embarked on a wide-ranging cost-cutting plan that saw 100 of the studio’s 1,200 employees laid off.

 

[ResilientBanana]

Bungie is a broken fucking record and always need more time. Then, they blame their shortcomings on not having enough time, forced upon them by whoever owns them at the time.

 

[Elginer]

Here we go

 

[R3TRODYCE]

Bungie gonna Bung…

 

[Warnen]

Even I’m done. Ya fucked up bungie!

 

[lefty1117]

AGILE framework is a chain and shackles

 

[Cert.in.Death]

That sounds a lot like Activision speak to me…

 

[Chittagong]

Sounds like a pretty fair request given that they last released a game in 2017

 

[Fake]

They are still salty about Bungie commentary over Factions?

Why even buying Bungie to begin with?

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

"based"

 

[Crispy Gamer]

Bungie is a world class studio that should've never got stuck in live service hell it was self-sabotaging

 

[Mister Wolf]

Time for Bungie to fall in line.

 

[Punished Miku]

“However, I also felt that there was room for improvement from a business perspective with regard to areas such as the use of business expenses"

He must have seen the knitting class. Calling them out publicly like that is still a bit surprising. Can't say I've ever seen anyone single out studios like that and basically say they're wasting money.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Time to exterminate bungie managment and cancel Marathon xbox port

 

[darrylgorn]

They need to get Joseph Staten in there to help out.

 

[DeaDPo0L84]

As a fan of Destiny, we have been wanting them to be accountable for quite some time.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Bungie knows what they’re doing. Sony needs to quit meddling and give them the leniency and creative freedom to follow their passion. Those 1000+ employees are hard at work, remaining productive and using their resources wisely on stuff like….

 

[GHG]

Fire the DE&I department, see who cries about it, get rid of them too.

Problem solved.

 

[Cyborg]

From business point 45% below projection is serious. I mean that way off........

 

[Hudo]

Can they force Bungie to unfuck Marathon and make a proper singleplayer campaign for it? You know, the fucking thing Marathon has been known for?

 

[Wooxsvan]

they needed destiny 3.
-revamp the game systems. not just bullet sponge style combat, add more combat moves and abilities. really flesh out the MMO elements and gameplay.
-new worlds that have quest hubs and towns/cities in them w/ proper questlines and stories. get rid of the planet to tower system, bounties etc


its dead Jim

 

[PonyStation4]

Bungie is the Gamefreak of Sony, a mediocre developer that makes decisions like an indie developer.

Destiny 2 has to be one of the worst developed games of all time. They can't add an emote wheel because their engine can't handle it or touching 1 small part of the game affects 20 other things. It's pathetic. Then there's the story which is a short cutscene, teleport to a location with characters standing rehashing the same 5 animations, then walking over to a projector to hear the rest of a conversation. In fact this is even worse than the trash that Gamefreak puts out.

 

[DR3AM]

No wonder why Activision kicked Bungie out

 

[DeaDPo0L84]

I'm interested in what happens to Destiny post Final Shape. If Sony sees a bigger future for the game versus Bungie It'd be interesting to see if they take over and keep the game going with big size expansions versus whatever Bungie has planned.

 

[ResilientBanana]

Bungie knows what they’re doing. Sony needs to quit meddling and give them the leniency and creative freedom to follow their passion. Those 1000+ employees are hard at work, remaining productive and using their resources wisely on stuff like….

It did say that 100 people were laid off, but no mention of whether it was a group of rainbow-haired inclusionists, or a bunch of straight, skilled, white men with boxes were reported leaving. Since twitter is pretty quiet about Bungie layoffs, my bet is on the skilled white straight men were let go..

 

[DeepEnigma]

Your inclusivity knitting groups on company time is/was an issue. This isn't school anymore, kiddies.

 

[BennyBlanco]

I like how blunt this fella is. Feels like I’m reading leaked emails anytime he speaks.

 

[DeepEnigma]

They are still salty about Bungie commentary over Factions?

Why even buying Bungie to begin with?

No. It was over this, you were here for it.

Bungie Devs Say Atmosphere Is ‘Soul-Crushing’ Amid Layoffs, Cuts, and Fear of Total Sony Takeover - IGN

https://www.ign.com/articles/bungie-devs-say-atmosphere-is-soul-crushing-amid-layoffs-cuts-and-fear-of-total-sony-takeover?utm_source=twitter As it currently stands, Bungie is (on paper) a fully independent subsidiary of Sony. But its board of directors has been divided since the takeover in...

www.neogaf.com

 

[envyzeal]

Excellent wording, will use

 

[Kenneth Haight]

 

[Fabieter]

What a waste of money

 

[Evil Calvin]

HIROKI TOTOKI SAYS THERE’S “ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE” AT THE DESTINY STUDIO

Sony president and PlayStation chairman Hiroki Totoki has said Bungie could be better at assuming responsibility for its development timelines.

It's because Japan embraces crunch and long hours. That doesn't fly in most countries. You never hear about it because they would be blacklisted if they said anything.

"Game programming in Japan involves long hours and intense pressure: "It's not uncommon for people to work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and sometimes even more."

 

[Kacho]

Last October, Bungie’s staff were reportedly warned that revenue was running at around 45% below projections for the year, which was said to have been attributed to poor player retention for Destiny 2.

45%???

 

[Sleepwalker]

They will have to spend some money in dictionaries so they start by learning the term "accountability".

 

[DeepEnigma]

They will have to spend some money in dictionaries so they start by learning the term "accountability".

Sadly, the mind virus has been altering definitions, and soon they will come for that one.

 

[Spyxos]

I will never understand the overpriced Bungie purchase. I bought both Desitnys but they only lasted a very short time. Marathon looks interesting, but I'm not really in the mood for an extraction shooter. I hope it also has a proper campaign.

And the fact that Bungie still hasn't managed to improve the new player experience it is just stupid. Every time I start it, I have no idea where to go or what to do.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Clash of cultures. You can tell Sony is a more traditional company where execs are more suit and tie kind of people while Bungie is the stereotypical tech company that parties and does perks. When you got a company footing the bill for company knitting classes (and I think wasn’t there cooking classes too? I forget but it was more than knitting) it’s pretty obvious they got too much time and money to goof around instead of prioritizing making what they make - games.

So like any traditional company, they’ll crack down on that stuff. Tech is the only industry I know of where it doesn’t matter if it’s a rich tech company or one that is barely afloat which seems to have bottomless pockets in glamorous offices and perks and pay like money grows in trees, and timeliness isn’t that important either.

 

[Reallink]

I got news for Hiroki Totoki san. Black, Tran, and LatinX® @ Bungie don't work on schedules or time lines, that's some white culture shit.

 

[Sushi_Combo]

Bungie management : "We hear you"

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Bungie knows what they’re doing. Sony needs to quit meddling and give them the leniency and creative freedom to follow their passion. Those 1000+ employees are hard at work, remaining productive and using their resources wisely on stuff like….

i don't understand the tweet and I'm still offended

 

[GHG]

I like how blunt this fella is. Feels like I’m reading leaked emails anytime he speaks.

Corporate Japan tends to be very direct in their communication. They don't mince their words.

Now that the profit margins at Sony aren't looking so hot and the head office are taking notice, the western departnents/offices are about to find out. They should never have allowed the Japan infuence to diminish as much as they have. Time to reverse course.

 

[Audiophile]

Honestly, I can't get my head around this purchase unless the behind the scenes stuff of Marathon is some next-level shit.. the price was high considering how far the studio has fallen.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Bungie management : "We hear you"

Sony opens clause in the contract: "We now fully own you"

 

[Topher]

 

[GHG]

Honestly, I can't get my head around this purchase unless the behind the scenes stuff of Marathon is some next-level shit.. the price was high considering how far the studio has fallen.

On paper it was an acquisition that made sense at the time, but I think it's clear their due diligence was not thorough enough.

Bungie is now a liability instead of it being the asset they intended it to be.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Note that this part of his speech was previously attributed to the whole SIE in general due to mistranslation, lol.

 

[Topher]

On paper it was an acquisition that made sense at the time, but I think it's clear their due diligence was not thorough enough.

Bungie is now a liability instead of it being the asset they intended it to be.

I get the feeling Sony wanted Bungie to do for PlayStation what Tencent did for Epic that led to Fortnite. Ain't looking like that's going to happen.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Honestly, I can't get my head around this purchase unless the behind the scenes stuff of Marathon is some next-level shit.. the price was high considering how far the studio has fallen.

The purchase had multiple benefits.

Bungie is the biggest independent game studio, they got tons of experience making shooters, and their games have GAAS focus. And considering they were sold for a lot of money I’m going to assume destiny is super profitable.

Sony wanted help from them since they are in middle of doing tons of gaas games. So bungie joining Sony kills two birds with one stone. They got their own gaas shooters, and they help any studio polish up their gaas games.

 

[tmlDan]

Totoki gonna save PS at this point lol

 

[Punished Miku]

Note that this part of his speech was previously attributed to the whole SIE in general due to mistranslation, lol.

It's a fair correction. But we know from the leaks that Insomniac has some questionable spending as well. And Naughty Dog apparently just learned after several years that GAAS games require ongoing development before canceling their game. And Conny "head of production" Booth got fired. That's not every studio they own or anything, but they've had a string of less than optimal moments, and their CEO just got swapped out as well.