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What is the future of Sony's WWS?
- Thread starter jackissocool
- Start date
reptilescorpio
Member
People have it out for Cage for some reason.
Beyond did well commercially/critically. More than enough for Sony and Quantic Dream to be happy with the project.
IAmRandom31
Banned
Possibly, but with them owning the IP they can do what they want with it. So it could come to the PS4 at some point if that is what they want to do with it. They own all aspects of it, so they do what they want.
Ratchet and Clank and such though, is owned by Sony, so if Insomniac wanted to send it to the Wii U for example, they wouldn't be able to.
dragonbane
Member
Eh, to pass the test the game has to sell well first. It most likely will, but I honestly doubt Sony acquires any developer after just one success in the current day and age. RaD would need to prove that they can produce a sequel or something equally as good in 3 years or less and succeed again before I think Sony would even consider buying them. They are very careful right now.
CyclopsRock
Member
I think you might be confusing "Sony First Party" and "Sony Exclusive" - back in the PS1 and PS2 days, they had a huge variety of games on their systems, but I think it's hard to argue that the output of their first parties was more varied than it is now. Furthermore, what "shooty-bro 'hey look at my guns' shooters" does Sony's first parties produce? Killzone and... I can't think of any others? Uncharted also, possibly. They make more racing games than they do shooters.
You're not allowed to be positive about Cage/QD. He's shit, QD is shit, their games are shit, AND THAT'S THE END OF IT.
Yeah, there is certainly a lot of room for inprovement. In SSM's case I can't say if there is a problem or not. We will certainly be seeing how they fair in coming months when we start hearing about their new projects. I think they prove themselves more capable than Guerilla certainly, I believe they are a good league ahead Sucker Punch as well.
dragonbane
Member
ChronotriggerJM
Member
People just hate the French. But Cage doesn't even like cheese!
GET HIM.
People just hate the French. But Cage doesn't even like cheese!
He can't even be French properly!
I will agree that for a studio of their size, SSM output is a little low. I mean we could say they help out other studios with games and mentoring (Giant Sparrow, RAD, The Chinese Room, SuperBot, ThatGameCompany etc.) but they will need to bring their A game for whatever game they will get to show off first this gen again.
Dr. Kitty Muffins
Member
Personally, I think Sony needs to get back into designing games focused at younger gamers - and new IP's at that. I think an entire segment of the maret is being underserved right now and clearly Nintendo isn't getting the job done. Those gamers are moving over to mobile because few people are going after them on consoles. Just look at the money Disney and Activision are making off of younger gamers. There is gold in them thar' hills!
I think their growth as been relatively recently. Two games last gen being GoW3 and GoWA, then a bunch of helping out.
Their growth is for their new projects, plus they moved their whole studio recently.
Nightengale
Member
It would be nice to see them on a 2-year dev cycle once the 2nd team gets the ball rolling. Right now their 3 year release schedule seems a tad bit longer than necessary.
Chuck Norris
Banned
I think it's time for Sony to diversify. There is a real danger if your games start becoming too similar. Right now SSM, Naughty Dog and RAD all seem to be quite similar. QD and the Chinese Room are also on the cinematic path. Sucker Punch aren't far off, they are in the open world genre but seems like they are putting too much of a focus on cinematics
I like these games, but there is strength in diversity, and overall I'd like to see some innovative ideas about gameplay coming forward. I'd like to see some RPGs, some new IP platformers with a budget. More teams like Media Molecule and That Game Company with creative new ideas
I like these games, but there is strength in diversity, and overall I'd like to see some innovative ideas about gameplay coming forward. I'd like to see some RPGs, some new IP platformers with a budget. More teams like Media Molecule and That Game Company with creative new ideas
"Cinematics" as a noun or cinematic as an adjective?
Feel's like Sony WWS is focusing on the latter and I am fine with that. Upping production value and using filmic techniques during gameplay is never a bad thing.
They are honestly very diverse. I do think they need to keep changing things up though. There is new ground to be covered.
My one worry is that The Order will double up with NaughtyDogs third person shooter work. Certainly ND's new IP is something different, but they still have Uncharted and now TLoU which they have been given the choice to pursue a sequel on.
SSM it's rumored has a FPS in the works, and I think Guerrilla is doing something non-FPS related. I have confidence that overall Sony's 1st-party work will be strong.
--
If I had to make a list of what I most want to see though
- Ground Breaking JRPG that pushes the genre like we haven't seen since the PS1.
- A God of War that revolutionize the IP (and changes pantheons)
- Continued partnering with Insomiac, I want to see them make somthing great and new again.
- Crash an/or Jak
- Team Ico project other than TLG. I want TLG, but come on... some other ideas must have been flying around.
This isn't the first Game RaD are making for Sony, they did Daxter and 2 GoW all for PSP and did the GoW origins collection on PS3, They've shown their ability on PSP and then PS3 and now their putting out something entirely of their own, now would be a good time to bring them under the WWS umbrella as it's only going to become more and more expensive to bring them in as time goes on.
People just hate the French. But Cage doesn't even like cheese!
I actually like David Cage.
But this...this changes things.
How can you not like cheese?! I'm lactose intolerant, but I still fuck some cheese up!
BlackBuzzard
Banned
Oh, SSM knows what we all want...
If anyone can reboot GoW its Barlog.
Chaostar
Member
World domination of course.Which starts with Firesprite making WipEout for PS4.
Why has nobody pointed out that New Zealand is coloured black on this picture?
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
Apparently third person shooters and action games are too similar. You learn something new every day, even if some of those days it's wrong. I'm disappointed in you Chuck Norris.
infiniteheteroskdasticity
Member
Its a ridiculously strong set of studios. The good thing is most of them have IPs that always manage to sell 1m+ even though no single IP (excluding GT) sells as much as Halo or Mario. This means that most of these studios tend to be profitable (1st party so less marketing spend) which is healthy for their long term success. Here's my take on what their future holds.
ND - Crown jewel of WWS. They get to do whatever they want. Two teams. Uncharted & New IP. Imo, currently the best all round development studio in the industry (I think they're better than Bungie, Rockstar and EAD).
SSM - 3 studios in 1. New IP, GOW & Xdev style incubator team. IMO they're even stronger than ND technically (nobody does epic stuff better) and will likely change things up massively in the next GOW game. Rumors point to the new IP being Sci Fi so there's some impressive diversity there. Their technical help for indies and smaller studios is very important for Sony to attract 2nd/3rd party exclusives.
Polyphony Digital - are likely rueing their decision to release GT6 at the same time as the PS4 on the PS3. Long term I expect them to the most profitable studio at WWS. That's because I see sim racers perfectly suited to a transition to a subscription service model. The next GT should be less of a game and more of a framework for a constantly updated platform for driving sims that one pays a monthly fee for.
Guerrilla Games - Killzone SF was a commercial success as a PS4 launch title and performed its job as a technical showcase. This has likely brought GG some extra support for their new IP which rumors peg as an RPG of some sort. Technically one of the best around but they need help with story/design.
Sucker Punch - Infamous Second Son is probably going to be the best selling Infamous game ever. The studio appears to have addressed their technical mediocrity on the PS3 and if Second Son is as successful as people think it is going to be, these guys could be catapulted to being one of Sony's most important studios this gen.
Media Molecule - Tearaway was a fantastic game and its relative lack of sales was more due to the choice of platform than anything else. Their PS4 game should do much better and they're still the best casual game shop at WWS.
Sony London - Have a huge headcount and budget without much of anything to show for it. They apparently have a big PS4 project in the works and they need it to be good. A big Getaway revival would be just the thing.
SCEJ - Did eff all last gen and have been restructured as a result. Knack's surprising commercial success should have bought them some time. Team ICO hasn't released a game in 8+ years and I think its time for them to show that they aren't a waste of resources.
San Diego - Underappreciated but the MLB games are consistent money spinners that also happen to be quality games. Should continue on as before.
Other - QD and RAD are 2nd parties looking to join the big leagues. After losing TGC and Insomniac to third party I don't see Sony letting these two get away if their next games are even slightly above average. Sony Bend is a mystery that appears to be working on a PS4 project but they're still a very small studio. Hoesmarque has been pure quality. I can't think of a better team for a promotion to a bigger ip (I'd love to see them try Colony Wars or Wipeout).
Either way the E3 - TGC window should be absolutely epic for fans of Sony's first party studios.
ND - Crown jewel of WWS. They get to do whatever they want. Two teams. Uncharted & New IP. Imo, currently the best all round development studio in the industry (I think they're better than Bungie, Rockstar and EAD).
SSM - 3 studios in 1. New IP, GOW & Xdev style incubator team. IMO they're even stronger than ND technically (nobody does epic stuff better) and will likely change things up massively in the next GOW game. Rumors point to the new IP being Sci Fi so there's some impressive diversity there. Their technical help for indies and smaller studios is very important for Sony to attract 2nd/3rd party exclusives.
Polyphony Digital - are likely rueing their decision to release GT6 at the same time as the PS4 on the PS3. Long term I expect them to the most profitable studio at WWS. That's because I see sim racers perfectly suited to a transition to a subscription service model. The next GT should be less of a game and more of a framework for a constantly updated platform for driving sims that one pays a monthly fee for.
Guerrilla Games - Killzone SF was a commercial success as a PS4 launch title and performed its job as a technical showcase. This has likely brought GG some extra support for their new IP which rumors peg as an RPG of some sort. Technically one of the best around but they need help with story/design.
Sucker Punch - Infamous Second Son is probably going to be the best selling Infamous game ever. The studio appears to have addressed their technical mediocrity on the PS3 and if Second Son is as successful as people think it is going to be, these guys could be catapulted to being one of Sony's most important studios this gen.
Media Molecule - Tearaway was a fantastic game and its relative lack of sales was more due to the choice of platform than anything else. Their PS4 game should do much better and they're still the best casual game shop at WWS.
Sony London - Have a huge headcount and budget without much of anything to show for it. They apparently have a big PS4 project in the works and they need it to be good. A big Getaway revival would be just the thing.
SCEJ - Did eff all last gen and have been restructured as a result. Knack's surprising commercial success should have bought them some time. Team ICO hasn't released a game in 8+ years and I think its time for them to show that they aren't a waste of resources.
San Diego - Underappreciated but the MLB games are consistent money spinners that also happen to be quality games. Should continue on as before.
Other - QD and RAD are 2nd parties looking to join the big leagues. After losing TGC and Insomniac to third party I don't see Sony letting these two get away if their next games are even slightly above average. Sony Bend is a mystery that appears to be working on a PS4 project but they're still a very small studio. Hoesmarque has been pure quality. I can't think of a better team for a promotion to a bigger ip (I'd love to see them try Colony Wars or Wipeout).
Either way the E3 - TGC window should be absolutely epic for fans of Sony's first party studios.
Why has nobody pointed out that New Zealand is coloured black on this picture?
before I recognize New Zealand
Oh, SSM knows what we all want...
GoW gets a bit of flak, but man is it a series worthy of praise. Near flawless series in it's domain, extremely amazing execution and atmosphere. But let's be honest, It needs to be shaken up. At first I thought they promised Cory the new IP which is why he is back. But now I'm thinking Stig earned that, and Cory got hired back on for the next GoW project. Hopefully he is bringing the right mentality to the series. It would be a mistake to focused on refining what has already been done, that was essentially what Ascension was. Refinement without innovation.
Why has nobody pointed out that New Zealand is coloured black on this picture?
All Blacks
Sony Japan made some big missteps last gen. Namely the PS3 in general, and the issues showed in SCEJ. I can't believe they essentially contributed piss all last gen. Really only Polyphony had anything to show, and the operate separately.
We saw SCEA hit the ball out of the park in terms of 1st party games last gen, and SCEE wasn't bad either. SCEE especially made some huge grounds in the PS+ front. But SCEJ just really fucking up.
I mean, even SCEA took ever for the actual designing of the PS4.
SCEJ and Studio Japan need to reaffirm themselves this gen. They can't keep holding out for TLG, that will come out when it comes out. Gravity was a good start, now they need to show us what they are capable of on the large scale.
jackissocool
Member
Man I hear this all the time but people who say that must be completely ignorant of their handheld output which has been fucking mind blowing, in my opinion. The Patapon franchise is the most creative game concept I've ever seen and has an easy spot in my top 5 favorite series of all time. Locoroco is pure joy. Gravity Rush is just something else and has almost wormed its way onto the short list of my favorite games ever. Soul Sacrifice, while not on par with those other releases, is a damn good game that has a really fantastic lore and a unique take on the hunting genre. Now SCEJ was definitely lackluster when it came to console games but people who speak ill of them in general must always be corrected.
Other than that, great post. I'm a lifelong PlayStation gamer and right now seems like the best time to be one so far.
Yeah SCEJ does sometimes get the short end of the stick. They have tried to do what they can with the vita and psp and some of their console projects had potential and where different (puppeteer, tokyo jungle and rain). They just have not done anything big and flashy in the west so we tend to forget them. From this, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCE_Japan_Studio they do have a lot to their credit. In terms of high returns, I dunno. Getting those big projects out the door does seem to be their biggest flaw, but smaller projects they seem to handle alright.
SCEJ certainly did some nice things, but they really weren't game changers. Nice small titles to bolster the PSP, and now some titles the help launch the Vita.
In general though I fell their experimental games were very much undermined by the experimental pseudo-indie partnerings that SCEA formed.
There certainly is ignorance towards what they have contributed, but if they aren't reaching or interesting people then its as if they haven't done much at all.
In general though I fell their experimental games were very much undermined by the experimental pseudo-indie partnerings that SCEA formed.
There certainly is ignorance towards what they have contributed, but if they aren't reaching or interesting people then its as if they haven't done much at all.
jackissocool
Member
Allan Becker will hopefully whip that place into productive shape without damaging their insane creativity. And looking at that page... It's gonna suck when Ueda's gone. He's so brilliant, such a huge loss.
EDIT: I totally forgot to mention the Badman series. That's another great one they did last gen that was handheld exclusive.
I really don't care where they go, I just hope someone makes a new MAG and Pursuit Force game. Those two games showed a ton of potential. Can you imagine having a Pursuit Force on PS4 (or even Vita)? The one two punch of both Zipper and BigBig closing was almost too much for me.
Oh I very much agree with you. I mean I am glad Sony is the type of place that will let studios pretty much do the type of games they want but usually after they have proved themselves. While these laxed policies have been good (because it keeps teams happy), and do create some creative ideas that would never be pushed by a big publisher anywhere else (Tokyo Jungle, I'm looking in your direction), Sony needs to kinda reign in some of the lower producing studios and be very blunt, that they need to produce something that will attract an audience (and sure it does not have to be as big as a Gran Turismo) before another shot is given to a whacky or idea that perhaps is a little more daring and artistic. It seems to work well with ND and what came out of it was a game that was GOTY worthy with TLoU and was created in part because Sony let them do what they wanted after the success they had with UC. Possibly the only studio they have that has a stricter structure is San Diego as they are relegated to doing MLB games over and over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig82EECniFw
Not sure if it's news or anything but Guerrilla Games has been working on their new IP for 2 and a half years now @2:20.
Not sure if it's news or anything but Guerrilla Games has been working on their new IP for 2 and a half years now @2:20.
The same guys that own Rockstar? That's never gonna happen
I think the future looks great. Everyone is happy and all have high hopes about the new generation
im looking forward to in the e3/tgs window
deep down further push.
ssm new ip
guerilla new ip / some new ip from japan
nd uc further reveal
driveclub reintroduction
sony bend / sony london some reveal
some more details on order
more details on some of the smaller games such as rime/shadow of the beast.
ill be okay with 1 maybe 2 mising out but no less than 6 of those 8 options.
I guess that's why the Sony Ship is entirely leakproof so far. How many distinct "teams" are there in SCE if you don't mind me asking? It's a vague enough number that nobody would know what it means, but it's still a number I want to know.I think the future looks great. Everyone is happy and all have high hopes about the new generation
Nightengale
Member
One studio for example has 5+ teams on PS4
London?
Would assume that japan studio .. but could be london and xdev etc.
Thanks.I dont know the final lineup but leading upto E3 and perhaps at E3, there is a good chance you'll be happy
That's a tough one to answer by me. There are MANY teams from the development side alone. Most (all?) studios will have at least another team doing something right now away from the main team. Larger studios will have more than that. One studio for example has 5+ teams on PS4
If "Most (all?)" means anything, it's anyone that's large enough to have a AAA game will also have another team doing something else. Seems like a good use of extra team members and the like (overhead? is it?).
I say studios like SCE Foster (doesn't "make" games), SCE San Diego (I'd love another Sony sports production btw), and Polyphony Digital I think the rest are all studios that most assuredly might have more than one team. I would put Sucker Punch up there because of their "We're a one game studio" deal, but that Nate Fox flub for Vita was just legendary. I think Bend and Cambridge have at least one kind of Vita project seeing as that's what they've both been doing for the longest time is portables and it'd be an utter shame to abandon all of that engine work and the like. And if I squint my eyes I can imagine Evolution having a Vita team. Seeing as how they put out Motorstorm RC and I feel like a ton of the asynchronous gameplay that we'll see in Driveclub can be traced back to that game.
Maybe. Probably not though. Japan Studios has just put out Puppeteer and Knack (Rain not included because XDEV) which totals to two. AAA JRPG team is 1. Last Guardian is another. And Team Siren (Gravity Rush) is the 5th.
I would absolutely love even a wink and a nod that SCE London isn't just sitting around twiddling their thumbs. "Game with car in it" is freaking nothing. Could be background cars for Singstar for all I know (I'm being silly, deal with it). They have hundreds of people and all we've gotten the last generation is Singstar and Wonderbook. I hope they're working on PS Home 2.0. Because I have no idea what they're doing otherwise. They certainly wouldn't have 5 teams.
EDIT : Wait just one second.
He said 5+ teams on PS4. If that includes Xdev, the 3rd party relations crew, and/or collaborations like Deep Down, then yeah, it's not that hard to believe at all or even figure out who it is (Japan Studios). But if not... What the hell?
Lacedaemon
Neo Member
I wonder what is Sony's plan about multiplayer shooters. MS has far too many as usual Halo,Gears, TF 1 and Sunset Overdrive. I believe PS4 needs a good first party multiplayer shooter now that GG takes a break from Killzone, but which studio should do it ?
I haven't properly read the thread but ctrl+f for for it, nobody seems to have mentioned Zindagi games, makers of Sports Champions and Medieval Moves. They are most likely working on a VR Move game althoug that is a guess and nothing more. A game like medieval moves but with player controlled movement would be amazing.
A game like medieval moves but with player controlled movement would be amazing.Second party. They don't even have a Wikipedia entry oddly enough.I haven't properly read the thread but ctrl+f for for it, nobody seems to have mentioned Zindagi games, makers of Sports Champions and Medieval Moves. They are most likely working on a VR Move game althoug that is a guess and nothing more.
Fair enough. Trying to predict the unpredictable is an exercise in pointlessness. Being not Japan shuts downs any predictions regardless. I will just sit back, and wait and see. As long as this E3 blows my goddamn brains out, I'm content to wallow in the dark for the time being.I wasn't talking about Japan (not to say they also don't have a few teams internally on the development side). As I said... many are on PS4 right now so putting a number on it is difficult at best
It'd be really cool if Sony "Won" E3 for 2 years in a row. And not just a "General Consensus" win. I mean a win that not even fanboys and girls can deny happened. I wonder if they learned lessons about riding the hype waves from E3 '13. It's not hyperbole to say that that E3 carried momentum well up to launch. And even without all the supposed advantages, I want to see E3 come back to it's former glory, perhaps even higher than that.
*sigh* Let me dream.
Which I will, when I go to sleep.
Sorry to be a stickler, but I think you've been misinformed. SCEJ still handled PS4 development. The things that were different this time is that WWS and to a limited extent 3rd party studios had some involvement. If you are talking about Cerny he is self-employed under Cerny Games and he worked in Japan with a team there on the hardware design.
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