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Sony Japan Studio starting up several new titles; equal effort on new IPs and sequels

C

Cyberia

Member
Sony Japan Studio has been on a roll in the past two years or so. They’ve developed and co-developed games like Bloodborne, Gravity Rush Remastered, The Tomorrow Children, The Last Guardian, Gravity Rush 2 and now Everybody’s Golf and Knack 2 are coming up in the next few months.

They apparently want to keep this pace, too. During an interview with IGN, Senior Vice President Allan Becker teased that the studio is just about to start up development for several new titles.

''At Japan Studio I think we have a lot of talented people, but for whatever reason I think we fell behind in terms of technology, and that started way back in the PS2 days and PS3. Japan Studio wasn’t producing that many titles. And so with PS4, we’re really starting to build the technology back up.

Without having to state too much more, with Gravity Rush 2 finishing up and The Last Guardian finishing up, we reached this big milestone within Japan Studio, and so finally we feel like we’re free to do new things. We’re going to finish up Knack 2 as well, so, as for the internal team, they’re much more freed up, so we are thinking about starting up several new titles.''

One of them is, of course, the remake of Shadow of the Colossus, due to launch on PlayStation 4 next year. As to the rest, those have an equal chance of being new IPs rather than just sequels to existing franchises, as President of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida explained in the same interview.

''We always wanted, and continue to want, to create new IP and try new things. So from the management standpoint, I like to see pretty much equal effort we make on continuing on popular IPs like Gran Turismo or Hot Shots Golf and the Uncharted series, or to create new IP, Horizon and things like that. We have always wanted to do that, because we are fans of coming up with new ideas and supporting new creatives. So we’ve been doing that for the last 20 years.''
Click to expand...

http://wccftech.com/japan-studio-starting-several-new-titles/
 
Shin

Shin

Banned
They are assisting with Shadow of Colossus, didn't know that.
But yeah it makes sense seeing as what's said, their hands are freed up so they can start new projects.
 
S

silva1991

Member
After R&C and Crash trilogy's success, I want a new Ape Escape. Come on Sony!

With much improved controls of course.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Well Ueda has said he wants to do a prototype for his next game and Gen Design worked closely and heavily with Studio Japan on the The Last Guardian so I wonder if they could collaborate again now. I wouldn't complain, more Ueda is always a good thing.
 
R

RK128

Member
Wouldn't be shocked to see them tackle a Crash game (it WAS rumored Studio Japan is working on one...though I doubt that considering Activision like will have Vicarious Visions make it on their own; N. Sane Trilogy alone shows they can do a great job making a Classic-Crash title), but other projects make more sense.

The rumored JRPG project, sequels to franchises like Ape Escape or Tokyo Jungle, and new IP's seem expected from the studio. Gravity Rush 2 and TLG were huge projects for the developer, so those being finished will likely do wonders in freeing work-flow within the studio.

Granted, I expect at least the TLG team to help out Bluepoint with 'SotC 2018', so they aren't really 'free'. Do wonder if a new Siren game might be on the cards...though Until Dawn covers the 'first party horror' genre (despite both series/games being VERY differently tonally).
 
S

Saint of Killers

Member
Gravity Rush 2 was a bit of a disappointment : ( I may revisit it when things get a bit quiet but something about it just failed to click with me. (And then came the bit where you get Jupiter Powers and I just gave up.) Looking forward to their other stuff, though.
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
Kenzodielocke said:
I guess one of them is Toriyama's new IP. Sadly not a horror game.
Click to expand...

It could be a horror game. I don't think the project had started production at the time he said that it could be an action/adventure. In the past he'd said he was ready to do another horror game, so it's something he's thinking about.
 
R

RK128

Member
silva1991 said:
After R&C and Crash trilogy's success, I want a new Ape Escape. Come on Sony!

With much improved controls of course.
Click to expand...

Mmm...I COULD see a new Ape Escape happen. Sony is really riding on PlayStation One 'icons' with their push on Crash coming to mind (and them pushing PS2 'icons' like Ratchet and SotC comes to mind too). Ape Escape is a IP they have 100% control and ownership over. So, they could throw a lot of backing into a new one and make it a HUGE platformer for the company.

Granted, Activision and Sony are buddy-buddy this generation (Call of Duty and Destiny deals pre-date Crash N. Sane Trilogy's announcement for example), so who knows.

Either way, I would at least love Ape Escape 3 to get the PS2-to-PS4 Classic's treatment. Really enjoying AE2 on my PS4 currently; only played the original on PSP.
 
D

Dragun619

Member
Loving that they've finally entered into a groove. More Ueda & Toriyama games please. Maybe another From Software collaboration too.
 
C

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
Shockings news is missing from the title...i mean of course they would start working on something new after shipping their last projects - equal effort between new IPs and sequels also doesnt tell as much.
 
A

Arzehn

Member
I hope they stick to a heavier Japanese aesthetic for their new IPs, not a fan of the art from some of their latest Knack and the new Everybody's Golf looking like they're chasing western appeal, just ends up looking ugly imo.
 
M

Mass_Pincup

Banned
I wonder if they'll be able to squeeze in some games before next gen.

I would expects so since Japanese studio tends to ship games faster but I think Japan Studio makes games of a bigger then average scope.
 
Laplasakos

Laplasakos

Member
Very curious about their next projects. My wishlist

- Demon's Souls Remake
- New Ueda game
- Boku no Natsuyasum 5
- New Siren
- New FROM collaboration game
- Freedom Wars 2
- Open World RPG
- New Crash
 
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