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Could Sony be saving their big announcements for The Game Awards?

You guys convinced yourselves that Sony has some kind of grand plan but the reality is they simply didn’t have any games ready to show off.

But you guys continue hype yourself and right after get disappointed for heck of it.
I’m sorta on this thought also…their major first parties have literally just shipped games out and they have been working on directors editions/dlc type stuff so full work on anything would not really be in full swing so what we see in the next couple of years will most likely be what’s announced already.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
While that is always a possibility -- TGA numbers speak for itself -- I don't think that is the case right now.

Sony has still a few big games to show, e.g., Call of Duty 2021 and GTA V E&E. They can't do that at TGA. The timelines don't work, which means they will almost certainly have a big(ger) show very, very soon.

I think that early August rumor lines up very well. Now that there are also rumors of a PSVR 2 Virtual Summit happening on August 3, there is a possibility that we may get that big event on either August 3 or August 6.
 
Totally agree, my point is...I have the consoles so i'm not bothered about sales. I'd like to know what I'll be playing on my consoles and I hope both consoles have a strong line up over the peak period.

True but people buying consoles in that period have a lot more than just the holiday lineup to choose from. I'm pretty sure I'll be picking up Demon Souls and Ratchet with my PS5. For new owners it's not so much what will release during the holidays but what the catalogue looks like at that point. Although its definitely possible for someone to buy a system due to a game that comes out during that period.
 

The Alien

Banned
Uhhh, they just had a State of Play. They aren't doing another in a few weeks.

I dont see them doing 6 to 8 more of those a year....we never got the "hundreds of events" leading into PS5 launch.

Coukd they drop bombs at Game Awards. I could see a trailer or something (likely not a God of War level game though). Sony likes to drop bombs on their own stage.
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, Ico remakes. Mark Sorny is going to acquire BluePoint, Kojima and all of Konami's IPs. Game Awards HYPE!!!!!!
Merger with SE and Capcom, imagine Jim wearing megaman outfit announcing this.
 

Larvana

Member
They are saving them for whenever they feel the need or pressure from the competition to show/announce them.

For now they have zero incentive to show anything.
Or you could actually pay attention about the pandemic and how annoying it has been for devs working more at home, don't be ignorant. Sony suffers from the issues just like every other company. Literally nothing to do what the other competition is doing. 😂
 
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Larvana

Member
Sony literally said what this stream was about, and said more news to follow during this summer. They don't tell people to wait for next E3 year after year.

I get the desire to make it seem like they have no games, but reality is a different thing altogether.
And you're literally another one who over-hypes, I think people such as yourself don't realise covid issues has had impacts on development and that's including Sony, but you'll make some excuse why they haven't showed their games, such as yours right now.
 

reinking

Gold Member
I think it is cute that people think Sony has suddenly gone dry and has no games. Have you not been paying attention? They don't have to show anything right now because their competition is showing the same three franchises they have been showing for decades and games that will not be out for at least another two to three years. Sony has always been good at waiting until the right moment to take the wind out of competitors sails.
 
I don't understand comments like this. Playstation isn't the platform with the stigma of having no games. Playstation fans can expect the same consistent output as past generations. It's MS who had to hold a show with games a year or more out, because there's the notion that Xbox doesn't have games.

People have short term memory.

PS4 had major drought periods in first 5 years of the generation. It even earned a nickname Soony.

Its major releases are concentrated in last couple of years, from about 2018 when God of War arrived.

Before that, sales were driven by what an ass Mattrick was and how funny this video was:

 

DonF

Member
Oh no no no no no.
I expect zero big announcements from Sony this year. That ship has sailed.

Try next year.
We already have big games in the pipeline, big 3rd party games and paid patches for old games. They can coast one more year with this and new controller colors.
 

HeisenbergFX4

Gold Member
Jake Gyllenhaal No GIF
 

Jaybe

Member
early September I bet, as a bigger show that highlights third party marketing & content deals (CoD, GTA), shares specific first party holiday release dates they know will hit, some ‘early 2022’ announcements, and a couple big franchise teasers/trailers for late 2022/2023.

Sony is smart at doing these when the news cycle is left to themselves only, and seem to do this when people get out of summer holidays, back to work/school, and there’s more buzz. We always want the news as fast as possible but they are smart with marketing and know what works in building awareness.
 

Excess

Member
Instead of wild conspiracy theories, how about their new IP just isn't ready yet?

The first rule of marketing is to get people talking about you. If they're not talking about you, you should always be pushing content. If you don't have content to push, then it's most likely in development and not ready to show. You don't sit on things and just "wait for the right moment".
 
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HYDE

Banned
They are saving them for whenever they feel the need or pressure from the competition to show/announce them.

For now they have zero incentive to show anything.
Also the fact that their console is consistently sold out…No need to force something.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
True but people buying consoles in that period have a lot more than just the holiday lineup to choose from. I'm pretty sure I'll be picking up Demon Souls and Ratchet with my PS5. For new owners it's not so much what will release during the holidays but what the catalogue looks like at that point. Although its definitely possible for someone to buy a system due to a game that comes out during that period.

Yeah I get you, for a new buyer there are some great games. Do not sleep on Returnal! :)...

...I just want something else to buy. I'm gonna drop returning to GHosts of Tsushima and wait for the PS5 version. I'll jump back into returnal and FF7 remake should tide me over for a bit.
 

K' Dash

Member
This is really good levels of insulting the competition and not attacking Sony at the same time. I dig the hustle! :D

You watch what happens when Flight Sim, Forza and Halo launch throughout the peak period. If Sony dont think thats the competition showing stuff then they are crazy.

Yes lol, I really think they really had nothing to show. Ita actually a good move that they didn't do anything at E3, that was the most disappointed presentation I've seen from Sony.
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
Lotta folks saying "Sony doesn't need to" because of xyz.

From a consumer's perspective, that kinda sucks though. You're telling me you're cool with how Sony has handled their showmanship over the past few years?

I'm actually kinda...perturbed I guess is the right word, that we haven't seen a big show even online. I would like to see some pomp and circumstance...some hype. Sony's marketing strategy is so dry right now.

I really don't like it.

To be clear, I'm not head over heels about Microsoft's either, I thought E3 was...ok. But at least they are trying.
 
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Thirty7ven

Banned
They would do good to have a yearly event where they celebrate the brand and let fans in on what’s to come, and we still have plenty of time left in the year.

We haven’t seen much of 22’.
 

Bryank75

Banned
Nah, they will probably throw Geoff a bone but they are not saving up announcements to just entrust them to someone else.

I believe they will have their own event, hopefully not a State of Play but something with a bit more of a personal touch that excites.

The State of Plays are too clinical and cold.
 

ZywyPL

Banned
From a consumer's perspective, that kinda sucks though. You're telling me you're cool with how Sony has handled their showmanship over the past few years?

But they were bashed for showing games way too early during PS4 generation, so they took the lesson and it is what it is. Barely anyone get's hyped by CGI/cinematic trailers nowadays, people want to see the actual games, like HFW or FH5, those two were so well received because they showed up straight gameplay, and quite a bit of it, that's how it's done. But to do so the games have to be in a really advanced state, so that what you show to the people doesn't change/get cut out somewhere down the road or the game changes its whole concept (Everwild) or even gets cancelled (Scalebound).
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
But they were bashed for showing games way too early during PS4 generation, so they took the lesson and it is what it is. Barely anyone get's hyped by CGI/cinematic trailers nowadays, people want to see the actual games, like HFW or FH5, those two were so well received because they showed up straight gameplay, and quite a bit of it, that's how it's done. But to do so the games have to be in a really advanced state, so that what you show to the people doesn't change/get cut out somewhere down the road or the game changes its whole concept (Everwild) or even gets cancelled (Scalebound).
I don't think you're getting my point. I'm disappointed with the method they use to show their games, period.

State of Play came about roughly a little after Xbox's monthly show. I can't remember the name it's so repressed in my subconsciousness. I remember thinking...State of Play is like what Xbox is doing and it's just as terrible.

I miss the days when the execs at Sony were damn near celebrities. I miss when Sony used to talk to the players instead of just the news outlets. Sony was always more traditional when it came to their messaging, I understand that...but in the past few years let's count the times we've actually heard from the folks in charge in a direct way.

I think Jim Ryan did one show...spoke for like 2 minutes when the PS5 was revealed. Mark Cerny's reveal of the architecture. Where is Yoshida? Obviously Kaz is gone...who's the charismatic face of Playstation now? Herman Hulst?

I miss Sony's showmanship. Though it's cringe AF...I miss flute guy...Cirque du Soleil.

The games will come...that much is pretty much guaranteed, so I'm not really worried about when they show God of War or Horizon or Gran Turismo.

My problem is that it feels like Sony is ok with doing the minimum required to keep their fans informed. There's little value placed in spectacle for Sony right now. It bothers me even more that they are seeming to get a pass on this.
 
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Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
We pretty-much know all of the upcoming games from their first party studios. What else could they announce? 🤷‍♂️

Announce/reveal?

-God of War Ragnarok.
-Factions II.
-Guerilla Games multiplayer project that started development in 2018.
Arrowhead Games co op project that started development in 2016.

Those 4 projects are probably far enough along to reveal to the public soon, and most will release in 2022.
 

mxbison

Member
I doubt they have much to show right now, just like everyone else.

First year of this gen is complete ass.
 
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I think they'll have a showcase like they did twice for the ps5 last year.

A psx with actual fans attending would be awesome but covid has changed things, so it's unlikely.
 
I don't understand comments like this. Playstation isn't the platform with the stigma of having no games. Playstation fans can expect the same consistent output as past generations. It's MS who had to hold a show with games a year or more out, because there's the notion that Xbox doesn't have games. Sony has released more PS5 games since launch already, than the XSX will get by the end of the year. They've shown HFW, and now Deathloop, and there's no reason to believe they won't show more, just because they haven't already. We're only halfway through the year.

Does Sony need to show a raft of games with nebulous 2022 and 2023 launch dates? We already got one with Sifu. Is that going to benefit fans or Sony in any meaningful way? I don't think appeasing ADD fans is really a requirement. I think they just need to make sure they have a steady flow of games to keep fans happy.

Let's not forget, events like E3, and last night's SoP appeal to a small fraction of the userbase. Most casuals don't care about this shit, and don't follow it. And casuals far outnumber the enthusiasts. So just based on math alone, Sony shouldn't care.

I think people have very high expectations of sony. Way higher than Microsoft. Sony release great games all the time, so its what people expect from them. We expect better and better.

Microsoft on the other hand have been so poor for the most part of a decade any improvement is welcome. Expectations are so low for them, even flight simulator is welcome and timed exclusive indies, which is funny because Microsoft do not do timed exclusives anymore according to some people.
 

Perrott

Gold Member
Not only they are planning a big showcase for the summer, but they also have tons of unannounced stuff ready to be shown (and whoever argues otherwise doesn't know what he's talking about).

Be patient people, the fact that the event has not happened yet for a series of reasons doesn't mean that it does not exist.
 
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this reeks of desperation and future disappointment.

we know that the next big games are from Sony. Horizon, God of War, Gran Turismo for PS4/PS5. maybe next year they bother to announce more games. i wouldn't be getting my hopes up.
 

SaucyJack

Member
We pretty-much know all of the upcoming games from their first party studios. What else could they announce? 🤷‍♂️

You think?

Notwithstanding that we’re due a bit more info on a couple of already announced projects (Gt7, GoW), we’ve had nothing confirmed from ….
- Naughty Dog
- Media Molecule
- Guerrilla 2nd team
- Santa Monica 2nd team
- new San Mateo studio
- new Malaysia studio
- Team Asobi
- Sucker Punch (apart from GoT expansion)
- Bend
- Pixelopus
- London Studio

and that’s before you get into any “second party” games, like they did with Sumo, Bluepoint, etc. Oh and any 3rd party exclusives, marketing rights, etc. Oh and I wouldn’t be surprised if Insomniac have another 1or 2 projects cooking (Spiderman 2, Sunset Overdrive, etc).

So yeah, Sony have nothing to show.


edit: for clarity I reckon they’ll have two “showcase” type shows in the remainder of this year. A summer one, probably next month, and a winter one in December. There will be other State of play type shows as well.
 
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GeorgPrime

Banned
It seems like we have 3 plausible scenarios for PlayStations next big event...

1) They have a big E3 esque show (PSX) in or around July/August.

2) Sony eschews a big show for 6 - 8 State of Play showcases each year because they find spacing out the buzz/marketing is more effective than one show per year.

3) Sony has looked at the following data and pivoted hard to Sir Geoff Keighlys Game Awards which take place in December...

TGA2020_STAT-SHEET_WIDE_V1R1-1.jpg


Source: https://thegameawards.com/news/the-game-awards-2020-viewership-increases-84

Is it possible that Sony looks at modest projections for the 2021 Game Awards (north of 100 million viewers) and believe that's the most effective time to drop the next batch of high profile game reveals? Early 2022 is when supply should meet demand for these consoles. Wouldn't it make sense to start your big marketing push as that happens?

For context, Nintendos June E3 event had 3.1 million viewers. Microsofts show had 2.3 million according to Steam Hatchet...


EDIT: Accidentally posted this in the wrong discussion. Apologies.

Jeah and Nintendo will announce Switch 2 then
 

ZywyPL

Banned
I don't think you're getting my point. I'm disappointed with the method they use to show their games, period.

State of Play came about roughly a little after Xbox's monthly show. I can't remember the name it's so repressed in my subconsciousness. I remember thinking...State of Play is like what Xbox is doing and it's just as terrible.

I miss the days when the execs at Sony were damn near celebrities. I miss when Sony used to talk to the players instead of just the news outlets. Sony was always more traditional when it came to their messaging, I understand that...but in the past few years let's count the times we've actually heard from the folks in charge in a direct way.

I think Jim Ryan did one show...spoke for like 2 minutes when the PS5 was revealed. Mark Cerny's reveal of the architecture. Where is Yoshida? Obviously Kaz is gone...who's the charismatic face of Playstation now? Herman Hulst?

I miss Sony's showmanship. Though it's cringe AF...I miss flute guy...Cirque du Soleil.

The games will come...that much is pretty much guaranteed, so I'm not really worried about when they show God of War or Horizon or Gran Turismo.

My problem is that it feels like Sony is ok with doing the minimum required to keep their fans informed. There's little value placed in spectacle for Sony right now. It bothers me even more that they are seeming to get a pass on this.

Yeah that's true, Sony for whatever the reasons doesn't do live shows/interviews anymore, like they want to have an absolute control over the narrative, no unsuspected, edgy, uncomfortable questions etc., every interview happens in a very safe, controlled environment, the bare minimum as you said, but frankly that's all that needed. Because why settle for more when the consoles are constantly sold out anyway, people but 70€ games, and soon 30$ next-gen updates it seems, if showing a CGI trailer every half a year or so is all it takes to keep people throwing money at you then why even try any harder? Apple is starting to give people less for more, and their audience even defends them for it, and the same is starting to happen with Sony, so again, why even try? The tryth is they ended the PS4 generation with even stronger position than after PS2, and that's why they got so lazy/arrogant yet again, and until they stary losing bthe marketshare it won't change
 

mortal

Gold Member
Some of you will drive yourselves insane and frustrated waiting for Sony to announce something.
I suggest you just forget about it for a while, go enjoy some games and live life. Before you know it, bam, the showcase will be around the corner.
 

SafeOrAlone

Banned
I am damn excited for nearly each and every Playstation remaster or remake, from Demon's Souls, to BloodBorne PS5, to Spider-Man PS5, to The Last of Us, to (god willing) Metal Gear Solid and Legacy of Kain.

But I see a trend beginning for Playstation, and it's going to be funny to watch as the tables sort of turn on the "Xbox only has old games" talking point, as it becomes evident how much most of us do actually like to play remasters of our favorite games. Backwards compatibility and past-gen titles are to be celebrated and will generate a ton of hype, even for those who would scoff at X-box's backwards compatibility talking points.

I mean, the whole runup to this generation, PS defenders were all about Demon's Souls Remaster....but what is X-box backwards compatibility if not the equivalent of a plethora of "Demon's Soul's" type remasters? When you take into consideration the enhancements Xbox provides to frame rate, HDR, and resolution to these old games, you realize you are essentially getting tons of "remasters" for free. Sure, Demon's Souls was a graphical showcase that is a step above what Xbox is providing, but in the end, it's really not all that different.
 
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Warablo

Member
Big announcement to announce what? They already announced God of War 2, and Horizon Forbidden West.

or that they are gonna release Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, and The Last of Us 2 on PC?
 
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