PS4 "Isn't Allowed" to be Another Failure, Says Sony Exec

[Steven Bogos]

PS4 "Isn't Allowed" to be Another Failure, Says Sony Exec

The PS4 is Sony Computer Entertainment's last chance to prove that its entertainment sector can be profitable.

Despite the appearance of widespread success (particularly in Japan) the PS3 and PS Vita have not met the profit margins that Sony was expecting. Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House addresses the concerns that the PS4 will tread the same path, telling popular Japanese magazine Diamond Online [http://diamond.jp/articles/-/41744] that "Sony Computer Entertainment isn't allowed to fail anymore with PS4."

House firmly believes the PS4 can't "fail" like the PS3 did, because "the game business for Sony is a 'Core' [business] that embodies a fusion of both hardware and software." This announcement comes after an earlier suggestion from a majority Sony shareholder that the electronics and insurance giant sell off a majority of its entertainment business in favor of more profitable endeavors.

The suggestion was shot down by the board of directors [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126611-Sony-Rejects-Call-to-Sell-Off-Entertainment-Business], meaning all eyes are firmly fixed on House to see if he can walk-the-walk with the PS4.

This certainly explains the much more cautious approach Sony is taking with the PS4, choosing to let competitor Microsoft make all the sweeping, controversial changes, while quietly giving its fans a much more moderate console at a lower price point. We'll have to wait and see if it pays off for House, but early pre-order numbers are certainly looking promising.

Source: Dual Shockers [http://diamond.jp/articles/-/41744]

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[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

And when the console industry inevitably fails (maybe not this generation) due to the insane expectations of these corporations, what's gonna happen to video game industry? My opinion: Renaissance.

 

[Nooners]

Honestly, the best thing they can do is make it easy for third-party companies to develop/publish games for it. Isn't that how the PS2 got to be so insanely popular and successful?

 

[Vivi22]

Honestly, the best thing they can do is make it easy for third-party companies to develop/publish games for it. Isn't that how the PS2 got to be so insanely popular and successful?

Actually the PS2 was kind of a pain in the ass to develop for, certainly compared to something like the Xbox because the architecture was kind of odd. Maybe not as hard to develop for as the PS3 was though.

But when the PS2 came out game development was in a much different place. They were coming off of the PSX which was basically the most successful home console at the time (and is still the second most successful console, and just to put things into perspective, outsold the most popular consoles of previous generations by 40 million or more units. It literally crushed the competition in terms of install base), Japanese developers were still king and wouldn't touch the Xbox with a ten foot pole while Nintendo lost a lot of third party support with the N64 for some very good reasons, and weren't able to win it back with the Gamecube, in no small part due to Sony's willingness to let pretty much anyone do anything on the Playstation systems. Pre-built game engines weren't a thing yet, game development tools were usually developed in house as often as they were licensed from another company. And if all of that weren't enough the PS2 was completely backwards compatible and had access to what was probably the largest game library in history from day one.

All of that kind of added up to a console which was tricky to develop for, but no worse than developers were used to already (probably beat coding games in assembler at least), a console which got a lot of support since it was the obvious purchase for people who bought Playstations and was less restrictive to developers, and it also had all of the sequels to some of the biggest hits of the previous generation and represented the time when 3D games on consoles really hit their stride and had kind of figured out what 3D was all about.

TLDR: The game industry was a much, much different place 13 years ago.

 

[Angelous Wang]

And when the console industry inevitably fails (maybe not this generation) due to the insane expectations of these corporations, what's gonna happen to video game industry? My opinion: Renaissance.

It's going to continue on on PC, mobiles, tablets and lose all the big multi billion/million developers.

So we will end up with more Payday 2's and allot less Call of Duty's.

Of course that's not to say there won't be some fallout, I imagine Rockstar and other popular Dev's will suffer due to losing 2/3rd's of their market which means they won't be able to create anymore GTA's or such at least not at the current price.

 

[Tahaneira]

Interesting. So if the PS4 fails to turn as big of a profit as they want, and the Xbox crowd winds up bowing out of the market as well, who's going to pick up the slack? Certainly not Nintendo. If this winds up happening, I predict either a bunch of fresh consoles from smaller companies, or a lot of panicking publishers and dead devs.

EDIT: Oh hey, I just remembered that Valve is making their own console. SO that's happening already.

 

[Ishal]

And when the console industry inevitably fails (maybe not this generation) due to the insane expectations of these corporations, what's gonna happen to video game industry? My opinion: Renaissance.

Or it'll have to be pulled off the cliff again by Nintendo. Personally, if this happens (its doubtful) and games need to be saved again by the likes of Nintendo, I'll most likely be done with gaming as a hobby. It will have failed me as a medium.

The publishers and these corporations don't know what they're doing. They might just spend themselves into oblivion and pull the plug on their gaming divisions once the well runs dry. When that happens we'll be left with PC games and indie games. As long as there are two or three good games for every FEZ, I think I could deal with that.

 

[Erttheking]

Well, I'm one of the ten people who still thinks there's potential in the console industry and I think Sony is doing it right with the PS4 so here's hoping they pull it off and don't shoot themselves in the foot.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

And when the console industry inevitably fails (maybe not this generation) due to the insane expectations of these corporations, what's gonna happen to video game industry? My opinion: Renaissance.

My Opinion? Nintendo and Valve will be the only two left around that matter (Thanks to the Money they've saved or made), Microsoft and Sony will completely leave the Video Game Market, many 3rd parties, especially Medium Japanese and Big American companies, will go bankrupt, and Video Games will become Niche again.

OT: I really hope the PS4 can pull it off, but the future isn't set in stone. Let's just hope and wait.

 

[twm1709]

The PS3 certainly had a slow start, but a failure? too bad we don't have access to what happens in the background to have a clearer idea of what they mean.

 

[CriticalMiss]

And when the console industry inevitably fails (maybe not this generation) due to the insane expectations of these corporations, what's gonna happen to video game industry? My opinion: Renaissance.

Valve pull an ace out of their sleeve and announce Half Life 3 will be the sole launch title on the steambox, bringing about a new age in game-o-tronical designing. Gabe Newell is pronounced Godking of Earth and as his first act send all executives and shareholders of gaming companies are to be launched in to the Sun. Which will become the plot to the decades best selling game.

Or maybe we just embrace indie developers more, people try new ideas for games instead of relying on samey franchises and the people who were only interested in making money from gamers piss off and invest in shark-warmers (they're the next big thing).

Heck, maybe a future robotic Shigeru Miyamoto will travel back in time from five hundred years into our future to save us with...Mario.

The PS3 certainly had a slow start, but a failure? too bad we don't have access to what happens in the background to have a clearer idea of what they mean.

I think what they mean is that the Sony bigwigs were expecting the PS3 to literally shit money in to their bank accounts. It didn't make as much as they expected and so they branded it unsuccessful despite actually doing ok in the long run.

 

[Riff Moonraker]

I am NOT a playstation fan. I support the xbox, will continue to buy xbox, etc. etc. With that said, I honestly and truly wish for success for both the PS4 and the Xbox One. If we lost either of these, the other will suffer, as will the consumers. Having both consoles being successful is a win-win situation for gamers and supports of both the xbox and playstation brand.

 

[FireAza]

The PS3 was a "failure"? I think the Virtual Boy might have something to say about what constitutes a "failed" console.

 

[Fox12]

Well, I'm one of the ten people who still thinks there's potential in the console industry and I think Sony is doing it right with the PS4 so here's hoping they pull it off and don't shoot themselves in the foot.

Agreed, consoles aren't going anywhere, they're too convenient. If Sony and/or Microsoft were to disappear any time soon (which I don't think will happen) then there would be a void left open in the games industry. And voids are made to be filled. Someone would come and pick up the slack, possibly someone more innovative. That said, I can't see anyone dropping out of games barring massive failure.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Has Sony been taken over by Square Enix?

 

[gigastar]

And when the console industry inevitably fails (maybe not this generation) due to the insane expectations of these corporations, what's gonna happen to video game industry? My opinion: Renaissance.

Second Renaissance. The consoles died out once already.

 

[DjinnFor]

Well, they've had a while to learn, not only how to do it right but also how to do it wrong. I don't see them throwing it all away with the PS4.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Honestly, the best thing they can do is make it easy for third-party companies to develop/publish games for it. Isn't that how the PS2 got to be so insanely popular and successful?

Actually the PS2 was kind of a pain in the ass to develop for, certainly compared to something like the Xbox because the architecture was kind of odd. Maybe not as hard to develop for as the PS3 was though.

See, this is a common misconception about the PS2 and PS3. The thing is, Japanese developers develop games right on the console itself. Its been that way for a long while. Western developers build the games on a PC and then put the game into the console in question. Its usually Western devs that say that the PS2 and PS3 are "hard to develop for". That's because Western developers build games in a fashion that takes more time. It's easier to port games to the Xbox consoles because its basically a Western PC in a box.

We've both seen tiny Japanese devs put out games on the Sony consoles and not complain about it being hard to develop for. And keep in minds its usually the developers known for releasing glitchy games calling Sony consoles hard to develop for. Like Bethesda. A good chunk of Western developers took the time to actually learn how to efficiently make games for the PS3(Quantic Dream). Companies like Bethesda have shown that they simply can't be bothered to do that, so every time PS3 owners get screwed in terms of quality, they blame the console.

I find it especially hard to take Bethesda seriously when they say it because they can't even release all of the Skyrim DLC on the PS3 because they never took the time to make their development methods work better with the PS3, and at the end of this console era, are literally the only big developer who releases a PS3 game that can't even make their DLC work for multiple platforms. That's a Bethesda only issue as far as I know and its kind of sad to see them be constantly out done in terms of programming by tiny Japanese developers and smaller Western Developers as well.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

The PS3 was a "failure"? I think the Virtual Boy might have something to say about what constitutes a "failed" console.

It "failed" to make them enough money to buy the entire executive staff diamond hulled yachts.