Sony's Yoshida Reacts to Less Than Stellar PS4 Reviews

[roseofbattle]

Sony's Yoshida Reacts to Less Than Stellar PS4 Reviews

Yoshida believes reviewers were rushed into finishing games in time but is confident about the "new era of PlayStation."

The gaming industry is changing just like the medium, and Sony Worldwide Studios' Shuhei Yoshida calls the PS4 generation a transitional generation. The console launches tomorrow, but reviews for launch titles such as shooter Killzone: Shadow Fall and action platformer Knack have left much to be desired. Yoshida is disappointed to see low scores for these games, but he believes players will be happy with the PS4 launch games.

"I haven't spent enough time reading reviews, but I would characterize them as mixed," Yoshida said. He believes the low scores are due in part to the amount of launch games coming out, giving reviewers a lot to do in little time. "It's disappointing, but I don't think it's worrisome for the launch of the system. I've played through all of our games, Killzone, Knack, and [side-scrolling shoot 'em] Resogun, and I totally enjoyed playing through these games... These games really grow on you when you play more."

Mark Cerny, creative director of Knack was also the PS4's lead architect. When asked if Cerny's time was split between the two, Yoshida said his communication with the team for Knack was good as he was in Japan for a week every month. Yoshida added, "The game uses only three buttons to play, so it's not the type of game reviewers would score high for the launch of a next-gen purchase; you know, people may purchase PS4 for Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed or Killzone, but if they also buy Knack, this is a game that you can play with your family or your significant other."

The PS4 still has many high-profile games set to launch next year. Yoshida noted launch titles are difficult because "the ambition level has to kind of be kept in check; the team has to rely on tried and true mechanisms." That would explain why launch titles for the PS4 don't seem to be pushing the boundaries of the next-gen console, but there's still more videogames to come.

Source: GamesIndustry International [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-11-14-ps4-the-beginning-of-a-new-era-of-playstation]

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[synobal]

Well fewer launch titles for Sony's next console launch will ensure better reviews. Because it isn't like I saw anyone who just said "wait for better games" or commented on the lack of good launch titles in Sony's lineup.

 

[Irridium]

Launch titles are rather mediocre with a few decent ones in the bunch?

Surely you jest!

 

[RooksEye]

Not surprising that the launch titles are mixed. Launch games are always a mixed bag. I'm still getting a PS4, but I wasn't planning on getting any of the launch titles. I'm wanting Second Son though. That looks awesome.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

ah, of course, blame it on the reviewers for rushing things. Classy. It looks like the PS4 is just another system instead of the savior of gaming a lot of people were propping it as. It'll be interesting at how the first year goes down. I predict a typical first year: bugs getting ironed out in the OS, the network having issues, and the lineup of games being mediocre with only a few gems.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

ah, of course, blame it on the reviewers for rushing things. Classy. It looks like the PS4 is just another system instead of the savior of gaming a lot of people were propping it as. It'll be interesting at how the first year goes down. I predict a typical first year: bugs getting ironed out in the OS, the network having issues, and the lineup of games being mediocre with only a few gems.

I don't think its unfair to pin some blame on reviewers for rushing through games. These days a lot of reviews are written based off of 30 minutes to and hour of gameplay. Look at Total War Rome II's 9s and 10s across the board and then look through the list of game breaking bugs that were present at launch.

Reviewers for most gaming publications try to cover as many games as possible in order to do their jobs but it wind up playing so little of games due to so many coming out (especially now in November) that its hard to call most reviews trustworthy.

Basically any review that's done on major gaming publications are suspect of being BS. It's why Let's Players and YouTube gaming critics are the highest subscribed on YouTube right now.

 

[Something Amyss]

I don't think its unfair to pin some blame on reviewers for rushing through games. These days a lot of reviews are written based off of 30 minutes to and hour of gameplay. Look at Total War Rome II's 9s and 10s across the board and then look through the list of game breaking bugs that were present at launch.

By the same stretch, the makers of Total War aren't complaining about this, and it's unlikely Yoshida would if the reviewing had gone the other way.

It's kind of ridiculous to justify criticism of something that's an epidemic when it only comes up because they didn't like your games, or in this case your launch titles.

 

[Nocturnus]

I've honestly been noticing an alarming trend when it comes to reviewers, and i'm hoping the Escapist breaks it with Jim now being the reviews editor... and it's not just with the PS4 things.

It's the fact that, due to their workload, reviewers have to power through games as fast as they possibly can.

Take Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea as an example. The common conception from it is that it's "too short". Yet, when I Played it, it lasted much longer than the time because I would stop, take in the sights, listen to the dialogue, visit all the little nooks and crannies, etc. I did the same thing with Outlast, and Amnesia. A professional game reviewer likely doesn't, or can't, do this, due to the stack of games that are piling up and their need to put out a review in a timely manner.

... and yet regardless of that fact, they will make a negative assertion based on the game's supposed length, or other factors that might be easy to miss considering the blazing speed that a lot of reviewers play these things in.

With that, I can see Shuhei's point. I do believe that's a culture that needs to change in the industry of critical acclaim.

 

[Psychobabble]

I don't think its unfair to pin some blame on reviewers for rushing through games. These days a lot of reviews are written based off of 30 minutes to and hour of gameplay. Look at Total War Rome II's 9s and 10s across the board and then look through the list of game breaking bugs that were present at launch.

By the same stretch, the makers of Total War aren't complaining about this, and it's unlikely Yoshida would if the reviewing had gone the other way.

It's kind of ridiculous to justify criticism of something that's an epidemic when it only comes up because they didn't like your games, or in this case your launch titles.

Totally agree. I would love to see a company come out and say the reviews are bullshit because they are just too generous and they don't feel their product is worthy of such lofty praise.

 

[wooty]

Launch titles usually are mixed, can't base a full consoles lifespan and worth on a couple of games on day one. One must be patient in the realms of electronic entertainment.

 

[Covarr]

I've been saying since the launch lineups were announced that neither system had a particularly good selection. Across both consoles, the only launch title I'm even vaguely interested in is Need for Speed: Rivals, but even then it'd need to be significantly better than Hot Pursuit and different from Most Wanted to get my money.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Something Amyss]

Totally agree. I would love to see a company come out and say the reviews are bullshit because they are just too generous and they don't feel their product is worthy of such lofty praise.

That kind of honesty would be so refreshing they might just get a loyal fan out of it.

 

[Something Amyss]

Launch titles usually are mixed, can't base a full consoles lifespan and worth on a couple of games on day one. One must be patient in the realms of electronic entertainment.

I don't think that's ever the intent. I think the intent is generally "this is what's out now; is it good or bad?"

 

[Quiotu]

I've been saying since the launch lineups were announced that neither system had a particularly good selection. Across both consoles, the only launch title I'm even vaguely interested in is Need for Speed: Rivals, but even then it'd need to be significantly better than Hot Pursuit and different from Most Wanted to get my money.

P.S. Thanks

A mixture of the games and the price are keeping me from the next gen consoles for a while, but the cost is basically due to me being broke. That isn't the fault of the market. As for the games, I honestly think it's a product of the launch itself that makes the titles a mixed bag. Devs and publishers don't want to throw their established IPs on a console that just came out and isn't popular yet. So they put risks and smaller products on a console's launch and leave the AAA system sellers for later when there's already consoles in living rooms. Note most AAA titles coming to next-gen consoles are already on current consoles, or are releasing at the same time.

Most people could see this coming a mile away, and it isn't really a hit for Sony unless Xbox One's launch line-up turns out to be significantly better with reviews. That is unlikely at this point.

 

[wooty]

Launch titles usually are mixed, can't base a full consoles lifespan and worth on a couple of games on day one. One must be patient in the realms of electronic entertainment.

I don't think that's ever the intent. I think the intent is generally "this is what's out now; is it good or bad?"

Never the intent I agree, but theres a lot of people who knee jerk react to things like this. Plus the "other side" will more than likely use it as "ammunition" against the PS4. Same if theres bad reviews for Xbone exclusives as well. Its a sad state of affairs, but one thats real.

 

[Covarr]

As for the games, I honestly think it's a product of the launch itself that makes the titles a mixed bag. Devs and publishers don't want to throw their established IPs on a console that just came out and isn't popular yet. So they put risks and smaller products on a console's launch and leave the AAA system sellers for later when there's already consoles in living rooms.

I don't think it's just that. If you've got a PC version already, an Xb1/PS4 port is pretty cheap to make; it's not really much of a risk at all. Rather, I think devs' hands were tied by the fact that they blew their AAA loads last year (and to a lesser extent, earlier this year). It's worth noting that the current-gen consoles don't exactly have compelling holiday lineups either. We've got a bunch of stuff that's also coming to next-gen, and uh... Arkham Origins (which turned out to be just Arkham City but less good) and GTA V (which most people who are interested already bought in September or October).

However, if you look further back, there's much more compelling games, such as Hitman: Absolution, Tomb Raider, The Last of Us... all games that were released too early to be worth porting to the new generation. It's just a timing thing, and one that looks like it'll be better mid-2014.

P.S. Thanks

P.P.S. Pay no mind to the edit, I just added some paragraph breaks to make it less "wall of text"y.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

Launch titles are rather mediocre with a few decent ones in the bunch?

Surely you jest!

Essentially this. It's not helped by the fact that a lot of the high profile games advertised on the consoles that everyone would like, such as Battlefield 4, CoD Ghosts, Assasin's Creed Black Flag, etc. are already released on the current gen consoles, meaning that the incentive to go out and buy a new console to purchase a game you probably already own or have spoiled for you is... well... nil.

 

[Pink Apocalypse]

I can't wait to jump ship from the 360 to PS4. But having said that, I'm in no particular hurry, because nothing I'm interested in comes out until early next year (mainly ESO). Some mediocre reviews for day 1 games won't matter to me, because they were games I was never interested in to begin with.

Launch day (24 hours) and launch window (a handful of months) are two entirely different things.

 

[Covarr]

I can't wait to jump ship from the 360 to PS4.

I'm in no particular hurry

Oh really?

Spoiler

P.S. Thanks

 

[SilverLion]

So you admit you didn't even really READ the reviews, yet you believe that they just smacked their keyboards going "DURR HURR I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR ALL THIS GAME I JUST HAVE TO REVIEW IT!" You sir, are the reason why games cannot advance as an art form in this current state. Game devs don't listen to criticism, they just say "Oh they didn't understand the story/they be biased/they didn't spend enough time playing it." NO. That is the feeble flapping of wings trying to shoo away any valid criticism without admitting that, y'know, the professional reviewers might have a point when they say that you're game is flawed.
Honestly, everything I hear about the PS4 and XB1 just makes me hate Microsoft and Sony even more. At least Nintendo admits that the Wii U has problems, and is trying to remedy that by releasing several high quality exclusives. Microsoft and Sony would rather drink the poisoned Kool-Aid than admit that all along they've been blind to quality control and just wanted to beat out the other in a competition that's not even friendly, I seriously get the feeling that Major Nelson would club Yoshida with a broken window frame if he got the chance.
Basically AAA developers, listen to criticism instead of shrieaking like a wounded uppy. It makes you look like pathetic whiners, and it's holding the industry back. And I don't care if you're only in it for the money- Yeah, there's no denying it, Microsoft and sony don't care about quality, they care more about lining their own pockets- if the industry was to advance further and become more artistic, more people would BUY your fucking games, and you'd make a PROFIT. It's just simple business!