Tag: Industry
News Remedy Satisfied with Control's Sales Despite the Lack of Chart Topping Success
All under Control
Control is performing just fine for Finnish developer Remedy – despite the title failing to top the charts. According to the studio’s CEO Tero Virtala, the PlayStation 4 project was developed over the course of three years and utilised a budget of €30 million. This, incredibly, is fairly small for a AAA title these days,...
News Google Stadia Terrified Sony Before Streaming Service's Tepid Launch
Impact was overstated
It looks like streaming could be a part of the future of video games, and with Google showing its hand with the recent Stadia launch, the moment we leave behind downloads could be closer than ever. That is if Google Stadia had been a success upon its release last month. Disappointing sales and alarmingly low player numbers have...
News Sony Worldwide Studios Boss Shares His Philosophy on Game Development
"Our challenge is to be meaningful"
It’s no longer Shuhei Yoshida you need to beg for Bloodborne 2, because the role of Worldwide Studios president has been handed to ex-Guerrilla Games managing director Hermen Hulst. The Dutchman hasn’t been in the role long, and so we’re hearing from him for the first time as part of a feature on...
News Sony Appears to Officially Confirm It Won't Make Another Portable PlayStation
Viva la Vita
Will Sony ever make another portable PlayStation? The outlook, according to the company’s Magic 8 Ball, looks increasingly unlikely. While the Nintendo Switch is enjoying enormous success primarily due its handheld functionality, boss Jim Ryan told Game Informer that “clearly it’s a business we’re no longer in now”. The...
News PlayStation's 25th Anniversary Marked with Game Informer Cover Story
Cover star
Update: You can read Game Informer's full story, The First 25 Years, through here. Game Informer’s cover is perhaps best associated with jaw-dropping game reveals, but this month it’s serving up some celebrations, as PlayStation celebrates its 25th anniversary. The latest issue promises “a massive chronicle of the PlayStation’s...
News Sony to Celebrate PlayStation's 25th Anniversary All This Week
Happy birthday
Tomorrow will mark the 25th anniversary of the PlayStation brand, as the PSone first launched in Japan on 3rd December, 1994. And the company has confirmed that it will be commemorating the occasion all this week on the PlayStation Blog and social media, although it’s yet to outline exactly what we can expect. Jim Ryan, the...
News Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Walks Back Critical Comments on VR
"I've played some great VR games"
Xbox head Phil Spencer was in the news earlier this week for being a little bit too critical of VR in a recent interview with Stevivor. Stating that "nobody’s asking for VR" and commenting on how isolating the experience can be, he drew some flack from the virtual reality community and even PlayStation executive...
News Codemasters Acquires Project CARS Developer Slightly Mad Studios
Fast & Furious game incoming
Racing aficionado Codemasters has today announced that it has acquired the developer behind the Project CARS franchise -- Slightly Mad Studios. The British publisher now owns the rights to what is one of the PlayStation 4's most hardcore racers and "an unannounced Hollywood blockbuster title". This description fits the...
News Ex-Ghostwire Tokyo Director Ikumi Nakamura Seems Primed to Join Sony
More evidence uncovered
Former Ghostwire Tokyo director Ikumi Nakamura is most certainly taking her time deciding where she'll develop video games next, isn't she? After leaving Tango Gameworks, she has been on a bit of a world tour visiting numerous studios far and wide, but the destination she seems to keep coming back to is Sony. The PlayStation...
News This Time Next Year, We'll Be Playing PS5
Sony's next-gen system is months away
Here’s a quick thought exercise for you: imagine where you’ll be this time next year. While you’re potentially fantasising about tropical islands, may we propose something a little more realistic: you’ll be playing the PlayStation 5. While we don’t have a date for Sony’s next-gen system just yet, the...
News Kojima Productions Veteran Ken Imaizumi Exits After 20 Years
Last man Stranding
One of Hideo Kojima’s primary accomplices, Ken-Ichiro Imaizumi (pictured far left), has departed Kojima Productions after 20 years. The veteran, who worked alongside the Metal Gear auteur at Konami before helping to co-found his new independent studio of the same name, most recently oversaw all production on PlayStation 4...
News Beat Saber Developer Beat Games Acquired by Facebook
PSVR version still supported
If you were hoping that a potential sequel to Beat Saber would make its way to a PlayStation VR platform at some point in the future, we're afraid you're probably out of luck. The game's developer has just been acquired by Facebook, meaning its focus will shift to the Oculus range of VR platforms on PC. Announced on the...
News Shuhei Yoshida Shuts Down Xbox Boss' Comments on VR
Phil Spencer said "nobody's" asking for virtual reality
Update: Shuhei Yoshida, one of Sony's best known executives, has lowkey responded to comments from Xbox boss Phil Spencer regarding virtual reality. The suit seemed to take issue with the Microsoft man's insinuation that "no one" is asking for VR: Are you with Yoshida or Spencer in this...
News Arkane Founder Opens New Studio WolfEye, Debut Title to Be Shown at The Game Awards
Interaction, physics, and AI prioritised
Arkane Studios quickly made a name for itself with the Dishonored series, and it's now well established as part of ZeniMax Media. But for the developer's founder, Raphael Colantonio, the games industry is far too focused on using cutting edge technology to push high-end graphics. A while ago, he left Arkane,...
News BioWare Rebrand Underway Following ANTHEM and Mass Effect Rumours
New and improved, hopefully
Adding more weight to the recent rumours that BioWare plans on rebooting ANTHEM and is currently in the early stages of developing a brand new Mass Effect title, the veteran developer appears to be rebranding itself. The company's official Twitter account is adorned
News Uncharted Creator Amy Hennig Joins Skydance Media to Form New Game Studio
Movie maker branching out into gaming
Amy Hennig is best known for spearheading the creation of Uncharted at Naughty Dog, but her career seemed unclear after her Star Wars project at Visceral Games was cancelled. However, it's now been announced the writer/director has been scooped up by Skydance Media, an entertainment company most famous for its...
News PS Now Competitor Google Stadia Nearly Doubles Its Launch Line-Up of Old Games
Final Fantasy XV! Farming Simulator 2019!
Last week, Google announced that its Stadia streaming service would launch tomorrow with just 12 old games -- all but one of which you've already played. It was a rather dire line-up, but overnight the company has gone and nearly doubled the number of titles you'll be able to purchase on launch day. Now...
News PlayStation and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Will Cross Paths in Upcoming Tournament
Wait, what?
It seems even PlayStation can't resist the allure of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Japanese gaming mag Famitsu has arranged a corporate tournament for a bunch of the country's top businesses, and among the competitors will be a team from Sony's gaming platform. As you can see in the above video, PlayStation joins seven other companies...
News No, Microsoft Has Just Revived the Studio Acquisition Wars
Top Trumps
Update: The studio acquisition wars are over? Far from it, as contrary to the comments in the original iteration of this article, Xbox chief Phil Spencer has admitted that Microsoft is still actively seeking out new studios to purchase. Fortunately, the suit pointed out that this isn’t a game of Top Trumps, like some fans seem to...
News Insomniac's Last Ever Non-PlayStation Game Is Getting Rave Reviews
Stormland is a success
Insomniac Games is owned by PlayStation now, but the Burbank-based developer still has unfinished business with partner Oculus to conclude. Stormland – it’s last ever non-Sony published project – is gaining rave reviews, attaining an average score of 83 on aggregate website Metacritic. While much of the excitement...
News Google Stadia's Weak Launch Lineup Won't Have PS Now Sweating Yet
Just 12 games day one
PlayStation Now is getting its first proper competitor in the form of Google Stadia next week, but the service’s launch lineup leaves a lot to be desired. While we’d anticipated an enormous selection of software would be available day one with the initiative, the search engine giant has instead confirmed that there’ll be...
Opinion Maligned PlayStation Chief Jim Ryan Is Silencing His Critics
Pipe down
PlayStation boss Jim Ryan is not a pantomime villain, but that’s what he’s been portrayed to be. The executive – guilty of toeing the company line on cross-play, for example – has long been the butt of enthusiast gamers’ jokes. His biggest slip-up? An off-the-cuff remark about the original PSone Gran Turismo playable next to the...
News PlayStation Needs to Evolve to Keep Pace with How People Play, Says Sony
Change is an opportunity
“It’s human nature to view change as a risk, but change is every bit an opportunity,” PlayStation boss Jim Ryan told GamesIndustry.biz. He’s referring to stories regarding upheaval at Sony, which has most recently seen the departure of Shawn Layden and role changes for
News Sony: Our Exclusives Are Too Special and Valuable to Giveaway Day One with PS Now
On another level to Xbox
No one is going to argue against the value of Xbox’s Game Pass service, but Sony and Microsoft are in different places with their first-party games. While the former has been breaking long-standing records all generation long with releases like Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, God of War, and Marvel’s Spider-Man, the Team...
News Worldwide Studios Expanding Again with New Development Team in Malaysia
New studio to focus on art and animation
Sony is establishing a new development studio in Malaysia. As reported by GamesIndustry, this latest addition to Worldwide Studios will act as a support team to other PlayStation developers, helping to produce art and animation for upcoming exclusive titles. It will also be of benefit to the country's growth...
News Jim Ryan: PlayStation's Brand, Content, and Community Mean It Has the Edge Over Stadia
CEO confident about new competition
Not only are we on the precipice of a new console generation, with PlayStation 5 now about a year away, we're seeing a newcomer arriving in a matter of days. Google is about to launch its cloud-based gaming platform Stadia, and it's going to be fascinating to see what impact it has on the industry moving forward...
News Sony Commits to PSVR Despite Lacking First-Party Output
Big offers planned for Christmas time
We've made a point of highlighting the slightly poor amount of games hitting PlayStation VR over the past couple of months. It feels like the big releases have almost dried up completely when compared to last year's holiday season, which saw the likes of Astro Bot Rescue Mission becomes the headset's latest...
News Former SIE Chairman Shawn Layden Proves There's No Bad Blood with Congratulatory Tweets
Wishes Hermen Hulst the best
The former head of Sony's Worldwide Studios left the company rather abruptly in late September, without a reason given. While there wasn't much of a suggestion of ill will between the two parties, it's nice to know that Shawn Layden's departure hasn't left behind any bad blood. The man himself has been active on Twitter...
News Globalising PlayStation Doesn't Mean Americanisation, Says Sony
PlayStation to remain a multinational brand
PlayStation is going through some pretty hefty changes as it prepares for the dawn of PS5 next year. It's been shuffling around its executives -- just today, it was announced Hermen Hulst is the new head of Worldwide Studios, while Shuhei Yoshida will be looking after indies. But the changes go beyond
News Getting Games Running on PS5 Sounds Even Easier Than on PS4
Sony's next-gen console is developer friendly
The PlayStation 3 was notoriously tricky to work with, thanks to its complicated hardware infrastructure. It had lots of potential, but many studios struggled with the convoluted nature of the CELL processor. Learning from this unfortunate developer experience, Sony made the PS4 dramatically easier to...
News Sony Is Always Looking at Studio Acquisitions, But the Dev Has to Fit Into the Portfolio
"We are careful about who we look at and talk to"
We've spoken time and time again about how studio acquisitions are all the rage nowadays -- kickstarted by Microsoft after it announced the purchase of five different studios during its E3 2018 press conference. Sony followed that up by buying Insomniac Games, but while the hardware manufacturer is...
News 'We've Always Been There with Indies' Says PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan
Refutes claims Sony's indie focus has slipped
At the beginning of PlayStation 4's life, Sony earned itself a reputation as a huge supporter of indie games and developers. This focus seems to have shifted somewhat over the course of the generation, as the platform holder pours more and more resources into its own blockbuster exclusives. We've seen...
News Sony's Shu Yoshida Will 'Look After and Nurture' Indie Studios in New Role for PS5
Made to celebrate independent devs
PlayStation 4 was all about indie in its earlier years -- with various developers having the chance to get up on Sony's E3 stage and show off their titles to the masses. No Man's Sky was a perfect example of that, an experience that gained huge exposure from its conference success. Some would argue that the...
News Hermen Hulst of Guerrilla Games Becomes Head of PlayStation's Worldwide Studios
Shuhei Yoshida to take on smaller role
News of more change to PlayStation's top brass comes today, as we learn that Hermen Hulst has been promoted to head of Worldwide Studios. This follows on from the departure of Shawn Layden, who unceremoniously left the company just over a month ago. Hulst was previously managing director of Guerrilla Games, but...
News Yooka-Laylee Dev Not Being Bought By Xbox, Clarifies Continued Independence
Games will keep coming to PS4
Over the past couple of days, Xbox fans have somehow gotten it into their heads that Microsoft was about to purchase Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic Games. Piecing together vague "evidence" in order to form the narrative, internet message boards seemed convinced they were onto something ahead of the hardware...
News Square Enix Planning Next-Generation Action Game Experience
A cut above
Looks like Square Enix has received its PlayStation 5 devkits, as the company’s First Development Division is currently busy beavering away on a new intellectual property for console. The studio – which is also behind the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake – claims that it’s working with an “international team of creators” to...
News Blacksad: Under the Skin Accidentally Releases Early, Publisher Advises Not Playing
Feline frustrated
Blacksad: Under the Skin is available on the PlayStation 4 in Europe right now – except it’s, er, not supposed to be. Microids recently delayed the title to 14th November, but a “technical malfunction” means that it’s currently available from the PlayStation Store – even if the publisher recommends you don’t play it...
Soapbox The Most Frustrating Thing About Enthusiast Gamers
Sammy's tired of those who reject new ideas
When you spend as much time in and around real and virtual gaming communities as I do, there are always going to be things that get on your nerves. I used to get really irritated by some of the stuff I read in enthusiast forums. I’m a bit older these days, and my priorities have changed; I’m not going...
News PS Vita Advocate Gio Corsi Leaves PlayStation After Six Years of Service
And now the Vita is dead
The PlayStation Vita has already been dead for quite some time, but this feels like the last nail in the coffin. Gio Corsi, a vocal and loyal supporter of Sony's second handheld device, has left the company with last week being his final one. Taking to Twitter, Gio said: "A hearty thank you to all the great devs, pubs,...
News EA Sports Would Bring Back NCAA Football in a Heartbeat
Heisman hopes
There’s been measurable pent-up demand for new NCAA Football titles ever since the series ceased in 2013, but new legislation in California leading to revised rules may finally make it a possibility. EA Sports was forced to end the popular Madden alternative due to legal disputes surrounding player likenesses, but with the new Fair...
News PS5 Devkits Are Being Handed Out to More and More Developers
Techland gets them
The PlayStation 5 devkit is probably the hottest piece of hardware within the video game industry right now as developers start to put together plans for the next generation. We assume that every member of PlayStation's Worldwide Studios is working towards a PS5 title now as the PlayStation 4 is left behind, but it looks like...
News PlayStation Sees Revenues Slip as Sony Paints a Steady Picture Overall
Summer slump
While the PlayStation 4 may have secured its status as the second best-selling home system ever made, Sony’s gaming division is starting to see slides as its current-gen console gets a little long in the tooth. The business saw revenues decrease 17 per cent year-over-year in the three month period ending 30th September, with operating...
News Sony: PS5 Game Lineup Will 'Satisfy Fans', Console Set to Be a Success
Naturally
Breaking news: Sony thinks its next console will be a success. Speaking during the company's latest financial briefing, recently appointed CFO Hiroki Totoki commented on the PlayStation 5. Naturally, the firm's expecting the next-gen system to be a hit once it launches late next year. Totoki's juicier comment is about the PS5's software...
News Sony Is Looking to Make Even More Studio Acquisitions Ahead of PS5
Insomniac was just the start
Studio acquisitions are all the rage nowadays. Microsoft can't put on a conference without announcing a handful, and Sony got in on the act a few months back when it revealed that it had purchased Marvel's Spider-Man developer Insomniac Games. It looks like that's just the beginning for the PlayStation brand, however, as...
News PS4 Is Now the Second Best Selling Home Console Ever
Now only behind PS2
It wasn't too long ago that the PlayStation 4 became the fastest console to reach 100 million units sold, already pushing the machine into the all-timers list. However, new information has just surfaced from Sony, shedding new light on the sales performance of the current gen box. The platform holder's latest financial report...
News EA Gives Mass Effect Fans Hope with Confirmation of 'Exciting Remasters' Coming Soon
Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster, is that you?
Praise the lord: EA just gave hope to every Mass Effect fan currently in hibernation. The publisher plans on releasing some "exciting remasters of fan favourites" in the coming year, and that means just one thing to us. Our hopes and dreams of a Mass Effect Trilogy remaster are alive and kicking. In its...
News EA Will Double Down on Live Services in Core Franchises
Card collecting
Are you a big fan of Ultimate Team? You better be, because EA has said that it’s “doubling down on live services combined with our core franchises”. This is on the back of increased FIFA Ultimate Team and Madden Ultimate Team engagement, as well as the long-tail success of Apex Legends and The Sims 4. “We’re investing in...
Random Sony Trademarks PlayStation 10 in Japan
And others
Sony may be preparing for the release of the PlayStation 5 in Holiday 2020, but that’s not stopped it from thinking about the future. Over in Japan, the manufacturer has filed trademarks for the PS6, PS7, PS8, PS9, and PS10. This is obviously just security, but it’s still rather amusing to see; realistically, we wouldn’t expect a...
News PS Plus and Subscription Services Have Indie Publisher Devolver Digital Worried
"The world of subscription is a worry"
PS Plus and PlayStation Now subscriptions are great deals when it comes to video game acquisition. PlayStation Plus serves up two free PlayStation 4 games a month as long as you stay subscribed to the service, while PS Now has come on leaps and bounds since it launched a few years back. Being able to download...
News Sony Job Listing Describes PS5 as 'Upcoming World's Fastest Console'
Gotta go fast
Now would be an interesting time to begin working at PlayStation. As the focus shifts from PS4 to PS5, we imagine there must be a great deal of excitement among all the teams at SIE. Handily, there are currently plenty of jobs going across all kinds of sectors, and we'd wager most of them are turning their attention to the next-gen...
