If there’s any criticism of Sony at the moment, it’s that the company is far too quiet. The manufacturer was very vocal at the beginning of the generation, but it has let its products do the talking in recent months. While it’s hard to complain about the quality of the PlayStation 4 – especially with both cross-play and name changes now resolved – it would be nice to hear a little more from the organisation's bigwigs about what it's doing and where it's going.
Speaking on a recent episode of the PlayStation Blogcast, Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden said that that’s exactly what the PlayStation maker plans to do moving forwards. “We’re going to crank that communication up, we're going to find more ways to get our message out and get a view into what our activities are and what our hopes and dreams are, if you will, for PlayStation and for Worldwide Studios,” he said.
This is great news because, while we’re generally fond of the company’s work on social media and on the PlayStation Blog, we do think it could be doing a lot more to keep players engaged and ensure consumers know what it’s up to and why.
[source blog.us.playstation.com, via resetera.com]
Comments 24
I remember as a kid I just used to see games on shelves and buy em. Now it's all about knowing the developers trouser length. Madness!
We don't need that, we have games. Not like competition.
@kyleforrester87 Haha, I like hearing from the companies. Gives me stuff to write about.
Of course. What with PS5 coming out soon and that..
If you guys get a PS counterpart to Nintendo Directs, you're in for a treat every two-three months. Good stuff.
Is that a recent pic of shawn? If so he is looking really healthy. Good for him. More communication is always good, although the cynic in me feels that means ps5 is coming very soon. Also 'Get a view into our hopes and dreams'. Dreams announcement on the way?
Look, i havent been bothered by the silence from Sony. The games have done all the talking for them. What a year its been for playstation. In fact most of the times they have spoken have brought bad news (vita cart production, vita being discontinued, cross-play saga, gravity rush 2 servers etc). But re-engaging the fanbase at this point is crucial with a new xbox on the way, and switch doing impressive numbers.
I cant defend the ps blog though. People are whingers, but the communication on the eu blog has gone from bad to worse over the past few years. And i shouldnt be having to use psprices instead of the official blog for information on sales and prices of games.
@Neolit 2019
@NecuVise Knack - 2013
Knack 2 - 2017
So logic dictates that Knack 3 = PS5 = 2021
Of course they will start talking they probably wanna here ideas for PS5 or what games people want it's called "A Focus Group"
@Nakatomi_Uk I think any focus grouping would have already occurred. At this point, the box's specs, design and feature set are probably already frozen. They are probably just seeking to reengage with the fanbase to establish that 'they're listening to us' feeling (see recent developments) in the lead up to the PS5's reveal and launch. I suspect they'll be plenty talkative soon enough.
@Rob_230 The UK/Euro PlayStation blog and staff have long seemed to be quite half-hearted/half-assed to me.
Even if you look back to the PS3, when they introduced the "What's New" section to the XMB and the scrolling info bar in the firmware, they were barely used. I remember seeing video after video from the US team with the latest stuff on What's New and plenty of info scrolling in the bar, but here, What's New was always out of date and I don't think I ever actually saw the info bar used... it was as if they just couldn't be bothered.
@Paranoimia I think the whole PS Blog concept is a bit tired now. No disrespect to the people running it in the slightest, but I feel like so many of the articles get glossed over.
There has to be a better way of getting eyes on all the cool stuff going on with PlayStation.
Shawn Layden liked one of my tweets that was pretty neat 😄
@Paranoimia the eu blog is a joke. I remember a time when staff use to reply!
@get2sammyb they need a fun twitter account like the Xbox Game Pass one 😁
@get2sammyb @ZeD
I don't mind idea behind the blog, as I think it's good to have an official channel for information. I think they should change if from a traditional blog to simply a news publication site, though.
I feel for the people who work/post on the blog, purely because of the incessant whining which takes place in the comments. I'm not surprised official replies are few and far between. They should make it announcement only, with no comments... leave the whining to take place on the forums. I'm all for constructive criticism, but it usually goes way beyond that... it must get quite disheartening for them to face that every day.
He's not everyone's cup of tea but I generally believe that people like Shawn Layden are critical for PlayStation cos he just seems to understand what people are wanting and expecting. Either way a more socially proactive Sony should be pretty good thing for everyone going forward.
I'll make a little prediction right now that we will get a kind of Direct stream before Xmas with a few little announcements and updates like:
Dreams to get January launch
Medievil remaster shown
A few VR updates
And the first Plus games for 2019.
Nothing that would justify a PSX stage keynote but just a few things to keep things ticking along.
@get2sammyb LIke this site?
@get2sammyb
I dont get it. Sure they could change the site but ultimately its the content that matters. And there's a lot of info coming regularly from it. Most gaming sites report from what's going on there. Is there an equivalent on an Xbox site doing the same thing with often developers getting their message across that way?
Definitely they could make it more enjoyable and apealling to visit that site though since most people just check out what's reported by the press
@adf86
A few trailers at games Awards will probably do
@get2sammyb
I get it from your perspective as a writer, because I worked in media for a bit myself as a sports writer. The job is always easier when people are willing to talk (especially when they're willing to do so on the record, I always hated when I had to use the 'anonymous source' nonsense). That said, as somebody who's really in it just for the games, I'd rather Sony keep letting the product do the talking. MS has to be front and center right now because the Xbox has had a very rough time this generation and people are interested in where the brand is going. Sony has the games, PS4 is doing good business for them, we really don't need to listen to Jim Ryan or somebody saying stupid stuff that will likely be regretted later on.
I just checked and Shawn hasn’t added me on Twitter or Facebook so I don’t believe him.
Tried to listen to a blog but after hearing "like" for the 8th time within a minute I couldnt stand it anymore.
@DMG361132 I would be too, I also agree with @JJ2 that we will get some news at the game awards, probably a new Death Stranding trailer and maybe a Dreams beta date just so they have plenty of eyes on that.
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