Firesprite Will Produce PlayStation Exclusive Games Outside Sony's 'Core Offerings'

I'd really like a horror game from this team. Sony is long overdue for a new survival horror IP.

If only sony already had a studio for unique games…
Maybe one based in japan…
They could’ve called it japan studio.

VR, VR, VR! The more VR content the better for gaming. Anything else would be a complete waste of this studio’s talents.

Maybe a more western RPG? Not quite Bethesda sized but more like the size of The Outer Worlds? I'm not too familiar with any of this studios games but looking forward to seeing what they have in mind.

I can't help but get excited for a studio acquisition but the consolidation of the industry is concerning. I wonder if this is to keep up with Microsoft or due to inflation eating away at cash reserves Sony has/had on hand.

@uptownsoul @get2sammyb
I bought some of those games 🥺. Rest in peace Gravity Rush!

If it’s VR then cool but it’s kind of like, well I love those core games and I don’t want different ones. They’re literally the reason I and a massive portion of their customers buy PlayStation consoles. I want more of that not something that isn’t that. Right off the bat my “spidey sense” is tingling that they’re referring to online, co-op or multiplayer based games. Which would be ***** if Sony is starting to dip their toes into that pool

Bluepoint aquisition next sony.level 5 will be a good also.a jrpg studio.word up son

@uptownsoul @get2sammyb sony also made no effort to promote their games. Such a talented studio full of talented industry veterans gone to waste IMO.

Atleast we’re getting new studios with similar purposes in return. I just wish it didn’t cost japan studio.

@darkswabber That's not true. I remember that they tried to promote Gravity Rush quite a bit on psv.

I bought Japan Studio games

All I see is Sony pulling a Wii and distancing themselves from traditional games once PSVR 2 launches, which is terrible for those of us who're visually impaired and can't use VR for more than 15 minutes without vomiting our lungs out. 😷🤒😵

@TowaHerschel7 sony has 2 VR focused studios and 2 studios that have VR inhouse teams. That still leaves 10+ studios that don’t make VR games at all and 2 studios that mainly make normal games but also make VR games. In no way are they abandoning normal releases.

@Korgon @AyanamiReign
Many gamers liked and bought those games. And those games were low budgets too.
These people here are being ignorant.
Shawn Layden gave a commendable speech regarding these innovative games and why its recommended to have them in the portfolio. This Jim Ryan changed all that.

I think they tried to innovate with the persistence and the big multiplayer ‘universe’ they are developing sounds different from the usual PlayStation studios so that makes sense.

Edit
The negativity on this site, even on such good news, is tiring.
🥱

Anyone else thinking Bluepoint acquisition announcement will be on Thursday with huge game announcement connected?

I'd guess "core" refers to the 3rd person action/adventure blockbuster franchises like TLoU, GoT, Spider-Man, Horizon, GoW, Uncharted, etc.

@darkswabber i'm pretty sure there is a rumor going around they are making a new japan studio for tripple a games.

@get2sammyb I did and that counts for everything. Sony made a big mistake

@chicken_chaser The thing people don’t get is that Japan studio was around 400+ people.

In the video game industry a shorthand for estimating development cost is $100k per employee per year(covers salary, office space, equipment etc.). So Japan studio cost in the ballpark of $40m a year to run.

There games were not low budget, when you assign all costs to games based on development time, you start getting crazy numbers for its last 10 years of life. The games look low budget, they were actually AAA cost.

For comparison, Horizon: Zero Dawn cost $47M to make, md it sold more than every internally developed Japan Studio game combined over the last 10 years.

About Sony closing Japan studio its a rumor that they didnt work really well and was kinda lazy.
So Sony closed it and started a new one with new staff.
If it is true than maybe people can shut up soon about Sony anti Japan.

@get2sammyb
You kinda need things like that, their loss is offset by profits from triple A games and then the best parts get integrated by the next generation of triple A games.
I suppose a sideways analogy in music would be bands or individuals who make groundbreaking music that push boundaries and don't sell well, but are kept on because they then help create the next generation of artists who take the ideas and make them more sellable.

@TowaHerschel7 Hopefully they've made some progress in helping with the nausea!

@uptownsoul
True I never said anything about it being commercially viable or not. Just saw you say if only people bought that type of game and I just wanted to state there are people, myself among them, that bought Japan Studio games.

It is a bit shocking to hear Bloodborne, one of the most beloved games of the previous generation and co-developed by From Software and Japan Studio, wasn't commercially viable. News to me.

@thefourfoldroot
Didn't Sony say all future games will have VR baked in, in preparation for PSVR2?
If that's the case then they might be heavily involved.

Rumors are they are working on a dark narrative adventure game like Heavy Rain or Detroit, a multiplayer project, and a Horizon VR title. Exciting stuff if true.

@feral1975
All future games? Not that I’m aware of, no.

@thefourfoldroot
Hmm, maybe just wishful thinking or I just took a quote from somewhere and read too much into it.
It would be good for everyone if that was the case though.

@uptownsoul
...Never said you had to explain it neither. I understood what you were saying.

And as for Bloodborne my point was simply people seem to think Japan Studio never made anything worth keeping them around for and yet they had a part in creating one of PS4's most celebrated games. Sure From lead development, but Japan Studio has a hand in development too.

I understand Sony is running a business, and cutting studios is part of doing business. But I also see other folks point of view criticizing Japan Studio's closure as a little strange considering a studio like say Media Molecule is still in business when they have put out one game for last gen that, while Dreams is a cool game, hasn't sold much at all and took a decade to develop.

@darkswabber if only people could buy those games ... 😂 I didn't see people buying a vr to play astrobot, or making gravity rush 2 a hit, how about sony waiting years for the last guardian when they were almos broke before the ps4 and people only trashing the game? Puppeteer the best 3d (to play in a tv with 3d support) game sony made didn't sell eather. I love japanese games and i want sony to be part of those games but most people who use the "sony doesn't care about japan" they don't care about sony, and they didn't care about those awesome games back there. Is actually sad.

@uptownsoul
Well by that logic we have no idea how profitable or not Japan Studio was either which opens up the question of why they were shut down. I do wish the industry would be a bit more forthcoming about that sort of thing.

Bottom line is regardless of how successful Japan Studio was or was not the fact remains they did make games that had an audience. Clearly that audience wasn't big enough for Sony to see fit to keep them around, but it shouldn't come as a surprise when that audience voices displeasure at folks that say no one bought/cared about their games.

It just comes off as insulting to that audience and the developers that worked on the games even though I don't think that was your intention.

I hope it's a first person scifi action horror games 😃

@uptownsoul yup. It's just an expression.

@feral1975
I remember now what you are referencing to, but it was in reference to making more VR games available in flat mode, not the other way round. And it wasn’t saying all of them.

If Sony really wants to get some more VR-centric Studios, they should really consider snagging up the studio behind Farpoint; Impulse Gear, and the studio behind Firewall Zero Hour; First Contact Entertainment.

Interesting partnership considering Sony laid them off 9 years ago. They were a good crew.