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[GHG]

Here's another lengthy quote from Sony's COO, Hiroki Totoki, via Gematsu:

"Actually, I am the chairperson [of SIE]. It's been about four months, and I am trying to demonstrate leadership and trying to have as many meetings as possible with the management team. I also visit studios and everyone is working really hard to fulfill their responsibility to try to optimize the business, and I understand that. But overall growth and sustainable profitability or increasing margin, how will that translate to these goals? I don't think people understand that deeply. I think that is the problem of the organization. So as far as I'm concerned, I try to understand what is happening in the company, in the industry, and also in the perspective of the analysts, and try to explain in a transparent manner so that people can recognize and notice these issues so that we can have a harmonized approach going forward. That is a very general comment since I became the chairperson. There are concrete points which I will not go into today.

"Now, about visiting the studios, and I've had meetings with the leaders there, the studios. People who work in the studios have very high motivation. They're very highly motivated. They're very good people. And they're very creative people. They have great creative minds. And they also have knowledge about live streaming. However, having said that, when it comes to the business itself, I think there is room for improvement. And that's got to do about how to use the money or about the schedule of development or how to fulfill one's accountability towards development, et cetera. Those are my frank impressions. So I will continue to engage in dialogue with the people so that we can find the right way to proceed."

People working at Sony are about to have a rocket shoved up their arses.

 

[acm2000]

no new releases from any existing sony franchises in this financial year? if that was xbox this forum would be on fire.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

I also visit studios and everyone is working really hard to fulfill their responsibility to try to optimize the business, and I understand that. But overall growth and sustainable profitability or increasing margin, how will that translate to these goals? I don't think people understand that deeply. I think that is the problem of the organization. So as far as I'm concerned, I try to understand what is happening in the company, in the industry, and also in the perspective of the analysts, and try to explain in a transparent manner so that people can recognize and notice these issues so that we can have a harmonized approach going forward.

Sounds pretty ominous to me. I wouldn't be surprised if they find that laying-off a few hundred or thousand people is one way Sony will "sustain profitability and increase margins" in the coming weeks and months.

 

[Little Chicken]

Here's another lengthy quote from Sony's COO, Hiroki Totoki, via Gematsu:

"Actually, I am the chairperson [of SIE]. It's been about four months, and I am trying to demonstrate leadership and trying to have as many meetings as possible with the management team. I also visit studios and everyone is working really hard to fulfill their responsibility to try to optimize the business, and I understand that. But overall growth and sustainable profitability or increasing margin, how will that translate to these goals? I don't think people understand that deeply. I think that is the problem of the organization. So as far as I'm concerned, I try to understand what is happening in the company, in the industry, and also in the perspective of the analysts, and try to explain in a transparent manner so that people can recognize and notice these issues so that we can have a harmonized approach going forward. That is a very general comment since I became the chairperson. There are concrete points which I will not go into today.

"Now, about visiting the studios, and I've had meetings with the leaders there, the studios. People who work in the studios have very high motivation. They're very highly motivated. They're very good people. And they're very creative people. They have great creative minds. And they also have knowledge about live streaming. However, having said that, when it comes to the business itself, I think there is room for improvement. And that's got to do about how to use the money or about the schedule of development or how to fulfill one's accountability towards development, et cetera. Those are my frank impressions. So I will continue to engage in dialogue with the people so that we can find the right way to proceed."

Pretty candid of him to talk about SIE like that publicly.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

I was hoping i'd be the one to deliver the death blow to media molecule but it looks like the COO is going to beat me to it

 

[Orbital2060]

No 1p games until after FY 2024?

Hw production cut in half next quarter.

Sw in Japan market in the ditch.

New CEO about to come knocking on doors.

Whats the point of a pro console in this climate? They barely have games to release.

This gen is certainly not a repeat of last gen.

 

[Three]

no new releases from any existing sony franchises in this financial year? if that was xbox this forum would be on fire.

What major existing xbox franchises are getting released this year? Are you on fire now?

There are none. There are only small things like MLB The Show, Helldivers 2, Hellblade 2 etc. You're not getting a new Spiderman, GoW (the examples given), Gears or Halo sequel.

 

[Punished Miku]

People working at Sony are about to have a rocket shoved up their arses.

They're moving away from crunch so I dont know what rocket they can invent to speed up AAA development. Most likely just cuts in staff or changing the kind of games they focus on making.

 

[Robb]

Nintendo doesn't release a new game almost every month, that's just in your head. Sony releasing MORE titles wouldn't help it with overall sales.. We already have a problem with too many games on the market.

Hmm.. I can only recall three months where they didn’t release a title last year. They’ve been churning out games like crazy.

I don’t really care if it’d help with overall sales. It’d definitely help to get my sale though.

 

[Rudius]

"with no plan for release of major franchise titles"

They will gaas us to extinction

 

[Little Chicken]

No 1p games until after FY 2024?

Hw production cut in half next quarter.

Sw in Japan market in the ditch.

New CEO about to come knocking on doors.

Whats the point of a pro console in this climate? They barely have games to release.

This gen is certainly not a repeat of last gen.

If they release a PS5 Pro it's going to be very expensive.

 

[GHG]

They're moving away from crunch so I dont know what rocket they can invent to speed up AAA development. Most likely just cuts in staff or changing the kind of games they focus on making.

Anyone who wants to keep their job might want to re-evaluate their stance on "crunch" (it's actually called working hard and putting in the hours necessary to meet deadlines, but whatever).

There's already a surplus of game developers (and tech professionals in general) available on the market, it's about to get worse this year. If they think they will be able to just waltz into another position with good pay where they can put their feet up and have 10 free lunches a day then they are mistaken.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

no new releases from any existing sony franchises in this financial year? if that was xbox this forum would be on fire.

If it was Xbox, no one would be surprised.

In this case, it’s the other way around.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Anyone who wants to keep their job might want to re-evaluate their stance on "crunch" (it's actually called working hard and putting in the hours necessary to meet deadlines, but whatever).

There's already a surplus of game developers (and tech professionals in general) available on the market, it's about to get worse this year. If they think they will be able to just waltz into another position with good pay where they can put their feet up and have 10 free lunches a day then they are mistaken.

If SIE is going back with japanese leadership crunch is garunteed.

Godbless superior japanese culture

 

[Ronin_7]

SONY group crushed expectations.

SIE missed HW targets.

 

[Punished Miku]

Anyone who wants to keep their job might want to re-evaluate their stance on "crunch" (it's actually called working hard and putting in the hours necessary to meet deadlines, but whatever).

There's already a surplus of game developers (and tech professionals in general) available on the market, it's about to get worse this year. If they think they will be able to just waltz into another position with good pay where they can put their feet up and have 10 free lunches a day then they are mistaken.

Maybe. It honestly sounds like wishful thinking to me. The rocket doesn't exist. That's the problem. AAA development across the board has been facing this issue for at least a decade.

 

[GHG]

Maybe. It honestly sounds like wishful thinking to me. The rocket doesn't exist. That's the problem. AAA development across the board has been facing this issue for at least a decade.

It's part of why standards are dropping and broken/unfinished games are so common.

Not a gaming exclusive issue though, it's tech across the board at the moment.

 

[veterangamerUK]

no new releases from any existing sony franchises in this financial year? if that was xbox this forum would be on fire.

Yep, but it's Sony so they get a free pass

 

[veterangamerUK]

Sale figures for the console to be expected. It's still too expensive for mass market appeal

 

[HeWhoWalks]

Sale figures for the console to be expected. It's still too expensive for mass market appeal

“Mass market appeal”? Have you seen PS5’s sales?

It fell short of a lofty, historical figure. That’s not the same as being too expensive for the masses. Your own words prove that “to be expected”

It’s going to sell north of 20 million.

 

[Robb]

Sale figures for the console to be expected. It's still too expensive for mass market appeal

It’s going to sell 20M in one FY and be well above 50M units. That’s not something you do if you don’t have mass market appeal.

 

[LordOcidax]

Good numbers for the PS5, but is going to miss the target for around ~5 Millions. Now is pretty safe to say that 2023 was the peak for the console.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

No Ghost Of Tsushima 2?

What games do they actually have for 2024. Sony have been more or less silent this entire generation and it feels like their fanbase still defends them quite heavily. They released one game last year, and it looks like zero for this year from First party studios, yet they are rewarded with good will from their loyal fanbase.

I really dont get it when people say stuff like this. As if ONLY FP games actually count or are games. They are rewarded with goodwill from their fans because even if it's not a direct first party, Sony publishes and brings a number of games/exclusives to the console.

In the next 6 months, we are already getting Helldivers 2, Ronin, FF7R, Stellar Blade. This is the first 6 months alone. But somehow those don't count because we are not getting a possible GoT2? And I didn't even mention TLOUp2 for obvious reasons. And then look at the stuff they brought to market exclusively for the PS5 last year

Anyway, still an amazing year to shift 21 million consoles, but I expect we could see a considerable drop this year and more people migrating to PC.

Agreed. I don't think so though, well... unless Sony stubbornly refuses to actually drop the price of the PS5. I believe a sub $400 PS5 and an introduction to the PS5pro would make a big difference. And I do not buy the whole "more people migrate to PC" thing.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[Bernardougf]

"with no plan for release of major franchise titles"

Well lets see the goal post move for the people who were saying things like "sure they have something not announced yet" ... in the other topic there's bets already lost

 

[Bernardougf]

They will gaas us to extinction

Perfect.

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

The entire story about it being a ransom by a no name hacker group is fake. Jason Schreier is writing an article as we speak corroborating my words.

Jason Schreier..

 

[tusharngf]

remasters doesn't help them at all?

 

[DForce]

no new releases from any existing sony franchises in this financial year? if that was xbox this forum would be on fire.

"If this was Xbox"

Because Xbox has been lacking big first-party titles for YEARS. Xbox fans think the two situations are comparable when they're not. Xbox fans have excused the poor output by saying exclusives don't matter. lol

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

this explains a lot

 

[midnightAI]

Sounds pretty ominous to me. I wouldn't be surprised if they find that laying-off a few hundred or thousand people is one way Sony will "sustain profitability and increase margins" in the coming weeks and months.

Why do people instantly jump to lay offs? lay offs happen all the time, but it sounds to me like he's going to look more at the actual development side of things. Why does development cost so much? Why does development take so long? And I would hope... why must all of our top studios work on AAA games all of the time, especially ones with multiple teams?

 

[midnightAI]

no new releases from any existing sony franchises in this financial year? if that was xbox this forum would be on fire.

But we already knew this? they would have been announced by now if anything was coming in the next financial year.

 

[Brucey]

People working at Sony are about to have a rocket shoved up their arses.

Xbox got Amy Hood and now PS is getting a hatchet man as well.

 

[Brucey]

Sale figures for the console to be expected. It's still too expensive for mass market appeal

Can you define mass market appeal threshold? 25 million? 30 million?

 

[Brucey]

I really dont get it when people say stuff like this. As if ONLY FP games actually count or are games. They are rewarded with goodwill from their fans because even if it's not a direct first party, Sony publishes and brings a number of games/exclusives to the console.

In the next 6 months, we are already getting Helldivers 2, Ronin, FF7R, Stellar Blade. This is the first 6 months alone. But somehow those don't count because we are not getting a possible GoT2? And I didn't even mention TLOUp2 for obvious reasons. And then look at the stuff they brought to market exclusively for the PS5 last year

Agreed. I don't think so though, well... unless Sony stubbornly refuses to actually drop the price of the PS5. I believe a sub $400 PS5 and an introduction to the PS5pro would make a big difference. And I do not buy the whole "more people migrate to PC" thing.

PS5 still basically at launch pricing (with a bundled game) nearly 3.5 years into generation. Still too expensive for mass migration for PS4 owners plus PS5 exclusive content pretty rare with a bunch of cross gen games. And plenty of comments about sales promotions hitting the bottom line.

Mass market still remaining on PS4, perhaps PS will get some Xbox only gamers to switch to PS5 depending on what Xbox announcement is tomorrow

 

[DenchDeckard]

I really dont get it when people say stuff like this. As if ONLY FP games actually count or are games. They are rewarded with goodwill from their fans because even if it's not a direct first party, Sony publishes and brings a number of games/exclusives to the console.

In the next 6 months, we are already getting Helldivers 2, Ronin, FF7R, Stellar Blade. This is the first 6 months alone. But somehow those don't count because we are not getting a possible GoT2? And I didn't even mention TLOUp2 for obvious reasons. And then look at the stuff they brought to market exclusively for the PS5 last year

Agreed. I don't think so though, well... unless Sony stubbornly refuses to actually drop the price of the PS5. I believe a sub $400 PS5 and an introduction to the PS5pro would make a big difference. And I do not buy the whole "more people migrate to PC" thing.

Expect more from the market leader of high end consoles.


PC hardware and prebuilt gaming desktops are seeing a very strong start to the year while console sales are down across the board. I don't think Sony will sell more than 20 million this year. I do see more users moving to PC.

 

[NEbeast]

No Ghost Of Tsushima 2?

What games do they actually have for 2024. Sony have been more or less silent this entire generation and it feels like their fanbase still defends them quite heavily. They released one game last year, and it looks like zero for this year from First party studios, yet they are rewarded with good will from their loyal fanbase.

Anyway, still an amazing year to shift 21 million consoles, but I expect we could see a considerable drop this year and more people migrating to PC.

Because when they do release 1st party they're bangers. It's worth waiting for great games.

 

[Woopah]

A muuuch more sensible target. Still challenging, but actually realistic. The software comments indicate to me that we know most of Sony's 2024 lineup.

25M was a long shot, but hitting 21 is still crazy good.

Sad to hear about the first party output though. Maybe I’ll hold off on that Ps5 Pro purchase this year after all.. I really thought the output would be better by now.

Nintendo is managing to churn out a new game almost every month. Sony should start releasing more smaller high quality games alongside these huge productions.

Nintendo releases a game once a month pretty much, but they are not always new games.

Sometimes they are remakes or remasters.

I would also greatly contend the notion that Nintendo's model is on the up and up. The Switch has gone through multiple droughts almost as bad as the Wii U.

Its worked for them in the past couple of years, which is why they haven't had a drought since 2020.

No Ghost Of Tsushima 2?

What games do they actually have for 2024. Sony have been more or less silent this entire generation and it feels like their fanbase still defends them quite heavily. They released one game last year, and it looks like zero for this year from First party studios, yet they are rewarded with good will from their loyal fanbase.

Anyway, still an amazing year to shift 21 million consoles, but I expect we could see a considerable drop this year and more people migrating to PC.

They have Helldivers 2, Rise of the Ronin, Stellar Blade and TLoU2 remastered for H1. And Conchord so far for H2.

 

[Tsaki]

Dire numbers

 

[Robb]

Sometimes they are remakes or remasters.

Oh yeah, I definitely counted remakes/remasters when I wrote that. The Metroid Prime Remaster was amazing, would be a crime not to count it when talking about their output.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Because when they do release 1st party they're bangers. It's worth waiting for great games.

I disagree, returnal and Helldivers 2 have been their best games this gen and they are not from their big first party developers.

Ratchet and Spider man 2 were completely forgettable.

Their other games are PS4 games.

I really don't understand how people can defend their output this generation. It would be a nightmare if they had no competition. They released one game last year, and nothing is slated from them for this year as of yet. Last of us 2 remake, which is a 4 year old game.....just aint it. Go back through Sonys first party releases throughout the history of them being in games, theyve never had release schedules this light.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

I disagree, returnal and Helldivers 2 have been their best games this gen and they are not from their big first party developers.

Ratchet and Spider man 2 were completely forgettable.

Their other games are PS4 games.

I really don't understand how people can defend their output this generation. It would be a nightmare if they had no competition. They released one game last year, and nothing is slated from them for this year as of yet. Last of us 2 remake, which is a 4 year old game.....just aint it. Go back through Sonys first party releases throughout the history of them being in games, theyve never had release schedules this light.

Their output has been good. Their cross-gen strategy was the issue

 

[HeWhoWalks]

I disagree, returnal and Helldivers 2 have been their best games this gen and they are not from their big first party developers.

Ratchet and Spider man 2 were completely forgettable.

Their other games are PS4 games.

I really don't understand how people can defend their output this generation. It would be a nightmare if they had no competition. They released one game last year, and nothing is slated from them for this year as of yet. Last of us 2 remake, which is a 4 year old game.....just aint it. Go back through Sonys first party releases throughout the history of them being in games, theyve never had release schedules this light.

Then, why are they light? What would cause this?

"Also, no competition". What competition do they have on the games front right now? Nintendo. Xbox is the kid who skipped class again. Besides, no matter how much you want to dismiss their games that are also on PS4, they still count towards a console's lineup.

 

[Portugeezer]

"with no plan for release of major franchise titles"

Well, there's always Gears and Halo.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Kind of makes sense for the remainder of the fiscal year. I'm not sure what is hard to understand about that and the potential of layoffs. Anybody ever run a business here?

 

[Fake]

These sales would be considered pretty good if they hadn't gone crazy with that 25 million forecast, the PS5 is just far too expensive to shift those kinds of numbers. The new forecast of 21 million is still very high and 1 million above the PS4's best fiscal year.

PS4 for that time.

PS5 for this time. You need to consider inflation, price, components... from this year.

Thats why comparing gets tricky.

 

[LordCBH]

Spiderman 2 at over 10 million? But Twitter told me Spiderman 2 failed and made 0 money!

 

[Flabagast]

I love that Sony gets hate for making sequels but also gets hate for making original IP...

Which is it?

The only games that could even possibly get major releases in franchises would be Ghost of Tsushima, Uncharted, and the Last of Us, everything else has already received a sequel this generation, and TLOU and GoT just came out in 2020.

So you can't ask for original IP and get upset that there isn't a major game released from an existing franchise every single calendar year.

What original IP are you talking about though ?

 

[HeWhoWalks]

Spiderman 2 at over 10 million? But Twitter told me Spiderman 2 failed and made 0 money!

More like Colt EhWood. Never listen to idiots.

 

[StereoVsn]

Tbh, new IP or sequels, it takes way too long to release the actual games.

Yep, too long and budgets are very expensive now days. It was $300mil for Spider-Man 2 which reused some of the asserts, its engine pipeline and so on.

I was hoping Ghost of Tsushima 2 would hit at some point late this year or early next year, but clearly that isn’t happening.