PlayStation Legend Resists Live Service Push

Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida reveals he would have resisted Sony's controversial push into live-service gaming. Yoshida, SIE Worldwide Studios president from 2008-2019, expressed concerns to Kinda Funny Games about the inherent risks Sony understood from the outset.

This statement arrives amidst significant turbulence for PlayStation's live-service ventures. While Helldivers 2 achieved phenomenal success, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever with 12 million copies sold in 12 weeks, other titles faced cancellation or disastrous launches.

Concord, a prime example, stands as one of PlayStation's biggest failures, swiftly shut down due to extremely low player counts after a mere few weeks online. The game's developer was subsequently closed, representing a substantial financial loss for Sony – reportedly around $200 million in initial development costs, a figure that didn't cover the entire development, IP rights, or the acquisition of Firewalk Studios, according to Kotaku.

This failure followed the cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project and, recently, two more unannounced live-service games – a God of War title from Bluepoint and another from Bend Studio (Days Gone developers).

Yoshida, departing Sony after 31 years, shared his perspective in the Kinda Funny Games interview, suggesting he would have challenged the live-service strategy had he been in Hermen Hulst's current position as CEO. He highlighted the resource allocation dilemma, questioning the wisdom of diverting funds from established franchises like God of War towards live-service projects.

However, Yoshida acknowledged that Sony provided increased resources after his departure, allowing for parallel development of both single-player and live-service titles. He recognized the inherent risk but also expressed optimism, citing Helldivers 2's unexpected success as a testament to the unpredictability of the industry. He concluded that, personally, he would have resisted the live-service direction, speculating this might have contributed to his departure.

Sony's financial call echoed these sentiments. President, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki acknowledged lessons learned from both Helldivers 2's triumph and Concord's failure, emphasizing the need for earlier user testing and internal evaluations. Totoki also pointed to Sony's "siloed organization" and Concord's unfortunate release window near Black Myth: Wukong, suggesting potential market cannibalization.

Senior vice president Sadahiko Hayakawa further highlighted the contrasting outcomes of Helldivers 2 and Concord, emphasizing the importance of sharing lessons learned across studios to improve development management and post-launch content strategies. He reaffirmed Sony's commitment to a balanced portfolio, combining its strength in single-player titles with carefully managed live-service ventures.

Several PlayStation live-service games remain in development, including Bungie's Marathon, Guerrilla's Horizon Online, and Haven Studio's Fairgame$.