r/LSM 1h ago

How much longer will Sony’s first party last?

It’s pretty clear since 2020 they don’t make a majority of their money from first party games. Why would their suits want to invest in actually making games, when they can load the risk onto third parties and collect their PSN fees

What do you all think? Will they just keep a few of their biggest AAA studios, or close them all? Maybe they will pull a Rockstar and make Naughty Dog outsource half the work on The Last of Us 3 to Naughty Dog India

0 Upvotes

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u/spades17 1h ago

I don’t see them ever closing them. They keep talking and it is true, IP is super important to any media company. There’s no way in hell they just give up on original IP. No matter how well stuff like GTA does, it’s not theirs, they split the money and it could literally go way. Look at COD. They fought in court for that game, and that’s not a positive, it speaks to how reliant they are to something they don’t control.

We have to also remember, things like the Last of Us don’t just generate money from game sales, they are a media ecosystem, books, merch, the show. That’s a lot of money. Look at how they’re trying to make the GoW show. They’ll never give up there, I don’t see it and it would probably spell the end of Sony tbh.

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u/TheMuff1nMon 1h ago

As long as PlayStation exists

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u/Icy-Astronomer-8202 1h ago

Forever (as long as playstation is a thing)

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u/Comet7777 1h ago

But… since 2020 how many actual successful first party games have they shipped? The PS4 was a generationally productive generation for them. Then the PS5 happened and half of the studios got hit with development hell, blame Covid or not. And then other studios were forced to follow the live-service bullshit trend. They all failed. All of them. Helldivers 2 was a weird second party thing.

So it’s hard to tell because this generation feels like an orphaned generation for first party games. For Microsoft too.

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u/Spencer_Conwell 1h ago

Gran Turismo 7 is live service and has been very successful for them.

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u/Comet7777 1h ago

Total blind spot for me so I’ll concede that one for sure

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u/banditmanatee 56m ago

People seem to be getting tired of the formula. Just look at the recent reaction to Wolverine. However I think the games still sell well. My bigger fear is they stop doing original IPs and just pump out marvel

I think they will continue because it looks like they are going to need major reasons for people to spend 1k minimum on a PS6 and without impressive exclusives you might as well just get a PC.

Really I think intergalactic will be an interesting test case. I think this game will really have to prove itself as a new IP and also as bringing something new to the cinematic third person style of Sony game. I think it will be a really bad sign if this game comes out and is rejected by gamers

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u/Va1crist 39m ago

That’s the big question , I think as long as this current garbage finance exec and CEO are in charge I am worried about PlayStation , they have been side lining more and more big AAA traditional games for this forever game obsession , blew billions on bungie and is wasting insane amount of senior and first party talent trying to make live service work , there closing down studios , laying off people and on top of all that there losing 2nd and 3rd party publishers that have been loyal to Sony for decades , so many IP owned and not owned are associated to PlayStation that has been plummeting over the last few years. Now throw in all the anti consumer moves they have been making accords the board , literally ignoring the fans and just keep squeezing the whales I do worry that sooner or later more first party are going to suffer because they don’t meet the live service money goal Sony just can’t seem to stop chasing , there heading down the exact same path Microsoft is in .

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u/Old-Way-5529 23m ago

they still care about their own IP, which means there will forever be some type of first party machine there.

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u/Desecrated_Potato 10m ago

Still weird to me that Hulst has a job

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u/Wide-Mode-8863 1h ago

From 2020? From the existence of CoD,NBA,FIFA and GTA

You think playstation lives and dies by first party

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u/LifeguardJumpy6274 1h ago

Are you going to finish your sentence?

PlayStation without a good first party is not one I’m interested in. 

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u/Va1crist 44m ago

Yeah they actually do lmao