Shuhei Yoshida, who is well-known for his time at PlayStation, recently shared his thoughts in an interview with Kinda Funny Games (you can find it here) regarding the current path that the company has taken since he left. In this conversation, Yoshida expressed that, had he still been with the company, he might have resisted their decision to concentrate on live-service games.
Yoshida discussed how, under Herman Hulst’s leadership, PlayStation was encouraging its internal game studios to focus on developing live-service games, aiming to profit from the success of games like “Overwatch 2” and “Destiny 2”. This strategy culminated in the disappointing launch of the hero shooter game “Concord”, which shut down its servers just weeks after its release.
Yoshida explained that he was overseeing our annual budget and determining where resources should be directed for game development. If the company had taken this approach, it might not have been logical to halt production on another God of War or similar high-quality single-player games and instead invest all funds into multiplayer service games.
After I departed and Herman Hulst assumed control, they significantly boosted their resources. As far as I can gather, they didn’t instruct him to halt the production of single-player games. Instead, they seemed to appreciate these games and encouraged him to carry on creating them. Additionally, they provided extra resources for him to work on service games concurrently, aiming to experiment with them.
Yoshida also discussed that venturing into the live-service genre when creating a new game is a particularly daring decision, particularly for a company recognized for its beloved standalone games. Although some games have thrived due to this shift, like Helldivers 2, many others have fallen short, such as the aborted multiplayer title The Last of Us Online.
He stated, “They were aware it was daring, and the odds of a triumphant game in such a fiercely competitive field would be slim. Yet, recognizing the risk allowed the company to provide Herman with the means and opportunity to attempt it. In my opinion, that’s their strategy, and I was struck by, ‘Wow, that’s impressive,’ hoping some games might flourish. Fortunately, Helldivers 2 surpassed expectations; no one could have predicted its success. Success cannot be orchestrated in this industry, which makes it the most exciting part.
Yoshida expressed, “If I were in Herman’s situation, I would have chosen a different path. That might be why they replaced me (laughter).
In the same conversation, Yoshida shared his theories as to why neither Sony nor FromSoftware have revealed a Bloodborne follow-up. He suggested that Hidetaka Miyazaki, the game’s director, might be too occupied to work on it, yet he harbors a desire to develop it himself. According to Yoshida, Sony is keen to honor Miyazaki’s preferences in this matter.
In previous times, Yoshida has shared behind-the-scenes knowledge about PlayStation studios. Fast forward to 2023, he discussed a common practice where numerous games are scrapped before they’re officially unveiled. “We scrap many games,” Yoshida stated. “My aim is often to persuade the developer that I’m trying to spare them from being tied down to this particular project.
Shuhei Yoshida recently left PlayStation after spending over 31 years with the company.
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2025-01-17 17:11