470°

Hermen Hulst talks Bungie, what’s next for PlayStation Studios

Reflecting on the legendary studio, plus upcoming titles Horizon Forbidden West, MLB The Show 22, and Gran Turismo 7.

Hot on the heels of this week’s news that Bungie will be joining PlayStation, Sid Shuman had a chance to chat with Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios, to learn more about how the developer collective might collaborate with the celebrated studio.

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blog.playstation.com
Sonic-and-Crash849d ago

i hope Capcom Konami or Square would be next ...Sony needs an exclusive Japanese company with big IP names

-Foxtrot849d ago

I think Japanese companies would fit in better with Sony or even Nintendo....rather than Amazon, Google, Meta, Tencent

Would be nice to see what they could do with either Final Fantasy, Resident Evil or Metal Gear Solid

Sonic-and-Crash849d ago (Edited 849d ago )

at least Capcom and Konami became successful because of Playstation ...their original IPs (Resi, DMC, MonHun MGS, Suikoden , etc) were possible and allowed because the existence of PS ....before that were relasing mainly 16 bit era Disney licenses

frostypants849d ago

I kinda hate this new acquisition trend, but since we're playing: From Software.

Michiel1989849d ago

@sonic capcom and konami became sucesfull on the SNES, not ps1......they continued to be succesful on ps1, but thats not where they started. Konami was already successful because of pachinko beforehand i think.

I would actually like to see them acquire Platinum, with a little bit of guidance that studio can pump out hit after hit i think, but since theyre now in bed with Nintendo its probably not that likely. It also wouldnt be such an expensive studio to buy compared to some of the others.

fr0sty849d ago

Capcom and Konami became successful in the arcade, then the NES, then Genesis/SNES is where they really blew up, as the game industry itself did... they don't owe anything to PlayStation, they would have been successful even if another system ended up being #1, like Nintendo or Sega. They did make a lot of great PlayStation games, no doubt, but they were well established in the industry long before PS was even a thought.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 849d ago
FPS_D3TH849d ago

Silent hills done right and an exclusive horror series for PlayStation and VR would be ideal

SullysCigar849d ago

There were persistent rumours along those lines, so hopefully it will materialise.

purple101849d ago (Edited 849d ago )

Sony should buy both kojima + Konami and make them sit next to each other & play nice.

Muahaahaaa

MaximusPrime_849d ago

if Sony buys Konami, Sony can simply make Kojima in charge of Konami.

MIDGETonSTILTS17849d ago

That would honestly sell units.

What would that man do with the power?!?

Rhythmattic849d ago

Purps 1oh1
XDDDDDelicious......

- Stealth Branding

849d ago Replies(2)
Outlawzz849d ago

How bout we keep them independent. This whole acquisition thing doesn't benefit gamers in the long run

849d ago
darthv72849d ago

Sony recently closed one of their JP studios and you are saying they should go buy another? It would have been cheaper to keep them open and fill them with staff and projects.

Sonic-and-Crash849d ago

they closed nothing ...it became a far better studio ..Asobi ....which can build platformers better than mario ....everything else is just bogus from media to have some material to write stuff

S2Killinit849d ago

As always darth is there to twist things up in the pursuit of anti sony sentiments. You work extra hard darth, I commend your persistence. Truly.

darthv72849d ago

^^twist what?

https://www.makeuseof.com/s...

Did they or did they not close this studio? Asobi was a team within JP studios so at least they are still around.

DarXyde849d ago

Why are you advocating for this industry consolidation?

Do you not understand why this is a problem?

--Onilink--848d ago

Not sure why so many people insist Sony needs to buy a Japanese developer. Xbox is irrelevant in Japan, a lot of japanese developer dont release things for Xbox or they already have a good enough partnership with Sony to get exclusive time windows or similar stuff. It would barely shift the market

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 848d ago
zsquaresoff849d ago

As big as Bungie is, I think an acquisition of a Japanese publisher would be even bigger considering the portfolio of some of those Japanese companies.

refocusedman849d ago

can someone please purchase konamis gaming division!!!!!! it's a Shame that such classic franchises are being abandoned.

Atticus_finch849d ago

That's a hard one because they seem to be in some trouble. Their IP are worth it but their devs have to prove themselves.

Eonjay849d ago

Holy shit it is Silent Hills isn't it.

Atticus_finch849d ago

It will be interesting to see who Sony goes after. My picks would be Take2, Capcom, EA or Square. It will most likely be Capcom I imagine.

GhostofHorizon849d ago

EA and Take2 are either acquiring themselves or looking to expand, I feel like they are off the table for now.

GamingSinceForever849d ago

Since Sony didn’t allow EA Access years ago I can’t see them merging. Take2 is probably too expensive. Square and Capcom makes the most sense.

TheGreatGazoo30849d ago

I don't think Sony has the money to buy a take 2 or EA.

AsunaYuukiTheFlash849d ago

Actually they do. Take 2 is worth 18B, while Sony is about 150B.

EvertonFC849d ago

Agreed it would literally be half of Sony assets to buy take2 or EA, not happening

TheGreatGazoo30848d ago

@AsunaYuukiTheFlash and @EvertonFC

Thats not how purchase prices of public companies are valuated and Sony's Company "value" is 150b...thats doesn't mean they have 150b worth of purchasing power.

neutralgamer1992849d ago

I hope they acquire square enix and Capcom next. Both of the publishers own some legendary IP's.

I don't think Konami would sell but if Sony could acquire MGS, silent hills and Castlevania IP's that would be great

Namco is also a real possibility

Sega as much as I want Sony to buy them I think they are going with Ms

Sony could acquire square enix, Capcom and namco for 20+ billion and in my opinion that would be a much smarter investment long term than the 68+ billion Ms spent on Activision

I also don't think Sony came into this generation expecting to acquire a lot more studios but with Microsoft changing the game up I think they have no choice but to compete. Could you imagine if Ms buys square enix and Capcom and resident evil, final fantasy and monster hunter are exclusive to Xbox

GamingSinceForever849d ago

Would MS as an American company be allowed to own a Japanese company? I heard there were some laws prohibiting that but I could be wrong.

Sayai jin849d ago

No. Japanese companies have even been sold to Chinese companies and those countries are in direct tension with each other.

GhostofHorizon849d ago

I think this is a case for technology based companies that could compromise the security for Japan. Gaming is not affected as far as I can tell. There has been plenty of precedent for it already.

849d ago
GamingSinceForever849d ago

@ps360owner09 I just read up on that and it seems that Zenimax snagged up Tangoworks before they became a registered company. Tango was founded in March and Acquired 7 months later.

American companies can establish companies in Japan but they aren’t allowed to purchase them.

I guess we will see what happens in the next year or so.

849d ago
Workshyskiver849d ago

Its a complete myth that seems to be perpetuated around here for some reason. There are no laws that prohibit American companies buying a Japanese company, which is moort as MS have a Japanese legal entity anyway. It both has happened and can continue to happen. Hell even Sony itself is majority owned by non Japanese stakeholders.

See basic law regarding Japanese aquisitions, note the industries subject to strict government review do not include gaming;

https://iclg.com/practice-a...

And Sonys current shares details; https://www.sony.com/en/Son...

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 849d ago
849d ago
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80°

Every PlayStation Studios game available now on Windows PC

Windows Central writes: "Many PlayStation Studios games that are ported to PC get dedicated PS5 DualSense support, which allows users to experience haptic feedback and adaptive trigger support without actually having to own a PS5.

According to Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, it's still the company's intent to launch the bigger single-player games on PS5 first, before later bringing the games to PC. This might not be the case for multiplayer games however, which are considered okay to launch simultaneously on console and PC."

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windowscentral.com
ocelot079h ago

My guess is after god of war. Probably last of us 2 that's a almost 4 year old game now and by the time it's released on pc it will be more than 4 years old or close to 5.

Elda3h ago

Every old Playstation game that is now on PC.

XiNatsuDragnel2h ago

Good at least they can sell hardware

290°

Days Gone Director Says Bend's Project Costs Over $250M; Says PS Co-CEO Doesn't Want 2 Zombies Games

Days Gone director claims Sony has already poured in at least a $250M in Bend's project; says Days Gone sold more than Death Stranding.

shinoff218321h ago

Well that sucks. Seems they want more online trash. I'd rather of had the sequel if it was single player

MrNinosan7h ago

What online trash games did PS Studios release last 10 years?

Notellin5h ago

The past has nothing to do with the future. This is such a terrible argument. Everyone knows about their current live service push.

_SilverHawk_3h ago

It's so tragic what happened to days gone. It is such an amazing game but bandwagoners trashed it and it underperformed in it's launch year. Days gone is the best open world zombie game released in the past five years. I was recently playing it on pc and I'm still amazed by it.

Games are very expensive to make and it seems like it's normal for a AAA game to cost over a quarter billion to make so if a quality game like days gone greatly underperforms then people shouldn't be upset when they see a lot of GAAS. I still remember a lot of bandwagoners calling days gone trash but years later it's now amazing when it's considered a failure by sony.

If a game isn't the best thing seen since hats with pockets then a lot of gamers who haven't played it automatically calls it rubbish and whoever made it should be incarcerated

Cacabunga2h ago(Edited 2h ago)

Co CEO prefers gamers to boycott.. so be it. I’ll never buy a gaas.
Just imagine buying a game you cannot replay in some years.. this shit must stop.

Days Gone did zombies in a very original way. The story was also so engaging. You actually only meet Zombie hordes later in the game. There are many more enemy groups to deal with.

MrNinosan1h ago

@Notelin
I am one of the few who bought Days Gone on release day and loved it completely.
However, "more online trash" is phrased like Sony has put out alot of trash online games.
We got what, 2 games? Helldivers 2 and GT7, 2 of the most sold Playstation games where both is loved by millions.

You, me and especially shinoff has no idea if Fairgames, Marathon and Concord will be trash.

Just because we (as in you and me) don't love or support online games, doesn't mean millions of other do.

And we don't know what Bend Studio is working with? We don't know if they're forced to make a online game or another amazing single player experience.

The only thing we do know is that it's not Days Gone, sadly due to poor sales the first 6 months.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1h ago
-Foxtrot21h ago

It would be a shame if it was true that Hermen never gave the franchise a chance simply because he didn't like it and they already had a "Zombie" game with TLOU.

NaughtyDog are most likely moving onto a new IP next so it would have been the perfect time to do it.

ThinkThink13h ago

Here's where xbox steps in and releases state of decay 3 day and date on ps5.

Grilla6h ago

Days gone 2 was canceled before Herman was in charge. That happened like 4 years ago.

vfl5236h ago

4 years ago he was head of Playstation Studios. He would've probably had a hand in the cancelation.

Notellin5h ago

Man two seconds of research could have saved you from this comment. Amazing work Grilla you fit in with the uniformed N4G community who speaks before verifying anything that they say.

Redemption-643h ago

Maybe encourage people to buy the game at full price and not when it's heavily discounted or go on plus. If this game had sold well when it was full priced a sequel would have been in the works. They made a single-player game that most people didn't support until they dropped the price.

Cacabunga2h ago

The guy’s just a moron.. he should have stayed within game development. His choices will have a terrible impact on the brand in the long run.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2h ago
excaliburps7h ago

Yep. Kind of weird since it wasn't a sales flop, no?

I know we have to take what Ross says with a grain of salt since we're hearing just one side of the story, but even so, the game wasn't bad at all. Heck, it's my brother's favorite last-gen game from what I recall.

The amount of zombies on screen, imagine that with the PS5 and SSD? That would be insanely fun!

Grilla6h ago

Most copies were sold on sale. Not enough ppl bought it at full price. I paid 20$ for it 6 -7 months after release.

Notellin5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

Yeah we should never believe the creators side until we hear the corporate/big business side as history has shown we should always believe billion dollar corporations.

What a bootlicker statement.

derek38m ago

@Notellin, of course you'll believe an embittered ex-employee with an axe to grind because it's evil Sony he's complaining about. You guys act like days gone was this huge success and somehow Sony hates easy money a sequel would have generated. The game was mid and so was the response to it. They're still supporting the developer who is making a new ip that could be great.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 38m ago
P_Bomb7h ago

Well I don’t want 10 live service games, but they have no problem doing that lol. Ugh.

CrimsonWing696h ago(Edited 6h ago)

Oh great so we only get what the big wigs want… y’know, the people that really have their fingers on the pulse of what their consumers want. Faaaaantastic!

rippermcrip3h ago

Well consider they know the sales... they do know what the consumer wants.

It sold shit.

Show all comments (42)
260°

Trying to push players over from PC to console is a terrible idea, PlayStation

As PlayStation announces its new strategy to encourage PC users to choose PS5 it is a bitter-sweet moment for PC gamers.

Christopher23h ago

I mean, it's a business based on hardware market. Do we expect them to not even try? It's not like Nintendo doesn't do the same by not putting any games on PC and Microsoft until recently did the same. I don't care what they attempt, as long as they don't abuse the community or lie about their goals/requirements.

Will it work? Not likely. Should we care? No. Let them waste their time, it doesn't affect anything.

RaidenBlack22h ago

let them try ... at the end of the day, we get few extra PC games ... yay ... and also promotes game preservation via PC ... so double yay.

LordoftheCritics6h ago

If only Playstation games provided the ease of pc gaming features.

Primary being very few PS games support m/kb.

Fishy Fingers21h ago(Edited 21h ago)

I wish them the best of luck.

But PC players are often a patient bunch, many will even wait for Epic launcher exclusivity to end until a game comes to Steam.

If they didnt buy the console when its games were exclusive, why would they do it now theyre not?

MrNinosan7h ago

Way more do than you probably think.

ravens527h ago

All you need is that one game that'll make a few switch at a time. Like a game a PC player REALLY wants.

outsider16244h ago

I mean if there's 10 million pc gamers out there...getting atleast just 1 million from there is probably a good thing..right?

romulus231h ago

PC players are not a monolith, I don't know why people keep thinking they speak for the entirety of all PC gamers like they all know each other personally. You think out of the millions of PC gamers not one single person will be impatient?Well Sony is willing to bet there will be. Why would they do it now? People's feelings change and new PC gamers come along all the time that may also feel different about waiting, that's why.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1h ago
-Foxtrot21h ago

PC gamers are just too patient and loyal to their gaming set ups, something they've spent a lot of money on to perfect. They have backlogs of games which many never get round to finishing or get round to at all and will always have other multiplatform releases to keep them going.

Over the many years Sony has published so many awesome titles such as The Last of Us, Uncharted, Heavenly Sword, Infamous, Killzone, LittleBigPlanet, Dreams, Puppeteer, Resistance, Heavy Rain, Gran Turismo, Motor Storm, God of War, Horizon, Ratchet and Clank, Spiderman, Ghost of Tsushima, Bloodborne

If none of those games BEFORE all these PC ports convinced a hardcore PC gamer to get a PS5 console then why on Earth would porting them them to PC now make any difference? All PC gamers now know 100% is that they just have to be patient, which they are good at anyway to get a PS5 game 2 years later.

I get GaaS games or multiplayer focused titles but if people really want to play these games they'd have gotten a PS console years ago.

Crows904h ago

Not sure they're aiming to convince the hardcore PC gamer.

Not sure why people are obsessing over his comment...it seems pretty simple to me.

He will do all he can to entice gamers to move to his ecosystem. As you say....exclusives existing hasn't moved many gamers over. But if they get to try them and love the games then they might change their mind about waiting 2 years.

We're in an echo chamber on this site...I've Personally seen people with Xbox and PC setups but no PlayStation. I've also seen people with small PC setups but no console. Not every pc gamer invests thousands and many may decide to put one in the living room.

They're not looking to convince all of players to buy a PlayStation...just a few...and really it is just a PR statement after all...they have to give a reason why single player won't release day 1....not to mention they also have to ensure current PlayStation gamers don't jump ship to PC. It goes both ways and they're ignoring the big L by putting any of their games off their platform.

anast3h ago

"Not sure they're aiming to convince the hardcore PC gamer."

Right here

Kakashi Hatake4h ago

PC gamers think tomorrow is promised. Sorry, don't have time for that.

Michiel19892h ago

it's not just about loyalty or sunk cost, pc is an open platform while consoles are closed platforms. If you for example want to mod, you will play on pc, no question about it. Also if you like indie games, steam is a fucking goldmine for that. I've been playing a lot of indie games over the last years and there just seems to be an endless amount of them on steam. Also not having games locked to a certain fps is a prettty big deal for me and I assume a lot of other pc players.

Walalon1h ago

And don't forget steam sales, you can get a ton of games on an awesome price.

romulus231h ago

And how do you know out of the millions of PC gamers that not one single person ever went ahead and bought a PlayStation console for one or more of those games? People keep speaking for the entirety of millions of PC gamers like they know them all personally. Here's one example for you, I'm currently typing on a recently purchased PC that cost me over twenty five hundred dollars and is more than capable of running any game including Sony exclusives that come to PC and yet I still bought a PS5 so apparently I'm not patient or loyal enough to my set up, hope it's not mad at me for not being loyal.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1h ago
helicoptergirl21h ago

Who cares? Then just stay on PC and play the waiting game. No big deal. Sony wins in the end anyway.

Number1TailzFan21h ago

I mean if there's any single player Sony games that I actually want that aren't on PC then I would buy said console to play them on. But the ones that I like that aren't on PC are few and far between anyway so no loss for me.

If I game, it's usually multiplayer titles, otherwise I like playing around with some other software.

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