PlayStation Legend Shuhei Yoshida 'Would've Tried to Resist' Sony's Live Service Push

Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida reveals he would have resisted Sony's controversial live service game push, citing inherent risks. Yoshida, SIE Worldwide Studios president from 2008-2019, expressed concerns to Kinda Funny Games about Sony's substantial investment in a genre known for its unpredictable outcomes.

This statement follows a turbulent period for PlayStation's live service ventures. While Helldivers 2 achieved phenomenal success, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, other titles like Concord faced disastrous launches and cancellations. Concord, a $200 million (according to Kotaku) undertaking, lasted mere weeks before being shut down due to extremely low player counts, resulting in significant financial losses for Sony and the closure of its developer. This followed the cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer game and, more recently, two unannounced live service titles.

Yoshida, departing Sony after 31 years, hypothetically positioned himself as current CEO Hermen Hulst, suggesting he would have advocated against the aggressive live service strategy. He highlighted the resource allocation dilemma, questioning the wisdom of diverting funds from established franchises like God of War to the riskier live service sector. While acknowledging Sony's increased investment in live service games post-his departure, he emphasized the inherent risk and low probability of success in such a competitive market. He lauded Helldivers 2's unexpected triumph, underscoring the unpredictable nature of the industry.

Sony's financial call echoed these sentiments. President, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki attributed Concord's failure to insufficient early user testing and internal evaluation, advocating for earlier implementation of development checkpoints. He also cited Sony's "siloed organization" and Concord's unfortunate release window near Black Myth: Wukong as contributing factors to the game's poor performance.

Senior vice president Sadahiko Hayakawa further emphasized the contrasting outcomes of Helldivers 2 and Concord, highlighting the valuable lessons learned from both successes and failures. He stressed the importance of sharing these lessons across studios to improve development management and post-launch content support. Sony's future strategy, Hayakawa clarified, will balance its strengths in single-player games with calculated risks in the live service arena.

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