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 push into live-service gaming. Yoshida, who led SIE Worldwide Studios from 2008 to 2019, expressed concerns to Kinda Funny Games about the inherent risks Sony acknowledged in this investment.

This statement comes amidst significant challenges for PlayStation's live-service titles. While Helldivers 2 achieved remarkable success, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks, other ventures have faltered.

Concord, a notable example, suffered a catastrophic launch, lasting only weeks before being shut down due to extremely low player numbers. The game's cancellation, along with the closure of its developer, represents a substantial financial loss for Sony, estimated at around $200 million according to Kotaku. This figure, however, didn't cover the full development cost or IP rights acquisition.

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

Yoshida, departing Sony after 31 years, shared his perspective during the Kinda Funny Games interview. He indicated that, were he in Hermen Hulst's (current Sony Interactive Entertainment Studio Business Group CEO) position, he would have advocated against the aggressive live-service strategy. He highlighted the resource allocation dilemma: diverting funds from established franchises like God of War to the uncertain realm of live-service games.

Yoshida clarified that Sony's increased resources post-his departure weren't intended to halt single-player development, but rather to supplement it with live-service initiatives. He acknowledged the inherent risk and the low probability of success in this competitive market. While Helldivers 2's unexpected triumph demonstrates the unpredictability of the industry, Yoshida believes a more cautious approach would have been prudent. He speculates this differing opinion might have contributed to his departure.

Sony's financial call offered further insight. President, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki acknowledged lessons learned from both Helldivers 2's success and Concord's failure. He emphasized the need for earlier user testing and internal evaluations to identify and address problems before launch. Totoki also pointed to Sony's "siloed organization" and Concord's unfortunate release window, potentially contributing to market cannibalization due to its proximity to Black Myth: Wukong.

Sony senior vice president for finance and IR Sadahiko Hayakawa reinforced this, highlighting the contrasting outcomes of Helldivers 2 and Concord and the intention to share lessons learned across studios, improving development management and post-launch content strategies. Future plans involve a balanced portfolio, leveraging the strengths of established single-player titles alongside riskier live-service ventures.

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