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 live-service investments.

This statement comes amidst significant challenges for PlayStation's live-service titles. While Helldivers 2 achieved remarkable success, selling 12 million copies in 12 weeks, other ventures like Concord proved disastrous, shutting down after weeks due to extremely low player counts. Concord's failure, estimated to cost Sony around $200 million (according to Kotaku), followed the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer and two further unannounced live-service games this week.

Yoshida, departing Sony after 31 years, hypothetically stated that, as CEO Hermen Hulst, he would have resisted the live-service focus. He explained his budgetary concerns, suggesting that diverting resources from established franchises like God of War towards live-service games was a risky proposition. However, he acknowledged that Sony provided increased resources after his departure, allowing for parallel development of both live-service and single-player titles.

Yoshida highlighted the unpredictable nature of the gaming industry, emphasizing that while Helldivers 2's success was unexpected, the risk inherent in live-service ventures was understood. He speculated that his resistance to the live-service direction might have contributed to his departure.

Sony's financial call echoed these sentiments. President, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki admitted that lessons were learned from both Helldivers 2's success and Concord's failure. He criticized Sony's internal structure, suggesting a "siloed organization" hindered smoother development and sales. Totoki also pointed to Concord's release window, potentially causing market cannibalization with Black Myth: Wukong. He emphasized the need for earlier user testing and internal evaluations to identify and address issues before launch.

Senior vice president Sadahiko Hayakawa further highlighted the contrasting outcomes of Helldivers 2 and Concord, emphasizing the importance of sharing lessons learned across studios to improve development management and post-launch content strategies. He affirmed Sony's commitment to a balanced portfolio, combining its strengths in single-player games with the riskier, yet potentially high-reward, live-service sector.

Despite setbacks, several PlayStation live-service games remain in development, including Bungie's Marathon, Guerrilla's Horizon Online, and Haven Studio's Fairgame$.