Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki says PlayStation doesn't have enough original IP as the company prepares to yank its first-party online shooter Concord from store shelves.
Totoki told Financial Times (thanks, PlayStation Lifestyle) that Sony's lack of original IP - that is, intellectual property that it created from whole cloth - is a real problem for the company. Meanwhile, FT reports that Sony is banking on a "multibillion" dollar push toward developing more original IP to partially drive a "creation shift" at the company.
"Whether it's for games, films or anime, we don't have that much IP that we fostered from the beginning," Totoki said. "We're lacking the early phase (of IP) and that's an issue for us," he added, noting that Sony has historically had better luck establishing a global audience for content that was already popular in its regional market.
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Meanwhile, Sony chief executive Kenichiro Yoshida said the company wants to change its focus from distribution to the creation of new IP as part of a transformation from a consumer electronics brand to a global entertainment company. "We have the technology and creation is the area where we like and where we can contribute the most," Yoshida said.
Sony's messaging in this FT interview is somewhat peculiar considering its already healthy catalog of beloved, internationally known IP including The Last of Us, Uncharted, Horizon, and God of War.
Not to mention, after only a week online, PlayStation announced this week that its first-party online shooter Concord is being taken offline and refunds are being issued for anyone who purchased it digitally or physically. The game was reportedly in development for eight years, making its sudden death on arrival even more noteworthy.
An exact reason wasn't given, but we know Steam sales are abysmal and the reception generally hasn't been stellar, with GR's own Concord review noting some pretty fundamental issues with the story, characters, and breadth of content. Still, announcing the shutdown of an original IP and revealing a push for more original IP in the same week is a capital-C choice.
Nevermind all that, here are the best PS5 games you can play right now.
Atomfall boss "very familiar" with Baldur's Gate 3 director's frustrations with publishers, as he recalls horror advice that games are "faster to make" if you "make fewer bugs"
Avowed and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 tap into the same thing that makes The Witcher 3 so compelling – and it's something I'm always looking for in RPGs
