Sony’s disastrous live-service push is being rebranded as a learning experience. Despite the failure of games like Concord, which was pulled offline after just two weeks and resulted in an $8 million loss, PlayStation boss Herman Hulst believes that failures are good for their future attempts.
Hulst wants teams to take risks and not play it safe, but he also wants them to fail early and cheaply. This approach is designed to result from more rigorous and frequent testing, which has proven effective in preventing similar disasters.
The next game in line, Marathon, is already experiencing some issues, including a public art scandal and divisive playtests. However, PlayStation insists that it has “strong early engagement,” despite these challenges.
Hulst emphasizes the importance of having a diverse set of player experiences and communities over the number of live-service releases. This approach allows Sony to experiment with different formats and genres, which is key to their long-term success in the gaming industry.
By embracing failure as a learning opportunity, Sony is positioning itself for future growth and innovation.
Source: https://www.gamesradar.com/platforms/ps5/architect-of-sonys-disastrous-live-service-push-says-failures-are-good-actually-because-now-theres-more-rigorous-and-more-frequent-testing