Things within the PlayStation empire seem to be pretty hectic. According to various information published by Jason Schreier in Bloomberg, the company seems to be defining its strategy towards the largest and most profitable studios, betting only on those that have great successes and leaving aside small studios that require investment. And among all this, a transfer of power from the The Last of Us remake.
The Last of Us remake
Lets start by the beginning. Within Sony there was a group in charge of making up the final result of the games. Sony Visual Arts Services Group (Visual Arts Service Group), his job was to finish the games designed in other Sony studios, be it animation elements, content, art or part of the development. It is a fundamental work that is largely responsible for the final success of the game, and since they did not receive the deserved recognition, the great leaders of this group decided to set up a new development unit within Sony.
The idea was to reinforce Sony's most successful franchises. How about an Uncharted remake? The idea sounded good, but it was scrapped because it required a lot of development. So they opted for the other great gem from Naughty Dog: The Last of Us. The goal was none other than to create a remake of the original The Last of Us to bring it to PS5 with the new mechanics and features released in The Last of Us 2.
Focused on the big ones who give money
The problem is that Sony never recognized the existence of this equipment, so there was no investment or aid, and it ended up deriving ownership of the project to its original creator, N. After being ignored, the group that gave life to this development studio decided to dissolve, understanding that it was impossible to promote and grow within Sony.
These statements, made up of anonymous testimonies from some of the members of the development group, have raised an interesting reflection on the way in which Sony is managing its staff, absolutely prioritizing the largest and apparently leaving aside the most needy studies and Not for that reason, lacking in potential. A sequel has even been ruled out. Days Gone due to the mixed reviews and development issues that accompanied its release, despite being a great game.
Is a remake of The Last of Us necessary?
Leaving aside the internal mismanagement of the project and its development teams, the question that many ask is whether it is really necessary to launch a remake of a 2013 game now. No one doubts the immensity and impact that the game has had. in the industry in recent years, but perhaps gamers expect something else, something completely new, than a remake of a PlayStation 3 game that is still perfectly playable today, not to mention the remastered edition that came out PS4, which is directly a spectacular version to which little more can be asked. Do users really want to see Naughty Dog spend their time on a remake and not on a new IP?
Sony, Microsoft and the points of view
These events reveal quite clearly the idea that Sony has in mind, which involves squeezing its most successful IPs, which achieve sell millions of consoles based on exclusives of enormous quality. It is a formula that has obviously worked for him in recent years and that is basically limited to seeking success and money as quickly as possible, but it does a lot of damage to the internal environment and closes doors to many projects.
Microsoft on the other hand, based on its service Xbox Game Pass, seems to be open to the reception of smaller studios that allow them to increase their virtual catalog, an idea that has helped many developers to sell their games and that is proving to be a master move for both parties. Xbox does not forget big releases either, and with the purchase of Bethesda it has also strengthened its portfolio of its own studios, so it is demonstrating a fairly powerful and ambitious strategy.