Fri, Jun 15, 2012 | 06:28 BST
Rohde: Sony “taking a lot of risks”, new IPs “anything but safe”
No other publisher would touch The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls right now, to hear Sony’s Scott Rohde tell it.
Speaking to Gamespot, the software product development head highlighted The Unfinished Swan, Beyond: Two Souls, The Last of Us, God of War: Ascension, Wonderbook and Sound Shapes as examples of ways Sony is fostering innovation even as it practices iteration.
“Our press conference could have been twice as long because we have that much content that we could show, we just didn’t have time to show it all,” he said.
“These are all innovations that other companies would be a little scared to embrace, I believe. So innovation is top of the charts at PlayStation.”
Challenged on whether Beyond and The Last of Us really vary much from other successful Sony efforts like Heavy Rain and Uncharted, Rohde insisted they do.
“If you can find another publisher in this industry who would build Beyond, I’d like to meet that publisher. I really think that [Beyond] is as far from ‘safe’ as it gets,” he said.
“Heavy Rain, by itself was not a ‘safe’ title. And to do it again with a totally different story, a larger investment, and to bring Hollywood in, to really enhance that genre that really isn’t touched by many folks in our industry, I think is anything but ‘safe.’
“And when you think about what Naughty Dog is doing, when I hear ‘safe’ I hear Uncharted 4, Uncharted 5, Uncharted 6, Uncharted 7. And for a developer of that caliber, this late in the cycle of the platform, to introduce a totally new IP for a different audience – meaning going from T-rated to M-rated – I think is anything but ‘safe.’ I really feel like we’re taking a lot of risks with both of those titles.”
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Posted in: PS3, Sony
Tags: Beyond: Two Souls, naughty dog, quantic dream, Scott Rohde, The Last of Us
14 comments
#1
dtyk
15/06/12, 4:04 am
Risk? No, this is the way gaming SHOULD be. I’m sick of playing the same shit for 5-6 games.
#2
itsucks
15/06/12, 8:35 am
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA, New IPS, now thats a funny joke. A New Unshited and a new Heavy Rotten with a new skins and name and call it a new IP. Thtas just rich.
#3
MFBB
15/06/12, 8:45 am
#2 your wrong.
Sony is trying out new stuff, which i appreciate A LOT.
If you dont like it, thas your personal taste and you can continue buying Call of Duty every year (and theres nothing wrong with that as long as you enjoy it).
I would be pissed if i bought a Xbox years ago and all i get are Gears of War and Halo titles which are always the same…
Sony does this aswell with Uncharted and God of War etc but they also offer us new games/ideas which are unusual (and a risk for them).
Nintendo games are all to childish for me now.
So Sony is the only one offering me those special games.
#4
Dragon246
15/06/12, 9:01 am
@3,
+1!!!
#5
Gheritt White
15/06/12, 10:08 am
What’s happened to The Last Guardian, I wonder/
#6
Khan979
15/06/12, 3:25 pm
@3 agreed!
#7
Beta
15/06/12, 3:47 pm
@3 Agreed!
However with a name like “itsucks” is it really worth talking to them 
#8
speedxl01
15/06/12, 5:22 pm
@3 Well said!
#9
Kuwabara
15/06/12, 5:54 pm
welcome back to vg247 itsucks, you cocky little shit.
#10
Froseidon
15/06/12, 6:07 pm
I wouldn’t have said they’re risks. There is clearly a demand for this, ergo, no risk. The Last of Us looks fantastic, but I wouldn’t say it is a risk.
Wonderbook on the other hand, looked pathetic. I think that is a risk and it wont get much past breaking-even.
#11
OrbitMonkey
15/06/12, 8:40 pm
^ Compared to their nearest rivals, Sony have been pushing a lot more new IPs and bolstering studios to develop even more. So yeah their taking risks.
#12
Giskard
15/06/12, 8:50 pm
Don’t feed the troll guys.
Also, on topic: Sony are taking more risks than MS and Nintendo combined. And I own a goddamn Xbox. God dang it.
I do hope the PS4 will have backwards compatibility. If it does, it’s a day 1 purchase, just to experience the PS3 games
#13
Ireland Michael
15/06/12, 9:12 pm
Unfortunately itsucks kind of has a point.
Beyond and The Last of Us are essentially just Heavy Rain and Uncharted in a new coat of paint. They are so thematically similar to their respective titles that the whole thing actually feels a bit lazy.
#14
Froseidon
16/06/12, 11:08 am
@11 – Investing in what the community wants is not a risk >.> I just don’t see it as a risk. The games clearly have a good reception already, so they are bound to sell. If something is bound to sell, where is the risk?