Tag: sie

Sony pushes for a bigger focus on PlayStation Network with Exec changes

Yesterday, Sony announced a change in their executive management for PlayStation. Starting on April 1st, Jim Ryan will become the President and Chief Executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE). John Kodera, the previous President, will become deputy President. 1

CEO and president Kenichiro Yoshida stated the move will “ensure sustainable evolution of the PlayStation platform and further growth of the network area.” Yoshida believes the change will help PlayStation Network grow as it has 90 million users. With so many users, Sony is looking to add more content for users to access.

Who is Jim Ryan?

Jim Ryan has been with Sony since 1994 and has been overseeing the Europe PlayStation market. He has helped established PlayStation as the dominant console in Europe and was promoted to deputy President for his successes. He is also known for his statement against backwards compatibility for the PlayStation 4 back in 2017.

“When we’ve dabbled with backwards compatibility, I can say it is one of those features that is much requested, but not actually used much,” says Ryan. “That, and I was at a Gran Turismo event recently where they had PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 games, and the PS1 and the PS2 games, they looked ancient, like why would anybody play this?”

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Future Changes for Sony

While Ryan hasn’t announced any upcoming changes, Sony will not be attending E3 this year. People are predicting Sony will announce the PlayStation 5 this year and will save it for their own event PlayStation Experience (Which was not held in 2018). Sony may move towards a digital subscription service similar to the Xbox Game Pass which gives players access to the entire Xbox One and 360 libraries for a monthly fee. Subscription services are becoming more popular as it helps bring consistent revenue across the year rather than huge spikes at quarter ends.

Sources:

Polygon

Eurogamer

Times

Stanford Business

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PlayStation Classic’s 20 Games

The PlayStation Classic was announced a month ago and they have finally announced the 20 games.

  1. Battle Arena Toshinden
  2. Cool Boarders 2
  3. Destruction Derby
  4. Final Fantasy VII
  5. Grand Theft Auto
  6. Intelligent Qube
  7. Jumping Flash
  8. Metal Gear Solid
  9. Mr Driller
  10. Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
  11. Rayman
  12. Resident Evil 1: Directors Cut
  13. Revelations: Persona 
  14. Ridge Racer Type 4
  15. Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo
  16. Syphon Filter
  17. Tekken 3
  18. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
  19. Twisted Metal
  20. Wild Arms

I was wrong about the console not having unique games. Many of them have not been re-released on PlayStation 3 or 4 such as Battle Arena Toshinden and Wild Arms. The original Persona is very difficult to acquire. While I am not interested in the console, old-school fans of the PlayStation will love it.

It will release in the US and Canada for $99.99 USD (MSRP) / $129.99 CAN (MSRP) on December 3, 2018. It’ll have two controllers and everything below.

PlayStation Classic

 

WARNING! Avoid Changing your PlayStation Network Name

Many PlayStation users have been clamoring for the ability to change their PlayStation Network (PSN) name for years. It turns out their cool name as a teenager isn’t as cool 10 years later. In Patch 6.10, it will give users the ability to change their PSN names by late November. However, if you read the fine print, there are some consequences if you happen to change your name.

PS4 system software 6.10 change online ID preview

Users received this message: “Not all games and applications for the PS4™, PS3™, PS Vita, and other PlayStation® systems support the Online ID change feature.”

You may lose access to content (including paid-for content) that you have acquired for your games, including content like add-ons and virtual currency.

You may lose your progress within games, including game saved data, leaderboard data and progress toward trophies.

Parts of your games and applications may not function properly, both online and offline.

Your previous Online ID(s) may remain visible to you and other players in some places.

First change is free for all users.

Second change will be charged at €9.99 / £7.99 (PlayStation®Plus subscribers receive a 50% discount).

If your previous Online ID violates any of the current Terms of Service, you will not be able to revert back to your previous Online ID.

You can revert to your previous Online ID once per account during the preview period.

Sub-Accounts cannot utilise the Change Online ID feature.

After you change your Online ID, it may take a few hours for some services and applications to reflect the new ID.

While the name changes are still in beta, users may be locked out of their own content that they acquired. This is incredibly awful for players who have paid for DLC, items, or other good purchased with real money. Your name being unchanged in front of other players also defeats the purpose of a name change. The name change would only be for yourself.

Hopefully, Sony will listen to the feedback from their fans as many users are unhappy.

PlayStation Experience Cancelled for 2018

For the past four years, Sony Interactive Entertainment has been hosting their own event: PlayStation Experience (PSX). Stated by Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden, PSX is canceled for 2018. It was considered a hard decision by Layden.

Image result for playstation expo

The event usually had huge announcements for upcoming PlayStation games. Last year, many fans were disappointed with the lack of surprising announcements. It looks like this year was going to repeat the feeling. It looks like there aren’t any new announcements ready for their exclusives such as The Last of Us: Part II or Death Stranding. The Capcom Cup Tournament is also hosted at PSX. Where it will be hosted remains to be seen.

Sources:

PlayStation Blog Podcast