Sony Playstation has acquired Housemarque (Returnal, Resogun, Super Stardust, Alienation, Nex Machina, Matterfall), likely is acquiring Bluepoint (Demon's Souls/SOTC remakes)

[SaysWho?]

 

 

Welcoming Housemarque to the PlayStation Studios family

BLOG.PLAYSTATION.COM

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Developers of classic PlayStation hits including Returnal, Super Stardust HD, and Dead Nation join PlayStation Studios

 

Great match, great studio.

 

 

As for Bluepoint, Playstation Japan posted this earlier:

 

 

Even though it says Returnal, Demon's Souls is in the background and Bluepoint is on the graphic.

 

Methinks they have two graphics ready and posted the wrong one.

[SaysWho?]

Why PlayStation bought Returnal developer Housemarque: the inside story | British GQ

WWW.GQ-MAGAZINE.CO.UK

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As Sony Interactive Entertainment acquires Returnal developer Housemarque, GQ speaks to head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst and Housemarque’s cofounder Ilari Kuittinen about how the deal was struck and the Finnish studio's future.

 

Quote

So how do you organise an acquisition via Zoom these days. You'll have to fill us in.

 

Ilari Kuittinen: The funny part is that we haven't seen each other during this process in real life. So I guess that makes this a bit extraordinary. Of course, we'd been working with Sony for a long time. And then last year we started to have these discussions. One thing led to another and here we are talking to you now. But we know lots of people from Sony. We've been working with these guys for 15 years. It actually started with helping Hermen’s studio...

 

Hermen Hulst: That was actually super useful. It was easy for me to pick up the phone last year when I’ve not been in the role for that long. I think it was back in 2006 that Ilari with his core team came down to Amsterdam when I was struggling to get Killzone: Liberation for PSP out the door. 

 

Quote

You mentioned Housemarque has already been making games for Sony for a long time, Ilari. Why fully join PlayStation Studios now?

 

IK: Well, recently we started to do something bigger, something more ambitious and we had a lot of collaboration with various studio teams as well. The results were great and that started to bring some ideas of what the future might look like. What if we could get even closer together and be even more ambitious?

 

So from your perspective you want to keep doing bigger things and Sony will enable you to do that?

 

IK: That's certainly the right conclusion there. I think Sony is the partner that’s best positioned to help develop even further. Let's face it, these are some of the best game developers in the world. So we're really proud to be part of that group and hope to collaborate and learn from them.

 

[BloodyHell]

MS started the buyoff, and soon there will be no independent studios left. 

[SaysWho?]

10 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

MS started the buyoff, and soon there will be no independent studios left. 

 

Looking at Firewalk and Haven, which are working with Sony and were just created, I doubt it. I'm more concerned with publishers since more publishers are a good thing, but indie studios are always being created, and this is basically the strategy Sony's pursued for 20-something years now.

[Xbob42]

Always seems a little redundant to buy studios that basically exclusively make games for your platform. 

[Keyser_Soze]

6 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

Always seems a little redundant to buy studios that basically exclusively make games for your platform. 

 

Housemarque has some PC games too.

[SaysWho?]

12 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

Always seems a little redundant to buy studios that basically exclusively make games for your platform. 

 

Not at all. You already established a relationship with them, you know they work well within your publishing pipeline (publishers are vastly underrated by forum people in terms of game development), and they're not guaranteed to work with you forever.

 

Supermassive Games is not working exclusively with Sony anymore. Insomniac made two games for Sony last gen, with VR games going exclusively to Oculus and Sunset Overdrive exclusively to Xbox. It didn't matter that they made nearly everything on Playstation prior to that.

[SaysWho?]

[Bloodporne]

Yeah sorry, I'm fucking psyched considering how much I love Returnal and how badly HM were apparently doing after Nex Machina. I mean they put out a whole 'arcade gaming is dead, we failed, fuck us' type statement, it was so bad, and here they are. Good for them, damn. 

 

I also think Returnal will prove to be a seminal title. It took Demon's and Dark Souls years to make its rounds but I have a similar feeling about Returnal as when I first played those.

[number305]

2 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

Always seems a little redundant to buy studios that basically exclusively make games for your platform. 

 

My thought is that it means much more internally than externally.  The studios probably have more stability and money available to them and can take bigger risks.  But it really does not mean much to gamers for now.  I think most people probably assumed that studio already was 1st party.

[SaysWho?]

28 minutes ago, Bloodporne said:

Yeah sorry, I'm fucking psyched considering how much I love Returnal and how badly HM were apparently doing after Nex Machina. I mean they put out a whole 'arcade gaming is dead, we failed, fuck us' type statement, it was so bad, and here they are. Good for them, damn. 

 

I also think Returnal will prove to be a seminal title. It took Demon's and Dark Souls years to make its rounds but I have a similar feeling about Returnal as when I first played those.

 

 

[Brian]

I assume based on the Insomniac deal that this didn’t cost Sony much since neither studio has any significant IP.  Maybe they scoop up Supermassive next since the Dark Picture Anthology isn’t doing that well and we can get another Until Dawn. 

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

2 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

Always seems a little redundant to buy studios that basically exclusively make games for your platform. 

I had the same thought. 
 

MS has been buying studios that make multi platform games, while Sony keeps buying studios that pretty much just makes games for them that they already publish.  
 

I guess the studio can be a tax write off or something instead of a contractor. Probably also makes it more likely to share assets, tools, and knowledge among all the different studios. 

[SaysWho?]

3 minutes ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

I had the same thought. 
 

MS has been buying studios that make multi platform games, while Sony keeps buying studios that pretty much just makes games for them that they already publish.  
 

I guess the studio can be a tax write off or something instead of a contractor. Probably also makes it more likely to share assets, tools, and knowledge among all the different studios. 

 

Playground being an exception.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

Just now, SaysWho? said:

 

Playground being an exception.

Yeah that was less exciting an acquisition to hear about. 

[SaysWho?]

4 minutes ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

Yeah that was less exciting an acquisition to hear about. 

 

Regardless of excitement, they're locked in now. What I'm saying is: ask Ready at Dawn what games they're working with Sony on, or Supermassive. Is Bioware bringing Mass Effect exclusively to Xbox/GamePass and working on Jade Empire 2? How many games did Insomniac work on with Sony last gen? How'd that compare to the slew of games in the PS1 - PS3 days? Did Insomniac's VR games come to PSVR?

 

Devs work with you until they don't. 

[stepee]

If you like it u gotta put a ring on it ok.

[crispy4000]

3 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

Always seems a little redundant to buy studios that basically exclusively make games for your platform. 

 

1 hour ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

I had the same thought. 
 

MS has been buying studios that make multi platform games, while Sony keeps buying studios that pretty much just makes games for them that they already publish.  

I keep going back to Next Level Games on this.  Nintendo admitted they had to buy them or else they’d get poached.  They’re a good dev, sure, but they’re also best known for games far off the beaten path of the rest of the industry (ie: Luigi’s Mansion, Punchout).  That says everything to me about the appetite for acquisition today.
 

The time to lock things up is now.  Even the table scraps are going to THQ Nordic.

The one place we haven’t seen a ton of acquisitions lately are Eastern studios.  Atlus going to Sega is the biggest in recent memory. But it might only be a matter of time there.  The almighty Tencent dollar could also be slowing that process, for better or worse.

On that note, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony purchases a Chinese developer before this gen is up.

[SaysWho?]

Backstory: Phil Spencer congratulated Hourmarque in a now deleted tweet

 

 

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

48 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

Regardless of excitement, they're locked in now.

sort of. Not that any major turnover is likely to happen in a short time period, but there’s nothing keeping the talent at the studio.  Loose enough key people and the studio is reduced to a legacy and not something reliable.
 

Sony’s likely optimistic that key talent and leadership will stay in place and continue their quality for any project. It saves them the hassle of building a new studio of their own.  
 

what makes other acquisitions, especially many of the MS ones is that even if talent leaves, the IPs are guaranteed. It’s more drama seeing a multi platform title suddenly become exclusive. 

[Mercury33]

Lets go!!! Huge pick up!! Xbox piggies sweatin even more!!!

[Keyser_Soze]

56 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

On that note, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony purchases a Chinese developer before this gen is up.

 

Doesn't Sony have a hand in that DMC looking game from China?

[number305]

22 minutes ago, Mercury33 said:

Lets go!!! Huge pick up!! Xbox piggies sweatin even more!!!

 

As an Xbox piggie I will confirm that I am sweating heavily.  I don't like it when studios that make only PS games get purchased so that they will only make PS games.  

[SaysWho?]

34 minutes ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

sort of. Not that any major turnover is likely to happen in a short time period, but there’s nothing keeping the talent at the studio.  Loose enough key people and the studio is reduced to a legacy and not something reliable.
 

Sony’s likely optimistic that key talent and leadership will stay in place and continue their quality for any project. It saves them the hassle of building a new studio of their own.  
 

what makes other acquisitions, especially many of the MS ones is that even if talent leaves, the IPs are guaranteed. It’s more drama seeing a multi platform title suddenly become exclusive. 

 

Once you have a culture at a studio, it's hard to remove it. Naughty Dog had no big IPs (Crash wasn't theirs), they were bought before Jak & Daxter released, and then key people left at the end of the PS2 generation. Didn't stop them from creating quality. Guerrilla, Sucker Punch, Media Molecule, Bend, Insomniac, they all went through the same thing and it worked out swimmingly because they're talented studios with a chain that allows lower people to become big parts of the studio and they all created successful IPs.

 

It's not just about what IPs they have; it's what they can create. All of them have proven that they can create successful new IPs, and that's just as important long-term.

 

1 minute ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Doesn't Sony have a hand in that DMC looking game from China?

 

They have huge investments in China, and that's one of the games.

[Mercury33]

4 minutes ago, number305 said:

 

As an Xbox piggie I will confirm that I am sweating heavily.  I don't like it when studios that make only PS games get purchased so that they will only make PS games.  

*whispers it was a parody post 

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

14 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

Once you have a culture at a studio, it's hard to remove it.

Historically I think it’s just Sony and Nintendo that seem to allow a studio to retain their culture and identity. Maybe MS has changed, but Rare and 343i are good examples of things going in the other direction. Also what seems to happen to studios purchased by EA and Activision. 
 

Maybe it’s the difference in managerial styles between a Japanese company buying a studio and an American company buying a studio. American companies are like “they will make us so much money”, while Sony is like “they will make so many good games”.  

[SaysWho?]

 

[JPDunks4]

3 hours ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

Historically I think it’s just Sony and Nintendo that seem to allow a studio to retain their culture and identity. Maybe MS has changed, but Rare and 343i are good examples of things going in the other direction. Also what seems to happen to studios purchased by EA and Activision. 
 

Maybe it’s the difference in managerial styles between a Japanese company buying a studio and an American company buying a studio. American companies are like “they will make us so much money”, while Sony is like “they will make so many good games”.  

 

That was the old regime at Microsoft, with the 2018 acquisitions at Microsoft coming forward, it feels very much like they are letting the studios do what they want, just offering them support.  After Phil took over, and gave Rare the freedom to do what they want, they released one of the most successful new IP's of last generation.

 

I don't know the history of 343i, but weren't they built from the ground up by Microsoft to take over Halo once Bungie left?  Were they a 3rd party before?  I really don't know much about them, but thought I had read they were basically a bunch of ex Bungie staff that loved Halo and still wanted to work on it and Microsoft started a new studio to continue working on Halo.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Just now, JPDunks4 said:

I don't know the history of 343i, but weren't they built from the ground up by Microsoft to take over Halo once Bungie left?  Were they a 3rd party before?  I really don't know much about them, but thought I had read they were basically a bunch of ex Bungie staff that loved Halo and still wanted to work on it and Microsoft started a new studio to continue working on Halo.

 

343i was specifically created to work on the Halo IP once Bungie bought their independence.

[stepee]

I just think it’s funny to really question Sony’s work in building their internal development. They obviously have it down pretty freakin well at this point. 

[ARZ]

Lot's of things at MS changed with Big Papa Phil in charge of Xbox

Nice to have a gamer in charge of gaming. Not sure I believe him that he has no bigger job aspirations, but it's a nice thought.

[Remarkableriots]

1 hour ago, JPDunks4 said:

 After Phil took over, and gave Rare the freedom to do what they want, they released one of the most successful new IP's of last generation.

 

 

What game was that? The last good game i can remember them making was Perfect Dark back in 1999.

[Brick]

OK so now who is Nintendo going to acquire? 

[JPDunks4]

6 minutes ago, Remarkableriots said:

What game was that? The last good game i can remember them making was Perfect Dark back in 1999.

 

Sea of Thieves

[Greatoneshere]

I'm glad Sony finally closed the deal on this one. With the success of Returnal it only makes sense. I also hope that Bluepoint rumor is true since Demon's Souls in large part helped push PS5's onto gaming's online nerd culture. It would make sense to close that one too. Sony should just buy Clap Hanz, make it a hat trick, and call it a day since with Clap Hanz bought there are no more Sony second-party studios I believe.

 

I'd love for Sony to get Supermassive and Ready at Dawn back, but I don't think that'll happen.