Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki says PlayStation doesn't have enough original IP as the company prepares to yank its first-party online shooter Concord from store shelves.
Totoki told Financial Times (thanks, PlayStation Lifestyle) that Sony's lack of original IP - that is, intellectual property that it created from whole cloth - is a real problem for the company. Meanwhile, FT reports that Sony is banking on a "multibillion" dollar push toward developing more original IP to partially drive a "creation shift" at the company.
"Whether it's for games, films or anime, we don't have that much IP that we fostered from the beginning," Totoki said. "We're lacking the early phase (of IP) and that's an issue for us," he added, noting that Sony has historically had better luck establishing a global audience for content that was already popular in its regional market.
Meanwhile, Sony chief executive Kenichiro Yoshida said the company wants to change its focus from distribution to the creation of new IP as part of a transformation from a consumer electronics brand to a global entertainment company. "We have the technology and creation is the area where we like and where we can contribute the most," Yoshida said.
Sony's messaging in this FT interview is somewhat peculiar considering its already healthy catalog of beloved, internationally known IP including The Last of Us, Uncharted, Horizon, and God of War.
Not to mention, after only a week online, PlayStation announced this week that its first-party online shooter Concord is being taken offline and refunds are being issued for anyone who purchased it digitally or physically. The game was reportedly in development for eight years, making its sudden death on arrival even more noteworthy.
