Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida is enjoying Ghost of Yotei, but says AAA games have to play it safe, while indie games are where all the new ideas are.
As video game budgets balloon, it's clear that large-scale releases are playing it safe. Sony has a formula of third-person cinematic action adventure games that works for them, while Ubisoft will pump out multiple open-world series that follow roughly the same design philosophy (which in turn has been adopted by others like Sony's Horizon series).
And while some – like Capcom – are using their recent success to put out more experimental titles such as Kunitsu-Gami and Pragmata, when games cost as much as they do to make now (Spider-Man 2's reported figure was over $300 million, for example), it's no wonder publishers will fall back on what works.
Speaking on the My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin podcast, former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida says, "The indie game scene is so exciting. Every year, you see multiple games that make you go, 'Wow! I've never seen this kind of game before.'" Yoshida notes that independent developers very often come up with brand-new ideas you don't see in larger games.
"AAA [devs] have to play it safe," he continues, saying they have to go with a "proven formula." Yoshida does note that these safer entries are "important for the industry" and remarks, "I'm enjoying playing Ghost of Yotei" as an example. "However, if all developers are making the same kind of games, people will get tired and move on to other forms of entertainment."
Yoshida states that all indie developers need to try an idea is their own approval, as opposed to investors, adding, "Something new and exciting that has never been done before has to be always tried by someone in the industry. And always, it's indies."
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