Six month's after Payday 3's disastrous launch, Starbreeze have parted ways with their CEO, Tobias Sjögren. In an update to investors, Starbreeze's board said that the company now requires "different leadership", and they've appointed former CEO of Focus Home Interactive Juergen Goeldner as interim CEO.
PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan Recalls PS5 Launch Being His Greatest Challenge
22.02.2024 - 19:19 / gameranx.com / Jim Ryan
The PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S both launched at quite a hectic time in the world. We were dealing with a pandemic, a worldwide hit that forced so many changes and shutdowns. Fortunately, we’re past that and can look back at what we’ve learned both in terms of the virus and how companies can rely more on remote work to continue keeping productive. Jim Ryan, the CEO who stepped down from PlayStation, had the chance to speak more about this time with Variety.
During their conversation, Jim Ryan noted that during his thirty years at the company, this PlayStation 5 launch was by far his biggest challenge. You have to remember that several factors made the launch incredibly difficult. Despite all the struggles, Jim noted that they had to keep a calm presence to ensure nothing would further hurt the release of the latest-generation console platform.
I’m just so grateful that I didn’t work in a boring industry. It was my job to exude a sense of calm and serenity. Actually, I was there at my dining-room table, head in my hands, wondering how we were going to do this.
Jim said that most of the PlayStation 5 consoles were assembled in China, which nobody could get in then. Furthermore, developers had to stop production and transition to remote work. That ultimately initially cost time and made working through their game projects tough. Meanwhile, there was also retail, as it was tough just getting units shipped into stores since everything was shutting down.
We assemble the great majority of the PlayStations in China, and nobody could get in. Finishing games when developers couldn’t get together and eat pizza and brainstorm about their craft was another thing. And then, the not-unimportant task of selling our product to our consumers when retail was entirely closed.
As a result, it was a nightmare for consumers because once the units got into stores, they were quickly bought up and flipped for massively inflated prices on markets like eBay. So, it might have taken some players far longer to acquire a unit when the platform first launched. Then, of course, dealing with some of the game launches that were pushed further back.
With that said, this was also a big boom for the gaming industry. There were so many more consumers picking up consoles and video games. This was all due to the fact that consumers were starved for new entertainment. Again, because of the social distancing and shutdowns, more people were at home, which sparked the idea of picking up a new console and gaming to pass the time or connect with friends online.
The website gametalkz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Authors
Popular Topics
pushsquare.com
11.03.2024 / 14:20
New PS5, PS4 Games This Week (11th March to 17th March) - Guide | Push Square
What new PS5 and PS4 games are releasing in physical retailers and as part of the PS Store update this week? The biggest title to pay attention to this time is Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection. Click through the links for a full list of all new PS5 games release dates in 2024, all new PSVR2 games release dates in 2024, and all new PS4 games release dates in 2024.
polygon.com
10.03.2024 / 16:01
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has no right being this funny
As many people have said on dating profiles (or mothers on their wall art), I love a video game that makes me laugh, and I am delighted Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has been so goddamn good at it.
thegamer.com
09.03.2024 / 13:25
PlayStation-Backed Studio Shut Down Before Launching A Single Game
Deviation Games, a studio formed by former Call of Duty developers and in a partnership with PlayStation, has shut down. The company only opened in 2020 and did not release a single game, but was working on an unannounced PlayStation exclusive.
videogameschronicle.com
07.03.2024 / 16:45
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is Japan’s second biggest physical PS5 launch, behind Final Fantasy 16
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has enjoyed the second-best week 1 sales of any physical PS5 game in Japan.
pushsquare.com
07.03.2024 / 00:13
House Flipper 2 Needs a Little More Sprucing Up for PS5 Launch, Now Moved to April | Push Square
House Flipper 2 is flipping onto PS5 a little later than initially planned. Developer Frozen District has confirmed the console port of its successful home-renovating sim has been delayed, now arriving on 10th April, 2024. That's a delay of just a few weeks, so it's far from the end of the world.
pushsquare.com
05.03.2024 / 21:41
Stylish Rhythm Game Melatonin Dreams Up a PS5 Release Later This Month | Push Square
There aren't a tonne of rhythm action games on PS5 — unless you happen to have PSVR2, where the genre is doing just fine — but the well-liked indie effort, Melatonin, is right around the corner. Just announced for a PS5 port, the game is heavily inspired by Nintendo's excellent Rhythm Heaven series, which is enough to have us interested.
pushsquare.com
05.03.2024 / 21:38
You've Made It This Far, You Don't Need to Watch Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's PS5 Launch Trailer | Push Square
Square Enix has released the launch trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which is out worldwide right now. But you don’t necessarily need to watch it – you’re good. After all, you’ve made it this close to launch without spoiling yourself, right?
pushsquare.com
05.03.2024 / 21:35
New PS5, PS4 Games This Week (4th March to 10th March) - Guide | Push Square
What new PS5 and PS4 games are releasing in physical retailers and as part of the PS Store update this week? It's another busy release week, with Unicorn Overlord potentially being the most promising new arrival. Click through the links for a full list of all new PS5 games release dates in 2024, all new PSVR2 games release dates in 2024, and all new PS4 games release dates in 2024.
pushsquare.com
05.03.2024 / 21:27
Shibuya Action RPG REYNATIS Slated for PS5, PS4 Launch Later This Year in the West | Push Square
FuRyu’s compelling Shibuya-set action RPG outing REYNATIS has attracted a lot of interest since being announced for the PS5 and PS4 in Japan last week, but many were waiting on confirmation of a Western release. Following this week’s full-length trailer, that’s now come courtesy of NIS America, who’s signed on as publisher in North America and Europe.
tech.hindustantimes.com
04.03.2024 / 02:08
Looks Like We're Nearing Peak PlayStation
It should have been a victorious few weeks for Sony Group Corp.'s PlayStation 5. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, arguably the console's first must-have exclusive title, has been released to rave reviews. Microsoft Corp. has just announced it will allow games previously exclusive to its Xbox machine on rival platforms, tantamount to an admission of defeat in the console wars. And reports swirled that a successor to Nintendo Co.'s Switch is still more than a year away.
wccftech.com
02.03.2024 / 03:45
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Devs Reportedly “Pretty Confident” it will Launch Later this Year
2024 is set to be a pretty big year for RPGs, with the likes of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Avowed all queued up to launch, but what about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf? There have been a number of hints that BioWare’s latest may be nearing completion, but when might we actually get our hands on it?