As Concord flops, Sony exec says company doesn't have enough original IP
Ahead of Astro Bot's franchise celebration.News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter
Published on Sept. 5, 2024
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PlayStation maker Sony doesn't have enough original franchises which it has "fostered from the beginning".
That's according to Sony chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki, who in the same week PlayStation announced it was pulling Concord from sale told the Financial Times: "We're lacking the early phase (of IP) and that's an issue for us."
Concord unceremoniously goes offline with an anticlimactic "error" message
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"One thing that you need is IP, that is step one," Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal added in the same article. "And if you don't start creating or buying in those that do, then the risk is someone else will do it. So the risk is not doing anything."
Totoki was referring to Sony generally, with films and anime also a consideration along with the company's gaming sector. The exec went on to say Sony is typically better at finding an audience for content that's already become popular in its home market.
However, his words do draw attention to that aforementioned Concord shut down. The game was available for less than two weeks, before the company decided it needed to reevaluate its new franchise's place on the market.
In a post earlier this week, Sony and developer Firewalk said Concord would be taken offline indefinitely, so the team could "determine the best path ahead" and "explore options, including those that will better reach our players".
At the same time, PlayStation is about to release one of its most anticipated games of the year: Astro Bot.
This game itself is an homage to the company's franchise history, and laced with nostalgia. Bots from Sony's games such as The Last of Us' Ellie and Joel, Uncharted's Nathan Drake, Horizon's Aloy, and Crash Bandicoot are all confirmed to be included in the forthcoming platformer.
