Sony admits it should have gotten more feedback on Concord before launching it, but that it still hasn't given up on live service games in spite of 'a certain level of risk'

Sony claims it should have sought more feedback from both internal and external sources before launching Concord. The multiplayer shooter sold so poorly that the publisher pulled it two weeks after its launch. Hiroki Totoki, Sony's executive, said that the company will need to "more thoroughly confirm, or validate" a live service game before launching it next time.

Totoki, through a translator, replied to a question regarding Sony's live-service pursuits: "We are still learning." "With regard to new IP, you can't tell the outcome until you try it. We need to move forward with the timing for these gates. We should have done these gates much earlier [than we did for Concord].

"And also, because we have a siloed organisation, I think it could have been easier to go beyond the boundaries of this organization in terms both of sales and development."

Totoki, in response to another question regarding Concord, reiterated that Sony would have been better served by more "gates", which would've enabled it to determine whether "Concord" would be accepted or not. He also stated that the main lesson learned from Sony's big live service misadventure is that there's a need for additional information.

Concord was released just months before its launch, which left little time for playtests that revealed that people weren't attracted to this particular hero-shooter concoction.

If there are any general rules, like'soliciting feedback early', that lead to multiplayer successes, they're hard to find. Sony published Helldivers 2 for the same price of Concord this year, and it was a huge success. This game was not as unknown when it launched - we listed it on our "Most Wanted List" of anticipated PC Games for 2023 - but it was still a big surprise to many of its players and wasn't preceded with a bunch public betas. It's not always necessary to listen for a long time. And who knows if putting Concord before players earlier would have led to a successful turnaround. In retrospect, we know that any pivot was worth trying. I liked Concord a lot.

You have to tell investors a few things, especially after spending so much money on Concord. Sony bought the studio in the middle of development and closed it after Concord failed. We don't know the exact amount, but we do know that the budget was a lot higher than expected.

Totoki stated that Sony's strength lies in singleplayer games. These "have a greater predictability of becoming hit" due to the "proven IP" of the company. Totoki added that Sony would continue to release games for the live service "that seek upside, while taking a certain level of risk at release."

Helldivers 2 may have a lot of upside, if Concord's release is any indication. Sony could not have released more opposite games this year.