Sony CEO Explains Why New Franchises Are So Rare

Gamers often complain about the lack of originality and new franchises in gaming. According to Sony CEO Jim Ryan, there are so few new IPs because developing them is “very risky.”

This is what he shared in an interview with GQ last week. Most of the interview revolved around the launch and success of the PS5, but eventually, the Sony boss dished about the relative lack of new intellectual properties.

He compared games to major movies and said, “The thing with those blockbuster games is that they need a box office release. They cost more than $100 million to make these days and in order to be able to do that and bring new IP to the market — which is a very risky thing and we did four times in the PS4 generation — you’ve got to have a box office release.”

It’s a good analogy, actually. Just as Hollywood is likelier to dip into old ideas than try something new, Sony is more financially motivated to return to successful IPs than invent new ones. Nonetheless, Ryan is optimistic they will strike a solid balance between classic IPs and some franchise surprises for next-generation gamers.

The high cost and high risk of IP development are some of the reasons why more PS5 games will cost $70 instead of the usual $60. Though as we have reported before, paying $70 or more for a video game is nothing new to players who grew up in the early years of gaming.