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SIE’s Two CEOs Talk PS5 Pro, Live-Action Adaptations, and Layoffs

In a recent interview, Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino, the two CEOs at the top of Sony Interactive Entertainment, appeared in the same chat for the first time since being appointed. It’s not the most conventional way to run a company, but Sony’s CEO believes it’s a recipe for success.

Hulst manages the studio side of things while Nishino oversees the platform operations. In a recent chat with Variety, the pair was grilled about all things PlayStation.


“It’s Our Duty to Run a Sustainable Business”

In Variety’s interview, the pair of CEOs first addressed the PS5 Pro, the next iteration of the PlayStation 5 that’s emerging at a very sketchy time for Sony. In recent months, the company has suffered under the weight of layoffs, studio closures, and scrutiny regarding the pricing point for this new powerhouse of a console.

Despite that, Hideaki Nishino remains optimistic:

We started working on PS5 Pro even before PS5 launches — it was another five-year project for us.

… we’re kind of happy to see, like most engaged gaming users are interested in the PS5 Pro, and then I’m pretty sure new users will grab the PS5 Pro as well. If it’s the PlayStation you want to get, that’s the thing. So that’s where we designed the generation at this moment. We design everything with having one ahead in our mind.

Hermen Hulst turned the talk away from hardware to what’s lined up in PlayStation’s portfolio, including new titles like Ghost of Yotei and live-action adaptations. He revealed that The Last of Us (HBO) was such a roaring success that it has been considered a ‘game changer’:

We learned a lot from that.

At PlayStation productions, we have 10 productions now in the works: “The Last of Us,” “Twisted Metal,” a few others that we’re very excited about.

We’re talking about adaptations, but in adaptations, that’s taking the game and then see what else you can do with it. We’re actually looking to build from the ground up — as we tried to do originally with “Horizon,” in creating this world and creating this storyline — and how can you tell stories in this world on various mediums?

Rounding out the interview with Variety, Hulst touched on a sore spot – the recent layoffs that hit PlayStation’s subsidiaries, including the shutdown of Concord and Firewalk Studios.

It’s our duty to look at our our resource planning, and make sure that we run a sustainable business. That’s part of being CEO. We never take that lightly, because we know these people personally, and it’s very close to our hearts and the teams and good working atmospheres. But yes, we’ve had some layoffs.

But it’s also important to realize that on the content side, PlayStation Studios is now a much bigger organization than when it started. It’s grown tremendously. And that is organic growth that our existing teams, I think, hired quite aggressively, as well as through M&A. So the organization, the employment is much greater now than it was, let’s say, for example, five years ago.

If you want the full meat on the bones, you can visit Variety for the complete interview.


For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the reveal of the first seven minutes of Metro: Awakening

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Comments

2 comments

  • They have to remain “optimistic” if they don’t they get fire band their records tarnished. Jim Ryan did the same thing he outright lied he had no idea how the gaming business worked no understanding of the audience he was the joe biden of gaming he looked like him too I guess hulst is the kamala

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