Sony launches crowdfunding platform for its own new products

Have they hit a new low? Can't fund their own things now...crowdfunded PS5 incoming?

http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/1/8874943/sony-crowdfunding-platform-first-flight-launch

Sony has launched a new crowdfunding platform designed to find and finance projects developed by Sony employees. The platform, called First Flight, is part of an effort by the Japanese company to promote new business ideas as it tries to drive itself back to profitability. In addition to crowdfunding new projects, First Flight will also let backers directly buy and pre-order new devices developed by Sony workers.

Holy shit they're too poor to make their own games, abandon fucking ship... I don't care what anyone says, the PlayStation 4 is going to suffer horribly over this generation due to Sony's financial standings. Updates, features, games etc, it's all going to grind to a hault, they can't afford it...

I won't mind funding a good game, just like you could on Kickstarter. This means, that just like Shenmue 3, you'd get the game for 30 bucks. Half the price that it would cost post-launch. Heck, if Capcom put Mega Man on Kickstarter, I would jump to give money for that shit.

Crowd funding with strong publisher backing is a very good idea. It saves money on marketing, and does a more effective job gauging market interest than any survey or discussion.

SquareEnix has been doing something similar for awhile, and some quality games were funded.

Kickstarter is perfectly fine for smaller devs that don't have the money but have brilliant ideas. Sony has the money,no excuses to crowdfund anything.

I think this is a great idea, more projects will see the light of day.

You stay true to your username

@MonsieurX: Agreed. This is a money saving act on Sonys part. Now, Sony adds a somewhat unfair advantage for any games it decides to publish as those game will now have the marketing wonders that come with working with a multi-billion dollar company. This leaves the other games somewhat in the dust (not to say that have no chance as a result of this.) I think Sony should do what Microsoft did: open its own special program for indie devs to come along and publish on their platform(unless I'm wrong and they already have this.) When it comes to big games (such as shenmue) it still seems odd that Sony won't fund them.

Because they're broke, and having a broke company managing your platform is not a good thing...

I'm sceptic. Even using it as a platform for smaller, crazier ideas is a bit odd from such a large corporation.

Fvck em. I only pay for finished products. Sony is too lazy to work for the money.

Maybe if sega did something like this they would have survived. Too bad.

@nyadc: True, but are they so broke they can't take such a risk?

That is crazy but not surprising since it is Sony we are talking about. Does this really shock anyone though? I mean come on they had a major developer begging for Kickstarter money during their E3 event.

@FireEmblem_Man: haha good one dude

More games for gamers is a good thing.

Doesn't really bother me. If I see something that interests me like 'Sly 5' or 'Dark Cloud 3' and Sony says, "We'll make Sly 5 with Sanzaru Games, here's a working demo, just give us $20 for a copy" then I'll support it. If it's something like, "We're making the PSPGo2! Give us $100 to secure your copy today!" I'll just say, "Hell no" and move on with my life.

And yes, ditto to what I said if Microsoft was crowd-funding a new Banjo title with a good developer.

People seem to be under the idea that this is gamers funding the games. This is simply for proof of concept and to allow for more experimental and cult classic games without heavy financial loss.

This is likely going to have many potential ideas, and those that have the most support (I'd assume it would be similar to kickstarter where funding the game earns you a copy and other goodies), would get developed, while projects that do not have enough support would likely be canned and funders would recieve a refund. At least that's how it seems to me.

If it means more games, then that's great. Don't support it if you don't want to.

WOn't fully fund Shenmue 3 now their own kickstarter platform.... Yep so fucking happy I don't own a ps4. Their last generation may be their last half decent one with the shit they keep turning out and their lack of vision.

Jeez. Next we'll hear about how Kaz is sitting in the street with a tin cup or eating at the soup kitchen. Its sad to see how far Sony has fallen that they can't even fund their own projects. Its so insane when you see how many PS4s they sold and they still pull crap like this. Shameful.

What's happening is the PlayStation division is making money but Sony as a corporation is relinquishing these funds to stay alive. The irony of it all is this is going to hurt the PlayStation division horribly, reduce its funding and support, thus lowering the quality of everything put out in turn reducing revenue produced by the division that Sony can take...

They're fucked, the whole company is fucked, this is what happens when your parent company is on the verge of bankruptcy and going under, they're a black hole now...

Why are they saying Sony workers? Seems weirdly worded.

Trying to cleverly word it to disassociate it with them as a corporation and make it seem like employee side projects so they don't appear broke and in need of funds to create games. They start coming out and saying "we're broke and we need money from you to keep making games", it's going to spook people, they're going to start thinking PlayStation is going under and they're going to abandon the platform. They've got no money, how can they keep this console properly updated and up to snuff with no money?

Sony got no money.

@SolidTy:

"More games for gamers is a good thing."

That is always a good thing but NOT like this. C'mon man.

For the love of all that's holy when will ponies stop being Sony apologists and taking it up the rear from Sony?

.....and for what? All for the love of the console war and to save face from backing a company that is making shady moves. **facepalm**

Newsflash.... You can still back a company and criticize when they do wrong. It's actually quite normal. Remember we're ALL consumers first. No one should be taking this crap whether it be Sony MS or Nintendo.

Studios usually don't even take donation let alone attempt kickstarters. This is odd.

@greensand24:

That's one of the main differences between cows and hermits.

Valve makes paid mods: massive upheavel and protest until they remove it. "False-god Gaben."

Sony starts using crowed funder: Instantaneous flip-flop~ "It's ok when sony does it."

The epitome of "fanboy."

Bet you wouldn't be saying that if it was for actual games on the wii-u.

This looks terrible for a PR campaign. Though it could be the evolution of the stupid preorder concept we have now. Sony actually convince idiots to preorder digital games on PSN. Lol?

This.

I love threads like this, cows avoid them like the damn plague.

"If I act like it doesn't exist then it doesn't."

Really you are comparing paid mods (something that valve makes pure profit on) to kickstarter which people who support it get the product and extras and games that may not of happened happen, because of it. You people with your anti-kickstarter agenda are morons.

Wasteland 2
Tides of Numenera
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
Don't Starve
Banner Saga
Shovel Knight
FTL
Star Citizen
Pillars of Eternity
Elite Dangerous
Shadow Run Returns
New Ultima game
Bloodstained
Shenmue 3

A bunch of games that would of never seen the light of day if not for crowdfunding. You do know that if you support kickstarter you get a copy of the game right. It's like pre-ordering that actually means something. These games wouldn't be picked up by publishers.

How can you compare a money grab with paid mods to funding projects that gamers have been craving for but the mainstream wouldn't buy. Without kickstarter we would have nothing but halo, forza, and cod clones.... oh wait no wonder the lemmings hate kickstarter.... the want those type of bro games.

Its different when you're a small dev team making your dream of creating a game come true, and a multibillion dollar conglomerate trying to milk out every last dollar out of a rabid fanbase so they don't have to pay for their own projects.

Stop with your anti -sony ageda driven speculation, B4X , and go back to oogling your master chief shrine.

If this means we can get sequals to games like Mega Man Legends, Vagrant Story, Dark Cloud, etc..... I am all for it. The thing is mainstream doesn't want those type of games so it has to come from somewhere.

ANYONE who thinks this is bad is butthurt.. this is only a good thing!

Notice ALL negative bad mouthing is from Lemming and sheep. Hermits know the merits of kickstarter and cows just want more games that they love that don't get made anymore. Stuff that a publisher can't take a risk on. Games cost money folks... You anti-sony idiots are having a feild day over a good idea...

Makes me sick. More games is good (oh right not unless it's more halo gears forza or mario metriod spinoffs , lol)

I smell butthurt... And jealousy abounds in this thread. I support this idea 100%

@bunchanumbers: You bad mouth sony on every thread so of course you would say that. And this isnt' for games like god of war or uncharted, its for stuff like shenmue or games like dark cloud, stuff that the mainsream doens't want but fans do, but not enough for a publisher to take a risk. Whats the problem with more games... oh right they aren't on the wii-u.

I bet if nintendo was doing this you would be lapping it up.

Actually no I wouldn't. I'd be pissed if Nintendo did this. They have billions in the bank why are they taking money from consumers for ideas that might not even happen? You should take off the cow udders and realize what a bad concept this is. This actually invalidates kickstarter to the point that its almost a mockery.

Anti-Sony agenda? This is an anti-consumer campaign by Sony... They can't afford to create their games and want the community to float the damn bill so they're not put at risk, get real and take off the rose tinted shades...

P.S. Who in the hell is B4X? You're the second person to call me him and I still have no idea who he is...

Right....

I always get leery when a company that used to invest and pay for its own products starts using things like this as an excuse to get up front money for things that dont even exist yet

Dear Sony :

I'll be damned...it's already started

@bunchanumbers:

They're both stingy ways for an already big and rich company to squeeze as much money out of their customers as possible.

They pulled this Shenmue shit, think gamers are suckers and now they want to cash in on it.

It's just insulting.

That sounds like a lot of shit. Sony themselves can't release anything good, so help us do our job. You fucking jokers.

BTW. First party Sony is the biggest joke in gaming.

I have no problem helping small developers get their games out, but this is pretty strange. Did they spread themselves too thin financially with indie support? Will this be how they distribute Morpheus?

I don't mind the whole Shenmue thing. It's the only to play any new entry at all. Why all the bitching? Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't?

Especially now.

I said years ago that Kickstarter would create an influx of beggars asking us to fund their games. And now its gone mainstream. I still don't like the idea but at least it's giving us games like Shenmue and a proper 2D Castlevania.