PS5 players are roasting PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst following the Concord disaster. In an unprecedented move, Sony is shutting the game down within two weeks of launch after speculations about its poor sales and future. To put it simply, Concord is not only Sony’s biggest flop, but it’s also one of the biggest flops in video game history, possibly on the same level as Atari’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
To be clear, Sony’s push into live service began under former CEO Jim Ryan. However, Hulst — who replaced Ryan and shares the CEO position with Hideaki Nishino — was the head of PlayStation Studios and the driving force behind a number of IP and studio acquisitions, including Firewalk and Concord.
None of that matters as much as Hulst’s comments about Concord, though. Not only did he sing the game’s praises on the PS Blog, he also tweeted his excitement about it. Why’s that important? Well, it’s clear that Hulst was closely watching Concord’s development and he announced that he had been playing the game.
As an executive, he certainly should have anticipated that releasing an Overwatch-like game after Overwatch went free-to-play, and slapping a $40 price tag on it when similar games with established communities are available for free, wasn’t going to land. As I said twice before, Concord is about four years late to the party.
It’s no surprise, then, that this is what the discourse surrounding the game looks like:
Concord is the biggest flop in PlayStation history, but it’s just the cherry on top of the worst management the brand’s ever seen. Now, four years after the PS5 launch, it’s clear this is easily the worst PlayStation generation, all thanks to Jim Ryan and Hermen Hulst. https://t.co/art8UeaOMB— Renan.VP ?✨#StellarBlade (@kingforever008) September 4, 2024
« Concord might be one of the greatest multiplayer games of the modern era. This has the potential to overtake Horizon as PlayStation’s most important franchise of all time. Expect to see a lot more Concord in the future »– Hermen Hulst https://t.co/zLYlyBLZf8 pic.twitter.com/YN4VWtlmGC— CatSamourai (@ADanancher) August 31, 2024
my guy hermen hulst signed a partnership with the studio back in 2021 after playing their gamesConcord was the game that made him sign a deal with them pic.twitter.com/HUnJcDHOUB— Kaladin Stormblessed (@Kaladin1999) September 4, 2024
The question is, did no one at Bungie — the live service experts hired by Sony to guide them on all things live service — point out the obvious?
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