Concrete Genie isn’t the first PlayStation exclusive to get short shrift from publisher Sony, and it certainly won’t be the last. The platform holder’s back catalogue is peppered with interesting experiences that it failed to commit enough resources to: Puppeteer, Tokyo Jungle, Bound, Gravity Rush 2, Tearaway, Siren: Blood Curse, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Erica – I could, quite frankly, be here all day. The most frustrating factor is that these are the titles that set the Japanese giant’s format apart – or they would do, if the organisation would give them the opportunity.
Look, I accept that there will always be a hierarchy to an organisation’s output: I’m not arguing for PixelOpus’ sophomore effort to be given television commercials during pre-season NBA matches. But shouldn’t it have featured, in some capacity, during the latest State of Play broadcast? Isn’t there more that the company could have done to get the message of Ash’s vibrant adventure in front of as many eyes as possible? There was a limited preview tour and a very late review embargo, but beyond that the manufacturer appears to be relying on word of mouth.
Is that good enough? This is a unique experience with a bold message; it’s a creative endeavour with real family appeal. Did the company really do enough to help this title to find its audience – no matter how small that market may be? The great irony to me is that it launched on the same day that the manufacturer opted to blow the doors open on the PlayStation 5; very little crossover, I’m sure, but that seems a smidgen short-sighted.
It’s not even the first time it’s happened: the firm shadow-dropped Erica during Gamescom 2019’s pre-show press conference – a rare example of a non-AAA exclusive getting stage time. But just as that trailer was airing, Twitter was abuzz with news of Insomniac Games’ acquisition – I just can’t understand why the company is so eager to hijack its own announcements, even if the material impact isn’t likely to be all that great.
The thing is, Concrete Genie isn’t even the most egregious example this month; pour one out for the creators of ReadySet Heroes, which released with so little fanfare you may find yourself opening a tab to ask Google what it’s all about. This multiplayer spin on the classic dungeon crawler has a bunch of entertaining ideas, but – as we noted in our review – its online community is so slender that you’d be forgiven for thinking the net code doesn’t work at all.
It makes you ponder what purpose these titles serve if the publisher can’t find the energy to promote them properly. Few games will ever receive the marketing resources reserved for Marvel’s Spider-Man and The Last of Us: Part II, but there’s so much more that could be done to get eyeballs on these games – it’s almost as if the company doesn’t care. Cast your minds back to E3 2018, when PlayStation VR title Déraciné was part of the platform holder’s post-show rather than the press conference itself; gravity twisting Kat was forced to suffer a similar fate a few years prior.
This is a conundrum that State of Play was supposed to solve, and there’s an argument that the audience is part of the problem; each instalment thus far has been accused of being bloated with filler, and maybe that’s why Sony was scared to include Concrete Genie in the most recent episode. MediEvil was there for the second successive episode, though, and while this ever-so slightly contradicts the idea that the company doesn’t care about its smaller games, keep in mind that it’s only just investing the bare minimum effort in this instance as well.
I’ll never understand it: why commission these interesting exclusives and then fail to give them the promotion that they deserve? How exactly are they adding to the console’s catalogue if only a small proportion of the system’s install base know they exist? I don’t have all the answers – the organisation knows its marketing budget better than I do, after all. I feel for the developers of some of these games, though, and I’m sad to see fledgling franchises wilt like they may as well not exist. There has to be more the company could be doing, because there are titles in its portfolio that frankly deserve better.
Are you disappointed with the way Sony handles some of its mid-tier titles? What more do you realistically think the manufacturer could do? Send us out to die in the comments section below.
Comments 90
Couldn't agree more. Why bother to green light these projects and send them out to die.
A lot of the smaller games have fun and unique ideas, it's a shame they die out so fast.
Seriously, Gravity Rush 2 was a fantastic game and sequel but it's future is clouded with uncertainty. Glad Puppeteer also had a mention in the article.
All we can really do is hope these dormant and forgotten IPs can be given a second chance on the PS5, and that they get better marketing.
@Amppari Then why make them?
This soapbox is spot on. I've seen nothing about these gems, meanwhile TLOU2 gets a huge blowout right after taking up space in the State of Play with its launch date? The hype is too much and too long for the heavy hitters, and pretty much nonexistent for everything else.
I definitely agree but on the other hand, can these smaller games actually fail? I mean the costs of Concrete Genie could never have been that high to begin with. It's such small studio with 15 devs. Maybe those games are strictly intended for the hardcore PS players who follow every social outlet of Playstation and is aware of those smaller games launching. Of course, Sony could have tried to win some people who might not follow Playstations social media but would they be convinced? Pouring a bunch of money for promo for non-prospects might have doubled or tripled the investment without recovery. But I kinda agree to be honest. I really like Concrete Genie. A little more effort wouldn't harm the game.
Not much else to say Sammy, you covered it pretty darn well in the article 👍
Like my comment in the uk sales chart I unfortunately wasn't surprised Concrete Genie never even made the top 30 because I've seen no marketing for it whatsoever! It's an absolute pity
I only hope Sir Dan isn't trudged out to die next too... I don't think Sony's best skelly boy can be resurrected another time if the remake does poorly!
@JAMes-BroWWWn I do see what you're saying, and I think this does play a part in these decisions. But there has to be a way that they can get games like Concrete Genie in front of more eyeballs without dramatically spiking the costs.
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy But Sir Dan is Already Dead You Can't Die Twice Can You?
Sony seems to be adopting a strategy where it hedges its bets entirely on a small number of ultra-AAA flagship titles and leaves indies and smaller exclusives by the wayside when it comes to marketing. It's a shame. These little exclusives (like, for example, Resogun) did a great job of supporting the PS4 early in the generation before Sony was regularly pumping out blockbuster titles.
Not a great look when Sony's preparing to shift to a brand new console generation, which is typically when support for their consoles is at its weakest.
Shadows can die twice @Areus
Also technically Dan dies multiple times over Medievil with the life bottles bringing him back again & again & again...
Sony has never done a good job of marketing, also their film division is pretty bad.
Very well said, Sammy.
Why make them at all, indeed.
@sonicmeerkat That's not true. Their marketing for the PS4 and certain exclusives has been exceptional this generation.
Puppeteer's the one that always got me. Phenomenal little platformer, gorgeous to look at and accessible to all ages. It was begging for a bigger push but it never got it.
Consumers have to take the blame too, since the start of the generation Sony took stick for focusing a lot on indies at there conferences and having them on Plus. And then the reaction to the State of Plays don't help either cos it seems without a big AAA a lot of people think Sony shouldn't bother. The wait for sale culture compounds the issue too and is helping to accelerate subscriptions and services.
As for marketing, well what kind of marketing? Sony put out videos on its social channels. Surely these so called core gamers keep up on this stuff daily, it only takes a few minutes to check Push Square, YouTube and the PS Blog so what can Sony do? Billboards in Times Square and TV spots can't be for every game, plus Sony's marketing budget is finite and that's needed for their biggest games as well as the big 3rd party games like CoD and FIFA.
@sonicmeerkat Sales for Uncharted, GoW, Spiderman, Horizon, TLOU and Infamous say otherwise.
@get2sammyb Nice article.
One thing I already went over a bit elsewhere that you didn't touch upon - I'm really surprised they bother putting a game they aren't going to promote at all on disc. Those $30 discs are likely days away from the clearance bins.
I think Puppeteer like a lot more coverage than Concrete Genie before it released. Not gojng to do it now on my tablet, but if you search PS for both of those games I feel like Puppeteer had a few articles leading up to release before Sony forgot about it. I think it got an article a month after release when the price dropped from $60 to $40 but maybe that was Last Guardian.
I still need to play GR2.
Absolutely it is pretty baffling and makes you wonder what they were thinking with their recent state of play.
No mention of this, no mention of the PS Now price drop and game additions, and we've now no idea when the next SoP will be or how it will look.
For such a successful platform, it does seem odd how they still don't quite know how to communicate with their audience.
@get2sammyb EYY MANH THE PSP IS A NUT YOU CAN EAT OUTSIDEAH!
The PS4 snagged a big lead after 2013 E3 but it was essentially marketed as "we are not xbox" while still lifting xbox strategies like lame 30 day map pack exclusivity for call of duty. The library is well rounded but they do not evenly display genres much like you say in the above.
@AdamNovice
SIR! SIR! your avatar, And the 2nd game based on your avatar. Also the order. Also drive club. Do I just need to list commercial or critical failures to dispute you?
Its Layden s fault .
I'm kidding haha
Seriously though. These games are never going to be promoted like AAA because they aren't. Why is it always advertising fault? Maybe they arent supposed to be big sellers in the first place? But what do I know,?
All too true, and Tearaway got shafted twice!
In this generation i feel Sony have always got at least four solid foundation games and these smaller games are the parts in between (bricks, windows etc)
Players will come for the foundations and more than likely end up trying out the smaller parts, eventually
I actually tweeted something like that to the PlayStation Twitter account. They were marketing some random game, more than their own. So much so, that sister studios had to step in and boost market it on Twitter. PlayStation needs to give more value to its IPs, big or small.
tbf, they've improved a lot this gen for their bigger games. marketing/promotion on a lot of their bigger/AAA games on PS3 was pretty terrible - though the playstation department was haemorrhaging money in general for the first 3 or 4 years of PS3, the marketing budget was probably non-existent.
as for concrete genie, it's been at the forefront of the psn store for the last couple of weeks, it would be pretty hard to miss it there. expectations for it are likely to be pretty modest, so it's not going to get a 90-second trailer on TV, or a big billboard on piccadilly circus. maybe sony does have a bit of that "it's one for the playstation fans" mentality about it, and in todays connected world, it just expects those to know about it. it barely put out any copies to retail.
i was at the cinema yesterday, and there was a 3 minute trailer/advert for death stranding. since even avid playstation/kojima fans still can't figure out what this game is about, i've know how idea it markets it to people who mainly pick up FIFA, call of duty or spiderman. it's probably spending its Q3 marketing budget entirely on death stranding.
@sonicmeerkat If you kept up with the forums you would know why I have this avatar. Also no game is guaranteed to succeed, doesn't mean it's down to Sony's marketing like you claim.
@Areus. Sekiro die twice.so what you saying.im epmd.word up son
@get2sammyb 100% correct, these are the types of games that Sony should be marketing. Not with huge budgets and tv advertising everywhere but as you said, if they have a show for this very reason why not show these games? Even PSVR has felt like that at times, remember when Rigs was going to be this big VR esports game but even as it came out Sony didn't seem to care about it
@AdamNovice And the games you claimed were a success through marketing fail to meet the very same rational.
Its a problem for the biggest platform. It probably always will be regarding whoever holds that title. It is an unfortunate situation. They were oddly quiet on concrete genie though. But i try and look at positives. Funded by Sony, exclusive to the most popular platform and on a platform that represents these unique genre's better than anyone. Downside is getting lost in a sea of titles and bigger, more important, devs.
@get2sammyb
What's that for a question? You asked the same question on ResetEra and people there explained to you why Sony is making these games. You are following Sony long enough to know what Shuhei said about why they are doing these games.
Small weird games like Concrete Genie won't sell well. No reason to dump a lot of marketing money on these games when you won't see that money again. It's wasted money. Concrete Genie had a marketing campaign and it was good for such a small artsy game.
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy titles like this murder digital sales. Dont be so quick to assume bad physical sales are the death knell. Stay positive and speak with your money (quid?? Lol.)
Yet Sony will allow ****** games like Black Tiger and DayZ one games made with assets flips the other a game thats been on PC for years as Early Access and still is as well as a broken piece of mess and the latter got a special discount promotion a few weeks back ?? Yet games mentioned above don't get anything like that yes they get sales but not its own like DayZ did
@get2sammyb
What about multiplat like Control? I'd say that should have better better promoted. I've heard of Concrete Genie A LOT. Since the reveal.
I completely agree and have been saying this for a long time. They got a COD commercial every year but nothing for their own game Concrete Genie? Sony crushes M$ when it comed to games both in quality and variety, but. M$ would have promoted this game as they did for Sea of Thieves, State of Decay, Ori and Cup Head. Nintendo would have really pushed this game. They need to stop wasting money on third party deals and just promote all of their games only. Third party sells on their console regardless. Having COD deals is irrelevant. Xbox is no comp for them so let them have the third party deals.
@Amppari I disagree as they are all first party games. That means Sony loses money and the devs lose their jobs or become even more irrelevant. I am still waiting on a Soul Sacrifice 2 to hit PS4/PS5 and looks like it will never happen. The creator of Silent Hill made Siren and Gravity Rush. You would think Sony would make bigger use of him and his team. He has been irrelevant since joining Sony back in the early 2000s.
@ShogunRok Puppeteer Got Over Shadowed By The PS4 Sony Should Have Turned That Game Into a PS4 Launch Title
@ShogunRok It should have been a PS4 launch game.
@Belazur I find it hard to believe that they have the funds to get these games made, but don't have the funds to help them to find more of an audience. That's just bizarre to me.
@JJ2 That is not their game. No one should promote multiplats except the owner. M$ started this multiplat promotion crap last gen and now Sony has followed because of games like COD and GTA. I think Sony makes better games than Nintendo, but Nintendo always puts their games first as they should. When COD was on the Wii it was irrelevant to Mario and their other games.
@get2sammyb Yeah it could have replaced Knack though I did like Knack 2 and they could have given Knack more time.
@adamnovice, ditto to what you say in your first comment. Sony had 3 state of play promoting new indie games, medievil and concrete genie but people didn't care for those, because it wasn't a big new AAA game, and now some here that are commenting now care for those little games? Kinda hypocritical.
It's like some people don't know what they want.
Sony released the announcement trailer for Astro Bot two weeks before E3 2018. TWO WEEKS! And it ended up being a killer app for PSVR and one of the highest-rated exclusives on the PS4.
Sony can be real dunces when it comes to handling anything that isn't AAA. There's a huuuuuge marketing divide between their AAA exclusives and anything else.
@GodGamer
Yes I understand. I still think the comparison is interesting since Control was supposed to be a big seller with Sony support.
Or maybe the sales reflected the reviews like some people said?
Or which is it?
Or you know,the advertising was fine and most people knew about the game but just were not interested, it happens.
Seems like people are jumping the gun anyway, using physical sales in the uk as way to say the game flopped........
righto govna, lets just wait to see the digital and physical sales worldwide.
@JayDub This isn't just about whether the game sold well or not, it's about Sony failing to capitalise on assets it's invested in. There are more great exclusives on PlayStation than just the big names, but they don't always do a great job talking about them.
It's almost like they're too humble at times.
@sonicmeerkat Your point was that Sony's marketing is always bad but won't give credit to when it's actually worked like in the games I listed. Seems like you won't give them any credit for some reason.
Back when I was a kid, I used to pick up the official ps magazine every month. It was a couple of hundred pages, cover to cover with news and articles about games that were coming out, and always a disc full of demos (and even developer tools, sometimes!) these days, there's only a few sites that seem to be holding down regular reviews, but yet, there's so many games that completely sip by, practically unannounced. Ps store aren't doing themselves many favours with how poorly they advertise hidden gems or with how irregularly they release demos. There needs to be more done, on behalf of the developers to push out demos for interested persons to actually check out games themselves, and they also need to start sending those out to journalists, so we can get better informed opinions, pre release, rather than always during.
The whole gaming landscape seems to have changed, and not always for the better. These days, it seems always the same few names cropping up every year or two and anyone who's really curious has to dig for info or take risks, buying stuff that might turn out to be awful, because there's no other way to go about finding out.
This has bothered me for a long time, so I'm glad to see an article about it. Games like Gravity Rush and Tearaway are way more interesting to me than most of Sony's other first-party exclusives.
Some people in the comments are saying these games don't deserve better marketing because they won't sell as much as Sony's bigger IPs, but they still could have been more successful than they were. If Nintendo can turn niche franchises like Fire Emblem and Xenoblade into million sellers, Sony can do the same for some of their less conventional exclusives.
By and large, Sony knows when to hold them, and when to fold them. They push some smaller games very well like Journey, Rocket League, No Man’s Sky, The Witness, Black Swan etc. But sorry, the games you are evangelizing are just not worth Sony investing much into IMHO.
I wish, Sony would do a Nintendo, regarding smaller games and developments, like the “Nindies Showcase” stuff.
Gravity Rush and its sequel were some of the first games I got for my PS4, kind of a shame if there isn't a 3rd one.
I’m still disappointed sony didn’t show gravity rush 2 trailer in their e3 2016 shows, even though gravity rush 2 trailers is only about 1 minutes
Okay, here is something i don't understand. Why people are saying gravity rush 2 didn't have too much marketing when it was shown at e3 2015 and 2016, also there was that live action trailer and the two episodes that serves as a connection between 1 and 2.
https://youtu.be/OAXNQveHsG0
https://youtu.be/fMwmaxZc8WE
https://youtu.be/0INIMjvtCL4
https://youtu.be/tFeXtu-3u78
And many more, to me that's a lot of advertisement and promoting.
I forgot to mention the free dlc they released, which at first was going to be paid, and the crossover costume with nier automata.
u really are f***** annoying
all u do is complain to sony
crossplay, content exclusivity, not doing e3 psx etc
and now ur complainin not giving a push to concrete genie that u gave a low score
for f*** sake the game was advertise good enough and only a dumbass like u would spend millions advertising a $30 game that only few are interested
Watch the language, and there's no need to be so aggressive - Quintumply
Nice article. Well said. I’m considering going and buying Concrete Genie just to support the type of game it is, even though it’ll sit in my backlog for a while.
@SaikoWaifu2003 seriously? stop being this site sheep! pushsquare been complainin alot of things to sony, from crossplay to censorship, from being silent bout e3 psx etc
and dont act as if concrete didnt receive alot of promote,
but how would u know if keep stickin on pushsquare ass and didnt even bother how trailers and reviews concrete genie got
What they're doing is working, I forgot about Concrete Genie because all I've heard is TLoU2 and Death Stranded.
I dont know why people argue. It's a fair discussion.
However I feel it's all from the heart but it may need a proper study of how all games get promoted including at general gaming events.
At the moment it makes me think of a Homer gif shaking his fist : 'Dam you Sony! Why didn't you make me buy this?' Haha
@SaikoWaifu2003 lmao ur a sheep dude, majority of ps4 gamers doesnt even give a damn bout crossplay, and majority agreed that sony not doing e3 this year was a good decision, and as for concrete genie it has tons of trailers even a demo from ps underground but if look at the views its disappointing, its not sonys fault if people are not interested in the game, stop being a sheep and swallow every word pushsquare spits on u
Basically if these games were Nintendo titles they’d be treated and celebrated as all time great classic games. On Sony’s hand they become completely neglected indie trash
Think I have decided to buy Concrete Genie, now, even though It may not be touched for some time, So disappointed that I didn't pre-order, now I miss out on the extra theme... They should leave pre-order bonuses active for a while after launch. Now it feels like, I am paying more for less. So now I have to wait for a sale...
@get2sammyb quite a few folk are now going to get CG myself included, i've added it to my basket! Hope you get commission 😉
Last time Concrete Genie featured in a State of Play video, everyone bemoaned the fact it was in there, so why would they show it again?
I totally agree Sammy.
@Amppari Why not may i ask? You know what.
My fears, as a big fan of Metroidvania and Platformer titles, are, that most developers will jump completely on the Switch-bandwagon, when Sony still shows poor appreciation for smaller devs and their titles, like Monster Boy, Shovel Knight, Shantae, etc.. :/
@get2sammyb How about a add on gamingsites come on had more Xbox adds then Concrete Genie on Pushsquare... 😩
@Lekzie1 Gee, I wonder if they're complaining a lot about Sony lately because sony has been doing a lot of stuff lately that warrants complaining about
@get2sammyb Just noticed that the ads in the background of this website are advertising Nintendo and Xbox Game Pass to me, which is certainly ironic when on a Playstation site and the Soapbox subject matter.
To be honest I think Sony's strategy and messaging is all over the place right now. I agree in the case of some of those games but I think the main reason All Stars Battle Royale didn't succeed is because I feel it wasn't that great a game in the first place in my opinion.
Great soapbox. I think they need to do some sort of branding for smaller releases. Like, this release is part of a quirky range so that they can market the brand and put it under that banner.
I get these games are harder to market and bring back less returns but they are paying all the cash to have them made, so why not spread some love?
@SaikoWaifu2003 u just need eyes to read on what the majority has to say on every related vids and article, but u wont know, since u got stuck here and busy suckin up like the sheep u are
@get2sammyb Nice opinion piece & agree with the sentiments! 👍 Whilst I don't wish to pour fuel on the "Jim Ryan causing disharmony" rumours, it was curious that one of Shawn Layden's few retweets (post leaving), was from the Concrete Genie devs thanking him for championing the game's development.
For mine, its like the way XB has developed the ID@Xbox & Switch has Nindies, but Sony has shied away from them as they have on these smaller in house games.
It's fine if you disagree with what Sammy's said in his article, but can we please keep the conversation moving without resorting to foul language, name-calling, and generally antagonistic behaviour? I don't want to have to ban anyone
@Lekzie1 @SaikoWaifu2003
@Bigkopman @Flaming_Kaiser It's up to Sony to buy the ads!
@SaikoWaifu2003 With respect, I'd suggest ignoring Lekzie1 instead of continuing to argue with them
@get2sammyb Exactly. I know it's up to you but you'd think that would be a perfect opportunity to target users.
Some of these games will get their moments of attention once the prices starts coming down. That's the way of life is in video games these days. Too many titles and with all the money going to just the top few.
@Lekzie1
Stop being a sheep says the one who worships a giant corporation.
Great article, but I do wonder if it would even make a big enough difference. Marketing or not, some of these are niche games. Dumping money into marketing for a niche game might not be a wise investment. If they did pump a bunch of money in and lost it, how would that be better than making it and letting the word spread for free?
Don't get me wrong, Sony has a ton of improvements to make via the PSN and it's recommendations. I'm sick of being recommended the same 10 AAA games that I clearly have no interest in playing. They need to improve the AI behind the recommendations rather than just 'playing it safe' with AAA games recommendations for everyone.
The last point I'd say is that I wonder what the overlap is for gamers interested in niche games, and gamers who don't follow 'the market' on their own. My guess would be individuals interested in these smaller titles will already learn/know about them from their communities.
And Sony needs to improve the German PSN Store too. Dang, Doom 3 was out on every platform and country, except Deutschland. Three weeks later, we finally got the curtesy to download the game as well.
About the Vita Store... Erm... Better not talk about it. Resembles a virtual ghost town.
@get2sammyb I was being sarcastic i thought that would be clear. 😉
@Lando_ I know its a crime its like they want to murder the PS Vita im sure with a little support it would have done great.
@Flaming_Kaiser Exactly. So much wasted potential. Shame on Sony for giving up the Vita. Hell, even Nintendo did more to keep the Wii U alive, regardless of being a sinking ship very early.
@Lando_ We feel the same.
And
Couldn't be anymore true. Speaking of which, it's the same thing with China Hero Project. People praise Sony for their program and yet barely anyone talks about The Walker, Animal Force, Immortal Legacy and Hardcore Mecha, despite the fact that these games WERE released. Sure, there are people playing those games (the same can be said with every other lesser known games as well) but you don't see those games being mentioned that much unless someone brings up chinese games as a topic.
Especially Immortal Legacy. It's the first chinese game to be published by Sony and it's barely talked about (well, r/PSVR had some discussions related to the game, especially now due to its addition on a sale).
And you know what else? Monkey King. It'll be released this week and aside from maybe 2 or 3 people I met online, there's very little fanfare in regards to it (a lot less than Concrete's Genie surprisingly). What worries about the game is that it might end up scores between 4-6. I say that because of the mixed impressions on the demo. I hope that isn't the case but considering Oasis Games' mediocre track record, I have my doubts.
I just got an promo email about Concrete Genie. Your soapbox worked
They could do ads with multiple titles, say Concrete Genie, Erica and MediEvil. Or a large title like Death Stranding, with a "Would you also consider Concrete Genie" at the end, for example. Could do a big blowout ad with Gravity Rush Remastered, Gravity Rush 2, Concrete Genie, Erica and other lost along the way titles. A 10 episode Gravity Rush anime would be cool too, but in Japanese, not the made up language, I feel it would get more attention that way and sound more natural.
@get2sammyb @ShogunRok
https://youtu.be/mLL5VKQ90kc
Inspired by 🆈🅾🆄 guys
It's honestly depressing how forgotten Tearaway Unfolded is.
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