In an interview with Shuhei Yoshida, a former head of PlayStation Studios, the topic of remakes and remasters for next-gen consoles and PC comes up. Yoshida explains why the relevance of these remakes causes such a big misunderstanding.
What does Yoshida say about PS5 remasters? In a YouTube interview published by Kinda Funny Games with industry veteran Shuhei Yoshida, the question arises about the biggest misunderstandings players (both fans and critics) have regarding game development.
Yoshida mentions that the biggest criticism is likely the development of too many remasters instead of tackling new projects. He understands the point but simultaneously provides an answer that explains players’ criticism more as a misunderstanding.
Astro Bot from Sony is not a remake but features familiar characters from various PlayStation games:
Remasters as a financial means to an end
What is the misunderstanding? Yoshida explains that players probably assume that remakes are wasted resources that are consequently lacking in the development of new games. This is, however, not the case, as the former head explains:
Remakes and remasters are often taken over by completely new teams. Especially when it comes to revisions for PC versions, new experts are needed. Thus, no resources of the original team are sacrificed.
Why are there so many remasters? Developing large single-player blockbusters is expensive, as Yoshida notes. He adds that remasters are significantly cheaper to develop than new games. They create new revenue streams to finance these big projects.
Especially with the inclusion of PC players, a potentially massive amount of new players is brought in, thus providing another source of income.
For this reason, remasters and remakes are a prerequisite if fans want new PS5 single-player games. These said fans react on social media.
What do the players say? Under a post on X by Culture Crave, opinions on Yoshida’s statements are divided:
- EmbodiementFilms says: “I don’t know. I’m a Sony fan, but that sounds like a bad decision.”
- Dboybruh says: “I’ll support the remakes I’m interested in; I can’t support all of them lol”
- ZachBowders says: “It’s not about ‘supporting remasters’, but about urging players to buy the same game multiple times.”
- 7BitBrian says: “Remaster a few PS1 games and we’ll talk. No games that were released in the last generation.”
A large part of the remaining comments consists of inquiries about a Bloodborne remake.
Apparently, a large number of players are generally not averse to remakes. However, they want remakes that meet demand. Old games that would be very hard to play without updates and that would benefit from attention. One case where Sony’s choice for a remake failed is described in this article: Sony makes a remake of a 9-year-old game on PS5 and Steam – Receives worse reception than the major flop Concord
