The *Concord* ⁤Debacle and Firewalk ⁤Studios Closure

Sony recently ⁣removed the team-based shooter *Concord* from sale just⁤ two weeks after its launch due to disappointing⁣ sales figures
⁢ ⁤ ⁣
as reported by GamesIndustry.biz. This decision later led to the closure ⁤of Firewalk Studios, the developer behind the game
according‍ to GamesIndustry.biz.

internal Review and Early Evaluation Gates

‍PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst addressed the situation,stating that while the outcome of new intellectual property (IP) is inherently⁣ uncertain,
⁤ Sony needs to improve its evaluation process. “We probably need to have a lot‍ of gates, including user testing or internal evaluation, and ‍the timing‍ of such gates.
⁢ And then we need to bring them forward,⁢ and we should have done those gates much earlier than we did,” Hulst ⁢explained.
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‍ Hulst also⁢ identified organizational silos as a contributing factor. “We have a siloed organisation, so going beyond the boundaries of those⁤ organisations in terms⁣ of development,
⁢ and also sales, I think that⁣ could ⁣have been much ‍smoother.”
⁢ ⁢

Strengthening Development Management Systems

‍ Sadahiko Hayakawa, Sony’s senior vice president for ⁤finance and investor relations, emphasized the company’s commitment to learning from both successes and failures.
⁣ “We intend to share the lessons learned from our successes and failures across our studios, including in the areas of title development management as well as the process of continually
adding expanded content and scaling the service after its release so as to strengthen our development management system,”⁣ Hayakawa stated.