PlayStation Productions

Noodles

Super Moderator
Premium Supporter
Feb 28, 2011
43,070
UK
PlayStation Productions, headed by Asad Qizilbash and overseen by SIE chairman of Worldwide Studios Shawn Layden, will develop and produce projects based on the company's catalog of more than 100 games

Sony Interactive Entertainment has launched PlayStation Productions, a production studio that will mine the company's extensive catalog of video game titles for film and television. The new enterprise, headed by Asad Qizilbash and overseen by chairman of Worldwide Studios at SIE, Shawn Layden, is already in production on its first slate of projects and has set up shop on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City.

"We’ve got 25 years of game development experience and that’s created 25 years of great games, franchises and stories," Layden tells The Hollywood Reporter. "We feel that now is a good time to look at other media opportunities across streaming or film or television to give our worlds life in another spectrum."

With a library of more than 100 original properties ranging from adventure to sci-fi to action to mystery to horror, PlayStation Productions has a wide breadth of content ripe for adaptation. "Instead of licensing our IP out to studios, we felt the better approach was for us to develop and produce for ourselves," says Qizilbash. "One, because we’re more familiar, but also because we know what the PlayStation community loves."

While other video game studios, including Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard, have opened film and television arms to adapt their games for a different audience, PlayStation Productions differs both in its deep catalog of content and also in its approach to production. Sony Pictures, a sister company, will help with distribution, but production of projects will be handled by PlayStation Productions firsthand, not licensed out as is the case with similar enterprises at other game companies.

"For the last year and half, two years, we’ve spent time trying to understand the industry, talking to writers, directors, producers," says Qizilbash. "We talked to [film producer] Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Kevin Feige to really get an understanding of the industry."

"We looked at what Marvel has done in taking the world of comic books and making it into the biggest thing in the film world," says Layden. "It would be a lofty goal to say we’re following in their footsteps, but certainly we’re taking inspiration from that."

He adds that the landscape in Hollywood has changed in recent years, making this the opportune moment for the launch of the new studio. What was a hard sell 20 years ago to directors and producers has now become much easier, thanks in large part to filmmakers being gamers themselves.

Video game film adaptations have traditionally been fraught in the past. Big budget efforts like 2016's Assassin's Creed or Warcraft bombed at the box office and earned weak reviews.

"You can see just by watching older video game adaptations that the screenwriter or director didn’t understand that world or the gaming thing," Layden says. "The real challenge is, how do you take 80 hours of gameplay and make it into a movie? The answer is, you don’t. What you do is you take that ethos you write from there specifically for the film audience. You don’t try to retell the game in a movie."

PlayStation titles such as Tomb Raider, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Metal Gear Solid, Uncharted, God of War, The Last of Us, Ratchet & Clank and many others have grossed billions worldwide and sold millions of copies. Layden and Qizilbash see the diversity of PlayStation Productions' library as one of its major selling points.

"We want to create an opportunity for fans of our games to have more touch points with our franchises," says Layden. "When fans beat a 40-50 hour game and have to wait three-four years for a sequel, we want to give them places they can go and still have more of that experience and see the characters they love evolve in different ways."

As to whether they're focusing on film or television, Qizilbash says it depends on the title. “Ultimately, the story will determine the format. We want to bring our IP to the medium that best honors the property,” he says. Layden stresses that quality is key, as it is for the company's games division. "It has to stand up as a great movie or TV show," he says. "That’s really the only standard that we’d measure it against. In that medium, is it going to be best in class?"

Through its partnership with Sony Pictures, PlayStation Productions will be afforded the time to make film and television projects that live up to the quality of their video game source material. "We don’t have to rush to market. We don’t have a list of ‘X number of titles must be done in this year.’ None of that," says Layden. "The company has been very accommodating to our ambition around this, to grow this in a measured, thoughtful way."

Having creative control over their IP also was instrumental for Qizilbash and Layden. "We created this entity to manage and control the process of getting the right director, the right actors, the right screenwriter," says Qizilbash.

"This is a passion project for me," says Layden. "To be the first gaming entity to do something lasting and meaningful in a completely different medium is something I’d like to see us achieve here at PlayStation Productions."

Layden will speak about the continuing evolution of PlayStation’s Worldwide Studios at the Collision Conference in Toronto, Canada on Tuesday.

SOURCE
 
  • Informative
Reactions: bloodsnake007
This sounds quite interesting :thumbs: Some of these titles could possibly make for good TV or a Movie if done correctly.

I understand that Assasins creed and Warcraft were flops at the cinema, but with a little more thought behind there production some of these could be quite good.

Really hope to see some of these Titles in production soon:whistle::whistle::thumbs:
 
This sounds quite interesting :thumbs: Some of these titles could possibly make for good TV or a Movie if done correctly.

I understand that Assasins creed and Warcraft were flops at the cinema, but with a little more thought behind there production some of these could be quite good.

Really hope to see some of these Titles in production soon:whistle::whistle::thumbs:
I agree... with PlayStation actually behind them, I reckon these type of films could turn out a lot better than any Hollywood effort.
 
I agree... with PlayStation actually behind them, I reckon these type of films could turn out a lot better than any Hollywood effort.
Certainly mate, Sometimes films like these would be best off with the influence of the same companies who produce the games, a lot of the time tho this isn't the case once the big Hollywood producers get involved and we then up with a pile of crap :rofl: As they have their own mad vision on what it should look like.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: Noodles
Certainly mate, Sometimes films like these would be best off with the influence of the same companies who produce the games, a lot of the time tho this isn't the case once the big Hollywood producers get involved and we then up with a pile of crap :rofl: As they have their own mad vision on what it should look like.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Robles
Out of those titles I'd be into a God of War film. That could be epic. My mate is borderline obsessed with them turning Naughty Dog games into films. I couldn't be more against this, they're perfect the way they are. I don't want them ******* with that ****.

Haven't they been developing an MGS for ages?
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: Noodles and Robles
Out of those titles I'd be into a God of War film. That could be epic. My mate is borderline obsessed with them turning Naughty Dog games into films. I couldn't be more against this, they're perfect the way they are. I don't want them ******* with that ****.

Haven't they been developing an MGS for ages?
I believe over ten years mate they have been toying with the idea and this is a prime example of what I was saying in an earlier post about how involved they are, Konami and Kojima, I believe want to be fully involved with the creation of this and not just give someone the rights to use the character.
And rated R.
Yeah id be down for that 100%:rofl::whistle:
 
Last edited:
  • Thanks
Reactions: vexred
Out of those titles I'd be into a God of War film. That could be epic. My mate is borderline obsessed with them turning Naughty Dog games into films. I couldn't be more against this, they're perfect the way they are. I don't want them ******* with that ****.

Haven't they been developing an MGS for ages?
I kinda agree... their games already play out like movies anyway. But on the other hand, I'd be open to actual movies based on them... if they're crap, then so be it, as it doesn't take anything away from the games. However, if they end up being great, then it's win-win! :D
 
I also wonder if they'll finally go ahead and make a The Last of Us movie themselves, since the other one with Screen Gems and Sam Raimi seems to have been ditched.

News of the Uncharted film pops up every now and again too, which seems to suggest it's slowly moving forward... so it'll be interesting to see if this changes anything!
 
So many of those titles in the OP aren't even PlayStation titles. Might as well say that Final Fantasy and Resident Evil are exclusive PlayStation titles while they're at it.

Here's the thing: I don't know if I'm interested in movies based on games that don't tell the same story as the games. Uncharted is pretty much the only title that could change its story and still work (though I still have zero interest in teenage Nathan Drake with Tom Holland). I think God of War and The Last of Us would have to stick pretty close to their source material. Though I will say that if this means a Shadow of the Colossus movie will happen, that makes me very excited. :D
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: Noodles