PlayStation is entering the movie business. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sony Interactive Entertainment has unveiled PlayStation Productions. Itās a movie studio, headed by Asad Qizilbash and overseen by SIE chairman of Worldwide Studios Shawn Layden, that intends to adapt its vast library of titles into feature films and television shows. The studio has already begun production on several projects which will be distributed by Sony Pictures. Most of these projects are unannounced with the exception of a Twisted Metal TV series which was confirmed in an investor relations meeting via IGN.
With a massive war chest of cinematic, character and story focused properties, a new TV and film studio is a logical expansion of the PlayStation business. Whether itās God of War or Jak and Daxter, the PlayStation library lends itself to adaptation into new mediums.
āWeāve got 25 years of game development experience and thatās created 25 years of great games, franchises, and stories,ā Layden told The Hollywood Reporter. āWe 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.ā
Itās a legacy Sony wants to keep intact. PlayStation Productions was created in part to keep live-action film adaptations of Sonyās game properties under the supervision of the people who understand them best. Even though Sony already owns Sony Pictures, the company wanted a brand specific entity akin to Marvel Studios. āWe created this entity to manage and control the process of getting the right director, the right actors, [and] the right screenwriter,ā Qizilbash told the Hollywood Reporter.
āWe looked at what Marvel has done in taking the world of comic books and making it into the biggest thing in the film world,ā says Layden. āIt would be a lofty goal to say weāre following in their footsteps, but certainly weāre taking inspiration from that.ā
PlayStation Productions will aspire to have Marvel Studios-style quality as well. āWe donāt have to rush to market,ā says Layden. āWe donāt have a list of āX number of titles must be done in this year.ā None of that. [Sony Pictures] has been very accommodating to our ambition around this, to grow this in a measured, thoughtful way.ā
Laydenās careful enthusiasm is the right approach for Sony as a whole. Even beyond how Sony wants to scrub its soul clean from the cinematic debacle that is the Heavenly Sword movie, the console and television manufacturer needs to expand its entertainment division. The biggest tech trend is services over hardware. Thatās manifesting in the video game industry with game subscription services like Microsoftās Project xCloud, Google Stadia, Apple Arcade, and Sonyās own PlayStation Now. PlayStation Productions allows Sony to build-up a content library of movies and TV shows based on recognizable video game characters that the company already owns. Sony just has to capitalize.
āThis is a passion project for me,ā says Layden. āTo be the first gaming entity to do something lasting and meaningful in a completely different medium is something Iād like to see us achieve.ā
With any luck, weāll be watching the inspirational story of a rhyme spitting dog rising to stardom in PaRappa The Rapper: The Movie soon.
Published: May 21, 2019 04:00 pm