Sony Creates PlayStation Productions, Studio Focusing On Games To Film And TV Adaptations

The studio will be overseen by head of Sony Worldwide Studios, Shawn Layden.

Posted By | On 20th, May. 2019

PlayStation logo

There’s still a chase out there for the ‘big’ video game film adaptation. There’s been many throughout the years, but often with reputations ranging from either poor quality to poor box office performances to a little of both. This seems to have changed somewhat with Detective Pikachu, though overall its box office performance came in under expectations, and reviews have been decidedly mixed. And video game TV adaptations are basically nonexistent. Someone who is potentially looking to break that in a big way is Sony.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the multimedia giant is creating a film and TV production studio that will be headed by Asad Qizilbash and overseen by chairman of Worldwide Studios at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Shawn Layden. Apparently, the production company already has its first productions on slate. It’s not clear if this will only focus on Sony owned properties, such as Uncharted or God of War, or will attempt to reach out to other video game companies. Only Sony franchises are mentioned, however, saying they want to take the 25 years of game making they’ve been a part of and adapt that to the screen.

“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.”

“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,” Shawn Layden added. “It would be a lofty goal to say we’re following in their footsteps, but certainly we’re taking inspiration from that.”

“You can see just by watching older video game adaptations that the screenwriter or director didn’t understand that world or the gaming thing,” Layen continued. “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.”

Sony’s first party titles have generally become more cinematic in nature over the years, so on paper the move makes a lot of sense. Of course, it’s been attempted many times to mixed results, as mentioned above, largely due to the challenge of storytelling in video games being significantly different than films and, to a lesser degree, television. It’ll be interesting to see if PlayStation Productions can finally crack the code.


Tagged With:

Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out!



Share Your Thoughts Below  (Always follow our comments policy!)



Keep On Reading!

Warcraft Rumble Launches on November 3

Warcraft Rumble Launches on November 3

The free-to-play title will launch for iOS and Android devices on November 3, coinciding with this year's Bliz...

HYENAS’ Budget Was the Largest Ever for a Sega Game – Rumor

HYENAS’ Budget Was the Largest Ever for a Sega Game – Rumor

The project also reportedly suffered from lack of direction, an engine change, and "not committing" to anythin...

Quake 2 Enhanced Edition – Update 1 is Live, Buffs Railgun and Improves Compass Navigation

Quake 2 Enhanced Edition – Update 1 is Live, Buffs Railgun and Improves Compass Navigation

Maximum FPS is capped at 1000 to prevent engine anomalies, and the Berserker's attacks should be much easier t...

Baldur’s Gate 3 – Hotfix 8 Fixes Companions Transferring Story Items Upon Dismissal

Baldur’s Gate 3 – Hotfix 8 Fixes Companions Transferring Story Items Upon Dismissal

Other issues, like multiplayer crashes, visual problems with fog, invalid save game creation, and more, are al...

10 Best Quests in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

10 Best Quests in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Cyberpunk 2077's expansion is an excellent package, and these ten quests are among its brightest highlights.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Guide – All Mysterious Signal (El Capitan Vehicle) Locations

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Guide – All Mysterious Signal (El Capitan Vehicle) Locations

Want to steal some vehicles and earn some cash and other items? Here's how to find all the Mysterious Signals ...