Shuhei Yoshida, a previous executive at PlayStation, stated that the lack of success in the AA market (mid-tier video games) played a significant role in Sony closing its Japan Studio. During an interview on the Sacred Symbols podcast (via VGC), Yoshida admitted that one area where he fell short during his leadership as Head of Worldwide Studios was not producing exceptionally successful Japanese-made games.
He further explains that the market’s demand for high-budget games led to the shutdown of Sony Japan Studio, as their Japanese branches were not producing such titles, except for Gran Turismo. He added that although they had numerous excellent products, they lacked successful AAA-level games outside of Gran Turismo. As time went on, having such big hits became increasingly crucial as the major games grew even larger in scale. Smaller independent studios stepped in to fill the void, while it appears the AA market (a level between indie and AAA) has diminished.
During that period, the market proved particularly challenging for action-adventure (AA) games, including many of those produced by Sony Japan Studio. As stated by Yoshida, this was the case since many of their releases fell into this category. For instance, following Gravity Rush 2, director Keiichiro Toyama attempted to develop a fresh concept, but unfortunately, none of his ideas were approved despite being quite intriguing. Sony was primarily focusing on AAA titles at the time, which made it difficult for us to advance with the game, according to Yoshida’s statement.
Despite the Japanese developer being renowned for hit PlayStation games such as Forbidden Siren, Gravity Rush, and Puppeteer, these titles often didn’t sell particularly well – a point frequently overlooked when fans clamor for the studio’s return. Unfortunately, the team was dismantled in 2021; however, Team Asobi persisted and recently produced the widely acclaimed Astro Bot.
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2025-02-19 18:36