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[Demon2blades]

I'm thinking consoles just don't do any good in Japan anymore they seem to prefer handhelds if Sony does leave this market (which it won't ) then I can't see Microsoft doing any better if they don't come out with a handheld at least and some major Japanese games on it .

Can't actually believe ms or Sony don't have a handheld console it's like leaving money on the table .

 

[Airbus Jr]

"Any suggestion that Sony is shifting its focus away from Japan is incorrect and doesn’t reflect the company’s strategy, spokeswoman Natsumi Atarashi said. She noted that the PlayStation 5 is launching first in Japan and said “our home market remains of utmost importance.”

 

[TintoConCasera]

"Any suggestion that Sony is shifting its focus away from Japan is incorrect and doesn’t reflect the company’s strategy, spokeswoman Natsumi Atarashi said. She noted that the PlayStation 5 is launching first in Japan and said “our home market remains of utmost importance.”

Saying that after swapping the confirm/cancel buttons for japanesse players after 26 years of tradition is some bold move.

Microsoft Sets Sights on Sony’s Home Turf in Console Clash

In the battle of the next-generation gaming machines, two key players are moving in different directions.

www.bloomberg.com

The PlayStation 5’s two main online promotional events both took place at 5 a.m. in Tokyo -- making them more accessible to American and European fans -- and lacked Japanese translation for some parts. The company also decided to standardize its PS5 control scheme so that Japanese players would have to use X to confirm and O to cancel, like the rest of the world. That reverses a 26-year tradition in a country where circles signify positives and crosses mark negatives.

 

[Bryank75]

Sony Japan Studio Expands with External Development Department

More games on the way

www.pushsquare.com

Completely contradicts what is actually happening.

 

[Ten_Fold]

The ps4 is for the most part a western console. Once they moved to California it was over. Microsoft will probably buy a studio or 2, and make a few Japanese games for gamepass/xcloud. I feel if Microsoft could strike a deal with Nintendo they will be second in terms of Japanese support imo. Right now if you want Japanese games, you probably are best playing on the switch. I can see it going Switch/xbox/PlayStation goin forward in Japan. Sony is the most into woke shit, so if that will bother you then your better off gaming on a different console.

 

[Elias]

Sony Japan Studio Expands with External Development Department

More games on the way

www.pushsquare.com

Completely contradicts what is actually happening.

Nothing is contradicted, no one knows what that "external development studio" is for.

 

[RoadHazard]

Personally I would've liked to see Evolution Studios given the Gran Turismo license. I find Polyphony's games boring as fuuuck ever since Forza came out (and Driveclub).

Evolution doesn't exist though. But you mean when they did I guess.

The ps4 is for the most part a western console. Once they moved to California it was over. Microsoft will probably buy a studio or 2, and make a few Japanese games for gamepass/xcloud. I feel if Microsoft could strike a deal with Nintendo they will be second in terms of Japanese support imo. Right now if you want Japanese games, you probably are best playing on the switch. I can see it going Switch/xbox/PlayStation goin forward in Japan. Sony is the most into woke shit, so if that will bother you then your better off gaming on a different console.

Xbox will never be successful in Japan, so no, this is not gonna happen. PlayStation will keep getting much better Japanese 3rd party support, even if Sony themselves make fewer Japanese games.

 

[Stray Parts]

Of course Sony's PR department is going to lie through its teeth and say its not happening when its been obvious to many for a while that it has, even the news piece points out the hypocrisy in that statement with Sony's actions towards Japan.

Bloomberg is just the mainstream press now realizing it.

End of an era I guess, what a shame we now have another American dominated games platform, so whatever way the winds blow in USA gaming will get swept along with it.
Playstation - American
Xbox - American
Nintendo - Japanese
Steam - American
Epic Games Store - American
GoG - Polish

 

[CircleOfFire]

That's some great free PR for Microsoft there. I can certainly imagine that Sony Japan isn't as big an influence as it once was. But this seems to assert that Microsoft has done a bunch of work in Japan with no evidence to back it up.

 

[v_iHuGi]

Yeah, I agree. But I would understand this from a business perspective.

"Business perspective" is not what bought Sony to the top in the 1st place, OG Playstation was successful thanks to it incredible & diverse library.

I'm not expecting Ps3 type of variety but I expect at least a good amount.

If Sony really only wants Cod Fifa Battlefield Star Wars marketing & selling Consoles AFAP then I'll leave Playstation ASAP.

 

[Thirty7ven]

File it under FUD

On the same day it’s said MS is looking to invest/buy in Japan.

The fud is back. If you don’t see it, we’ll, you’re probably one of those maggots the media controls like a puppet.

 

[Beardsalt]

File it under FUD

On the same day it’s said MS is looking to invest/buy in Japan.

The fud is back. If you don’t see it, we’ll, you’re probably one of those maggots the media controls like a puppet.

Bloomberg really reaching for some clickbate material. Sony have already addressed this saying otherwise but people will continue to choose what they “want” to hear.

I remember when Bloomberg actuality use to have reputabe material. Seems like when they hired people like Jason S. they went full apeshit!

 

[Andodalf]

They’re trying to get out before MS makes the big announcement Wednesday...

 

[Birdo]

Both MS and Sony should give up on Japan.

Japan is Nintendo country now.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I'd be surprised if they weren't. Sony Japan has historically produced very few meaningful games over the last 10 years. The Japanese don't understand the world market as well as North American or European developers.

 

[Montauk]

An article pops up after PS5 great news everywhere...

You guys see conspiracies everywhere you look. The paranoia and hysteria is off the charts.

Are you seriously suggesting, on the basis of nothing, that this perfectly normal bit of business journalism is the result of money changing hands?

This is crazy. Get a grip on reality.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

If I wanted Western only games I'd just buy an Xbox. Don't do it Sony.

 

[Elios83]

Article is a lame attempt to fake a scoop over a bunch of nothing and get clicks.
The author (Takashi Mochizuki) has been caught doing this stuff a few times already and it's incredible they're not realizing it at Bloomberg.
Sony won't have an easy battle in Japan because their product (traditional home console) is not alligned with the tastes of the general japanese public anymore (they want things to be portable and usable without anything extra like a TV) and it's true that PS5 just like PS4 (and PS3 since Kutaragi left in 2007) is about global sales so key strategic decisions won't be focused around Japan but that's it.
Sony is doing their best in Japan, they didn't delay the launch, they're having Astrobot as a DualSense killer app made by a japanese team, they've also decided to remake a japanese game as a key launch lineup title, they have Polyphony releasing a full GT title next year, they're doing deals with japanese publishers like Square Enix and Capcom for series that are hugely successful in Japan.
The notion that they don't care about Japan when it's still an important market that contributes with 10million of units to their global success is stupid, it would be against their own interests. Obviously it's not like the PS1 and PS2 days where it was Japan first and rest of the world later but things have changed a lot over 20 years and it doesn't take Takashi Mochizuki's anonymous sources to understand it.

 

[MrFunSocks]

While I don’t think there’s any truth to it, Japan is pretty irrelevant these days in the console space so it wouldn’t be a massive loss anyway.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

I’d be shocked to learn that Sony proper would be willing to sign off on Jim Ryan and the PS division literally neutering the Japanese divisions and moving jobs out of the country.

PS becoming more US-centric has been a good thing, culturally, for the enterprise but shuttering Japanese operations in any form seems like a terrible idea.

 

[longdi]

I’d be shocked to learn that Sony proper would be willing to sign off on Jim Ryan and the PS division literally neutering the Japanese divisions and moving jobs out of the country.

PS becoming more US-centric has been a good thing, culturally, for the enterprise but shuttering Japanese operations in any form seems like a terrible idea.

But it is happening now as we speak.
What happend to Shu too? He seems to be silenced for a long while now.

 

[WakeTheWolf]

I'd be surprised if they weren't. Sony Japan has historically produced very few meaningful games over the last 10 years. The Japanese don't understand the world market as well as North American or European developers.

You clearly never saw the success of Animal Crossing then

 

[splattered]

Damn Microsoft is gonna buy Sega AND Sony in one fell swoop!

 

[Unknown?]

Let me get this straight... The team in Cali is frustrated Japan couldn't sell more so with PS5 they cripple them by sidelining them? Doesn't make sense.

Also when has Sony ever just stopped in a region because it was hard to break into? If that was how they rolled they never would have grown in Europe.

 

[WakeTheWolf]

Let me get this straight... The team in Cali is frustrated Japan couldn't sell more so with PS5 they cripple them by sidelining them? Doesn't make sense.

Also when has Sony ever just stopped in a region because it was hard to break into? If that was how they rolled they never would have grown in Europe.

I'm starting to think it comes down to identity politics. Japanese don't like censorship and outright reject woke. Its become increasingly clear that Sony want to make the console a political statement. I'm glad to be cancelling my PS5 pre-order which originally was because of the price of the new games. But I go where the japanese games are and it's looking like PC and Switch will be home to them.

 

[Isa]

I don't give to much credence to rumors, but I'd say the writing has been on the wall for a while now. Sony's first party output has been almost entirely from western devs this generation. And apart from Gran Turismo, most Japan Studio stuff were ports. I get the whole business perspective argument, but I'd also argue for the value of a more diversified portfolio to attract and maintain the PS brand heritage and older consumer. I bet for many it doesn't matter, particularly in the age of social media streamers and influencers, where some free-to-play flavor of the week outperforms most publishers releases combined. But for me personally, if it does get even worse, I'll just migrate somewhere else for my main system.

I do think that MS and Nintendo, along with rising PC support, has the opportunity to attract a lot of Japanese devs and publishers looking for more lenient platforms. In fairness to Japan Studio, they typically run support for other larger projects, such as Demon's Souls. Astro Bot looks amazing, but I'd love to see more.

And I know its more hearsay, but if MS were to heavily invest in Japan, I'd likely switch easy. I seriously doubt it, but weirder things have happened. If they threw that weight around and snagged some companies that I love, such as Koei Tecmo, Sega, Falcom, or many more, I'd be stunned and doing whatever it took to secure a series X ASAP. For now Sony's second party and third party output has been good, its what keeps me on PS. But I still haven't dipped into Ghost of Tsushima because I'm so burnt out on their formula. Again for many it wont matter, plenty will say don't worry/panic, but as a fairly hardcore gamer it greatly matters to me. In the years since Switch's launch Nintendo has heavily outshone Sony's first party output in terms of variety and quality(to me ofc). And its gotten titles that would have been at home on a PS device. Its what kept me happy during the PS3/Vita/early PS4 era. So yeah, I'll be keeping an eye on Sony. Still looking forward to my PS5, and hope to be surprised.

 

[Kokoloko85]

Doubt it

 

[Moogle11]

As long as they keep getting games from Japanese studios, I couldn‘t care less where their operations are based. I haven’t liked much from their Japanese studios over the years anyway, though I don’t know that downsizing their operations over there would impact studios from what I’ve read. They’ll still want Japanese games and exclusives for that market and fans of them elsewhere.

If they can save costs and up profits by having less physical and administrative presence in a market where consoles have been dramatically declining in sales and popularity the past couple of generations that seems like the smart business move.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

You clearly never saw the success of Animal Crossing then

Sony Japan?

 

[sublimit]

Bloomberg has been making war on Sony for a while now with lots of unproven fake rumors.
IF there's any truth to this it's probably just a matter of some people leaving while new ones getting hired.This is a very usual thing at the beginning of a new gen.

 

[WakeTheWolf]

Sony Japan?

"The Japanese don't understand the world market as well as North American or European developers. "

They clearly do. Just look at Pokemon and Mario.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

"The Japanese don't understand the world market as well as North American or European developers. "

They clearly do. Just look at Pokemon and Mario.

Their position in the market says otherwise.

Outside of Nintendo, Japan is a wasteland that's had the industry pass by them

 

[ghairat]

Don’t know but lots of “next gen” rumors that Bloomberg has been sharing ended up being false.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

But it is happening now as we speak.
What happend to Shu too? He seems to be silenced for a long while now.

He’s been moved to indie publishing and support within Sony, which - from my understanding - was partly at his request.

The article may be off in its characterization that SJE is being reduced rather than undergoing restructuring, which is a continual problem for most Japanese companies as their workforce ages into redundancy and obsolescence. I would be stunned to see the Japanese divisions be completely disassembled, but it’s not a possibility we can rule out.

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

They need to revamp their Japanese studios by buying out some companies and changing their leadership.

 

[Woopah]

I

Their position in the market says otherwise.

Outside of Nintendo, Japan is a wasteland that's had the industry pass by them

I wouldn't say that is strictly true, Capcom has had big success with Monster Hunter and Resident Evil recently and Final Fantasy did well for Sqaure Enix.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I
I wouldn't say that is strictly true, Capcom has had big success with Monster Hunter and Resident Evil recently and Final Fantasy did well for Sqaure Enix.

It's not strictly true, no. I'm using some hyperbole to convey a point.

Japans biggest publishers have done well nurturing historical tentpole franchises. The country on the whole has been relatively awful at creating new successful IP.

 

[thelastword]

I hope not, might as well buy MGS and Silent Hill from Konami and make Japan Studios the remakes and sequels Studio for a couple more generations. I love Japanese games myself and prefer them usually, though I have to admit I cannot recall the last Sony Japan game that I wanted to play outside of The Last Guardian.

And yet more people buy and play GT than Forza and Driveclub combined.....People forget that Forza Motorsport have never been a great seller..

 

[sublimit]

"Any suggestion that Sony is shifting its focus away from Japan is incorrect and doesn’t reflect the company’s strategy, spokeswoman Natsumi Atarashi said. She noted that the PlayStation 5 is launching first in Japan and said “our home market remains of utmost importance.”

Should have been first post. Especially since the title is making hot air seem like a thing.

 

[Northeastmonk]

What kind of sadist would shift the focus away from Japan?

 

[AmuroChan]

I think Sony knows full well mobile gaming is king in Japan. They’ve made more money from Fate/Grand Order than probably all their 1st party console games combined in Japan.

 

[JimboJones]

Their position in the market says otherwise.

Outside of Nintendo, Japan is a wasteland that's had the industry pass by them

And while Nintendo is Japanese I'd say they try their hardest to appeal to a global audience, they've been doing that since the 80's Vs a lot of Japanese development that focuses strictly on that market.

 

[Woopah]

It's not strictly true, no. I'm using some hyperbole to convey a point.

Japans biggest publishers have done well nurturing historical tentpole franchises. The country on the whole has been relatively awful at creating new successful IP.

That I can agree with. Nintendo and Level 5 were the two Japanese publishers putting out popular new IP but now only Nintendo remains. Will be interesting to see how these publishers next gen efforts perform.

 

[Evangelion Unit-01]

Glad there’s another thread to discuss this aspect. IMO this is bigger than the Microsoft part of the story. Long post incoming...

I’ve been suggesting this is the case for a little while. PlayStation is no longer a Japanese brand. Sony’s Japanese support has always been reliant on third party either through publishing contracts like Bloodborne, through exclusivity deals like Street Fighter, or through the merit of being the only HD console for titles like Tales/Persona (this seems to be changing). Sony’s first party has always been primarily Western and Studio Japan’s internally developed titles have not exactly been huge sellers.

They have been pushing Japan Studio towards more of a publishing role for sometime. It exists primarily to partner with third party to studios in order publish titles like Bloodborne. I think the days of 100% Japan Studio developed titles such as Knack are coming to a close. They’ll have a smaller retained team to assist on development of titles such as Demon’s Souls. This isn’t necessarily a huge change as I expect we will still see some big titles akin to Bloodborne through third party partnership.

Sony is going to continue to rely on third party support outside of Japan Studio published titles. We see them making deals with Square Enid for FF VIIR and XVI. I expect we see more of these. Deals like this will ensure a modest 10MM hardware sales in Japan but more importantly excite Western customers who will buy a console for exclusive JRPGs of this scale. They’ll also continue to retain the benefit of having support from the bigger budget Japanese titles such as the Tales games though we are seeing more of these sorts of titles becoming multiplat. PC is becoming more important in Japan and Japanese studio realize that Western customers will buy these games on Xbox and PC.

All of that said I foresee a lot of Switch/PC releases in Japan’s future. More and more Japanese developers are shifting to Switch-it has a majority of the home console titles, handheld titles, and mobile games that were previously spread across PS, Vita, 3DS, and Mobile. It can run a ton of Japanese developed titles on account of them not being hugely demanding. Not to mention Nintendo’s first party line up is huge in Japan. PC is continuing to grow as well. Even Atlus is looking seriously at PC now.

Microsoft isn’t being quiet either with them moving to align Xbox with Yakuza. We’ve know that they are looking for a Japanese studio for a while as well. Curious to see who they acquire and how it impacts Switch support. I imagine it will not be a public company.

I am curious to see what games Sony inks exclusivity deals for next. They’ve had the benefit of Persona exclusivity for sometime but with Persona 5’s explosion of popularity I have trouble believing that Atlus/Sega will be able to ignore Switch/PC/Xbox for future games. That said, I don’t think a 1 year Final Fantasy style exclusivity deal is out of the question. Sega could probably use the cash as well. Personally I’m still hoping that we see Persona 3-5 on Switch and PC soon but that’s another story. What other bigger budget titles could the grab exclusivity on? Tales of Arise is multiplat. YS is a potential title but it doesn’t have much appeal outside of Japan. Dragon Quest is another but it saw a ton of success on Switch, PC, and is now on Xbox. I wonder what titles Sony will move to secure deals on? We know about Square Enix titles like Babylon’s Fall and Project Athia which seemingly have deals. CyGames also has Granblue Fantasy ReLink and Project Awakening but I’m unclear if there are deals in place there or they’re just PS exclusive do to the technical requirements.

As the article and other have noted though Japan isn’t the focus for Sony they way it was during the PS2 era. PS3 and PS4 saw good but less than stellar sales in Japan. The X/O swap, censorship, size of the console and other smaller factors are all pointing towards this reality. It isn’t that huge of a shift from the way things were with PS4 other than the impact of Switch being felt a little more but it’s going to be an interesting space to watch.

 

[LarknThe4th]

I think it would be awful and quite dumb, the Japan Studio gives there portfolia a unique flavour, they also work as a good go between for things like Demon Souls and Bloodborne

As for the messaging re structure, well Sonys console footprint will continue to shrink in their homeland every metric continues to go down so I get the shakeup on that level(if the story is real)

 

[Evangelion Unit-01]

I think it would be awful and quite dumb, the Japan Studio gives there portfolia a unique flavour, they also work as a good go between for things like Demon Souls and Bloodborne

As for the messaging re structure, well Sonys console footprint will continue to shrink in their homeland every metric continues to go down so I get the shakeup on that level(if the story is real)

I posted long form above. I think Studio Japan is moving to more of a publishing role. Internal development of games like Knack is coming to an end.

 

[LarknThe4th]

I posted long form above. I think Studio Japan is moving to more of a publishing role. Internal development of games like Knack is coming to an end.

That would be a huge shame, a videogame landscape without Astro bot, Gravity Rush and maybe just MAYBE a new Ape Escape would be poorer

 

[Evangelion Unit-01]

That would be a huge shame, a videogame landscape without Astro bot, Gravity Rush and maybe just MAYBE a new Ape Escape would be poorer

I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of smaller budget titles like those.

Ape Escape though...

Alexa play Angel by Sarah McLachlan.

 

[synce]

From Japanese comments I've seen there's definitely a growing resentment for Sony and their focus on pandering to the west. But I think both Sony and MS will fail in Japan, as they're both western companies in current year. MS had a great opportunity to snatch up some devs hurt by Sony's new puritanical ideals, or create their own Japanese studios, but they saw it more fit to invest in Bethesda which accomplishes nothing.

 

[petran79]

In the PS2 days, Sony wanted to do away with 2D games. Now Japanese 3D games with simplified graphics not pushing technology forward are next