PlatinumGames “href =” https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/platinumgames/ “> PlatinumGames rejected suggestions that Japanese creators could decrease their support for PlayStation 5” href = “https://www.videogameschronicle.com/ platforms / playstation / ps5 / “> PlayStation 5, after low launch sales and reports from Sony Interactive Entertainment” href = “https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/sony/”> Sony was ‘marginalizing’ its region Christmas to put more focus on the US market.
A recent Bloomberg report stated that Sony’s national territory was being excluded from PS5 promotional planning and saw its development teams being cut off as the company gave more importance to the West.
After the report, PS5 recorded the PlayStation “href =” https://www.videogameschronicle.com/platforms/playstation/ “> the lowest number of PlayStation releases in Japan due to the few consoles being made available. Its Japan Studio also had several high profile matches including Demon’s Souls producer Teruyuki Toriyama and Gravity Rush creator Keiichiro Toyama.
Nintendo currently “href =” https://www.videogameschronicle.com/platforms/nintendo/ “> Nintendo is dominating hardware sales in Japan, with Switch accounting for 87% of all consoles sold last year.
Speaking to VGC in a new interview, Nier Automata’s Platinum developer downplayed suggestions that Japan was being overlooked with the PS5.
The head of the studio, Atsushi Inaba “href =” https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/atsushi-inaba/ “> Atsushi Inaba said:“ To be honest, we don’t feel that much, or at least not myself yet I felt the impact of that. Having said that, I understand that the console industry in Japan is not what it used to be and when that happens, the priorities of these major console manufacturers will change, and that makes perfect sense to me. ”
He added: “I don’t know if this is an opinion that is out there, and I have no personal investment, but just because the PlayStation is from Japan does not mean that it should focus on the Japanese market. I don’t feel that way. At the same time, I also don’t think it’s American: I think it’s international and doesn’t belong to any country. That’s how I feel as a developer.
“However, I understand from the user’s perspective that if we start to see launch schedules prioritizing the US over Japan, it will be frustrating, I’m sure. I’m not going to say to Japanese fans, ‘this is how it is, deal with it’. “
Platinum’s other co-founder, Hideki Kamiya “href =” https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/hideki-kamiya/ “> Hideki Kamiya – the designer behind Devil May Cry and Okami – shared more passionate comments about the Sony’s decision to break with tradition for standard PS5 controls.
“You may be aware that even the PlayStation 4″ href = “https://www.videogameschronicle.com/platforms/playstation/ps4/”> PS4, the standard confirmation button in Japan has always been a circle, where as always it was X in the US, “he explained.” But for the PS5, Sony unified that and made the X the default radio button in Japan, as in the USA.
“To me, this doesn’t seem like a Japan versus USA thing – my pride isn’t hurt like a Japanese – it’s just more that there are two camps that had two ways of doing things, and I think they’re not eagerly tilted to one side . I don’t understand the reasoning behind it. “
Kamiya said that if the situation were the other way around, with the US having its standard controls changed, he would have felt the same way.
“It’s just a little disrespect for the gaming cultures that have existed for decades as part of so many people’s lives, ”he said. “I think PS5 stopped that and I don’t know if it was meaningful to do that.”
Earlier this month, a hard-hitting report by a group of Japanese analysts said the PlayStation brand was “in decisive decline” in the country and suggested that many consumers felt that Sony had shown indifference to Japanese players.
Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Economic Research Institute, said the PS5 sold about 240,000 units in Japan in the first six weeks of availability – less than any other PlayStation console during the same period, except the PSP.
However, Platinum’s Kamiya said he felt it was too early to jump to conclusions about how the PS5 would fare in Japan.
“As I said, for me it is not a situation of Japan versus the USA, but more about ‘culture A’ and ‘culture B’ ”, he told the VGC. “One was chosen over the other, but I don’t think that means that Japan is going to separate – I don’t see that.
“I don’t see a rejection of Sony by Japanese manufacturers. And it really is so hard to get a PS5 right now that I feel like we still don’t have enough accurate data on how it will perform in Japan. ”
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said the company is marginalizing Japan’s role as “inaccurate”.
In a statement released in late November, Sony suggested that globally, the PS5 had the biggest console launch in history, following an “unprecedented” demand.