Ex-SIE Japan Producer Masami Yamamoto Established EPIGRAsm siliconera.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from siliconera.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Sources told VGC that the scaling back is due to Japan Studio not being profitable in more recent years. As the developer focused on the Japanese market before considering global appeal, PlayStation wanted to focus on broad appeal of its other first-party studios out of the gate. Another source indicated that the writing was on the wall for Japan Studio more than a year ago, starting with the departure of then president Allan Becker.
This follows other recent reports of Sony “sidelining” Japan and decisive brand decline in the country, as well as Nintendo forcing Sony out of the market there. Sony and PlayStation have repeatedly reiterated the importance of Japan and denied the reports of the company shifting focus away from the country, but these continued reports are telling a different story. The balance has been steadily shifting since Sony moved its PlayStation Global HQ to California in 2016.