I want to share my thoughts and feelings about the recent shutdown of Sony’s JAPAN Studio. There won’t be a deep analysis here because at the end of day I am no more than a casual player.
At this point, JAPAN Studio barely exists. Most of its members were dismissed around new year. SIE (Sony’s gaming subsidy) announced that they would “re-organize” JAPAN Studio in February. Following the PS5’s breaking the tradition of Japan’s button setup (circle for “yes” and X for “no”), SIE almost completely de-Japanicized Playstation.
I don’t like this. Nobody likes this kind of move. People blame SIE’s CEO Jim Ryan for his constant disrespectful attitude toward gamers. I don’t think international giants like Sony or SIE will let a single person make every important decision. However, I think they really missed the point about why many people would rather buy a Playstation than an Xbox.
JAPAN Studio was one of the fatal spirits behind the Playstation universe. It was established even before the release of Playstation console. Although not every title it made was a masterpiece, we could always expect a unique style different from western studios. Like the Vatican, JAPAN Studio was the sanctuary that gave people a sense of security.
Now, it’s gone. Gravity Daze, Doko Demo Issyo, etc. The series we loved may never have a decent new title. It’s Metal Gear Solid’s tragedy all over again. I wonder how Hideo Kojima who has contracts with Sony felt when he heard about the shutdown. I understand cutting off the unprofitable section is a rational strategy when making business decisions. SIE could have reduced the budget of JAPAN Studio and let them focus on limited projects. Rumors say there were company politics involved. For the radical moves SIE made, I think the rumors may be true.
Fortunately, major creators and some former staff established an independent game studio called “Bokeh Game Studio”. Keiichiro Toyama, who made Silent Hill and Gravity Daze series, claimed that he will start a new horror game project. Their resistance left us some hope. Like Kojima Productions, even without a glory banner like KONAMI or JAPAN Studio, we may still be able to have positive expectations.
Sony’s profit surged historically high in the last fiscal year for the sake of its content business, with the game department especially in good shape. It seems that they were heading in the right direction. Fine, we’ll see.
One more thing. Two years ago, I applied to SIE. In an essay they required, I expressed my passion toward Playstation and JAPAN Studio. I proposed my strategy about enhancing JAPAN Studio and making more unique games. As a result, I didn’t even stand a chance to have an interview.
