PlayStation Investing in External Japanese Team and Growing PlayStation Studios - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 22 November 2021 / 6,645 Views
PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst speaking with GameInformer said Sony Interactive Entertainment is investing in its external development team in Tokyo, Japan.
"I will say that we are in some ways very much a Japanese company still," says Hulst. "That’s our heritage. That’s still part of who we are. We love our Japanese games."
Hulst discussed the restructuring of Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Studio, which is now known as Team ASOBI.
"We’re building out Team Asobi under Nicolas Doucet, so we’re actually investing in that team," he added. "People forget sometimes that we have Polyphony Digital, which is a team in two locations."
"We are investing in our external development group out of Tokyo as well, and that’s a team that has obviously worked with the likes of From Software and Kojima Productions. So we are very invested in Japanese development and Japanese development is something that we love ... I think it’s such a core part of the PlayStation identity that I can’t ever see us shy away from Japanese or even Asian development."
Hulst wants to keep the momentum going at PlayStation by continuing to grow PlayStation Studios.
"We are growing PlayStation Studios," said Hulst. "We are investing in the amazing teams we have. We are signing up new developers. We continue to focus on quality. We continue to focus on experiences that in my mind are experiences that matter – that sometimes only could have been created by us. That’s what I stand for. And I will ensure that we're going to carry on making those."
He also discussed PlayStation releasing games on PC and how there is usually two years between a release on the PlayStation and the PC port.
"Typically, there have been about two years between the release on our platform and the PC platform," he said "But you can rely on us to continue to create platform-defining exclusive content for PlayStation – that's part of the reason why we exist. It’s really important for us to squeeze the maximum out of the platform, to build showcases for the platform, and really let the audience see what these great features are contributing to the overall experience."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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I want them to work with Level 5 again. Dark Cloud 3, White Knight Chronicles 3, Rogue Galaxy 2 or a brand new IP. Just make it happen. When they work together some incredible RPGs come from it.
Agree, i realy like Level 5. Make "Ni no Kuni 3" more like Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch!! The game was amazing, truly especial!
Town building is cool, but Oliver Story is much better, also familiars are amazing, i love the little monsters!
I will admit that Revenant Kingdom is deeper and got more "meat" on mechanics, but i much ratherthe simplicity and basic rpg elements of Wrath of the White Witch, a much better game imho.
I've still got the sequel sitting at home, not to get around playing it..
Sounds like they plan to do more collaborations with third parties like FromSoftware. Cool.
Not sure if they will manage to score another collaboration project with From., still very possible, i mean they have a very close relationship, plus Kadokawa x Sony are also very close.
On another page, my money goes for Team Ninja, Nioh devs, collaboration. They will make something great together!
Also, Capcom and Square Enix exclusives are very likely.
Cool... it's important to bring diverse library.
While there are tons of great developers in the Americas, Europe, and other areas of the world, Japan has the best developers in my mind.
PlayStation investing in Japanese devs is a good thing.
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