It’s hard to look at where Sony is right now and say that their Japanese division is thriving. While their first party output is bigger than ever, that almost exclusively comes from western markets and developers where their Sony Japan teams largely do smaller scale titles or work in conjuncture with other studios. The PlayStation brand sales has declined in Japan while Nintendo has effectively taken the market by storm. Still, though, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan says they still have strong connections to the market.
In a recent interview with Famitsu, Ryan commented that he still felt the Sony brand was strong with licenses in Japan, echoing some previous statements he made about Sony not downplaying Japan after reports suggested the company was shifting away from the region business-wise. He also said they would continue developing games for the region, though did not go into specifics.
“We’re really happy and proud of the PS Studios titles that have been released by Worldwide Studios. Some of them have already been announced, and others are in the works. SIE also has strong relationships with licenses in Japan, so we will continue to strengthen our ties with them and develop titles made in Japan for PlayStation fans around the world.”
It’s not saying much in the end, but at the very least, the company is doing what they can to show they aren’t abandoning the market, with other third party developers echoing the sentiment. Still, it does feel like the Japan development brand of the company is far from its western studios. But who knows, maybe that Silent Hill game that’s been rumored to be developed by Sony Japan will finally come. That’ll be something.