Here’s the thing with the gaming industry- most publishers are localized to certain regions. Even companies like EA, Ubisoft, and Take-Two, who have studios all around the world, do the bulk of their AAA game development in some regions. Nintendo’s game development is almost all done in Japan- the odd Retro Studios game notwithstanding.
The one exception to this, however, is Sony- Sony is the only company that has managed to create a slate of studios around the world who can churn out AAA games. And this is something we have seen the benefits of over the last few years, as Sony’s first party lineup has truly come into its own.
It’s also something that Sony’s American boss Shawn Layden is proud of. Speaking during his Gamelab panel (fully transcribed by GamesBeat), Layden noted that Sony remains the only company in the world that has studios in all three regions capable of putting out AAA games.
“You may not know that my same studio structure that brings you Gran Turismo is the one that also brings you The Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Detroit: Become Human, and soon this game called Spider-Man,” he said.
“We have these 13 studios worldwide. One of the things that makes our structure a bit unique — I challenge anyone to argue my claim — is that we’re the only studio structure I know that can create triple-A content in three regions. We can make it in Japan, in Europe, and in America. I think that gives us a certain energy, a certain power. Certainly, it’s a wider viewpoint about the markets and gamers worldwide. That’s a benefit to all of the studios. We have probably 2,500-3,000 people. We have a lot of external partners that we work with, whether it’s Insomniac — again, I’m pushing Spider-Man — or Quantic Dream or Supermassive. Our breadth is really wide.”
This is undoubtedly true. While there may be many who contest the quality of the experiences Sony pushes out – which, fair enough, you’re entitled to your opinion and everything – there is no contesting the claim that Sony is the only company that can push out AAA games across all three major regions in the world. Even Microsoft, after their studio expansions, or Nintendo, with their 19 studios, cannot claim that. Not yet, anyway.
