Since last year, Sony has been consistently debunking reports that its PlayStation brand is overlooking the Japanese market and shifting its focus towards the West. However, mounting evidence suggests that these reports are true, further confirmed by the recent reorganization of Japan Studio as well as the mass exodus of Japanese developers. Now, a former Sony employee has claimed that Sony’s Japanese and Western teams have been internally competing for control of the PlayStation brand for a while.
In a Reddit AMA, the anonymous employee (whose employment status was verified by Reddit) said that the DualSense’s default ‘X’ instead of ‘O’ was a final “f*** you” to Japan, and the relocation of PlayStation’s headquarters was part of the West wrestling control away from the country.
PlayStation is a historically Japanese brand. In the time since PlayStation debuted, America has grown to be the largest video game market. There’s been a lot of internal competition for the ‘control’ of the PlayStation brand and over the past several years you can clearly see where America has been winning. Relocation of HQ, shutdown of most of Japan Studios, and the DualSense’s X default confirm (as a final ‘f*** you’) are some of the notable examples off the top of my head.
According to the poster, the “culture war” within Sony has been brewing for the past decade. “In short, yes, Sony is becoming more American and it’s being allowed to happen because America is now the ‘premier’ video game market,” they added.
When one user asked if Jim Ryan was behind Sony’s important strategic decisions including those pertaining to the PS Vita, the employee said that he never personally interacted with Ryan but feels that he is “a businessman first and foremost.” Make of that what you will.
[Source: Reddit]
