Does Sony now favor the West? PlatinumGames answers

Does Sony now favor the West? PlatinumGames answers
For some time, parallel to the arrival of PS5, it is rumored that Sony no longer sees its Japan as a priority, focusing more on the Western market. Consequently, the doubt arises that the Japanese development teams prefer Nintendo Switch and mobile platforms, which in the land of the Rising Sun are more successful. In this regard, Atsushi Inaba, head of the development division of PlatinumGames - a well-known Japanese videogame company - replies, reassuring the most fearful that the various Japanese development teams will continue to work on titles designed for the newcomer of Sony, without loosening the taken.

“Honestly no, I'm not affected by this situation, or at least it hasn't had any impact on me. Having said that, I understand that the Japanese gaming industry is no longer what it used to be and that this could lead the big console manufacturers to change their priorities: this makes perfect sense to me ", Inaba told VGC, adding that:" The fact that PlayStation is Japanese does not mean that it should primarily focus on the Japanese market. Atsushi Inaba also suggests not to think of Sony as a company that has now become American. “In my opinion it is simply an international reality, which does not belong to any particular country. This is my perception as a developer. However, I understand that from a user's perspective it could be frustrating to see release dates that prioritize the US over Japan, ”concludes PlatinumGames' studio head.

Even Hideki Kamiya did not shy away from commenting on the situation, proposing an excursus on the function of the X and O keys in Japan: “Maybe you know that until PS4 the button to confirm in Japan has always been the Circle , while in the West it was the Cross. With PS5, however, Sony wanted to standardize this aspect, giving the X button a confirmation value even at home. […] Having said that, I don't see a separation between Sony and the Japanese developers. Also, at the moment it is so difficult to get a PS5 that we do not have precise data on how the console is actually doing here ”.

Sure, the PS5 launch in Japan didn't go as everyone imagined, but it's also true that what Hideki Kamiya says isn't wrong. The difficulty in finding ninth generation consoles greatly affects international statistics. Without forgetting, moreover, that in the Japanese territory the historical presence of Nintendo is strong, which with its hybrid console, Nintendo Switch, continues to dominate the video game market.

Keep an eye on this link to check the PS5 availability.