Sony Interactive Entertainment knew that exclusive games were crucial for the success of the original PlayStation console, according to former executive Shuhei Yoshida.
During an interview with Kyle Bosman on his YouTube channel, former Sony Interactive Entertainment executive Shuhei Yoshida was asked about the company’s recognition of the importance of exclusive games back when the original PlayStation launched, and whether he was told that the console needed a certain number of titles in order to make it look special. In response, Yoshida said that the idea definitely came from the management group.
According to Yoshida, the management at Sony was very intent to grow first-party development. He mentioned that the company acquired studios like Psygnosis, maker of the WipEout series, in Europe. Meanwhile, in the US, Sony had a group of people doing sports games, such as 9 89 Studios. In Japan, however, the team was much smaller and mostly involved external development. They supported Yoshida in hiring people and growing the internal studios because they clearly knew that exclusive games are crucial to make the PlayStation platform successful.
The former Sony Interactive Entertainment executive was also asked about the first time he had a good idea as a producer. He recalled that, during the development of Crash Bandicoot, he had raised concern over the game being too difficult for the Japanese market. PlayStation hardware architect Mark Cerny served as the executive producer on the project at the time. Yoshida’s viewpoint led to Cerny making the Japanese version of Crash Bandicoot more accessible.
During a recent interview, Yoshida offered insight into the survival of one of PlayStation’s most challenging projects, The Last Guardian. According to him, under another publisher, the game would’ve been canceled. He believed in the vision of its director, Fumito Ueda. and the emotional impact it could have on players.
