Sony Is Winding Down Its Oldest First-Party PlayStation Developer, Japan Studio - Report gamespot.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gamespot.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
PlayStation’s oldest first-party development group, Japan Studio, is reportedly being shut down by Sony.
The news comes in from VideoGamesChronicle, reporting that Sony is winding down the original game development of the studio behind Ape Escape, Gravity Rush, and Knack.
The studio’s annual contracts weren’t renewed ahead of the company’s new business year, which is set to kick off on April 1. According to the report, ASOBI Team, the group responsible for The Playroom, Astro Bot Rescue, and Astro’s Playroom will continue as a standalone studio within Sony Japan.
VGC: Sony is winding down original game development at Japan Studio (Ape Escape, Gravity Rush & more)
Sources told VGC that the scaling back is due to Japan Studio not being profitable in more recent years. As the developer focused on the Japanese market before considering global appeal, PlayStation wanted to focus on broad appeal of its other first-party studios out of the gate. Another source indicated that the writing was on the wall for Japan Studio more than a year ago, starting with the departure of then president Allan Becker.
This follows other recent reports of Sony “sidelining” Japan and decisive brand decline in the country, as well as Nintendo forcing Sony out of the market there. Sony and PlayStation have repeatedly reiterated the importance of Japan and denied the reports of the company shifting focus away from the country, but these continued reports are telling a different story. The balance has been steadily shifting since Sony moved its PlayStation Global HQ to California in 2016.
Sony shutting down Japan Studio development - Report gamesindustry.biz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gamesindustry.biz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.