Former PlayStation head says the rise of AAA games shut down Japan Studio because Sony "wanted to drive hardware sales with games like God of War and Uncharted"

Former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida has explained that the company shut down Japan Studio in 2021 because its games didn't "drive console sales." He goes on to say that if you love the company's "creative games," then support the former developers by playing Slitterhead and Ratatan. During his keynote speech at the Computer Entertainment Developers Conference, that's been translated by GamesRadar+, Yoshida says that he is frequently asked about PlayStation's closure of Japan Studio. "Players from around the world have said that it's unbelievable that Sony would shut down Japan Studio," he says. Ape Escape, Shadow of the Colossus, Siren, LocoRoco, Patapon, Gravity Rush, Astro Bot, and many more games come from the talented teams at Japan Studio.