Former Sony indie boss Shuhei Yoshida has suggested the former holder needs to move on from dazzling with flashy visuals and change its ‘way of thinking’ going forward.
Speaking with AV Watch, Yoshida-san reflected on PlayStation’s history of pushing top visual quality, something that was apparent during the early days under Ken Kutaragi and has continued to this day with the PS5.
Up until now, PlayStation’s DNA has been driven by values such as ‘cutting-edge graphics’ that have continued since Kutaragi-san’s time. Users have also expected that from PlayStation games. However, it’s about time we have to reconsider that. Of course, I think it’s necessary to provide the very best (in terms of graphics quality) to those who want it. But, in order to continue to be popular with users in a broad sense, we naturally have to change our way of thinking.
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With development costs swelling in recent years, there’s every chance that Sony may feel compelled to place less emphasis on pushing the bar with visuals, instead focussing more in the gameplay department and unique ideas.
We’ll still be getting major blockbusters, obviously, but with Astro Bot proving you don’t necessarily need to throw millions of dollars at graphics to wow players (that’s not to say Astro Bot isn’t pretty; it is, but in a colorful and vibrant way), we could see Sony adjusting down the line.
Speaking in the same interview, Yoshida-san said that the Japanese games industry was hurting somewhat after chasing western trends during the PS3 era, and the arrival of Nier Automata gave things the shot in the arm it needed. In a separate interview earlier in the year, the former Sony executive also said that it ‘feels right‘ if the company’s as-yet unannounced next-generation console were to arrive in 2028.
[Source – AV Watch via GamesRadar, Genki_JPN]