Sacred Symbols+, Episode 437 | Two Whole Hours With Shuhei Yoshida (Patreon)

It's me, Colin. In my lengthy experience covering PlayStation professionally, I've had the pleasure of speaking with and interviewing legendary Sony executive Shuhei Yoshida many times. But today, I'm pleased to present you our very first chat in more than eight years. (Indeed, I approached him to talk with me because so many of you asked me to. So thank you for that.) Shu and I touched on a lot of things here, far too many to list. Some points of interest: Thoughts on Sony's pursuit of games-as-a-service, Jim Ryan's seeming ultimatum to go indie or leave, the process of both buying and shutting down first party studios, whether the abandonment of PlayStation-published shooters at the beginning of the PS4 generation was a mistake, future potential for a PlayStation All-Stars-like product, details on Sucker Punch's cancelled game Prophecy and Santa Monica's cancelled untitled sci-fi title, why Sony never purchased Quantic Dream, the perceived loss of the brand's Japanese identity, and much more. There's a whole lot in here for PlayStation nerds, so please enjoy.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

00:04:44 - The GamesBeat interview

00:12:28  - Sony’s on and off shift with online games

00:24:12  - Should PlayStation release games day 1 on PC?

00:26:21   - Should Sony investigate games on other platforms?

00:32:34  - Xbox games on PlayStation

00:37:48  - Is it better for Sony to be less reliant on first party?

00:41:16   - What goes into deciding an acquisition?

00:48:38  - Studios that got away

00:50:38  - Buying Insomniac

0:53:10 - Closing studios

00:57:53  - Where does second party fit in?

01:09:54  - Growing PlayStation in China with censorship

01:13:56  - PlayStation All-Stars

01:18:21  -  PlayStation's Japanese identity

01:24:06  -  PlayStation becoming more US focused

01:31:31 -  Sucker Punch's Prophecy

01:36:01 - Santa Monica's canceled game

01:42:09 - Demon's Souls

01:48:52  - The opportunity cost of live service

01:55:45 - Reaction to Intergalactic

01:57:03 - Boomerang controller