Former PlayStation Boss Says Game Devs Looking To “Stand Out” Should “Take Pride In Your Culture And Leverage It”
Though the unprecedented accessibility to production tools afforded by the internet has led to a likewise explosion in the number of creators vying for audiences’ attentions, former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida still believes one of the most effective ways for creators, in particular game devs, to have their work “stand out” among the crowd is for them to embrace and lean into the various ‘cultures’ that they themselves partake in.
Yoshida, who began his 30+ year Sony career in 1993 as a member of the original PlayStation console dev team and ultimately rose to the rank of Sony Interactive Entertainment President before retiring from the company this past May, gave his thoughts on the matter during a recent speaking appearance at the recent Console Game Developers Conference 2025 in Seongnam, South Korea.
At one point during his talk, as recapped by Korean news outlet This Is Game and machine translated by DeepL, Yoshida turned to the future, in doing so warning that the only way for the wider video game industry to truly grow their markets is to provide players with new experiences – though his words are really universal to any and all creative fields.
In other words, gone was “the era of expecting only graphical advancements”, as players were not more enticed by “new ways to play”.
To this end, Yoshida then noted how Korean media, such as K-pop music, K-drama television shows, and Korean developed video games like Lies of P and Stellar Blade, was on an upward rise overseas, and proceeded to share his “hope” that local devs will “continue to confidently dive deep into what you do best and keep delivering” and offering them two points of advice: “Find what you excel at, take pride in your culture and leverage it, and do things that other developers can’t follow or replicate—that’s how you’ll stand out.”
Per This Is Game’s own summary, Yoshida “also advised that even if it seems like a niche field, if you have deep expertise in a particular area, delve deeply into it. When you meet users in the global market, you can connect with a large number of gamers.”
As explicitly specified by Yoshida, his suggestion to “take pride in one’s culture” is not a nationalist or race-based call to arms.
Rather, it’s a plea for authenticity, an encouragement for any and all creators to bring their genuine interests and inspiration to the table, as this ‘human factor’ will be worth its weight in gold in the burgeoning AI ecosystem – after all, Metal Gear Solid wouldn’t be what it is if Hideo Kojima didn’t wear his love, and Super Smash Bros. would be nothing without Masahiro Sakurai approaching each entry with a wonder towards any and all things video game-related.
And speaking of Sakurai, it should be noted that he, like Shuhei and many others including Danganronpa creator Kazutaka Kodaka and NieR franchise producer Yosuke Saito, has also voiced support for video game devs to embrace their unique cultures and identities.
Asked earlier this year as to what steps the Japanese gaming industry should take in order to remain competitive with China’s, Sakurai simply opined, “This isn’t exactly my own idea, but looking at trends in the gaming industry, I strongly believe that Japanese creators should simply pursue what they love.”
“There was a time when American entertainment was hugely successful, and people in Japan thought, ‘We should create something more Americanized. There was definitely that kind of culture—trying to align with the de facto standard (products or standards that become widely accepted through market competition).
“However, I feel that overseas fans of Japanese games aren’t necessarily looking for that. What they love is Japan’s unique style and its distinct charm. In other words, I believe the ideal approach is for creators to make the games they truly want, and for those who appreciate them to enjoy them.”
“The most important thing I want to say is, ‘Do what you want freely.'”
