Shu Yoshida 'Really Appreciated' Indie Game Role Created by Jim Ryan 1

There’s been an outpouring of support on social media this week for former PS Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida, after he said in an interview with VentureBeat that he had “no choice” but to take his role as indie games champion within Sony.

In comments which went viral – much to the executive’s surprise – the well-loved industry icon revealed: “When [ex-CEO Jim Ryan] asked me to do the indie job, the choice was to do that or leave the company.”

This outraged parts of the fanbase, as Yoshida is rightfully recognised as overseeing the most prolific part of PS Studios’ history. Many felt the ultimatum was outright disrespectful, even if Yoshida did go on to explain that he felt “very strongly” about indies and “really wanted” to do the job.

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Now, in a Sacred Symbols+ interview (paywalled), Yoshida has explained that the indie role was created specifically for him, after a series of studios had publicly criticised PlayStation’s approach.

“Jim was worried about the situation with indies, and to his credit, he really supported [me] within the company and sent a message that it is very important to support our partners, including indies. So, I really appreciate Jim doing that and I really appreciated his suggestion to do this indie work and the position he created. I really don’t think anything bad about Jim; if anything I’m really grateful for how he helped and supported me for the past four years.”

Yoshida would, of course, go on to do incredible work. As he noted in his interview with VentureBeat, the health of indie games on PS5 is incredibly strong right now, and some titles have even been performing better on PlayStation than on PC.

Speaking specifically about his role as head of PS Studios, Yoshida acknowledged he’d been doing the job for a long time, and always wondered whether it’d be a good idea to bring in someone new with fresh ideas.

“I enjoyed my time and wanted to continue, of course, but in [the back of my] head I thought, ‘Maybe it’s good for a new person to come in with fresh ideas and perspectives.’ Especially [current PS Studios boss Hermen Hulst], who’s a bit younger with new ideas.”

Yoshida pointed out that he had no interest in making TV shows and movies based on PS Studios properties, but noted that Hulst has done an incredible job building PS Productions, which has had a role in the creation of HBO’s award-winning adaptation of The Last of Us, among others.

[source patreon.com]