A Future Dominated By Service Games Would Be 'Boring', Says PlayStation's Shuhei Yoshida
In a new interview with The Guardian, living PlayStation legend Shuhei Yoshida has spoken about the importance of creative diversity in games. At 59 years old, the Japanese veteran has seen it all over the life of Sony's gaming brand, but still finds himself saying "the games industry will never cease to be a fun place".
Yoshida, whose official title is Head of Independent Developer Initiative at Sony, is particularly well known for his enthusiastic approach to independent game development, and he credits Journey for the current landscape — at least in part. "When [Journey] received all its game-of-the-year awards – not just the best indie game, but the best game, against all these AAA titles, it started something [...] It had such impact on the people who played. You could finish it in four hours but it’s about life and death, and people who have gone through family or close friends passing away could reflect on things they experienced as they played. I am so fortunate to have been involved with it."
Throughout the whole interview, Yoshida's appreciation for creativity is evident. Towards the end, he touches on the future of gaming in general: "The industry keeps growing and growing, and I hope it keeps supporting and chasing creative ideas and people who try to work on new things."
But what does Yoshida think about the broader industry, and the approach of big publishers? He doesn't go into too much detail, but this closing quote sums things up quite nicely: "You don’t want to see the Top 10 games every year being almost the same, all games becoming service games... That would be a bit boring, for me.”
Of course, it's worth pointing out that PlayStation itself currently has a number of live service projects in the works. And while we seriously doubt that Yoshida is having a cheeky dig, it's clear that he doesn't want every studio going down the same road — and we're certainly inclined to agree.
Do you find yourself agreeing with Yoshida? How important do you think variety is in today's industry? Look beyond AAA in the comments section below.
Source: Push Square
