One part of the PlayStation puzzle that’s so often overlooked is how brilliant Sony has been at unlocking new markets. The platform holder’s success is built on reaching territories that its competitors don’t necessarily bother with, and it’s maintained that energy with the PS5 with initiatives like China Hero Project, India Hero Project, and more recently MENA Hero Project.
The goal is multifaceted: bring unique content to its consoles and in the process attract new markets to its brand. Speaking fascinatingly as part of the Sacred Symbols+ podcast (paywalled), ex-PS Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida provided a little further insight into the manufacturer’s path to success. “The console market in China was very small,” he explained. “It’s growing, but it’s still very small.
China as a country banned console games for many years, so there are lots of people who didn’t grow up playing on consoles.” He continued: “In order to reinstall console gaming in the country, the [PlayStation] third-party relations team felt that we needed local games.
However, because the local market for consoles in China is so small, it doesn’t make sense for developers to consider making games for PlayStation just for the Chinese market. “So, the third-party relations team decided to support the Chinese developers to become successful globally, because the worldwide PlayStation market is large.
So, by doing so, we’re seeing more games made in China, and that will eventually attract Chinese players to buy the console.” Many of the biggest games on PS5 right now are developed in China.