>>714372760SIE has had two sides to it over the years: The Asian side and Western side. That's why there were two CEOs after Ryan left.
Hideaki Nishino, representing the Asian side of Playstation, oversaw shit like hardware development/PS+ and third-party exclusives with SE/Team Ninja, but also the China Hero Project (and the MENA/Indian Hero Projects) and Stellar Blade. His bet was on Asia and their potential as a market.
Herman Hulst, representing the Western side of Playstation, most people here probably know. Former Guerrilla Games studio head who helped make create franchises like Horizon Zero Dawn. He would eventually be elevated to be head of all first-party Playstation studios and helped make deals like Bungie's acquisition and games like Concord/Helldivers possible. His bet was on Western markets.
Both factions inside Playstation have picked their own lanes to go down and while PS HQ moved to California and Western culture came to dominate Playstation Studio output, the pro-Asian side was planting seeds in new games like Stellar Blade and Lost Soul Aside and getting games like Genshin and Black Myth Wukong on Playstation first.
In all of this, the paramount importance of live service games became clear and both sides have embraced that in their own ways, but the approach has been different. One preferring F2P, mobile friendly experiences that appeal to Asian markets and the other with Premium priced, online multiplayer experiences that appeal to Western markets.
All in all, it's a story of two Playstations who have made different bets on that direction of the brand. While the Hideaki Nishino eventually won out and became the sole CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Hermen Hulst will still be head of Playstation Studios and first-party output by Playstation will still focus on the large Western markets with a strong preference for consoles. All of Playstation won't orient to Asia, because both markets want different types of games.
