Shu Yoshida has graduated from Sony, however he isn’t retired. Quite, he’s working a brand new indie video games consulting firm dubbed YOSP Inc.
Yoshida’s urge for food to do extra in gaming exhibits simply how a lot he loves indie sport builders. He received a Lifetime Achievement Awards at Gamescom Latam 2025, the place I did a fireplace chat with him in entrance of an enormous crowd of admirers.
Yoshida simply accomplished 38 years at Sony, together with 31 years at PlayStation, and he accomplished his final day on the large Japanese firm’s gaming division on January 15.
Whereas he’s leaving an illustrious profession within the PlayStation enterprise, Yoshida advised me in an interview and the group at Gamescom Latam that he’s not executed with gaming. He nonetheless plans on working with indie sport makers, which was his closing task at Sony Interactive Leisure. He joined Sony in 1986, proper out of faculty, and went to work in company technique to evaluate budgets and search for new companies for Sony.
On the time, Ken Kutaragi, looking for revenge towards Nintendo after it reneged on an settlement to work with Sony on a sport console, pitched and received approval for creating the Sony PlayStation. Yoshida didn’t imagine Kutaragi may pull off his plan to do workstation-level 3D graphics on a $500 sport console. However his former boss urged Yoshida to affix, and he took the plunge into the unknown. Yoshida grew to become one of many first 80 folks engaged on the PlayStation.
The system debuted in December 1994 in Japan and in 1995 within the U.S. It turned out to be an enormous hit, and Yoshida needed to create a deck to impress Kutaragi’s bosses. Some considered the PlayStation as a “toy” that may tarnish the Sony model. Yoshida pitched the PlayStation because the “world’s first digital actuality system.” As soon as Sony moved ahead, Yoshida needed to persuade Japanese sport builders and publishers to make video games for the system.
Because the PlayStation succeeded, Yoshida climbed up the ranks, shifting to the U.S. and changing into a vp of Sony Pc Leisure. He grew to become president of Sony Pc Leisure Worldwide Studios in 2008, after Phil Harrison left to run Atari. In 2019, as Jim Ryan grew to become the top of the PlayStation enterprise, Yoshida stepped down from that function and have become head of PlayStation Indies in 2019. Of that transfer, he mentioned he had no alternative. It was taking that indie job or go away the corporate. In 2023, he acquired a BAFTA Fellowship for his work in video games.
Among the many titles he labored on have been Gran Turismo, The Legend of Dragoon, Ape Escape, Crash Bandicoot, Crash Workforce Racing and Spyro 2: Ripto’s Vary. He oversaw growth on best-selling franchises together with God of Warfare, Uncharted and The Final of Us. He additionally grew to become a preferred spokesman for Sony, usually main the corporate’s responses to players on social media.
I caught up with Yoshida on the Cube Summit this week in Las Vegas and as soon as once more at Gamescom Latam. We talked about these recollections and extra.
The Gamescom Latam Huge Pageant 2025 awards in Sao Paulo, Brazil, began with the lifetime achievement award for Shu Yoshida, who championed indies at Sony’s PlayStation division throughout his many years of labor on the firm.
Rodrigo Terra, CEO of Abram Video games, the Brazilian sport affiliation, offered the award to Yoshida, who will do a fireplace chat with me at Gamescom Latam on Thursday night in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Right here’s an edited transcript of our interview.
Right here’s an edited transcript of our interview.
GamesBeat: Shu Yoshida simply received the lifetime achievement award right here at Gamescom Latam yesterday, so congratulations to Shu for that. He additionally received the same award from BAFTA. He’s been on this enterprise without end. He spent 31 years at PlayStation, and 38 years altogether at Sony. He joined in 1986, and he was worker quantity 32 on what was on the time an 80-person PlayStation crew. He helped launch the unique PlayStation, the PS2, PS3, PS4. He finally rose to steer the Worldwide Studios in control of franchises like Uncharted and The Final of Us. He ended his time there centered on indie video games.
Shu simply retired from Sony on the finish of final 12 months. Now he can discuss a bit extra.
Shuhei Yoshida: I left Sony, however I’m not retired.
GamesBeat: You began a brand new gig. What are you doing now?
Yoshida: I began my very own firm, YOSP Inc. I need to assist indie publishers and builders that I’ve identified for a very long time. I’m working with youthful people who find themselves gifted and keen about video games to develop actually high-quality, inventive video games. I’m having plenty of enjoyable working with these corporations now.
GamesBeat: One of many good issues about Shu leaving Sony is he’s been in a position to do much more interviews currently. I did one with him. It bought handed round fairly a bit. Have been there some moments you talked about in your interviews that you simply had by no means talked about earlier than, that additionally bought plenty of consideration? What have been the tales that individuals favored listening to about you?
Yoshida: The interview you probably did with me, that was acquired very effectively. What did we speak about?
GamesBeat: One attention-grabbing factor about you and your lengthy profession is that you simply have been very energetic on social media. Folks actually favored you. A variety of sport executives appear to shrink back from interacting with followers, however you dove into it.
Yoshida: I type of represented PlayStation after I was with the corporate. I’m very energetic on X, the previous Twitter. I’ve a lot of followers. Each time PlayStation, as an organization, does one thing good, like launch a brand new nice sport or new {hardware}, make an enormous announcement, folks come to my channel and say, “Shu, you’re doing an important job.” Even when I had nothing to do with that a part of the corporate. I at all times get credit score I don’t deserve. In fact, when there was one thing dangerous about PlayStation I’d get, “Shu, you suck.” However fortunately, most of the time PlayStation was doing one thing proper.
Day-after-day, even as we speak, after I get up I take a look at my X account and folks I don’t know inform me I’m doing nice. Take into consideration that. If each morning, somebody you don’t know tells you you’re doing nice, that’s a fairly completely satisfied life. I’m dwelling an important life proper now due to my interactions with folks on the web.
GamesBeat: I feel you’re being a bit overly humble if you say you had nothing to do with a few of these video games. We talked about Uncharted and The Final of Us, however different issues that occurred in your watch embrace Gran Turismo, The Legend of Dragoon, Ape Escape, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro II. Is there any sport you actually loved engaged on probably the most?
Yoshida: Throughout the PlayStation days, I used to be a producer. I used to be very hands-on with sport growth. The sport the place I used to be most concerned within the inventive side was Ape Escape. Do you all know Ape Escape? Oh, thanks. It’s an motion platformer sport, like Mario, however you catch monkeys. That was plenty of enjoyable. Once we began creating the sport, our purpose was to create a 3D motion platformer like Mario 64, a tremendous sport of that era. However after we realized that the PlayStation {hardware} crew was getting ready for the launch of a brand new controller with two analog sticks, the Twin Shock controller, we determined to make this sport solely playable with the brand new controller. We wished to provide you with sport mechanics that used two analog sticks very effectively. We prototyped a lot of actions, like if you rotate the appropriate analog stick, you may transfer a propeller and fly. It was plenty of enjoyable to do.
GamesBeat: I forgot to say God of Warfare as effectively. That was a small sport.
Yoshida: On PlayStation 2 I used to be chargeable for growth in america. Santa Monica Studios was one of many studios I used to be overseeing. Once they made God of Warfare, that was the very first first-party sport from PlayStation to win sport of the 12 months awards from trade occasions just like the DICE Summit or GDC. We have been all very proud.
Throughout the unique PlayStation days, you won’t know this, however Japan was the house of our sport growth. Plenty of nice video games got here out of Japan. These Japanese corporations have been revered globally for the standard of their video games. After I moved from Japan to the U.S. for the PS2, I believed, “All proper, I’m going to convey Japanese sport growth to the U.S.” However after I landed within the U.S., I shortly realized how open the event neighborhood within the U.S. was. At locations like GDC, sport builders gathered collectively and shared information. They realized from one another.
Rapidly, simply after a few years, I ended video games from Japan. The standard of sport growth within the U.S. was going up so shortly. Once we launched God of Warfare, the 3D action-adventure style previously was identified for video games developed in Japan, nevertheless it was so well-done that growth groups in Japan requested, “How did you make this sport?” That was a really proud second for me, working with a U.S. crew to make video games that Japanese builders revered.
GamesBeat: Some individuals are most likely questioning how you bought to be a gamer. There’s a little-known story about your childhood and the way you made video games with pencil and paper.
Yoshida: After I was a baby, there was no such factor as console gaming. Throughout my faculty days, I created a sport utilizing a pencil. I carved the sting of the pencil, as a result of it had six faces, with numbers from one to 6. Then I ready two pencils like that and created a chart on paper, like a matrix. The pencils acted like two cube. If you threw the pencils, you bought a mix of numbers, like one and 6 or three and 4. You possibly can put any guidelines inside that matrix. For instance, I made a baseball sport. If you’d throw one and one it was a house run, one thing like that. I made many various sorts of video games like that and let my faculty mates play them with me.
The one sport I made in these days that I used to be actually happy with–the desks we had at college have been fabricated from wooden, with a thick plate of wooden on prime. I carved a baseball diamond into the floor of my desk and used a pachinko ball and a pencil. We’d sit on reverse sides of the desk. One particular person would throw the pachinko ball and the opposite would attempt to hit it with the pencil. There have been holes on the floor – this one is a house run, that is an out, it is a double play. That was a very talked-about sport amongst my mates. However finally I used to be known as to the principal’s workplace to apologize. Fortunately they didn’t report that to my dad and mom.
GamesBeat: Inform me the way you met Ken Kutaragi, the daddy of the PlayStation.
Yoshida: I used to be working at Sony Company. On the time Sony was an electronics firm making the Walkman, TVs, VCRs and so forth. I used to be working within the PC division. Sony was creating a pocket book laptop for Apple. The very first Powerbook was designed by Sony. However one time I used to be known as by my former boss to fulfill with Ken Kutaragi. Ken mentioned, “We’re creating a online game system with the facility of a workstation.” On the time Silicon Graphics workstations have been within the $50,000 to $100,000 vary. You used them to create pre-rendered 3D graphics. He mentioned we have been going to promote this sport machine for $500. I mentioned, “That’s wonderful,” however I completely didn’t imagine him.
I went again to the one who beneficial me to fulfill with Kutaragi, and I mentioned, “I feel this man is a liar.” However that particular person mentioned, “No, I belief what Ken is doing.” So I requested if I may be part of Ken’s crew. That’s how I got here to affix the PlayStation crew, lengthy earlier than the PlayStation was launched.
GamesBeat: We’re going to leap round a bit. You’ve engaged with Brazilian sport builders earlier than. You met the oldsters who based Arvore.
Yoshida: One factor I had a lot of enjoyable doing throughout the PlayStation 4 era was that I bought concerned within the growth of the PlayStation VR system, the primary one. That concept really got here from Santa Monica Studios, the God of Warfare crew. They created a hand-crafted viewer and connected it to a PS3 dev equipment. It used the Transfer controller. It was a hand-crafted VR system. They custom-made a God of Warfare sport on PS3. One of many builders put that handmade headset on my head and I used to be on the planet of God of Warfare. I seemed down and I used to be Kratos. It was a tremendous expertise. If that was doable with the PS3, we thought that with the PS4, we may most likely develop it right into a shopper product. That was the place the inspiration got here from. I used to be closely concerned within the growth of the particular {hardware}.
Once we have been engaged on PSVR and launched the {hardware}, there was an excellent sport known as Pixel Ripped 1989. That sport was developed right here in Brazil by Arvore. The sport used, in my thoughts, the most effective use of the PSVR system. You have been an elementary faculty scholar, and at school you wished to play your moveable sport system, like a Recreation Boy. There’s a sport inside the sport. However it’s a must to play the sport whereas the trainer isn’t you. You must examine on what the trainer is and play the sport efficiently on the moveable you might have. The PSVR system has the power to trace the Twin Shock controller. If you’re holding the Twin Shock like this, you actually really feel such as you’re holding that moveable sport system contained in the digital world. I grew to become an enormous fan of that sport and met the developer, Ana Ribeiro, the creator of the sport. We grew to become mates. That’s how I met a Brazilian developer for the primary time.
GamesBeat: You made a transition in your profession, shifting from being in control of all of the studios to being in control of indies. What was that like for you?
Yoshida: It was 2019. Jim Ryan, on the time, was CEO of the corporate. He requested me to do one thing about supporting indies. I don’t know should you recall, however in 2019 PlayStation was criticized by media folks and trade folks, who mentioned that PlayStation wasn’t supporting indie builders sufficient. PlayStation was referred to as an enormous supporter of indie video games across the launch of PS4, and we had nice indie video games out there on PS4, however towards the tip of the era in some way the corporate’s consideration shifted extra to supporting large video games and first-party video games. I used to be chargeable for creating first-party video games, so I used to be getting plenty of help from the corporate, however I used to be involved concerning the seeming lack of help for indie builders.
To me, it’s not solely that I used to be an enormous fan of indie video games, however I really imagine that indie builders will create the longer term. They bring about innovation to the trade. A terrific firm like PlayStation with such a big platform within the trade ought to be main help for creativity in that a part of the trade. However it seemed like we weren’t doing sufficient. When Jim Ryan requested me to do one thing, I mentioned I might do my greatest to advocate for the significance of indie video games inside and outdoors the corporate. I labored with our third-party groups to establish nice video games popping out and tried to advertise them in social channels and so forth. For the final 5 years of my work at PlayStation, I used to be indie video games, figuring out nice video games and selling them in order that a lot of folks would attempt them.
GamesBeat: How did you develop your private style round video games and use your instinct to resolve what video games to greenlight and put some huge cash behind?
Yoshida: After I was chargeable for the first-party studios, in fact we had some widespread IP like God of Warfare and Uncharted. Folks wished to play extra of these video games. Their studios had concepts to advance these franchises, and I supported the creation of these sequels. However I at all times wished to steadiness our work on these current franchises and our funding in new IP. In my thoughts, engaged on new IP is the most effective probability, the most effective alternative for a crew to provide you with modern concepts. I at all times wished to spend half of my finances on new IP growth. So far as what new video games to help, it was partly intuition and partly listening to the builders to see how a lot thought that they had put into arising with these concepts.
GamesBeat: You’ve at all times been a fairly optimistic particular person, however the sport trade has had a tricky time in the previous couple of years. There have been plenty of layoffs, plenty of studios closing. Folks speak about an indie apocalypse, nevertheless it additionally appears to be affecting triple-A video games. All the pieces has been affected in a roundabout way. How do you keep optimistic?
Yoshida: 5 years in the past, when COVID occurred, everybody on the planet needed to keep at dwelling. They’d to spend so much of time at dwelling. Naturally they spent plenty of time taking part in video games. The online game trade bought an enormous profit from that scenario. The trade grew like loopy. Many corporations, particularly massive corporations, believed that development would proceed. Business analysts have been projecting that loopy development would proceed. Naturally, administration folks invested some huge cash, and some huge cash got here in from exterior the trade. The final couple of years of adjustment, with all these cancellations and layoffs, is the punishment for that type of considering from administration.
With regards to conserving an optimistic view, if you take a look at the expansion of the trade, it’s been truly fizzling out for a few years. However should you take out these anomalies and plot it out, the trade continues to be rising steadily. I’ve a powerful principle that video video games reap the benefits of any new technological development. When new know-how comes alongside, the very first thing folks do with it’s make video games. Builders are fast to take benefit and experiment with new know-how. Leisure at all times wants recent new concepts. In any other case folks get bored and transfer on.
Fortunately, due to this fixed growth of latest applied sciences, video video games at all times have recent alternatives to create new experiences, or to scale back the price of growth, the price of entry into the trade. Take digital distribution. That’s the largest change within the final 30 years for the trade. Digital distribution democratized the trade. Previously, earlier than digital, you needed to have capital to grow to be a writer. You needed to spend some huge cash creating bodily stock. You needed to promote to distributors and retailers. You wanted plenty of group to have the ability to do this.
Now, a child in Africa can simply obtain Unity totally free, so long as they’ve a PC, and begin making video games. In the event that they make an important sport, they will publish it on Steam or no matter distribution platform – PlayStation Community, Xbox Dwell – and promote their sport globally. That’s the largest change, the largest alternative. An increasing number of inventive minds are getting into the trade as sport builders. On this area as effectively, I used to be right here three years in the past for the BIG pageant. I met with many builders and performed their video games on the present ground. Three years later, the video games I used to be in a position to play right here, the video games I noticed from builders–I took 14 conferences as we speak. The standard has clearly elevated. I’m tremendous optimistic for the way forward for this trade, so long as we proceed to create new know-how and builders proceed to reap the benefits of it.
GamesBeat: How did you consider deciding to depart Sony and PlayStation?
Yoshida: I used to be very completely satisfied managing the first-party studios. It’s possible you’ll know that we had incredible, inventive, passionate groups like Naughty Canine, Insomniac, Guerrilla Video games, Media Molecule, or Japan Studios. It was a lot enjoyable working with these groups, so inspiring and so rewarding. The video games these groups made have been performed by tens of millions of individuals globally. We have been in a position to see how a lot constructive affect we had on the lives of individuals. A few of you might need grown up taking part in the video games we developed. It was such a rewarding job.
When Jim Ryan requested me to do one thing about indies, I wasn’t considering that I might do something aside from sport growth for PlayStation. However due to the scenario that I defined, I believed that I needed to do one thing earlier than I left PlayStation. I actually cared about how PlayStation supported indie video games. 5 years in the past, I set a purpose to make my function as an advocate for indie video games at PlayStation out of date. If I did a very good job working with all of the groups at PlayStation to help indies and arrange sources to help them, I wouldn’t want an individual like me to maintain saying that this was necessary. Everybody on the firm would perceive.
Final 12 months, after these 5 years, I felt like the corporate was on a very good trajectory. They’ve good sources and plans to maintain supporting indies. My mission was achieved. On the similar time, Jim Ryan, who arrange my function, left the corporate earlier than I did. I grew to become nearly the final of the administration group from the very first era of PlayStation. Fortunately, the corporate picked nice folks as the brand new era of leaders for PlayStation. They’re a lot youthful than our era. They’ll convey recent concepts for the corporate. I felt like my time at PlayStation was ending. That’s how I made a decision to depart.
GamesBeat: From so many indie video games, what developments do you be ok with which might be taking place within the sport trade? What are some stuff you’re enthusiastic about for the longer term?
Yoshida: At PlayStation there’s an initiative known as the China Hero Mission, the India Hero Mission, and now the MENA Hero Mission, the Center East and North Africa. PlayStation is investing in builders in these areas to assist them grow to be console sport builders. I used to be a part of this initiative. I frolicked visiting India for a few years, assembly with Indian builders. I actually like after I see video games coming from these areas. Not simply high-quality video games, however builders benefiting from their heritage, their tradition and mythology, their music, and even social points in these areas. They’re creating distinctive video games with genuine topics, the type of video games that solely the builders in that area can create.
So many video games are being developed worldwide due to the democratization I talked about. It’s exhausting to compete. A few of you could be builders. You should be feeling the identical. Even should you make an important sport, it’s exhausting to get your sport to be identified by folks, as a result of so many video games are launched each week. However should you depend on one thing you imagine that you recognize higher than anybody else on the planet, should you’re probably the most educated about that topic, that’s an opportunity to your sport to face out. There are at all times folks with cash, publishers and buyers, searching for new concepts and new video games to scout. I perceive there are lots of publishing scouts right here at Gamescom Latam looking for new video games. They’re at all times searching for new concepts, one thing they haven’t seen earlier than. After I see video games like that from India, from Brazil, that actually excites me.
GamesBeat: Might you speak about a few of the most memorable moments out of your lengthy profession?
Yoshida: I at all times say that the sport I’m most happy with was Journey. It was a small sport made by a small crew, proper out of faculty in Los Angeles. Tons of people that performed that sport cried on the finish. It’s a metaphor for human life. After I performed it, towards the tip I used to be remembering my grandmother, who had handed away a number of years earlier than. Jenova Chen, the creator of the sport–it received a lot of awards. He did a speech on the DICE Summit that 12 months, the place he learn a letter from a lady who had misplaced her father. She talked about how taking part in the sport helped her to cope with the unhappiness of shedding her father, remembering his life and having the ability to overcome that unhappiness. Understanding {that a} small sport may have a huge effect on the lives of individuals like that, a sport you may play in simply 4 hours–I felt the affect a sport may have on human life was so significant. I used to be so proud to be a part of that growth course of.
GamesBeat: It’s heartening to see that Jenova and thatgamecompany are attempting to offer again to the trade. They simply introduced this week that they wished to do some sport jams to floor narrative video games with emotional storytelling. They’re going to assist fund these video games from indie builders.
Yoshida: Jenova is a incredible particular person. They made some huge cash from their sport Sky. It’s nice to see that. You have been within the room for Jenova’s speech at DICE, weren’t you?
GamesBeat: Yeah, I’ve talked to Jenova plenty of occasions. I bear in mind one of many issues he talked about was that that they had this profitable sport, however the firm nonetheless wasn’t financially viable. They needed to discover one other method out, go down a special path. However luckily that led to Sky.
Query: At E3 2013 there have been large repercussions associated to a video the place Mr. Yoshida demonstrated the method of borrowing a PS4 sport from a pal. Many thought-about this second Sony’s comeback to a management place available in the market. It set the corporate up because the winner in that era, even earlier than it was launched. How did Sony see that second, which additionally highlighted the weak factors of the competitors?
Yoshida: I can reply the final half first. It was nice to have a very good competitor who allow us to win. We have been simply speaking about our plans. Folks thought we have been good.
Query: Now that you simply’ve been working with indie studios quite a bit, what classes do you suppose triple-A studios nonetheless must study from indies?
Yoshida: Huge studios–I labored with bigger studios throughout my first-party growth days. They’re large followers of indie video games. Indies attempt new concepts. They provide you with new sport mechanics and even invent new genres of video games. Triple-A studio individuals are sport followers as effectively. They at all times play indie video games and get inspiration from youthful inventive builders. They’re studying, and that may proceed.
The dimensions of triple-A growth is changing into even greater now. Corporations must make protected bets by way of genres and subject material. They must do sequels, issues like that. However they need to reinvent their franchises inside that type of growth. Typically the supply of their inspiration comes from indie builders.
Query: How does it really feel so that you can see franchises that you simply gave delivery to, that you simply noticed being created, have a lot affect now on the sport trade?
Yoshida: How does it really feel? It feels wonderful. I at all times really feel happy with the builders who made these franchises, who pushed their franchises to new heights. I got here up as a producer in studio administration. I can’t program or draw artwork or design video games. I’ve at all times had a excessive respect for the individuals who can do this. Each time youthful builders push to the following stage for these franchises and get an important response from their viewers, that makes me happy with them.
