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[Lunatic_Gamer]

The PlayStation website has a page that lists each of Sony’s studios, including the likes of Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog and Guerrilla.

As of last month (as spotted by PushSquare and captured by the Internet Archive), the page included Japan Studio in the list, referring to it as “the long-standing talent behind some of PlayStation’s most original titles”.

As the page stands now, however, Japan Studio is no longer present. In its place is Team Asobi, the studio behind the pre-installed PS5 game Astro’s Playroom.

PlayStation has officially removed Japan Studio from its list of studios | VGC

The official site no longer lists Japan Studio among its teams…

www.videogameschronicle.com

PlayStation Studios | PlayStation

PlayStation Studios defined gaming for generations. Our collective of studios and teams span the globe – and together – advance gaming and the positive impact it has on people’s lives.

www.playstation.com

 

[Corndog]

PlayStation has officially removed Japan Studio from its list of studios | VGC

The official site no longer lists Japan Studio among its teams…

www.videogameschronicle.com

PlayStation Studios | PlayStation

PlayStation Studios defined gaming for generations. Our collective of studios and teams span the globe – and together – advance gaming and the positive impact it has on people’s lives.

www.playstation.com

Isn’t this old news?

 

[mejin]

Can't wait for the new Astro's game.

 

[Birdo]

So does this mean Team Ico are dead too? They were part of Japan Studio

Do it, Microsoft! Save them!

 

[NoLootBoxDev]

The King is dead

 

[StreetsofBeige]

So does this mean Team Ico are dead too? They were part of Japan Studio

Do it, Microsoft! Save them!

Nobody knows. When Japan Studio was shut down, I remember reading Japan studio employees were still going to be part of Asobi. But nobody knows how many people transferred over.

 

[Kilau]

 

[xrnzaaas]

Can't wait for the new Astro's game.

Hopefully it's a full new entry and not a game to show off PSVR2's capabilities.

 

[fallingdove]

So does this mean Team Ico are dead too? They were part of Japan Studio

Do it, Microsoft! Save them!

Could have sworn Team ICO was independent after Shadow of the Colossus.

I don’t know if I want Microsoft “saving”them either. Lol. There is no way in hell that Microsoft would have financed/supported a game like The Last Guardian.

 

[Bryank75]

It sucks that they did this.... I really do not agree with the way Jim and Co are running things and there seems to be a huge amount of nepotism / favoritism in how things are being done now.
No communication or openness, so they don't have to be transparent, just act aloof until things go away....

It's really arrogant of them.

 

[kanjobazooie]

Too bad. Maybe if they kept making Ape Escape games I would've been their sugar daddy and helped them stay afloat.

Rest in peace, Japan Studio. Ape Escape is the game that will always define PlayStation for me.

 

[FunkMiller]

Pretty fucking poor show all round, really. Japan Studio produced some classics, and it's a bad sign that Sony have decided a first party Japanese studio isn't worth having for anything other than AstroBot.

 

[Varteras]

So does this mean Team Ico are dead too? They were part of Japan Studio

Do it, Microsoft! Save them!

Team ICO was gone a long time ago. At least a decade ago. The new independent group that formed was Gen Design who agreed to stick around and help Sony finish The Last Guardian after a very long time of development hell. Epic Games is fully funding their next game which they've been working on since at least 2018.

 

[MDSLKTR]

So does this mean Team Ico are dead too? They were part of Japan Studio

Do it, Microsoft! Save them!

Ueda signed up with Epic games last year.

 

[Birdo]

Team ICO was gone a long time ago. At least a decade ago. The new independent group that formed was Gen Design who agreed to stick around and help Sony finish The Last Guardian after a very long time of development hell. Epic Games is fully funding their next game which they've been working on since at least 2018.

 

[Naked Lunch]

Just really sad.
Besides Kojima - Japan Studio was the main reason to own Playstation consoles for me.
They were basically Sony's answer to Nintendo in my eyes - with a more mature slant.
Still dont understand why its gone - I never really looked into it.

 

[RoboFu]

MS buys PlayStation japan studio!!

 

[nowhat]

I really do not agree with the way Jim and Co are running things

Seriously? I've completely missed that, you should have been more forthcoming.

 

[Clear]

Its just a rebranding guys. What was formerly badged as Studio Japan output will now be given the Team Asobi monicker.

Much like Studio Liverpool the facility formerly known as Studio Japan will remain in place, but serve as a business and administrative unit as opposed to a development house.

 

[Solidsnake_1]

RIP Bloodborne 2

 

[JoeBudden]

Its just a rebranding guys. What was formerly badged as Studio Japan output will now be given the Team Asobi monicker.

Much like Studio Liverpool the facility formerly known as Studio Japan will remain in place, but serve as a business and administrative unit as opposed to a development house.

More of a restructuring with how resources shifted away from the various studios under Japan Studio, and centralized under Asobi.

Dedicating your resources towards one big release at a time, versus the old format of managing development of multiple releases that often ended up average or mediocre experiences, was a smart move by Sony, despite all the phony crocodile tears in this thread.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

More like got consumed by Asobi, which is a good thing to make them one and bigger.

 

[SlimySnake]

Lol i remember getting chewed out by gaffers for saying Sony shut them down. I was told they were just being restructured.

 

[Elbow Identity Shallow]

So does this mean Team Ico are dead too? They were part of Japan Studio

Fumito Ueda actually left in 2011.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Oh, noes! What shall Sony do now?

 

[Three]

Lol i remember getting chewed out by gaffers for saying Sony shut them down. I was told they were just being restructured.

Yes, they are now Team Asobi and if the Bluepoint thing is true Bluepoint. Japan Studios made games with team Asobi and Bluepoint anyway.

 

[The Fartist]

 

[Gamerguy84]

One of my favorite things about gaf is recycling old news like it's brand new so everyone can yell about it again from a different angle.

 

[Elbow Identity Shallow]

As they said back in March:

"In an effort to further strengthen business operations, SIE can confirm PlayStation Studios JAPAN Studio will be re-organized into a new organization on April 1," said Sony in a statement. "JAPAN Studio will be re-centered to Team ASOBI, the creative team behind Astro's Playroom, allowing the team to focus on a single vision and build on the popularity of Astro’s Playroom.

"In addition, the roles of external production, software localization, and IP management of JAPAN Studio titles will be concentrated within the global functions of PlayStation Studios."

Unfortunately, for all the complaints there's been about the changes, there just wasn't enough people buying their games.

 

[Thief1987]

One of my favorite things about gaf is recycling old news like it's brand new so everyone can yell about it again from a different angle.

Slow days, people are bored

 

[Jaguar Victory]

BTW if you're into anime and haven't checked out the first episode of this one on the summer season lineup you should. It tackles some game development themes in Japan.

Bokutachi no Remake
Remake Our Life!​

 

[SaucyJack]

Its just a rebranding guys. What was formerly badged as Studio Japan output will now be given the Team Asobi monicker.

Much like Studio Liverpool the facility formerly known as Studio Japan will remain in place, but serve as a business and administrative unit as opposed to a development house.

This

More of a restructuring with how resources shifted away from the various studios under Japan Studio, and centralized under Asobi.

Dedicating your resources towards one big release at a time, versus the old format of managing development of multiple releases that often ended up average or mediocre experiences, was a smart move by Sony, despite all the phony crocodile tears in this thread.

And this

This was pretty well understood when the announcement was made a few months ago. Restructuring with anything remaining from Japan Studio to be rolled into Team Asobi which is being expanded.

This is just the rebranding that supports the prior announcement.

 

[kyliethicc]

Lol i remember getting chewed out by gaffers for saying Sony shut them down. I was told they were just being restructured.

Japan Studio was renamed Team Asobi and a bunch of devs were fired. The studio wasn't shut down.

Team Asobi have always been a part of Japan Studio since they began in like 2012.

Renaming the studio and firing people is what restructured means.

Team Asobi's existence means you're wrong. They are still making games out of the same Tokyo office. Just under a new name.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Lol i remember getting chewed out by gaffers for saying Sony shut them down. I was told they were just being restructured.

And yet, you double down.

On a side note, also explains the Nixxes acquisition. A much broader support studio than Japan Studio, and Asobi can now focus on centralized development.

 

[emivita]

Ape Escape, Forbidden Siren, Tokyo Jungle, Puppeteer, Rain, Gravity Rush, The Last Guardian....

 

[Thief1987]

Japan Studio was renamed Team Asobi and a bunch of devs were fired. The studio wasn't shut down.

Team Asobi have always been a part of Japan Studio since they began in like 2012.

Renaming the studio and firing people is what restructured means.

Also they moved former external support team in JS to Xdev Japan umbrella iirc, and actually growing this team, hiring producers, devs etc.

 

[Captain Toad]

Japan Studio is just Asobi now, the only part that has proven themselves to Sony's high standards.

Sony has a high bar for their studios. If they can't meet it, they'll get cut and replaced by those who can.

It sucks, but it also leads to an extremely high standard for their first-party studios. Games like Gravity Rush and The Order, while decent, won't cut it. Sony will replace them with proven studios like Insomniac and Housemarque. Quality over quantity.

 

[Elbow Identity Shallow]

I can imagine that a few people on here mock the game but Astro's Playroom is absolutely the best 3D platformer I've played for a long time, if we get more of that I'll be happy. I know that that the VR only Astro Bot Rescue Mission was supposed to be a fantastic game too but I've not played it.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Japan Studio is just Asobi now, the only part that has proven themselves to Sony's high standards.

Sony has a high bar for their studios. If they can't meet it, they'll get cut and replaced by those who can.

It sucks, but it also leads to an extremely high standard for their first-party studios. Games like Gravity Rush and The Order, while decent, won't cut it. Sony will replace them with proven studios like Insomniac and Housemarque. Quality over quantity.

Lucid is probably having their last chance with their next game after Destruction Allstars before Sony give them a pass and move on to check other studio to acquire.

I can imagine that a few people on here mock the game but Astro's Playroom is absolutely the best 3D platformer I've played for a long time, if we get more of that I'll be happy. I know that that the VR only Astro Bot Rescue Mission was supposed to be a fantastic game too but I've not played it.

Actually only Sony haters mock Astro's Playroom which was a generous masterpiece to be given for free from Sony.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

ITT:
- People not aware that Team Ico (Ico+Colossus+Guardian) and Project Siren (Forbidden Siren + Gravity Rush) had long left Sony and formed their own genDesign and Bokeh studios, and they can continue to work on those IPs as independent developers.


As for those still working there, changing the name of one studio doesn't mean shutting it down. These news outlets are just being vultures for clicks based on fake drama.

 

[Three]

I know that that the VR only Astro Bot Rescue Mission was supposed to be a fantastic game too but I've not played it.

Amazing game, highly recommend it. Gave me that "playing Mario 64 for the first time" feeling.

 

[kyliethicc]

Also they moved former external support team in JS to Xdev Japan umbrella iirc, and actually growing this team, hiring producers, devs etc.

XDev Europe is based in Liverpool, England. They've recently been renamed to just XDev and will now work globally.

Japan Studio had some support teams, but they all seem to have been fired.

We have no idea if any XDev staff will work out of Japan. Maybe idk.

 

[Elbow Identity Shallow]

Amazing game, highly recommend it. Gave me that "playing Mario 64 for the first time" feeling.

Yeah, I was never quite sold on the PSVR tech to be honest. I'll almost certainly end up with PSVR 2 though and I'll certainly try it then.

 

[Nautilus]

F

 

[Badlucktroll]

So does this dispell the Silent Hill game from japan studio rumor?

 

[DForce]

Lol i remember getting chewed out by gaffers for saying Sony shut them down. I was told they were just being restructured.

Yes, Team Asobi is a rebranded/restructured Japan Studio.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Sony really hated Days Gone, huh?

Every other studio got a shout out for their most recent game, then with bend they're like "these fuckin guys work here too"

 

[BennyBlanco]

Yes, Team Asobi is a rebranded/restructured Japan Studio.

SCEJ is dead and buried. Team Asobi is just the astro bot devs, everybody else is gone.

 

[Derktron]

This is what I feared, I hope Microsoft pushes themselves in the Japanese market by getting more support for devs in Japan, the same goes for Nintendo. I would have hope, they would have stayed true to themselves instead of evolving into a Western market. Sony was one of the key leaders for this reason.

 

[mansoor1980]