Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida has some advice for developers in emerging markets: be true to yourself and champion what makes your culture unique.
Speaking to Game Developer at Gamescom Latam earlier this year, we asked the PlayStation veteran and indie advocate how developers in markets like Brazil can stand out on a global stage where everybody is jostling for attention.
Initially, Yoshida explains change comes fast in the video game industry and notes it only takes a few standout hits to put a region on the map.
“Once a few big products come out of these [emerging regions], that will attract more global publishers,” he says. “There are already scouts from publishers here. The publishers nowadays are very surprised and excited about the quality of games coming from Asia—China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. They are looking that way, and not necessarily this way. But I was here three years ago and the number and quality of the games is much higher now.”
“Draw inspiration from their own culture”
When the attention does shift, Yoshida encourages developers in emerging markets to “draw inspiration from their own culture” to craft something that feels completely singular.
“Take Balatro,” he says. “That was developed in Canada but could have been made anywhere. But some games in these regions—like Asia, India, or the Middle East—draw their inspiration from their own culture, whether it’s mythology, food, music, or even history. That leads to the creation of something that could have only been authentically crafted in these regions.
“My game of the year last year was Nine Sols from a developer in Taiwan. When you look at the art and the story of the game, they’re drawing inspiration from Taoism and merging that with cyberpunk.”
Yoshida isn’t wrong. Nine Sols developer RedCandleGames describes the title as “Taopunk” on its Steam page, which it says melds sci-fi elements with eastern mythology and fantasy.
New perspectives make the world richer, and Yoshida implores developers to lean into their own cultural experiences to offer something different in an industry that feels increasingly homogenous beyond the indie sphere.
Game Developer was invited to Gamescom Latam by event partner Abragames, which covered flights and accommodation.