Every PlayStation fan knows the story of one of the studios that helped the brand build its original identity, SIE Japan Studio, which has accompanied Sony since the launch of the first PlayStation. Unfortunately, the studio no longer exists and the worst thing is that we know that their last game was canceled and apparently it was a new installment of a beloved franchise.
As part of the Bokeh Game Studio Developer Video Series, programmer Tatsuya Matsushita talked about the environment at the studio and shared some of his work experience.
What was striking is that in that video he commented that, like many other Bokeh Game Studio developers, he was part of SIE Japan Studio, which he joined in 2017 after completing his master’s degree. According to the programmer, after 6 months of training, he was assigned a project.
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Matsushita explains that he worked on the development of said game for 2.5 years, but unfortunately the development was frozen and in the end it was never released; in other words, it was cancelled.
“I spent about 1 year at SIE after that, thinking about my future,” said Matsushita, who continued to look for other jobs and meet with other game companies. Fortunately, his former superior and now Bokeh Game Studio’s CTO, Nakamura, invited him into the fledgling studio and meet up with other creative veterans and colleagues from SIE Japan Studio.
“Since my first project was cancelled, I still haven’t had a chance to work on a game until its release,” said Matsushita, whose second project is slitterhead. “I had trouble dealing with it. So I really want to get my career off the ground and put out as many games as possible.”
What was the final game that SIE Japan Studio developed and was cancelled?
Here we enter the interesting work of speculation, since obviously the developer is not allowed to share the name or details of the canceled project.
With these new clues, the idea that the canceled project was nothing more and nothing less than Ape ExhaustClassic PlayStation IP.
First, let’s remember that in 2019 the series turned 20 years old. Because of this, the official account of the franchise on Twitter was very active and a Pipo Monkey botarga could be seen at various Sony events. However, this campaign ended suddenly with a message that seemed like a bittersweet farewell, since Sony did not forget its anniversary, but apparently there were certain restrictions.
“There are things I could and couldn’t do last year, but I have some regrets,” said Pipo Monkey, who was leaving the city to head back into the jungle.
Was SIE Japan Studio working on a new Ape Exhaust?
Many saw this as the announcement of the cancellation of a game in the series, as it was believed that there was a project that would end the 20th anniversary celebration with a flourish, but apparently something went wrong.
There was no more information about it, but these new details that Matsushita shared curiously coincide with the development time of the alleged project of Ape Exhaust and the game that SIE Japan Studio was working on.
Matsushita joined SIE Japan Studio in 2017, where after 6 months he spent 2.5 years developing a new game. If we do the math, the project would have been canceled in mid-2020, precisely when the little monkey Pipo said goodbye with his bittersweet message, which reinforces the theories that the last game from SIE Japan Studio was from Ape Exhaust and it was cancelled.
Let’s remember that later SIE Japan Studio worked as an auxiliary studio; that is, it supported the development of other games by other studios, such as Demon’s Souls (2020), Ghost of Tsushima, Shadow of the Colossus, Everybody’s Golf VR Y Déracineperhaps anticipating that the studio would stagnate and be dissolved years later, which is why many developers began to leave months before.
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SIE Japan Studio had a sad and undignified end to its history with Sony
All this only adds to the sad narrative of how Sony Interactive Entertainment allegedly got rid of the studio, whose offspring, it can be said, is now known as Team ASOBI, a former division of the developer and which was established as its own studio after the exodus. of various creatives from SIE Japan Studio and its subsequent restructuring.
Multiple reports claimed that Sony was distancing itself from Japan to focus more on its Western division, which yielded better financial results because it appealed more to a global audience, something that many fans saw as a betrayal of its roots, especially due to the history of SIE. Japan Studio and its unique titles.
What do you think about this? What game do you think was the one being developed by SIE Japan Studio? Tell us in the comments.
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