Ghost Of Tsushima Made Japanese History A Genre, Says Takuma Endo

The developer behind Tenchu and Kamiwaza says that the ninja-based action-adventure game from PlayStation Studios had a big impact on developers in Japan.

Sony has a long list of exclusive games and almost every one of them has been successful. First-party titles from the studio have made it famous for creating amazing IPs and a lot of games have played a role in that. Ghost of Tsushima is one of the games which has made the Sony formula a success. 

The ninja-based action-adventure game came out in 2020 and was the last big release on the PlayStation 4. It was a mega success, both critically and commercially, and the players also loved every part of it. With over 8 million copies sold as of January 2022, Ghost of Tsushima was financially viable for Sucker Punch and Sony.

Probably the best part of this success was how the game is based on Japanese culture. Seeing a AAA title based on Asian culture is really nice to see with respect to diversity in the gaming world. But, the game had a much bigger impact, according to a game developer.

The developer behind Tenchu and Kamiwaza, Takuma Endo, believes that Ghost of Tsushima had a big effect on developers regarding Japanese culture. While talking to Metro in a new interview, the developer talked about the impact of the game. According to him, studios are more open to making games based on Japanese culture after the release of Ghost of Tsushima.

He said that, before Ghost of Tsushima came out, studios were not very keen on dealing with Japanese history. It was very hard to convince them and take a leap of faith with the project. But, that has changed now due to the success of the game. “There was this period where publishers kind of… maybe not refused, but weren’t interested in dealing with games that dealt with Japanese history,” he said.

Takuma Endo says that Ghost of Tsushima proved that there was a market for games based on Japanese culture. Players are willing to play titles with ninjas and old-school swords and the Sucker Punch roleplaying game was a prime example. It proved most of the studios wrong, he claimed. “Then you have Ghost Of Tsushima that comes along and it kind of proves the opposite, that there is a market and that people are interested.”

Hence, Ghost of Tsushima played a huge role in changing the perception of people in suits about these kinds of games. Not only did it convince the suits but it also motivated the developers. Takuma Endo says that the game gave developers a lot of inspiration to create what they like.

“It really had a big impact in Japan, for developers, showing them that this was still viable. And also kind of giving them inspiration and courage to think, ‘Well hey, maybe we can actually approach this subject matter again and start making games within this broad genre,” he further elaborated.

What do you think about this? Do tell us your opinions in the comments below!

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Ahmed Mansoor is a News Writer who has a deep passion for single-player adventure games. He loves to keep tabs on the gaming and technology industries and loves to break stories that interest his audience. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and several years of experience writing for games. Experience: 3+ Years || Education: Bachelor's in Journalism || Written 600+ News Stories.

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