I don't understand why it is Sony's fault that Japanese 3rd party devs haven't kept up with the industry outside specific IPs which sell decently.
Certainly the Team Ico citation feels bizarre given they in fact backed The Last Guardian even thru development hell which wasn't Sony's fault.
I think people just having hard time squaring present reality with historically built up expectations of Japanese gaming industry which was
really one specific historical moment when medium sized companies churned out relatively low budget games which suited hardware at time.
Since then they have had difficulty expanding scope, or conversely engaging lower end of things which Western indy devs adeptly do as well.
(ironically, engaging genres many associate with heyday of Japanese gaming, yet Japanese gaming corps are too stifled to give fresh take on)
And the exceptional successes really demonstrate broader point, as they tend to build around narrow mechanic or thematic IP like fetish.
I mean, there is market for that, but when that defines Japanese gaming then of course they have painted themselves into very limiting corner.
The difference is when it was first being made that was just fun, state of the art gaming, not "ok we must narrow our expectations because Japan",
I mean even more damning is they also mostly missed out on mobile gaming which is actually fully in line with limited scope/budget they prefer.
But this is extension of bigger issue for Japanese, with similar dynamic re: broader technology and business expectations developed from 80's.
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