TheMisterManGuy on 22 November 2025
During the height of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (now PlayStation Studios) in the PS2 through PS4 eras, the two MVPs of Sony's experimental first party development and publishing were it's Japan Studio, and it's Santa Monica Studio.
Japan Studio was PlayStation's oldest first party production studio. Though it tragically shuttered in 2021 (spiritually replaced by Team Asobi), the group is still fondly remembered for the weird, unique, and innovative titles it supported. Whether they were making games internally or producing titles created at external studios, Japan Studio's games always brought something unique and interesting to PlayStation. From Ape Escape, to Patapon, to LocoRoco, to the Team ICO series, and games like Gravity Rush, Bloodborne and Puppeteer, Sony Japan was always exciting.
Over in the U.S. meanwhile, Santa Monica Studio is perhaps best known for the God of War franchise, still one of Sony's biggest money makers next to Gran Turismo and Naughty Dog. But the Santa Monica department's functions were far broader than just making that franchise. Perhaps they're better known in the PS3 through PS4 gens as the producers of weird, experimental indie stuff. Flow, Flower, Journey, Unfinished Swan, Datura, Sorcery, and PlayStation All-Stars to name a few. They also oversaw another Sony dev, Incognito Entertainment (Twisted Metal Black guys) before they were shut down. In recent years, Sony Santa Monica shedded much of its external development as part of the PS Studios restructuring to concentrate solely on it's own internal development.
Interestingly, Japan and Santa Monica always had a very symbiotic relationship with eachother, with SMS doing the English localizations for Japan Studio titles, and vice versa. And Allan Becker, one of the founders of Santa Monica, was in charge of Japan from 2011-2020.
So between the weird, creative output of both, which did you think had the best?
Japan Studio was PlayStation's oldest first party production studio. Though it tragically shuttered in 2021 (spiritually replaced by Team Asobi), the group is still fondly remembered for the weird, unique, and innovative titles it supported. Whether they were making games internally or producing titles created at external studios, Japan Studio's games always brought something unique and interesting to PlayStation. From Ape Escape, to Patapon, to LocoRoco, to the Team ICO series, and games like Gravity Rush, Bloodborne and Puppeteer, Sony Japan was always exciting.
Over in the U.S. meanwhile, Santa Monica Studio is perhaps best known for the God of War franchise, still one of Sony's biggest money makers next to Gran Turismo and Naughty Dog. But the Santa Monica department's functions were far broader than just making that franchise. Perhaps they're better known in the PS3 through PS4 gens as the producers of weird, experimental indie stuff. Flow, Flower, Journey, Unfinished Swan, Datura, Sorcery, and PlayStation All-Stars to name a few. They also oversaw another Sony dev, Incognito Entertainment (Twisted Metal Black guys) before they were shut down. In recent years, Sony Santa Monica shedded much of its external development as part of the PS Studios restructuring to concentrate solely on it's own internal development.
Interestingly, Japan and Santa Monica always had a very symbiotic relationship with eachother, with SMS doing the English localizations for Japan Studio titles, and vice versa. And Allan Becker, one of the founders of Santa Monica, was in charge of Japan from 2011-2020.
So between the weird, creative output of both, which did you think had the best?
