Sony Executives In Full Panic Over Ghost Of Yotei Backlash?

The announcement for Ghost Of Yotei is not going according to plan. Many fans expected a different direction for this title. While I do not believe that the backlash for this title is as widespread as most think, there are still a few things to be concerned about. This concern is not for us fans but for Sony, a company trying to sell games. Since the announcement, there have been some rumblings about past comments from the lead voice actress. However, I will not focus on that here today. While some comments might have been tasteless, I will refrain from making serious character judgments.

For the most part, I do not care what she says on Twitter as long as the character she is voicing stays relevant to the story. If I do, I will simply not buy the game. Then, some were upset that they did not continue with the Ghost of Tsushima story. While a sequel would have been great, I respect the decision to go in a new direction. Of course, sex was also brought up immediately. The fact that a woman is playing the lead was a brief topic of discussion. However, it was also heavily taken out of context.

While a small minority tried to claim DEI, and the other side immediately yelled toxic racist right-wingers, for the most part, this was also a non-issue. This, however, does not mean everything is perfect. I do not mean this in the context of the game. We do not know enough about the title to draw that conclusion. What I am referring to is the pressure from Sony Executives to launch a successful Triple-A game.

Sony Executives Panic Over Ghost Of Yotei

The disaster of Concord did have Sony in a panicked state. At the forefront of the Concord failure was the identity politics debate. At this point, I don’t think Sony wants anything to do with that topic out of fear that it can drag another game down. I want to be clear, Ghost Of Yotei is not identity politics. It is simply a woman in a video game. That is not a DEI issue. I am only stating that even if a small part of the community resists the title, Sony will naturally panic out of fear. They are likely watching titles like Assassins Creed Shadows and thinking it best to avoid any negative press.

This is regardless of whether the discourse is true or not. Just one more time for people not to misunderstand. I do not think the Ghost Of Yotei is woke because there is a woman. I simply think Sony Executives are panicking because the reception was not as good as expected, and they lost millions on Concord, which was filled with these issues. Regardless, less discussion is needed on how the Sony executives are feeling and what the employees think. That Park Place shared a story from an insider claiming, “Apparently, Ghost of Yōtei blindsided many people that were working at Sony who were not made aware of what Sucker Punch was making.”

He added, “And that people in the mid levels at Sony were actually confused when Yōtei was announced because they were under the impression that Jin Sakai would be getting a sequel.” “They are not happy at all when it comes to the response of that game either, internally at Sony right now.”

What To Expect From Ghost Of Yotei

Now that we have removed all of the more negative undertones let’s discuss what we can expect from the game. As established, there will be a new lead. Gamerant reports, “Ghost of Tsushima dealt with the adventures of samurai Jin Sakai, who is forced to question his notoriously rigid code of honor when it proves ineffective against the invading Mongol Empire. Many fans assumed a sequel would just pick up where the first game left off and continue Jin’s story. Surprisingly, this is not the direction Ghost of Yotei went with. Instead, it introduces a new protagonist: a female warrior named Atsu.”

Then there will be a new setting; Gamerant states, “The first game was titled Ghost of Tsushima because… well… it took place on Tsushima island. Ghost of Yotei offers a new setting, one quite some distance from Tsushima: Hokkaido. This is quite a shift. To put it into perspective, Tsushima is located in the southwest of Japan, right between the rest of Japan and what is now South Korea. Hokkaido is Japan’s northernmost island, putting it closer to Russia. The games are literally set at opposite ends of the country, roughly 2000km apart.”

Right now, there is still a lot that we do not know. Only time will tell how all of this will play out. From a visual perspective, the title looks great. I hope that the story and gameplay will be just as good.