NIS America President Takuro Yamashita issued a public apology to Sony in a press release last Tuesday, following comments that he made in the April edition of MCV Magazine.
In an article titled “Switching Gear” Yamishita provided some insight into the relationship the publisher has developed with Nintendo and NIS’ willingness to capitalize on the robust appetite for content that has developed on the Nintendo Switch.
NIS President Takuro Yamashita
Speaking to MCV about their deal to publish SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, and all female fighting game featuring an all-star cast of some of the most iconic ladies of SNK, Yamishita revealed that NIS had originally agreed to publish SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy exclusively on the PlayStation 4; however, after a series of meetings between NIS, Nintendo of Europe, and SNK at Gamescom, a deal was reached which allowed the publisher to produce an exclusive physical Switch version of the game in addition to the digital-only PS4 version.
“Then after their meeting influential people from SNK came to our booth and said: “Hey, Mr. Yamashita, is it possible to cancel our contact on PS4? Nintendo wants to work on this title on an exclusive basis!
So these third parties come together and the team at NIS and SNK decided to go with Nintendo for the western market. Physical copy-wise, it’s going to be a Switch exclusive. PS4-wise it’s going to be just digital.”
Yamashita attempted to clarify his comments, as well as apologize for what could be construed as the negative tone towards Sony, that one could infer from reading the article.
“I must extend my most heartfelt apology to SNK and Sony Interactive Entertainment. The truth is that the Nintendo Switch exclusive plan was originally decided by NIS America, and only later among discussions with influential SNK people did we decide the best option moving forward would be to have as much exposure as possible. This is why that in the end, we are bringing the PS4 version of SNK HEROINES to the market, and even supported this version at the NISA Press Event and in the press meetings in February and March.
In discussing matters with MCV, I thought that some insider information would make them interested in the overall conversation, and such lip service did not stand on the side of truth.
Once again, I apologize to SNK and Sony if it made them seem negative towards the PS4 platform in any way, and stress that the original goal of a “Nintendo Switch exclusive” version of SNK HEROINES came from NISA.”
On the surface this appears to be a gracious, yet unusual gesture by a high-level executive wanting to ensure that an essential relationship is
NIS was originally set to publish SNK Heroines exclusively as a digital title on the PlayStation 4. A robust Switch software market and last minute deal is bringing an exclusive physical version to Nintendo’s hybrid.
not damaged through miscommunication; however, this gesture as previously stated is unusual. One can’t help but speculate (and that is what we are going here – speculating) as to what may have prompted this public relations move. Could there have been pressure behind the scenes by Sony?
NIS says that’s not the case.
NerdBacon reached out to the publisher to ask them of there had been any pressure from Sony which would have prompted the unusual PR move, to which they responded:
“[N]o, there was no pressure of any sort whatsoever from any party. We have no further comments on this statement.”
The big takeaway, despite NIS’ adamant denial, is that one of the parties involved felt uncomfortable enough to issue an entire press release to say I’m sorry to Sony.
And since Sony was the recipient of this verbal atonement, wouldn’t it stand to reason that they were indeed the ones that were uncomfortable? Or at least, there was concern that they would be? With that in mind, one can’t help but wonder if at least a few words exchanged between PlayStation officials and Yamashita, given how out of the ordinary his public apology was.
The bigger story however, is that Yamashita’s compulsion to apologize over a perceived slight of Sony in favor of Nintendo provides the briefest of glimpses into Sony’s psyche: they’re nervous.
That’s because Sony execs have shifted their focus away from Microsoft’s Xbox One as Sony’s main competition, and has now cast a wary eye on the phenomenal success of the Nintendo Switch and other companies that may soon rival the company’s dominance of the console market.
That idea may come as a shock to anyone steeped in the fanboyism of endless Sony vs Microsoft debates that have permeated gaming culture for nearly 20 years; however, a closer examination of the Switch’s rapid growth shows that Sony’s shift in focus is not entirely unreasonable.
While it’s hard to gauge exactly how many units Microsoft has sold of their current Xbox One device since the company stopped reporting those numbers several years ago, most estimates place the figure at approximately 30-50 million units sold since it’s release in November of 2013.
Reports at the beginning of 2018 show that Nintendo moved roughly 13 million Nintendo Switch units since its March 3rd, 2017 debut. A very impressive feat which eclipsed the lifetime sales of its predecessor, the Wii U in less than one year’s time. A report that came out Wednesday courtesy of Famitsu, shows that Nintendo has sold 4 million Switch consoles in its native market of Japan. Comparatively, Sony took 38 months to reach the same milestone with the PlayStation 4, and has lifetime sales of 6 million in the land of the rising sun.
Enthusiasm for the Switch doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, and it’s not unthinkable to believe that the Switch will soon outpace the PlayStation 4 as the number one console in Japan by the end of 2018.
It’s not just Nintendo’s hardware sales that are on fire. Sales of software from both Nintendo and its third-parties are doing very well on the Switch. Three of Nintendo’s exclusive titles made the NPD top ten list for 2017, while numerous third parties are reporting that they are seeing their highest sales numbers of certain titles coming from Switch sales. This helps make publishing on the Switch a very attractive prospect for a smaller developer.
The Nintendo Switch may represent a threat to Sony’s dominance
These factors have led analysts to predict that the Switch will soon outpace the Xbox One family of consoles worldwide, placing Nintendo directly behind Sony in the console market. While Nintendo still has a long way to go before they get close to matching Sony’s lifetime PS4 sales, which are now over 70 million, Switch’s momentum is undeniable. Unless something catastrophic occurs in Nintendo’s strategic vision, the Switch’s ascension to the top of the console ladder is not a hard event to imagine taking place in the not so distant future.
While Sony may not have directly appealed to Yamashita to issue his apology, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine a modicum sense of displeasure at the prospect of having the PlayStation 4 publicly framed as an undesirable platform, or worse, an afterthought to Nintendo within the pages of MCV .
SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy will release on the Nintendo Switch on September 7th, 2018.
What are your thoughts? Do you think Sony is getting nervous about the success of the Nintendo Switch, or do you think the Apology was just a gesture of good will. Let us know in the comments section below.
Written by The Watchman
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