Sony’s bold entrance into the console market back in the ’90s heralded the use of CD-ROMs instead of cartridges, which convinced several companies to jump on board the PlayStation train. It turns out FromSoftware was one of those companies lured in by the appeal of discs.
Speaking to Simon Parkin on the Your Perfect Console podcast, former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Shuhei Yoshida stated it was the decision to embrace CD-ROMs which led FromSoftware to join the video game industry, kicking of a chain of events leading us to games like Bloodborne, Armored Core 6, and the wider Souls series.
Yoshida explained how it went down: “A few companies like Atlas saw the opportunity in [CD- ROMs], because it was so much cheaper to create and quicker to manufacture. They didn’t have to wait two-to-three months to restock their games if they were successful, CD ROMS could be delivered in three-to-four days.”
“One of these companies was FromSoftware” Yoshida continued. “FromSoftware was a business software company, but when they saw PlayStation was a CD ROM game system, they thought ‘oh, we can become a video game publisher’! That’s how they entered into the video game industry.”
When asked how Yoshida convinced companies to take a chance on Sony, a company that at this point in time had no video game console experience, Yoshida said: “It was not easy. Industry people were saying between PlayStation and Sega Saturn, the Sega Saturn would probably be more popular due to Sega’s experience. However, it was a combination of the 3D graphics capability of the PlayStation, as well as the CD-ROMs as a new business opportunity. Of course, the Sega Saturn provided the same opportunity with CD-ROMs”
“However, Bandai Namco provided a really good library of 3D games like with Bit Racer, Capcom brought Resident Evil, and eventually Squaresoft released Final Fantasy 7. That was the more critical title.”
So, in case you needed reminding, the decision to use CD-ROMs was a big deal for Sony and the future of the video game industry as a whole. The whole interview is filled with many similar tidbits of information about Sony’s past, and is well worth a listen.
Shuhei Yoshida left PlayStation back in January and since then has proven especially opinionated on the video game industry. You can read his thoughts on the PlayStation 6, and how Sony “cannot do the same thing they have been doing”, or how Nintendo is losing its identity. Alternatively, he’s also spoken about how he “had no choice” but to take a job overseeing indie games.
