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Sony’s investing big time into anime, as it watches the medium grow worldwide and looks to capitalise.
The company-wide initiative – which aims to unify its three entertainment divisions – has seen it acquire Crunchyroll and invest in organisations like Kadokawa and Bandai Namco.
And speaking with business magazine Toyo Keizai, Sony’s Toshimoto Mitomo has likened its progress with anime to the PS1 era.
He said, as translated by Automaton:
“[Our anime business is] in a phase roughly equivalent to the period between the launch of the PS1 and PS2.”
Our interpretation of this is that it already has a strong foothold but is on the cusp of an explosion.
The PS1, selling over 100 million units, was obviously a massively successful product for Sony. But it paved the way for the global domination of the PS2, which is still the best-selling console ever – even if the Switch is now closing in.
To be fair, the organisation has already enjoyed plenty of success in the anime space. Most recently, the new Demon Slayer movie broke box office records, and is already comfortably one of the top ten highest grossing films in Japan’s history.
Sony will now be looking to repeat these success stories, as it synergises with the likes of Kadokawa and Bandai Namco to add more catalogue hits to its roster.
For PlayStation’s part, PS Studios boss Hermen Hulst has already spoken at length about how his company believes anime can be used as a means to reach younger audiences, and we’ve already seen the announcement of a Ghost of Tsushima adaptation for Crunchyroll.
So, there’s a lot more success to be unlocked in this area, and it’s all part of Sony’s transition from tech to entertainment, as movies, music, and games gradually begin to occupy a larger portion of its earnings.
[source news.yahoo.co.jp, via automaton-media.com]
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As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.