Sony Studios Worldwide Chief Blames Developers for Slow PS3 Sales in Japan

Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida lamented the PlayStation 3's status in its home territory of Japan. However, he was quick to point the finger at Japan's third-party software makers for Sony's current standing, saying that they lack the "capabilities" to produce system-selling games.

"It's mostly a software thing," Yoshida told Videogaming247. "Price is important, but relative to the the value consumers perceive. There are lots of consumers, game fans in Japan, that are waiting to spend their money," he claimed.

The system, the priciest of the three current-generation consoles, barely leads predecessor PlayStation 2 in Japanese sales charts despite approaching two years on sale.

According to Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu, the Nintendo DS outsold the PlayStation 3 by a factor of eight and Sony's PSP outsold it by a factor of three last week.

"What's happening is that lack of support from the Japanese publishers," Yoshida continued. "Not necessarily from intentions but from development capabilities."

Yoshida reportedly also agrees with the contingency of Japanese developers who believe that the West is currently trumping Japan's game development industry by being more creative.