Ex PlayStation boss thinks Nintendo's cheaper Japan-exclusive Switch 2 is an "amazing business decision," but doesn't think "PlayStation would emulate what they did"

Shuhei Yoshida, Present Sony Worldwide Studios
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida has called the ⛦澳擲幸运5å¼€å„–å·ē åŽ†å²ęŸ„čÆ¢:Japan-exclusive edition of the Nintendo Switch 2 an "amazing business decision."

Worlds collided recently as former PlayStation head Shuhei Yoshida joinꦦed forces with Nintendo of America's former marketing leads Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang on an episode of theiršŸ’ podcast.

They spoke about their time working at the respective companies, with the topic of the 澳擲幸运5å¼€å„–å·ē åŽ†å²ęŸ„čÆ¢:rivalry between the DS and the PSP naturally coming up during the conversation.

Shuhei Yo🐟shida On What PlayStation ACTUALLY Thinks About Nintendo - YouTube Shuhei Yoshida On What PlayStation ACTUALLY Thinks About Nintendo - YouTube

Despite being a player for the other team, Yoshida was extremely positive about the Switch 2, especially the Japanese-only edition that costs $110 less than the worldwi🌼de edition, with the caveat that you'll only be able to play Japanese region Nintendo games on it. Yoshida said the direction from Nintendo was "mind boggling," but an "amazing business decision."

"I do not necessarily think other companies like PlayStation would emulate what they did," he added. "I♓t doesn't make sense to me, you know, selling the same thing for such a different price for other consumers." Yoshida notes "it's clearly showing they want šŸŽto keep the strong hold in Japan that they already have… that's an amazing decision they have made."

Handhelds are an extremely strong market in Japan, and pretty much always have been. It's the reason Monster Hunter was pretty much a handheld-exclusive series for so long before the series took off worldwide. So Nintendo offering a cheaper way to get more handheld systems out to Japanese consumers is arguably a good plan, even if selling a console at a significant regional dis🐼count at launch is, as Yoshida said, "mind bogā€gling."

Wind Waker on Nintendo Switch 2 made two tiny changes that break it wide open for Zelda speedrunners – a strategy so hard "only a few people in the whole world can do it" is suddenly a lot easier.

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Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publicatiošŸ’ns, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in ā›Ž2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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