In a massive blow to Sony and PlayStation, the Rise of the Ronin release has been affected due to some controversial comments from the game director. The comment from the developer saw backlash and the publisher has now confirmed that the game will not launch in Korea.
Rise of the Ronin is an upcoming PS5 exclusive action role-playing title from Team Ninja, slated to release on March 22, 2024, globally, and will see players going on a journey across 19th century Japan. But the game won’t launch in South Korea now and this may affect the sales of the game.
Rise of the Ronin Release Affected Due to Comments From One Game Developer
As reported by the Korean community website Ruliweb, Sony has officially announced that Rise of the Ronin will not be released in South Korea, physically or digitally. This report has also been covered by several Korean outlets thus verifying its authenticity.
Although the publisher did not give any reason for the cancellation of the game’s release, it is believed to be a reaction to the comments from game director Fumuhiko Yasuda in a “behind the scenes” video about the game on PS YouTube channel.
The game director compared the 19th-century scholar, Yoshida Shoin who is a controversial figure in Korea to Socrates in the video. Yoshida was a Japanese scholar and taught several leading figures of the Meiji Restoration, who eventually restored peace in Japan. Yasuda stated:
Although it was a different world in a different time, I believe he could be compared to Socrates. I wanted to depict his teachings and his life from the moment I started working on Rise of the Ronin. He wasn’t just a philosopher. He insisted on the importance of taking action.
This comment from Yasuda saw online backlash from the Korean public who then criticized the developer and started boycotting the game, leading to the cancellation of the game’s release.
Rise of the Ronin Is Not Available on Korean PSN Store Anymore
After the cancellation of the game’s release in South Korea, the game has been pulled from the Korean PS Store and the promotional material for the game has also been removed from the Korean YouTube channel except for the trailer. The game is also available upon search in Korea and digital pre-orders for the game are also blocked.
This decision of the cancelation of the game’s release in the region is also because of the political tension between Japan and South Korea and Yasuda glorifying the ideologies of Shoin about conquering Korea angered Korean citizens and prompted the gamers to boycott the game.
The inclusion of Shoin and his student Kogoro Katsura in the game has also seen backlash from Korean people. However, probably there could have been any other solution for this than just canceling the game.
What are your thoughts about the game not releasing in South Korea? Could there have been any other solution to this? Let us know in the comments.
