PlayStation Blogcast 038: The Shuhei Yoshida Show

Subscription Links:

• Subscribe via iTunes
• Subscribe via RSS here
• Download the MP3 here on PS3, PS Vita or PC (Right-Click->Save As)

Guten tag! What. A. Show. This week’s PlayStation Blogcast comes to you by way of Cologne, Germany, home to the annual Gamescom videogame expo and countless meat products. Jeff and I made the 10-hour flight for good reason: We got hands-on time with loads of great games, from God of War: Ascension to Dishonored to Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified, not to mention sitting in on PlayStation’s well-received Gamescom press conference that introduced cool new games like Tearaway, Puppeteer, Until Dawn and more. Good, good stuff.

But perhaps more importantly, we finally got a chance to record a big fat Blogcast interview with Shuehei Yoshida, president of PlayStation’s Worldwide Studios. This conversation ranks among my all-time favorite Blogcast discussions for three reasons:

1. Shuhei walked us through his vision for PlayStation’s internal software development, including its focus on creativity and original IP.
2. It was our first (and hopefully not last!) interview to include EU PlayStation.Blog manager Fred Dutton.
3. At two points during the interview, Shuhei says…well, I probably shouldn’t spoil it. You’ll just have to listen.

But that’s just the beginning of this week’s double-stuffed, beer-battered episode. After talking shop with Shuehei, we shift gears to The Last of Us, Naughty Dog’s upcoming survival tale, with an eye-opening interview with stars Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson — or, as you might know them, Joel and Ellie. From there, we delve into the development secrets of Sleeping Dogs, United Front Games‘ highly reviewed open-world crime drama set in the mean streets of Hong Kong.

Oh, and we share full details on next week’s jam-packed North American PSN lineup, too. Listen in, let us know what you think, and we’ll see you back in the States next week!

Stuff We Talked About

Gamescom 2012

Sleeping Dogs

Puppeteer

Tearaway

Dishonored

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Need for Speed Most Wanted for PS Vita

The Last of Us

Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

The Cast

[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game
details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating
descriptions.]

• Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music. Special thanks to Astro Gaming headsets for providing audio gear.