In the final, farewell episode of the Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW) podcast, host May Jasper was joined by a games industry veteran: former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, and the current Head of Playstation Indies, Shuhei Yoshida.
With over 30 years of experience at Playstation, Shuhei has made an impact on hundreds of game developers and was even awarded a BAFTA fellowship award in 2023 for his contributions to the industry. Shuhei spoke on his passion for indie games, shared his thoughts on the unique comedy title My Arms Are Longer Now, and his experience at Play Now Melbourne 2024 during MIGW.
“The creativity shown in many of the indie games here are amazing, and I know that one of the reasons why that happens is the great support from the regional government. They invest in young people, they give them not just money to work on new ideas, but also they organise so that the mentors will help these young developers to learn,” said Yoshida.
“Not just how to make games, also how to set up a company and how to create a pitch for publishers. So, it’s a wonderful, wonderful program.”
May also chatted with the Founder of IndigiNerd, Cienan Muir. IndigiNerd is an organisation that aims to promote and platform the ‘pure deadliness’ of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creativity, and also produced its first major event, Indigenous Comic Con in 2019.
Big Games Night Out 2024 honoured Indigenous titles during Games Week, celebrating the global premiere of Blaktasia – Australia’s first Aboriginal-led mobile title developed by Guck – with stunning light projections across Fed Square. The Koorie Heritage Trust was also host to ‘The Gammin Guild’s D&D’, an Indigenous led one-shot campaign presented in partnership with IndigiNerd.
Listen to Episode 8 of the MIGW 2024 Podcast below!
Read: PlayStation’s Shuhei Yoshida announces January 2025 departure
