“If you don’t like it, don’t buy it”, former Sony Interactive boss says of Ghost of Yōtei character design ‘controversy’

The character design for Sony‘s Ghost of Yōtei is officially ‘controversial’, apparently. Why? Simply because the upcoming follow-up to the hit PS4 game Ghost of Tsushima features a female samurai, and it seems that in 2024 some people are deeply offended by a developer choosing to make a woman the lead character of a game.

Such has been the response that now even the former CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, Shawn Layden, has weighed in. And he’s made an eminently sensible suggestion: “If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.”

The argument behind some of the criticism of the Ghost of Yōtei character design is that Japanese samurais were traditionally men. Right, as if video games have ever been limited by historical fact. But even if they must respect history, it’s not as if there are no historical accounts of female warriors in Japan. Known as onna-musha, women are known to have fought alongside samurai.

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Layden’s response points out the obvious. A video game is a form of entertainment, and any given game is the result of what it creators wanted to achieve. It’s not a public service, and game developers don’t have an obligation to respect anyone’s prejudices. If they judge things wrong, a game might flop, like Sony’s recent Concord disaster (as an aside, some ascribed that to the character design too, rather the fact that it was a paid-for live service game that nobody wanted competing against established free-to-play titles).

But a game can flop, and that’s fine. Developers make their own creative and business decisions, and if they get it wrong, they suffer the consequences. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the freedom to create the game they want.

It’s yet to be revealed if Ghost of Yōtei will get a boost on Sony’s new PlayStation 5 Pro console, but we expect something is planned. The game will be released in 2025, so there’s plenty of time. If you’ve yet to upgrade to a PS5, then read our guide to the best games consoles for the latest information and deals.