Shuhei Yoshida, the veteran PlayStation executive, reportedly counseled Sandfall Interactive against marketing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as a turn-based RPG, believing the classification would deter potential players. The game's strong sales performance - exceeding eight million copies sold - appears to validate that strategic advice. Yoshida's input came as the former PlayStation studio president offered guidance to Sandfall on how to position the title to audiences.
The anecdote underscores a persistent challenge in gaming marketing: how genre labels shape player perception and purchasing decisions, even when a game's mechanics might otherwise appeal to a broader audience than its category suggests.
- Yoshida advised against the turn-based RPG label despite the game fitting that classification, suggesting the terminology carries negative baggage with consumers.
- Eight million copies sold indicates the alternative positioning strategy may have successfully expanded the game's addressable market.
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Gamereactor UK
· Aug 19, 13:03 UTC
Former PlayStation exec Shuhei Yoshida told Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developers not to call it a turn-based RPG
Turn-based RPGs never really went away, but if there's a game that brought them back into the mainstream in a big way, it's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Sandfall Interactive's incredible debut wears its JRPG influences proudly, and it's cle…
PC Gamer
· Aug 18, 20:08 UTC
Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida told Clair Obscur devs to not call it a 'turn-based RPG' so people wouldn't 'overlook' it
More than eight million copies sold suggests he might've been right.
Video Games Chronicle
· Aug 18, 09:05 UTC
Shuhei Yoshida says he told Clair Obscur studio not to call it a turn-based RPG, because it would put people off
The former PlayStation studio president advised Sandfall on how to pitch the game