Sony Interactive Entertainment has reportedly pulled PS5 exclusive Rise of the Ronin from South Korea due to backlash stemming from a comment made by game director Fumihiko Yasuda. Korean gamers were apparently unhappy with Yasuda glorifying a Japanese scholar who is considered a controversial figure in South Korea.
Rise of the Ronin isn’t banned from Korea but isn’t available to purchase on PS5
The report was published by Korean website Daum and shared by Twitter user Genki_JPN. In a developer video, Yasuda likened Japanese scholar Yoshida Shoin to Socrates. Shoin promoted the “Jeonghan theory” that advocated conquering Korean territory to increase Japan’s power.
Despite the backlash, it seems that Rise of the Ronin wasn’t actually banned from Korea and did end up passing rating board review. However, Sony seemingly wanted to avoid the negative discourse surrounding the game, and decided to pull it from sale via the PS Store as well as retail outlets.
Daum claims that Sony hasn’t explained its decision but some Korean gamers have lauded the move while saying that they won’t be purchasing another game from developer Team Ninja.
Since Sony hasn’t made an official statement yet, take this report with a grain of salt.
