As Sony continues its expansion within the anime industry through M&A, production, and distribution of high-profile titles, Chief Strategy Officer Toshimoto Mitomo—a Sony veteran of 41 years—believes the company’s anime business is currently at the same phase as the first PlayStation in terms of overall potential.
In an interview with Toyo Keizai, Mitomo was asked about the current phase of Sony’s anime business, given that he has witnessed the rollouts of the Sony Walkman and PlayStation. Mitomo replied, “If we compare it to past examples, my impression is that the PlayStation [PS1] is quite similar. At the time, Namco had a racing game called Ridge Racer, and the PlayStation spread based on that. After that, the PS2 was released, and our own IP (intellectual property) spread, but I feel a similar momentum.“
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“The number of anime titles is increasing dramatically,” he continued, “and the fan base is expanding not only in Japan but all over the world. Looking at the data showing that the size of the anime market is expanding rapidly, we can expect great things from the future.“
Through its subsidiaries Aniplex and Crunchyroll, Sony has enjoyed success with anime, as in the case of Demon Slayer, which is on track to exceed its $506 million box office gross for Mugen Train. As one of the members of the anime’s relatively slim production committee (through Aniplex), and mostly responsible for global distribution (Aniplex & Toho – Japan / Sony Pictures & Crunchyroll – International), the Sony Group gets to reap a massive chunk of the box office revenue. Meanwhile, on the streaming end, Crunchyroll’s rapid growth has elevated it to an important part of Sony’s future.
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Nevertheless, analogous to Mitomo’s PlayStation 1 example, Sony does not own many popular anime IPs. It recently acquired 2.5% of Bandai Namco, forming a strategic business alliance that aims, in part, to explore jointly developing anime and manga IP.
The upcoming Ghost of Tsushima anime is one of the foremost examples of Sony’s bid to own and spread its own IP. Adapting the games by Sucker Punch (owned by Sony’s PlayStation Studios), a team of four Sony Group companies, Crunchyroll, Aniplex, Sony Music, and PlayStation Productions, has been confirmed to be producing the series. It arrives in 2027.
You can check out the full Toyo Keizai interview here. Topics include Mitomo’s opinions on Crunchyroll’s growth potential and the decision to acquire shares in Bandai Namco and KADOKAWA.
Featured image: ©Koyoharu Gotoge / SHUEISHA / Aniplex / ufotable
