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IGN Middle East: No, Jim Ryan - Gaming In The Middle East Existed Long Before PlayStation

Canas Renvall

Canas Renvall

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Mar 4, 2018
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me.ign.com

No, Jim Ryan - Gaming In The Middle East Existed Long Before PlayStation

From the Famicom to internet cafes, we were enjoying video games long before PlayStation came to our shores.
me.ign.com me.ign.com

A few days ago, GamesIndustry.biz ran a lengthy conversation with Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO, Jim Ryan. The interview touches on Sony's ambitions with the PlayStation 5, and how Ryan hopes that the PlayStation brand and its games can be accessible to "hundreds of millions of people", in a similar way that music and movies are.

But there was one, seemingly off-the-cuff remark Ryan made that has caused quite a bit of stir in the Middle East's gaming community, not only for its remarkable inaccuracy but also for how unknowledgeable the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment sounds.

When discussing the impact the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 had worldwide, Jim Ryan said, "One of the things that I am proud about there is that we kind-of pushed the envelope. We opened up markets that had never had any gaming culture ever. Middle East...people had never played games before PlayStation in the Middle East."

I mean...huh?
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From the article, some names weighing in:






I'm not even really sure what to make of a statement like that. It's... very obviously wrong. Did he think nobody would notice a lie like that, or does he really think PlayStation created gaming in the Middle East?
 

Raigor

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May 14, 2020
15,130
It's impossible for Jimbo to say something without being wrong or controversial lol

Gaming didn't exist before PlayStation in ME? Really dude?
 
modiz

modiz

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Oct 8, 2018
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i thought it was pretty clear that all he meant that the market has just greatly expanded since PlayStation?
 
dakun

dakun

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i mean he probably chose the wrong words in saying gaming didn't exist. He clearly means that gaming in the Middle East (as with other regions he mentioned ) just greatly expanded since Playstation came out
 
parasite2

parasite2

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Oct 22, 2020
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Not trying to play devil's advocate here but maybe he meant to say Playstation was the first console to be mainstream and popular in the Middle East?
 
Alderade

Alderade

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Oct 27, 2017
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Yeah the video games supply chain in Middle East was BIG before Playstation... guys he speak in a business perspective, not if you had a SNES or mastersystem in your kid room.

Personnal Story : He can say the same thing about Europe as well. My Uncle was working at Sony Music France in the 90' and he told me a lot of good stories about the playstation launch. He litteraly had to take a console with him to show supermarket directors what a console was.
 

Deleted member 44122

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Canas Renvall

Canas Renvall

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modiz said:
i thought it was pretty clear that all he meant that the market has just greatly expanded since PlayStation?
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dakun said:
i mean he probably chose the wrong words in saying gaming didn't exist. He clearly means that gaming in the Middle East (as with other regions he mentioned but are ignored in this article) just greatly expanded since Playstation came out
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He specified "small markets" in Russia and Spain. He singled out the Middle East as "never playing games before".
 
Kaowabanga

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User banned (1 week): Trolling in a sensitive thread. Account in junior phase.
I think what he meant is that Playstation helped expand the market in Middle East but anyway I'm just here to see the replys.

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spineduke

spineduke

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Oct 25, 2017
8,745
Come on, the guy literally says people have not played games before Playstation.

You gotta spin fucking hard to turn this into supply chain logistics.
 
Jade1962

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What an age to be alive where anything you say will be taken to the extreme. Wonder if this was written by that one poster who went ballastic about this quote on the original interview thread. Look at all his examples obviously people in those countries all played games before PlayStation but not at the level PlayStation expanded it to. There were also people with smart phones before iphone.
 

Deleted member 44122

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Hey Please said:
I think we all know what he meant but issue is that given English is his primary language, he could have made the effort to distinguish between gaming culture in general vs expansion of (sony) console gaming within the Middle Eastern markets.
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people dont need to make a mountain out of a molehill every single time they see something they disagree with
 

Deleted member 9584

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Another "Jim Ryan says something very dumb" and people saying "yeah but he really meant this which isn't bad/dumb" thread.

His words don't need justifying / contextualizing. Sometimes a spade is a spade; Jim says dumb crap and should just stop.
 
Jogi

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It's weird that the ME is singled out in that comment. Impossible to assume he meant what he literally said in the next two lines for the ME as well.
 
Linus815

Linus815

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Oct 29, 2017
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lmao I cant believe he said that shit. Absolutely incredible. Thank you playstation for giving us Videogames
 
Good4Squat

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I've removed my insensitive comment. I apologize and will try and do better.
 
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GrantDaNasty

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Oct 27, 2017
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Stop jerking off Jim Ryan. He's the goddamn CEO, choose your words carefully for christ's sake.

Anyone going "guys, you know what he meant" is quickly proving they don't care cause what he says doesn't reflect or affect them at all.
 
AM_LIGHT

AM_LIGHT

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Oct 30, 2017
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What the fuck is he talking about. I am 35 and played Atari , Famicom and megadrive before PlayStation even released. Now it's true PlayStation expanded gaming culture a lot in the region but saying it didn't exist before that is complete bullshit.
 
Prine

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Yeah, I cringed at that comment, came off like an old ignorant, out of touch Grandad. Didn't Mohamed Bin Salman grow up on Nintendo?
 
modiz

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Yuntu said:
Doesnt sound that way to me. He specifically said there was no gaming before Playstation there in that sentence. Maybe he meant that but he didn't say it.
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This has happened enough times by now to see that Jim Ryan often exaggerates his words to pass his point. He is one of those that have worked at PlayStation in expanding EME regions for decades and he has seen a lot of data on how it has been growing as part of that. Thats where this comment has come from.
 
Nintendo

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PlayStation has had a huge role in expanding and making gaming mainstream in the the region but saying we never played video games before PS is straight up bullshit.
 
TheMoon

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modiz said:
i thought it was pretty clear that all he meant that the market has just greatly expanded since PlayStation?
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he LITERALLY said People had "never played games before Playstation" and markets "never had ANY gaming culture EVER" (emphasis mine, obvs)

modiz said:
This has happened enough times by now to see that Jim Ryan often exaggerates his words to pass his point. He is one of those that have worked at PlayStation in expanding EME regions for decades and he has seen a lot of data on how it has been growing as part of that. Thats where this comment has come from.
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And he expresses himself poorly and now this is the result.

Kaowabanga said:
I think what he meant is that Playstation helped expand the market in Middle East but anyway I'm just here to see the replys.

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That is obviously what he was going for. Nobody in their right mind believes he genuinely thinks playstation invented video games in the ME. And yet he completely bungled up something so simple and now has to deal with the fallout.
 
D.Lo

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I mean it's kinda dumb to say 'they didn't have games' but lots of places didn't have legitimate console industries, only pirates and knockoffs (and assumedly grey imports for some richer people). Famiclones ruled Latin America, greater Asia and Eastern Europe the entire 90s. They were also very price sensitive developing economies not ready for US$300 machines in the 90s, plus various protectionist policy issues, hence extreme budget pirate NOACs and software were the gateway.

He mentions Russia, which was dominated by 'Dendy' famiclones. Even Tectoy's most spurious unprovable Master System sales claims are nothing compared to the dominance of Famiclones in Brazil and elsewhere in South America.

The point I'd make is a huge reason it was Sony that managed to consolidate Europe and push elsewhere is because they were an existing megacorporation with distribution chains and marketing already for TVs and music in every country. Nintendo was still a relatively tiny company and was sub-distributed almost everywhere except Japan and the US when the Playstation lauched. It's not because of some genius from the Playstation guys, they just plugged into the existing networks which others in the company had already built over decades.
 
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spineduke

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TheMoon said:
he LITERALLY said People had "never played games before Playstation" and markets "never had ANY gaming culture EVER" (emphasis mine, obvs)
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Doesn't help its another wrong and dumb generalization about the region from a Westerner. We get enough ignorance and failed foreign policies as it is.
 
Yunsar

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People in this topic who defends Jim Ryan really does thinks that people from Middle East are less valid and their opinions should be dismissed, huh...
 
VeePs

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modiz said:
i thought it was pretty clear that all he meant that the market has just greatly expanded since PlayStation?
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"People had never played games before PlayStation in the Middle East"

As for all the comments about "era offended", I'm sure people are just tired of old white dudes acting like they brought fire to these places.
 
RPGam3r

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Lmao at all the "well he actually meant". I wouldn't need your defensive interpretation if what he said was clear in the first place. Guy said something dumb, period.
 

alphacat

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Some (older) people still refer to consoles as Atari's or Sega's over here.
 
Yuntu

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modiz said:
This has happened enough times by now to see that Jim Ryan often exaggerates his words to pass his point. He is one of those that have worked at PlayStation in expanding EME regions for decades and he has seen a lot of data on how it has been growing as part of that. Thats where this comment has come from.
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It still sounds like bullshit in the way he said it. Especially if he knows the data. It's legit to complain about bad phrasing if the intention isn't clear. And it seems like it wasn't clear otherwise we wouldn't have an article about it from the region it's about (and people from the region he made the statement on commenting in this thread).
 
Blackbird

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White middle aged guy says absurdly wrong information about someone's else country.

>Let's defend him and explain what he really meant.

Good stuff, Era.
 
dude

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Jim Ryan never saw my cousin's "Megason" I take it.
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Also, we played a lot of PC games, we used to buy a ton of eh.. less than legal discs in the flea markets.
 
Damn Silly

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lmao, I'm sure all these places will make sure to prostrate themselves appropriately to their saviour, the Playstation, Jim.
 
Papercuts

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The sheer speed at which people came in here to clarify what he really meant was very helpful.
 
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