Sony has recently been making efforts to rekindle interest for the PS5 in the Japanese market, where sales have grown sluggish. One major step was the release of a new, affordable Japanese language-only SKU back in November, but when it comes to software, Konami may be the key to the PS5’s domestic revival, as proposed by game journalist Kiyoshi Tane.
During Sony’s latest State of Play showcase, aired February 13, Konami took the stage for a good fifteen minutes, making several big announcements. Notably, the company announced the original JRPG Rev. NOiR, produced by Drakengard 2’s Nobuki Kadoi, which has so far been announced only for the PS5. Similarly, the new Silent Hill: Townfall looks to be a PS5 console exclusive at this point, with the official homepage confirming only PC and PS5 versions. This trend continues from titles like Silent Hill 2 (2024) being timed exclusives.
While major Japanese game companies like Square Enix have struggled from exclusivity deals and eventually pivoted away from them, Tane suggests that Konami is in a unique position to sustain the relationship it currently has with Sony, thus consistently creating incentive for gamers to buy PS5s. He explains that not only is Konami’s game business relatively small, it also possesses established sources of stable revenue, like eFootball, the Powerful Pro Baseball series and the Momotaro Dentetsu series (whose lifetime sales exceeded 18.9 million units as of August 2025).
When looking at Konami’s recent financial briefings, the company has reported record-high game-related revenue for the past three quarters, with eFootball consistently being cited as a major driver of sales (the title topped 950 million downloads as of January 2026). With powerful mainstays like this and regular revivals of classics from its catalogue, the implication is that Konami can afford to keep releasing some of its most attractive titles as timed PS5 exclusives, thus contributing to the console’s popularity.
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