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Team Asobi

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Team Asobi
Company typeDivision
IndustryVideo games
PredecessorJapan Studio
Founded2012; 12 years ago (2012) (as division of Japan Studio)
April 1, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-04-01) (as Team Asobi)
Headquarters
Tokyo
,
Japan
Key people
Nicolas Doucet (Studio Director, Creative Director)
ProductsAstro Bot series
Number of employees
65[1] (2024)
ParentPlayStation Studios
Websiteteamasobi.com

Team Asobi is a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. A first-party studio for Sony Interactive Entertainment, Team Asobi was originally formed in 2012 as part of Japan Studio, but formally spun off into an independent studio within Sony's PlayStation Studios in April 2021. It is best known for the Astro Bot series.[2]

History

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Team Asobi was first formed in 2012 as an internal part of Japan Studio based in Tokyo by Nicolas Doucet.[3][4][5] The team's name is derived from the Japanese word "Asobi",[a] meaning "Play".[3] After forming, they worked on technical demos and went on to develop The Playroom (2013), a pre-downloaded augmented reality game designed to demonstrate the use of the PlayStation Camera and DualShock 4 for the PlayStation 4.[4] Doucet and several members of his team had been developers for games for the EyeToy and had brought their knowledge forward for use on The Playroom.[6][7] Team Asobi also created a virtual reality version The Playroom VR to demonstrate the PlayStation VR unit with its release in 2016.[7] The Playroom introduced a small robotic character, then named "A5081" which visually resembles the word "ASOBI",[8] and became the reference for the Astro Bot character used in their later games, Astro Bot Rescue Mission (2018), Astro's Playroom (2020), and the winner of Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024, Astro Bot (2024).[3][9]

Across late 2020 and early 2021, several staff members of Japan Studio, outside those of Team Asobi, announced their departure; Sony later affirmed that by April 2021, Japan Studio would be refocused around Team Asobi based on the success of Astro's Playroom.[10] In June 2021, Sony announced that Team Asobi had been transitioned to a standalone studio within PlayStation Studios.[3][11][2] Doucet remains Asobi's studio director and creative director following this transition.[2]

Games developed

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Year Title Platform(s) Ref.
2013 The Playroom PlayStation 4 [6]
2016 The Playroom VR [7]
2018 Astro Bot Rescue Mission [3]
2020 Astro's Playroom PlayStation 5 [3]
2024 Astro Bot [12]

Notes

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  1. ^ 遊び

References

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  1. ^ "'We fill a gap for PlayStation Studios' – Behind the scenes at Astro Bot's Team Asobi". Video Game Chronicle. Sony Interactive Entertainment. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Doucet, Nicolas (2 June 2021). "Introducing Team Asobi, creators of the Astro Bot series". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f LeBlanc, Wesley (3 June 2021). "Team Asobi Officially Announced as a PlayStation Studio, Reveals New Logo". IGN. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b Barker, Sammy; Tailby, Stephen (3 June 2021). "PlayStation Studios: All Sony First-Party Developers and What They're Working On". Push Square. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  5. ^ Sahdev, Ishaan (3 February 2020). "Astro Bot Director Is Now Head Of Sony's Japan Studio". Siliconera. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  6. ^ a b Otero, Jose (20 August 2013). "Reminder: Playroom Will Be Pre-Installed on Every PlayStation 4". IGN. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Doucet, Nicolas (30 September 2016). "25 Adorable Facts About The Playroom VR". PlayStation Blog. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  8. ^ McWhertor, Michael (14 June 2013). "The PlayRoom for PS4 unlocks the fun and future of the DualShock 4". Polygon. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  9. ^ Byrd, Christopher (11 October 2018). "'Astro Bot Rescue Mission' rekindles the fun of gaming for even the most jaded". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  10. ^ Kim, Matt (25 February 2021). "PlayStation Confirms Japan Studio Will be Re-Organized". IGN. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  11. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (3 June 2021). "Sony growing Astro's PlayRoom developer Team Asobi". Eurogamer. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  12. ^ Lyles, Taylor (30 May 2024). "New Astro Bot Game Revealed - State of Play 2024". IGN. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
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