Konami vs Sony Interactive Entertainment

Japan Mobile Game Revenue Tops $10B Despite Download Decline

Japan's mobile gaming market generated over $10 billion in in-app purchase revenue over the past 12 months, a 5.1% year-over-year decline, yet significantly outpacing South Korea and Taiwan. According to Sensor Tower's Japan Gaming 2026 report, downloads fell 5.4% to 585 million, ranking ninth in Asia. Player engagement remained stable at 16.7 billion hours. Konami's eFootball became the highest-grossing game, driven by World Cup activities, while Block Blast! led downloads. Puzzle games dominated downloads, while 4X strategy led revenue growth. The market's maturity is evident, with growth reliant on established titles and high spending rather than new installs.

• Japan generated over $10 billion in mobile game IAP revenue in the past 12 months, down 5.1% YoY.
• Japan recorded 585 million mobile game downloads in the same period, down 5.4% YoY.
• eFootball by Konami became Japan's highest-grossing mobile game from January to July 2026.

Konami to remove Grimoire of Souls from Apple Arcade

Konami announced that its Apple Arcade-exclusive title Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls will be removed from Apple Arcade on August 20, 2026 and will go offline entirely on September 3, 2026, after which the game will no longer be playable. Konami thanked players and the development and operations team in a public statement but gave no reason for the removal. Grimoire of Souls originally launched in September 2019 in Canada, was discontinued a year later, and was relaunched on Apple Arcade in September 2021 with microtransactions and in-game currency removed and graphical/layout updates applied.

• Konami will remove Grimoire of Souls from Apple Arcade on August 20, 2026.
• The game will go offline entirely and become unplayable on September 3, 2026.
• Konami relaunched Grimoire of Souls on Apple Arcade in September 2021 after an earlier discontinuation.

Sony Marketing Exec Mary Yee Discusses Brand Building

In this episode of Adweek's Marketing Vanguard podcast, host Jenny Rooney interviews Mary Yee, SVP of Marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment. Yee discusses her career journey from accounting to marketing, her time at Clorox and as CEO of Tatcha, and her philosophy that financial literacy and analytics can strengthen brand building. She emphasizes the importance of integrating data with creativity, building brands around human connection, and using intellectual property like 'The Last of Us' to expand reach beyond core audiences. Yee also explains how PlayStation unifies hardware, games, and services under a single master brand. The conversation highlights the synergy between analytics and creativity and offers insights into successful brand management across different industries.

• Mary Yee is SVP of marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, overseeing the PlayStation brand globally.
• Yee's career began in public accounting before moving into brand marketing at Clorox.
• In 2021, Yee became CEO of Tatcha, a luxury skincare brand, and helped expand it into 34 countries.

Marvel's Wolverine Launches Worldwide, Exclusively on PlayStation®5

Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the worldwide launch of Marvel's Wolverine, exclusively on PlayStation 5, on September 15, 2026.

Sony scales up PlayStation advertising push

Sony appears to be building a larger advertising business around PlayStation after posting multiple ad-specific roles on its Sony Interactive Entertainment Media Solutions team in mid-2026. Openings include a global director for client partnerships (posted mid-July 2026), a director-level ad operations and technology role in San Mateo, and regional sales and operations roles in Tokyo and London. The hires signal a global ad infrastructure and monetization push covering programmatic, FAST, CTV and privacy-first data activation. Sony previously experimented with in-game and virtual-world advertising (2008) and reportedly worked on game ad insertion in 2022. Analysts note gaming captures substantial attention but currently earns a small share of digital ad spend, creating opportunity for monetization.

• Sony posted multiple ad-focused roles on its Sony Interactive Entertainment Media Solutions team in mid-2026, including a global director for client partnerships (posted mid-July 2026).
• A director-level ad operations and technology role at Sony Interactive Entertainment’s San Mateo headquarters is live and tasked with building global ad technology and operations (ad serving, programmatic, audience targeting, measurement, privacy-first data activation).
• A London advertising operations posting (described as part of PlayStation’s newly formed advertising organisation) was posted before early summer 2026 and removed before Aug. 3, 2026; a Tokyo client partner ad sales posting went up in mid-to-late July 2026 and remained live.