Former PlayStation executive recalls jealousy of Tomb Raider launching first on Saturn in Japan

Although the Tomb Raider franchise was once tied closely to the PlayStation brand, in Japan it actually debuted on Sega Saturn, a fact that still sticks in former Sony boss Shawn Layden’s craw.

Layden, who wore several hats during his 32-year career at Sony before ending his tenure as the chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios — now simply PlayStation Studios — in 2019, spoke to Eurogamer as part of its PlayStation 30th Anniversary coverage, and he was asked about having any moments of professional jealousy. The executive recalled a time when he was responsible for bringing Western games to Japan and lost Tomb Raider to Sega, at least for a little while.

“I wanted to get Tomb Raider for the Japanese market,” Layden said. “I wanted it to be on PlayStation. And I saw [Jeremy Heath-Smith and Adrian Smith, founders of original Tomb Raider developer Core Design], and we talked about it, and they were really excited about the concept. We talked it through. They talked it through. Bada bing, bada boom… they signed to bring it out on Sega Saturn. Sega?! And then shortly thereafter, they did get it onto the PlayStation in Japan as well, but it launched on Sega. And yeah, that always felt… What could I have done to have actually gotten it? But I came that close.”

Tomb Raider arrived on PlayStation and Saturn on the same day in North America, according to MobyGames, but debuted in other countries on Saturn and was exclusive to Saturn in Japan — where it was known as Tomb Raiders — for almost a month.

That said, Tomb Raider was originally envisioned as a PlayStation game after Ken Kutaragi — the former chairman and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment often dubbed “the father of PlayStation” — demoed Sony’s first console for Core Design’s Jeremy Heath-Smith in the early 1990s, so I guess Sony has as good a claim as any to Tomb Raider’s legacy. But in Layden’s mind, it seems, the victory of securing the franchise’s debut in Japan will always belong to Sega.