PS4's Until Dawn Will Be a Sleeper Hit, Sony Boss Says

Recently released PlayStation 4 horror game Until Dawn is poised to be a "sleeper hit," according to PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida. He says in a new interview that the game's success so far has surprised Sony and explained why the company did not market the game very significantly.

"We're super happy with the reactions from people, especially people who are streaming or posting videos on YouTube. It's super fun to watch other people play, even after you've finished the game, because other people make different choices," he told Eurogamer. "We can say it's a sleeper hit. Once it's recognized, originating with consumers, the marketing department can continue to support the title through Christmas with some creative ideas."

Overall, Yoshida said he was "very happy" with how Until Dawn is being received, though he did not share a sales figure for the game. He also explained that the game didn't get much marketing support because these efforts were focused on other games.

"People have asked me why it wasn't marketed as much as other titles. It's a decision made by marketing departments in each region," he said. "Because of the focus on this Christmas time-frame, to really support the big third-party titles like Destiny and these titles, they didn't see the need to push Until Dawn that much from the platform marketing standpoint. I think everybody was caught by surprise by the positive reaction."

Until Dawn's success may even pave the way for more games of that genre.

"That's a really great thing for the future of the interactive drama genre," he said about Until Dawn's initial success. "We're a big fan of this genre. These games can talk to a broader audience. You don't have to be good at playing games. You can even just watch your friend play the game. We believe this interactive drama genre can help expand the audience for console games."

For more on Until Dawn, check out GameSpot's review and what other critics are saying.