Why a Japanese Shooter Studio Was Skeptical of Sony’s PS1: “They’ve Got Beards”

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“They were pitching the concept of the PlayStation and wanted us to port *Raiden* and *Raiden 2* as launch titles,” Honeywood continued. This pitch eventually resulted in the 1995 release of *The Raiden Project*, a compilation that remains a highly sought-after gem for the original PS1.

However, legacy wasn’t Hamada’s immediate concern. He was far more troubled by a perceived lack of grooming standards among the Sony delegates.

“After the meeting, once Hamada-san had seen them out, he turned to the team and asked, ‘What do you think? Should we even bother with this PlayStation project?'” Honeywood said.

“The team was already wary, but Hamada took it a step further. He said, ‘I don’t want to work with them because they’ve got beards.’ He firmly believed that Japanese professionals should be clean-shaven and that sending bearded representatives to a business meeting was a sign of poor character.” Honeywood eventually pushed back against this logic, and the studio ultimately decided they had nothing to lose by moving forward.

In other news, David Hayter recently revealed that Metal Gear Solid 2’s shocking Raiden protagonist swap was a total surprise to him until the recording sessions began.