Former PlayStation CEO Shawn Layden remembers the professional jealousy when Tomb Raider launched first on Sega Saturn in Japan

Although once closely tied to the PlayStation brand, the Tomb Raider franchise actually debuted in Japan on Sega Saturn, a fact that still lingers in the cry of former Sony boss Shawn Layden.

Layden, who wore many hats during his 32-year career at Sony before ending his tenure as chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios – now simply PlayStation Studios – in 2019, spoke to Eurogamer as part of its 30th anniversary coverage of the PlayStation, and was asked if there were any moments of professional jealousy. The director recalled a time when he was responsible for bringing Western games to Japan and lost Grave robber for Sega, at least for a little while.

“I wanted to get Grave robber for the Japanese market,” says Layden. “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 out. They talked it out. Bada bing, bada boom… they signed to release it on Sega Saturn. Sega?! And shortly after that, they also got it on the PlayStation in Japan, but it launched on Sega. And yes, that always felt… What could I have done to actually have gotten it? But that’s how close I came.”

Grave robber arrived on PlayStation and Saturn in North America on the same day, according to MobyGamesbut 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, Grave robber was originally envisioned as a PlayStation game after Ken Kutaragi – the former chairman and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment often referred to as “the father of PlayStation” – demoed Sony’s first console for Core Design’s Jeremy Heath-Smith in the early 1990s, so I guess Sony as much a claim as any to Tomb Raider’s legacy. But according to Layden, it seems like the victory of securing the franchise’s debut in Japan will always belong to Sega.