It is in a way, but I have no proof. Back at the beginning of the 2000's for a couple years I worked for Midway Home Entertainment in the console/handheld area and this subject came up as it was speculation and grumbling in gaming publications on/off line at the time so I approached a supervisor about it shortly after starting there. I don't remember the entire conversation in detail, but basically Sony did have a soft ban on 2D games for the PS1. The words I do remember the supervisor saying though was that 'Sony only wanted 3D as it was the future, and they discouraged 2D games because it was of the past and of Nintendo, for kids, and if someone did release a game they were in fact given a fine by the company they had to pay to get the game published.'Originally Posted by treismac
As such Midway wasn't keen on paying to release a game on top of licensing fees and the rest already but Capcom having their arcade powerhouse of fighters and the sort would pay the bill to get their games out knowing the fighter fanboy pool would get it back to them in short order. Eventually the childish soft ban was lifted, but for a time if my supervisor wasn't full of it, they did nail developers for it. I found it doubly insulting and angering they did it, and ripped on Nintendo for being 2D and out of date trash at the same time. It's another story but it was a tier of anti-Nintendo propaganda Sony invented and pushed to developers and the early gaming media through Sony Media and other channels which got so entrenched still to date Nintendo is still the 'kiddie box' and certain games aren't suitable on there despite at least since the GC they've been getting some M titles from less spineless developers.
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