Shawn Layden was Sony PlayStation’s chief from 2014-2019, succeeding Jack Tretton and overseeing the company throughout the brand’s successful PS4 era.
He exited just before the PS5 launch, handing over the keys to Jim Ryan, who himself exited early after a more tumultuous time with a push into live service that was ultimately walked back shortly after he left.
Layden is now essentially retired, having most recently worked at Tencent Games as a strategic advisor. He spoke with Character Select this week to talk about the gaming industry as a whole and issues still swirling around today.
First up, when it comes to game exclusives, he says he doesn’t think they are going anywhere for either Sony or Nintendo:
“I don’t think every game has to be console exclusive. I don’t think every game should be console exclusive, but I do accept the fact that if you’re going to have platform companies, like Sony and Nintendo, there is huge value to the brand in having strong exclusives. If Mario starts appearing on PlayStation, that’s the apocalypse… and the same goes for Nathan Drake and Uncharted. They make the platforms sing.
I’m sure most people realise that when you do code across multiple platforms, you do have to code to the lowest common denominator. But if you do exclusives, you can push every lever to 11 in that platform.
So, I think there will be some exclusive titles still in the future, but certainly if you’re looking for a massively multiplayer game, then you almost have to multiplatform because you’ve got to rip that funnel open as wide as possible to get people in there.”
He also spoke about the problem with how long it takes to create games now and how companies need to get back to shorter cycles, less spending and shorter runtimes:
“We need to get back into the two- to three-year cycle for games. I think we need to get to a place where games are double-digit millions to make, not triple-digit millions. I’d like to get games that are 20-25 hours of gameplay.
Because look at it. When we started gaming, the average age of the user was 18-22, and in that bracket, you are time-rich and money-poor. Now, as the average age of the gamer has gone up into the 30s, it’s the opposite now. We may not be money-rich, but we’re definitely time-poor. So, let’s realise that not everybody has 88 hours to play ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’.”
The shortest Game of the Year winners in recent years have been “Astro Bot” and “It Takes Two” which both clock in around 12 hours each.
“Clair Obscur: Expedition 33,” “The Last of Us Part II,” “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice,” and “God of War” all land around the 20-30 hour mark for their main story.
“Elden Ring,” “Baldur’s Gate 3” and “The Witcher 3” all clock in about 60 hours minimum – and with side quests and more can easily come in at around triple that.
