Ex-PlayStation executive, Shawn Layden calls exclusivity the ‘Achilles’ Heel’ for blockbuster games having a budget of $200M+ and wants companies to focus more on AA games.
After Xbox decided to release more of its games on other platforms, there has been a lot of discussion over exclusivity. Meanwhile, PlayStation has also hinted that, even if PS5 sales are still above those of the PS4, they might go with a more aggressive PC release agenda. Additionally, PC game sales have been a major factor in the success of Palworld and Helldivers 2, two of 2024’s biggest hits on both Xbox and PlayStation. And hence, there has been a continuous buzz surrounding the future of gaming consoles and the industry trends.
As such, in a recent interview, Shawn Layden—who spent thirty years at Sony serving as chairman of Worldwide Studios and CEO of SIE America—discussed the future of consoles and growing development expenses, acknowledging that exclusivity eventually becomes an “Achilles’ heel.”
Layden acknowledges that exclusivity can become a hindrance, an “Achilles’ heel,” when game development costs surpass $200 million. Exclusivity limits the potential market, especially in the realm of live service gaming or free-to-play models. He says, “Another platform is just another way of opening the funnel, getting more people in. In a free-to-play world, as we know, 95% percent of those people will never spend a nickel. The business is all about conversion. You have to improve your odds by cracking the funnel open.”
Layden points to the success of Helldivers 2, a PlayStation-published game that adopted a novel approach, releasing simultaneously on both PS5 and PC. This change from traditional exclusivity has proven to be extremely successful for Sony. Layden stated that although single-player games are not under the same pressure to be released on multiple platforms, maximizing sales to a broader audience becomes crucial when dealing with substantial budgets, even if it’s just a 10% increase.
Looking at the historical console market, Layden notes, “the global installed base for consoles–if you go back to the PS1 and everything else stacked up there, wherever in time you look at it, the cumulative consoles out there never gets over 250 million. It just doesn’t.”
Although expanding your game’s distribution can help cover the expensive cost of production, doing so has the disadvantage of damaging the reputation of your exclusive platform. Layden hence suggests that a more efficient solution might be to reduce costs. He advocates for a return to “AA” gaming – smaller, varied projects reminiscent of Sony’s past portfolio. He said, “I’m afraid that we’ve bought into the triple-A, 80 hours of gameplay, 50 gigabytes of game, and if we can’t reach that then we can’t do anything. I’m hoping for a return of double-A gaming. I’m all for that.”
“I look back at the PS2 era, and there was so much variety. You had God of War and Assassin’s Creed. But you also had Loco Roco and SingStar and Dance Dance Revolution. You had this entire spectrum of entertainment opportunities. At $7-12 million a throw, why not make a bet and see what happens? Katamari Damacy, for Christ’s sake, you couldn’t get that built today because you can’t even explain what it is. But now, when every bet is triple-digit millions, risk tolerance is super low. You end up with copycats and sequels and not much more.”
Layden highlights the lack of variety and risk-taking in the current gaming landscape and emphasizes that the industry needs to attract new players who aren’t part of the traditional console audience by diversifying its offerings beyond the current mainstream titles. He says, “We’re not doing enough to get heretofore non-console people into console gaming. We’re not going to attract them by doing more of the sh*t we’re doing now. If 95 percent of the world doesn’t want to play Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Grand Theft Auto, is the industry just going to make more Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Grand Theft Auto? That’s not going to get you anybody else.”
Well, while PlayStation is achieving record revenues, Layden acknowledges the escalating costs. He raises a question for the industry about how to manage exploding game budgets and suggests a shift towards a more diverse and creatively rich gaming landscape.
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