Rising costs, less creativity. Shawn Layden voices major concerns for the future of the gaming industry
For 32 years Shawn Layden belonged to Sony, over a long period of time he was responsible for parts of Sony Entertainment, i.e. the video game division of the global tech company. He has since left his position at the company, but the veteran continues to keep an eye on the games industry and its development.
It was only recently that Layden increasingly voiced his concerns about the future of video games, voicing some big warnings around impending consolidation, lack of creativity and rising development costs.
The Barbarians at the Gates
The first part of his warning comes several weeks ago, when Layden spoke on stage with Christopher Dring of GamesIndustry.biz during an investment summit. Here, Layden warns against the influence of big companies foreign to the industry, such as Amazon, Google, Apple or Netflix, which he calls the barbarians at the gates
According to Layden, such inroads into the gaming industry threaten to disrupt itas evidenced by the music and film industries. Here, he says, the industry has been completely turned upside down by new business models such as those at Apple or Netflix. However, Layden hopes that things could be different in gaming.
I hope gaming becomes the first industry to shake itself up. Where it doesn’t take Amazon or Google to turn the tide. We should be smart enough to see the changes coming and prepare for them.
– Shawn Layden
consolidation as the enemy of creativity
Recently, Layden expanded on what was said at the Investment Summit in the Lan Parties podcast (via Kotaku). Here he talks about the pricing of games and how absurd it is, in his eyes, that production costs explode, but the price of games must remain relatively stable As a result, he said, big companies are minimizing risks and moving on to sequels or Hollywood franchises
NEW EPISODE! @ShawnLayden, former head of PlayStation Worldwide Studios, joins @LANPartiesPod to talk about some of the biggest issues facing gaming! @playstation @reviewjournal
LISTEN NOW: https://t.co/KgkhEggz61PodNation PodernFamily PodcastPulse gaming videogames pic. twitter.com/VzaHBrxNDn
– Lukas Eggen (@lukaseggen) October 18, 2023
Consolidation by buying smaller studios from big companies like Microsoft, Sony, Embracer, or Take-Two would further limit creativity, as these studios would then be used to support such giant projects.
My concern with consolidation is that it often affects creativity as well. […] I’m concerned that when studios are bought, that they are then not empowered to make their own game, but instead are absorbed by a bigger company making a bigger game. You know how many studios are involved in the development of a blockbuster.
– Shawn Layden
Shawn later says that it worries him when hundreds of voices eventually become only a few dozen There is no way to avoid losing some votes as a result, he said. In addition, the lack of new genres worries him. After all, according to Layden, you can’t convince new people about gaming if the genres always remain the same
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with Layden’s concerns? How do you see the current development of the gaming industry and what do you think might be in store for us in the future? Post it in the comments!
