Shawn Layden was and remains a good friend of Phil Spencer. A few years ago, before Jim Ryan took over PlayStation, he was CEO of Sony’s gaming division. And his brand continues to this day, because Layden left a good legacy for the brand and knew how to carry it through.
That much of Sony’s success today with the PS5 is due to this manager is undeniable. Perhaps, along with Yoshida, they have contributed the most to the brand in recent years. And like I said, there was always a feeling between the rivals, because Layden understood that the rivalry was in sales and not in people.
Free games are not easy to monetize
And if we are talking about him today, it is because he made comments that reinforce those of the current president of the blue brand, Hiroki Totoki, who declared that betting massively on the multiplatform format was the future of the company. Obviously with nuances, such as concentrating this multiplatform on PS5 and PC.
In a recent interview with Gamesbeat, Layden discussed current concerns about the direction of the industry, with heavy workforce reductions and layoffs, it looks like the giant budget AAA game bubble is bursting and not sustainable. Your solution would be to bet on the games being broadcast on other platforms.
When the cost of a game exceeds $200 million, exclusivity is the Achilles heel. Narrow down your target market. Especially when you are in the world of live service or free games. Another platform is just another way to open the funnel and attract more people.
In a free-to-play world, as we know it, 95% of these people will never spend a cent. Business is all about conversion. You need to improve your chances by opening the funnel. Helldivers 2 demonstrated this on PlayStation, releasing at the same time on PC. Again, this funnel widens. Other people enter.
Consoles need to do more to attract all types of gamers
When it comes to single-player games, the former director is clear that it will cost more and more to sell a single-player experience and that it will be profitable if the costs are exorbitant. Although he also thinks games as a service have more monetization issues than single-player games.
Also shared part of Phil Spencer’s argument during the last Xbox event where they told us about some long-term plans of the company. Consider that you are always trying to sell to the same volume of people without thinking about opening the range:
The global installed base of consoles, if you go back to the PS1 and everything else that’s piled up there, everywhere you look, the cumulative consoles never exceed 250 million. It’s just not like that.
Dollars have increased over time. But I look at this and see that we’re just taking more money from the same people. This happened during the pandemic, which caused many companies to overinvest. Watch our numbers grow! We have to chase this rocket!
The industry isn’t doing enough to attract non-console gamers to consoles. We’re not going to attract them by doing the same stupid things we’re doing now. If 95% of the world doesn’t want to play Call of Duty, Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto, will the industry make more of them? It won’t lead you to anyone else.
Betting more on PC is something that has been resonating within the Sony ecosystem for several months, and it looks like it will continue.
