Sean Layden, former president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, said console exclusivity limits the potential market for video games that cost more than $200 million to produce. He claimed that this is the “Achilles' heel'' of Japan.
talk to game beat, Layden discussed the various factors currently impacting the gaming industry. Layden has worked with Sony in the gaming industry for over 30 years and has experienced major changes across multiple roles. Based on his experience, he believes that major changes are inevitable and that they will impact both the industry, consoles and players.
“The whole concept of the platform is going to change,” Layden said. game beat. “This technology is becoming virtually indistinguishable. You could say the difference between what's on an Xbox and what's on a PlayStation, and pretty much only dogs can hear it.”
Leyden believes consoles will become less important in the future, and console exclusivity for major games will become a weakness as technology changes.
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“When a game costs more than $200 million, exclusivity becomes the Achilles heel,” Layden says. “It shrinks the addressable market, especially if you're in the world of live service games and free-to-play. It’s not too much.”
“As we know, in the free-to-play world, 95% of those people don't spend a nickel. Business is all about conversions. You have to pry open the funnel to increase your odds.”
Quote from Mr. Leyden helldiver 2 A good example of “breaking the funnel.” He believes that PlayStation's ability to launch games on PC as well as consoles has increased the game's appeal, brought in new players and boosted its success.
“For a single-player game, you don't have the same urgency. But if you're going to spend $250 million, you want to be able to sell it to as many people as possible, even if it's 10% more expensive,” says Leyden. he said. “We haven't done enough to get non-console gamers into console gaming in the past. We're not going to attract them even if we do more of the terrible things we're doing now.” No.”
Layden believes that the real key to attracting more paying customers to the world of video games is to branch out, try new things, and make games accessible to all players. Ultimately, Layden believes that making games exclusive won't increase console sales needed to justify overall exclusivity.
Layden argues that a new approach is needed to ensure that a game that costs more than $200 million to make is profitable.
Layden's opinions are personal, but backed by decades of experience working within Sony and PlayStation, as well as decades of oversight of change. He has a unique perspective, and that perspective is certainly infused with authority. You can read the full interview with Shawn Layden at: game beat.
