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HISTORICAL FACTS: 2 | History Defined

Former PlayStation boss "deathly concerned" about ballooning budgets of AAA games, questions how many live-service "forever games" like GTA Online and Fortnite fans really have time for

Shawn Layden thinks these rapidly growing AAA budgets pose an "existential threat to gaming"

GamesRadar

Xbox bringing its exclusives to PS5 has a precedent set by Sega, but "it makes the conversation harder to create the FOMO," says former PlayStation boss

But with development costs so high, who can blame Microsoft for wanting more eyes on its games?

GamesRadar

Ex-PlayStation boss says hardware innovation 'is starting to plateau' and that 'you're not going to see another PS1 to PS2 jump in performance'

Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden says there won't be another major jump in hardware innovation.

TechRadar

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Former PlayStation boss says "You're not going to see another PS1 to PS2 jump in performance," and believes we're nearing "a point where the console becomes irrelevant"

The upgrades are far more incremental these days

GamesRadar

Former PlayStation boss says exploding AAA budgets squeeze out creativity as the "finance guys" hunt for their own GTA and find a "lot of copycats, a lot of sequels"

"'Give me GTA 7, because I know how to plot that course.'"

GamesRadar

Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden says 100-hour games are a "mismatch" to today's reality: "I haven't even opened Red Dead Redemption 2, because I don't have 90 hours"

"Can we continue to build these massive edifices to God for this incredible amount of labour and time?"

GamesRadar

As the PS1 turns 30 years old, former PlayStation chief reveals he knew nothing about making games when joining the team but was assured "none of us do either"

They figured it out in the end

GamesRadar

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30 Years Ago, PlayStation's Biggest Risk Changed Gaming Forever

Games made cool.

Inverse

Former PlayStation chief calls the PS3 Sony's Icarus moment: "We flew too close to the sun, and we were lucky and happy to have survived the experience"

Thankfully, it made the mission statement for the PS4 pretty clear

GamesRadar

Former Sony lead reveals that we got the PlayStation 1 because of a failed partnership on the SNES: "Nintendo left us standing at the altar"

It all worked out in the end

GamesRadar

A lot of Sony's leadership didn't take the PS1 seriously at first with Nintendo and Sega dominating the console space: "They didn't want to be associated with it"

The PlayStation 1 was seen by some as a "fool's errand"

GamesRadar

As Sony confirms the PS2's 160 million sales, former PlayStation chief reveals how many were actually made, confirming very few remain unaccounted for

The Nintendo Switch has some ground to cover to reach the PS2

GamesRadar

Former PlayStation boss says Japan Studio's closure "wasn't necessarily" surprising: "When a studio hasn't had a hit for a while, then they forget how that feels"

"You start to forget how to get there," says Shawn Layden

GamesRadar

Pushing Buttons: Is there even any point in making more powerful games consoles?

In this week’s newsletter: With players caring less about advanced graphics and high-spec systems, the industry battleground is shifting away from hardware

The Guardian - UK

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GamesRadar

Solo dev behind hit city builder says to put "experimentation and art over profit" in response to ex-PlayStation CEO saying there's a "collapse of creativity" in games

He makes a strong point

PC Gamer

Former Sony exec says focusing on high-budget blockbusters is 'a death sentence' for the games industry

Ex-SIE charman Shawn Layden says an overemphasis on AAA games is "a threat to the ecosystem."

TechRadar

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden says relying on blockbuster games is "a death sentence"

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden says relying on blockbuster games is "a death sentence".

GamesRadar

Former PlayStation boss says games are "seeing a collapse in creativity" as publishers spend more time asking "what's your monetization scheme?"

Shawn Layden thinks publishers should spent a little less time chasing Fortnite

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GamesRadar

Ex-PlayStation head says the AA middle ground between GTA and indies is "gone," and relying on blockbusters to "get us through" is "a death sentence"

"I think that's a threat to the ecosystem if you will"

Creative Bloq

"If you don't like it, don't buy it", former Sony Interactive boss says of Ghost of Yōtei character design 'controversy'

Finally a voice of reason.

GamesRadar

Former Sony head responds to those complaining about Ghost of Yotei's female protagonist: "If you don't like it, don't buy it"

Alternatively, "make the game you want yourself"

Inverse

We Finally Know How PlayStation Ruined a Legendary Video Game Studio

'Silent Hill' creator Keiichiro Toyama shared one reason for his departure from Japan Studio before its closure in 2021, and it all has to do with Sony's strategy.

Inverse

Former Dragon Age Producer Says Mega-Hit Video Games Are Being Ruined By a 'Death Cult'

Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah says obsession with photorealism is dragging blockbuster games down, but making opportunities for indies.

GamesRadar

Former PlayStation head says we need to "get this platform war thing out of the way" and "get down to one standard home console"

Shawn Layden believes the technical separations between PlayStation and Xbox are negligible

GamesRadar

"I see consolidation to be the enemy of creativity," says former PlayStation chief Shawn Layden, as Jim Ryan says he was "thrilled" to sign Microsoft's Call of Duty deal

"That was very important to us, and we're very happy to have done that deal"

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