The former chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios has stressed that he feels format holders must do more to preserve double-a games, noting the cost of developing major blockbusters will only continue to rise.
Speaking with VGC at Gamescom Asia recently, Shawn Layden, who served with PlayStation for 30 years before departing to work at Tencent, said that all three platform manufacturers must foster games “between the Grand Theft Auto layer and Among Us layer.”
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Game budgets are not going to remain in the triple-digit millions. Let’s say $20 million dollars. With the current level of gaming development skill… it’s gotten higher than it was 10 years ago. We have a talent pool that we can reach into with the right budget and lean into it for the variety. Don’t make a bunch of double-A first-person shooters set in World War 2, that’s not going to move the needle, but give us more interesting opportunities. Give me more things like Firewatch, those kinds of games.
Also speaking at Gamescom Asia, Layden revealed that the closure of SIE Japan Studio wasn’t really a surprise to him, describing it as a sad outcome but one that was perhaps needed given they hadn’t had a major hit in a while. Earlier this year, Layden told What’s Up PlayStation that he believes exclusives will always be important in the games industry, stating they help ‘highlight the features of your platform.’
[Source – VGC]