Former PlayStation Executive Admits Games Take Too Long and Don’t Prioritize Fun

Though we knew this, it’s validating to hear it coming from the former CEO and President of Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation)! Shawn Layden addressed the current state of gaming at 2024’s gamescom asia. Now the Strategic Advisor at Tencent Games, Layden was refreshingly honest about the many pitfalls of AAA game development.

“We spent a lot more time looking at games and not asking ‘what’s your monetization scheme,’ or ‘what’s your recurrent revenue plan,’ or ‘what’s your subscription formula?’ We asked the simple question: ‘Is it fun? Are we having a good time?’ If you said yes to those questions, you’d usually get a green light.”

They’re products, okay? Since when were games meant to be “fun”? We’re trying to increase profit margins here! Never mind the devastating layoffs and gross mismanagement! What about the money? Who’s going to make sure my golden parachute is secure? Unions? Worker protections? Pfft!

Former playstation ceo tells the truth about aaa unsustainability

“You know, don’t speak to me of your monetization cycle, or what the subscription revenue looks like, or how many MTX drops you’re going to have a year and the DLC aggregation over time. Where’s the fun part? Sell me on the fun. I will just stipulate that you’ve got the business model worked out. I think that’s what we’re missing,” Layden later told Ungeek during gamescom asia.

Now, to be fair, while there are obvious solutions and measures to be implemented industry-wide, you also have to consider player expectations. We’ve reached a point of graphical fidelity where a great-looking game isn’t even really all that impressive anymore. However, it’s expected that games should look as good as possible. Further, that inevitably feeds back into pouring money toward making sure everything “meets” what’s already expected.

If you frequent gaming forums or take part in other online communities where the future of gaming is widely discussed, you likely would rather have great gameplay over visual spectacles. But those darn casuals love basking in “top-of-the-line” graphics. It’s why the PS5 Pro will probably sell gangbusters — hand over fist. But I believe in a sustainable middle ground. That, or the Indie Renaissance will swallow AAA development as we know it. Generally, the “indies eat the bigger fish” option is one I actively root for.