Shawn Layden at E3 2015 (Michael Nelson/EPA/REX/Shutterstock) (Credits: Michael Nelson/EPA/REX/Shutterstock)
Former PlayStation president Shawn Layden has suggested games need to cut back on length and steer away from realism, as he discusses the issues facing AAA development.
As the cost to make video games balloons to unsustainable levels, the big question is how developers and publishers can continue to make titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Spider-Man 2 and still make their money back.
We’re already seeing how, in the current climate, one flop can sink an entire studio if it doesn’t make enough money back from sales – leaving the entire industry in a precarious position, as it strives to push the limits of technology.
As such, Shawn Layden, who was president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America from 2014 to 2019, has offered his thoughts on what publishers and developers should do to make creating games more sustainable in the future.
As part of a new interview, Layden highlights four key points, ranging from utilising AI to help build tools and speed up processes, to emphasising gameplay over graphics.
‘We’ve made a lot about the visual quality of games, the graphic quality, the resolution, the near photorealism that so many games seem to chase,’ Layden told Gamesindustry.biz.
‘And our fans thought that was a was a was a noble journey, and we saw the difference between graphics on PlayStation 1, where Lara Croft is 800 polygons, and, if you squint, kind of looks like a person. And now we get to the highly realised modelling. But did it improve the gameplay? Did it improve the story?’
Layden describes how the initial console war began as a ‘missile race’ with ‘each side trying to push the edge of tech’, but now the differences have become too minimal to notice.
‘We’ve got to the point now where you have advanced ray-tracing and most of the platforms can do 60 frames per second, some can do 120, which your eye can’t register anyway.’ said. ‘I think we’re at the edge of that universe now, we’re in the realm of differences that only dogs can hear. And maybe that’s not where the emphasis should be anymore.
‘So let’s go back to…. what can I do that would be amusing, entertaining and interactive so that someone would want to spend their money and time, and enjoy themselves in a way that means they get value for money, and we can continue to pay at least living wages or better to the people who make them.’
Layden also believes games should be shorter to reflect the habits and lifestyles of the average player today, with less emphasis on ‘grinding’ or fetch quest bloat.
‘We live in a world where only 32% of gamers actually finish the game, so we’re making a lot of game that 68% of the people aren’t seeing,’ he added. ‘So should we continue to build games that are unlikely for most of the people to even see the end of it?’
He continued: ‘We need to understand what our customers are looking for. Do they want a high impact, high enjoyment piece of gaming, which may not include large sections of the game where you’re going on a quest to find this blue rock to bring it to the red troll and he’ll open the door for you. It’s just kind of like burning time. It’s called grinding for a reason.’
In recent months, Layden, who now works as an adviser within the games industry, has been vocal on various issues – including the waning importance of platform exclusivity. Last week, he also mocked comments made by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.
While the issues facing the industry may feel specific to now, the financial concerns around development costs have been a recurring issue – as highlighted by past comments from former Nintendo boss Hiroshi Yamauchi.
Shawn Layden is the new voice of reason (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC)
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