Shawn Layden

Shawn Layden, the chairman of Worldwide Studios and former CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, has been making the rounds lately. Chatting with both the What’s Up PlayStation podcast and Gamesbeat, the longtime exec is giving his thoughts on the pros and cons of exclusivity when it comes to big-budget first-party titles.

We have details of the first speakers and contributors to next month's GI Sprint.

Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden says he sees "consolidation to be the enemy of creativity," as the company's outgoing boss Jim Ryan shares his enthusiasm for Microsoft's Call of Duty deal with PlayStation.

Former Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) chairman Shawn Layden addressed the challenges facing the modern games industry in a brand new interview, calling console exclusives the «Achilles' heel» of the video games landscape. 

Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has opened up on his thoughts about the modern games industry, stating that «exclusivity is the „Achilles' heel“ of the modern development cycle.

Exclusivity has become much less hard-and-fast than it was for so long in the games industry, to the extent that even first parties are now beginning to explore multiplatform releases. PlayStation games routinely show up on PC, and Xbox accelerated its multiplatform efforts with both PS5 and Switch releases with the likes of Sea of Thieves, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and Grounded.

There’s a huge amount of chatter about exclusivity in the aftermath of Microsoft’s decision to port select titles to PlayStation and choppy waters in the industry at large. This year alone has seen thousands of game developers laid off, as the industry attempts to course correct following over investment during the coronavirus pandemic.

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden has addressed his grievances about exclusivity on the PS5 and shared why it doesn’t sit right with the modern-day game industry, where budgets are ballooning and layoffs are rampant.

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden has suggested the platform holder will need to consider releasing more games on PC in future, in order to cover the huge budgets for its first-party blockbusters.

It seems like the gaming industry, at least the traditional console-driven industry, is rapidly approaching some sort of inflection point. Xbox is bringing more of their games to other platforms, amid consistent speculation they may be stepping back from the console business, and PlayStation is hinting they may pursue a more aggressive PC release schedule even as PS5 sales continue to outpace the PS4. Meanwhile, one publisher after another announces deep layoffs and cancellations.

Jim Ryan has shared what may be his final interview as CEO of PlayStation.

Sony's stock lost $10 billion in value last week after the tech giant lowered its forecast for this year's predicted PlayStation 5 sales. 

Every video game company head has his or her big memes that they are famous for. For Reggie Fils-Aime, it was “my body is Reggie.” For Kaz Hirai, it was hyping up the PSP version of Ridge Racer. And for Shawn Layden, it was saying AAA game development was unsustainable three years ago.

A former PlayStation figurehead thinks we're about to hear a lot more about game development budgets going forward in 2024.

The video game industry is in a unique place right now in the best and worst ways. On the one hand, certain sales are helping elevate the industry. We’ve had plenty of AAA titles that gamers have bought into during 2023. Heck, just recent releases by Nintendo and Insomniac Games can account for millions of copies sold in a very small period. However, on the business side of things, there are more “curious” issues that many are concerned about—specifically, the recently approved merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. Many were worried about what that merger could mean for the industry as a whole, and now, one analyst shares a potentially grim view of things going forward.

Following a relatively quiet third quarter, games industry investment and deals are expected to rise steadily over the next 12 months.

Sony has officially confirmed the exit of longtime member of PlayStation management, Connie Booth.

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden has said the industry needs to do a much better job at preserving games.

David Scott Jaffe has shared a shocking update on Connie Booth and the situation behind the scenes at PlayStation.

Sony veteran Shawn Layden has warned of the impact consolidation will have on studios' creativity.

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden has once again issued a warning to the games sector, this time around the trend towards consolidation.

Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has given the PSP a long-overdue funeral, and with it, revealed a few previously unknown details about the beloved handheld's life.

Jim Ryan, President of Sony Interactive Entertainment, has announced that he will retire in March 2024, bringing to a close an almost thirty year career with the PlayStation business, in which he has held a variety of senior positions at the company.

Jim Ryan, President of Sony Interactive Entertainment, has announced that he will retire in March 2024, bringing to a close an almost thirty year career with the PlayStation business, in which he has held a variety of senior positions at the company.

The fine folks over at Noclip are currently undertaking a huge restoration project, digitising hours and hours of gaming-related footage from a forgotten archive of tapes. If you hit up the YouTube channel, where all of this stuff is free to watch, you'll see old video game trailers, footage of cancelled projects, and old E3 press conferences. Sony's memorable E3 2006 presser has already been restored, and now, its presentation from E3 2010 is now available to watch in the best quality possible.

This Week in Business is our weekly recap column, a collection of stats and quotes from recent stories presented with a dash of opinion (sometimes more than a dash) and intended to shed light on various trends. Check every Friday for a new entry.

Google has begun public testing for its new Playables feature on YouTube, which brings games to the video platform.

The Ratatan team has announced it'll be hosting a celebratory livestream as the game's Kickstarter campaign comes to a close on 1st September 2023. The Patapon-inspired title has raised almost ten times its original pledge goal to secure 18 stretch targets — the campaign currently sits on £962,000 raised having initially asked for £108,000. The livestream will take place this Friday at 1pm BST / 5am PT / 8am ET.

Former chairman of PlayStation Studios Shawn Layden has Thoughts and somewhat dire warnings about the videogame industry's future, though what exactly he means by "the videogame industry" is a little open to guesswork.

The former president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, Shawn Layden, has shared his concerns about what he believes to be threats to the games industry, and warned that acquisitions can serve as “an enemy of creativity”. 

Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has warned of non-endemic companies disrupting the games industry.

Shawn Layden, formerly an executive at PlayStation, has referred to non-gaming tech-based companies like Google, Netflix, Amazon and Apple as “barbarians at the gate” at the recent GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit. Referring to the tech companies as non-endemic to the games industry, Layden calls these companies one of the biggest threats to the video games business.

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden has suggested that big tech companies that are non-endemic to the games industry pose one of the biggest threats to the business in its current form.

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More major platfrom holders, investors and publishers have signed-up to the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit at PAX this month.

Kowloon Nights, London Venture Partners and Hiro Capital complete the speaker schedule for the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit in Seattle.

Valve will be attending the GI Investment Summit at PAX in Seattle this month to discuss Steam Visibility.

More huge platform holders, investors and publishers have signed-up to the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit at PAX this month.

Xbox’s Jen MacLean is the latest speaker to join the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit at PAX.

The GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit is back at EGX on Thursday, October 12th.

More big name investors and publishers have signed-up to the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit at PAX this month.

A number of big name investors and publishers have signed-up to the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit at PAX next month.