Key Takeaways
1. Shawn Layden criticizes Sony’s focus on live-service games, viewing them as mere devices for repetitive actions rather than true games.
2. He defines genuine games as requiring a narrative, character, and universe, unlike live-service games that depend on repetitive actions and social interaction.
3. Layden warns that Sony’s obsession with live-service titles is misleading and may lead to unsatisfactory results, similar to chasing a mirage.
4. Sony aimed to release 12 new live-service games by 2026, but has scrapped eight projects, including major titles like The Last of Us Online and a live-service God of War game.
5. While many live-service ventures have failed, Helldivers 2 is highlighted as a success, selling over 19 million copies and remaining popular on multiple platforms.
Shawn Layden, who was once the Chairman and President of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, recently talked with The Ringer and shared some harsh opinions about Sony’s current focus on live-service games. He remarked, “To me, a live-service game isn’t truly a game. It’s more like a device for repetitive action engagement.”
His Tenure and Success
During the latter part of his time as the head of PlayStation Studios, Layden approved Helldivers 2 in 2019, which became a huge success on both PlayStation and PC. Nonetheless, he didn’t hold back when criticizing Sony’s move toward live-service games.
In the interview, he mentioned that genuine games require “three things.” These essentials are a narrative, a character, and a universe. He contrasted this by stating that live-service games only need “a repetitive action that most people can understand, a means to interact within that world with others who think alike, and the eagerness to repeat it over and over.”
Concerns About Live-Service Focus
Layden elaborated that Sony’s obsession with live-service titles is akin to a “siren’s call” that has “captivated” executives for many years. He described it as “like a mirage atop a sand dune. You chase it. You can’t really reach it. Or when you do, what you brought is something no one wants to engage with.”
These comments come as PlayStation is pushing further into the live-service arena, a strategy that was heavily promoted by former CEO Jim Ryan.
In 2022, Jim Ryan declared that Sony aimed to release 12 new live-service games by 2026. However, Sony has scrapped eight of those projects. Among the canceled titles were some of Sony’s most ambitious live-service endeavors, including The Last of Us Online, a live-service God of War game, a Horizon MMO, Twisted Metal, and several unannounced projects from Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games.
Notable Failures and Successes
One significant live-service game that faced a lot of backlash was Concord from PlayStation and Firewalk Studios, which had a development cost of $400 million and only saw a peak of about 697 players online at the same time on Steam, ultimately leading to its shutdown just two weeks after launch.
On the other hand, Helldivers 2 stands out as a success in PlayStation’s lineup, remaining one of the top-played games on PC and Xbox, with over 19 million copies sold across all platforms.
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