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.
“Exclusivity will always be important, it helps focus and highlight the features of your platform. What can you do here technically that you can’t do someplace else,” Layden asked.
“But, as your platform becomes established as the market recognizes where you sit in that pantheon of gaming options, I think the necessity of exclusivity becomes a little bit less.”
In recent years, timed exclusivity has become the norm for most major PlayStation releases. Heavy hitters like the God of War and Horizon series have seen incredible success on the PC, with added revenue being reinvested into development.
“When your costs for a game exceed $200 million, exclusivity is your Achilles’ heel. It reduces your addressable market. Particularly when you’re in the world of live-service gaming or free-to-play. Another platform is just another way of opening the funnel, getting more people in,” Layden said.
“For single-player games, it’s not the same exigency. But if you’re spending $250 million, you want to be able to sell it to as many people as possible, even if it’s just 10% more.”
Last month, PlayStation announced that it would be laying off 900 employees worldwide, accounting for 8 percent of its workforce. This major move impacted both Insomniac and Naughty Dog, stirring outrage online.
