Shawn Layden worked at Sony for 32 years, covering roles like Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, and lastly President and Chairman of Sony Worldwide Studios before suddenly leaving in September 2019.
Bloomberg finally managed to talk to Layden about the split, rumored to be caused by strife with PlayStation boss Jim Ryan. However, the executive provided a different story.
Layden, who recently joined the advisory board of Streamline Media Group (a company whose objective is to develop ‘Metaverse solutions’ for industry brands), also told Bloomberg that game development costs double with every new console generation. Sony’s own triple-A PS4 games each cost at least $100 million, apparently, and Layden fears PlayStation 5 games may go up to $200 million. This may have detrimental effects on innovation.
I think I took my time at the moment I saw best to take it and I couldn’t be happier.
Such a sizable increase in development costs may explain why PlayStation 5 games cost $10 more than PlayStation 4 titles. In fact, Sony recently came under fire because the standard PS4 edition of Horizon Forbidden West didn’t include a free upgrade to PS5 despite having been already promised.
They eventually backtracked on this specific game, but they also clarified that all PS4 to PS5 upgrades for future PlayStation first-party exclusives will cost $10.
