- A veteran Sony executive has said that Xbox’s third-party approach would not work for PlayStation.
- He states that the gaming giant would hurt its brand value and have little to show if it tried this route.
- The executive also admitted that fans would be upset by such a move.
Xbox changed the entire console market by shifting to third-party releases this year. The gaming giant’s entire lineup is now open to rival platforms like PlayStation and Nintendo, potentially the stage for a broader third-party focus across the entire industry.
PlayStation is currently going all-in on PC ports, and many have discussed the gaming giant potentially pursuing third-party releases in the future. Commenting on the matter, a former executive believes Xbox’s approach would not be worth the effort for PlayStation.
Why it matters: The gaming giant’s first-party library contains some of the industry’s best games. Therefore, Xbox fans would be more than happy to try a few of those IPs.
Shawn Layden, the former CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, was recently asked to share his thoughts on Xbox’s decision to aim for a wider audience.
According to Shawn Layden, Xbox could never reach as many people as PlayStation. He argues that even when the Xbox 360 was outselling the PS3, the former was limited to a few regions.
As per the executive, PlayStation’s broader appeal makes it the default gaming platform for people in 170 countries. Therefore, the effort of porting major games to Xbox consoles would not be worth it.
I don’t know if the juice is worth the squeeze. How many additional sales would they get?
-Shawn Layden
The former CEO also discussed the potential harm that would be done to PlayStation’s IPs in the process. He noted that fans are still not too happy with the gaming giant’s accelerated PC push, and it would be much worse if major IPs began to appear on Xbox.
Still, the gaming giant recently dipped its toes into third-party releases with Lego Horizon Adventures. The game was released for the PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC, with the PC port pushing the RTX 4090 to its limits.
During the same interview, Shawn Layden discussed how PlayStation bounced back during the PS3 era. He also commented on the current state of the industry’s budgets and creativity, topics he has never shied away from.
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[News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than three years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.