Ex-PlayStation Boss Wants To End The Console War And Have “One Standard Console”

During a recent IGN Live panel, ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden was among a panel of specialists discussing the future of gaming. From Fortnite and Roblox to cloud streaming, the panel made their thoughts clear on a variety of topics that could very well shape the future of our beloved industry.

When asked by host Christopher Dring where Layden thinks we will all be playing video games in the future, the once head of Sony said it was “impossible to predict” but that we “would be in a better world if get down to one, standard home console” and “get the platform war thing out of the way” (via GamesRadar+).

As for Layden’s reasoning, he explained that current-gen consoles such as the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 (Layden also acknowledged Nintendo but said the company was in a lane of its own) and high-end PCs are “almost at a plateau where all things being equal, they’re pretty much the same.”

“If you look at what the Xbox architecture and PlayStation architecture looks like, you rip open the box it’s both built by AMD,” Layden said. He then noted that during the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era, the two consoles’ architecture was “so different” that it would “make your hair go white trying to do multiplatform against those.”

It was also noted by the ex-PlayStation boss in a separate part of the panel that consoles, in general, are struggling, stating that “the global install base in any one of those generations never rose above 250 million” during the history of consoles.

While Layden also discussed the rise in revenue during the pandemic, the industry is in a dire state right now. Layoffs and closures are occurring every few weeks, with one of the most recent incidents being the shocking closure of Tango Gameworks, the studio behind the recent smash-hit rhythm game, Hi-Fi Rush.

Shawn Layden discussed the recent layoffs earlier this week, saying that studios need to have more patience and come up with new ideas. If you want to read more on Layden’s thoughts on studio closures and layoffs within the video game industry, we’ve got the full story here.

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