He’s not wrong, because both Sony and Microsoft consoles use x86 processors, and the same CPUs are used in today’s PCs.

Console-exclusive games continue to appear on PCs, their sales are declining, and couch gaming is no longer the exclusive domain of consoles. Even Nintendo is struggling to sell the Switch 2 in a way that doesn’t make it look like a Steam Deck with far fewer games. It doesn’t help that there are plenty of quality of life issues on PC. Shawn Layden, former head of PlayStation’s U.S. division, reflected on this in an interview with the PlayerDriven podcast.

He says the triumvirate of console manufacturers is something that needs to go. Sure, you can put together a hell of a powerful PC, but it’s many times the price of a console, and only the graphically inclined can tell the difference. (In terms of productivity, however, a layman can indeed tell when, say, a video is compressed faster in a configuration with a more powerful CPU and graphics card…) Layden says the vast majority of people won’t notice much of a difference between a mid-range PC and a console.

“Ultimately, I would like to see the gaming industry have the same penetration rate as televisions. So how do you get there? For one thing, I don’t think you get there by having only three manufacturers. Like the game format, we’d get a pretty good game format operating system – if the players could agree to get together – and then license that out. Just like we did with Blu-ray, just like we did with the compact disc – and let people compete on content. The architecture in the current version of consoles and high-end PCs are pretty close now, they’re all pretty similar. And any changes or enhancements to that – as we like to say in the studios – ‘only the dog can hear that’. Like ‘we’re going to have 20% more ray tracing’. Okay? Make gaming not only the most financially lucrative entertainment in the world, but also the most socially impactful entertainment in the world,” Layden said.

It’s an interesting idea, but not all of it may be feasible.

Source: PCGamer