Shawn Layden believes the console business needs a strong Xbox because intense competition once pushed both major platforms to improve while energizing the entire video game industry. The former PlayStation executive argues that innovation becomes far less urgent when one company is allowed to dominate the market without a serious rival.

Most players would probably agree that the current condition of the console market is not working entirely in the consumer’s favor. Nintendo continues to operate in its own space, leaving Sony and Microsoft as the two companies competing most directly through hardware power and traditional home consoles. Over the past decade, however, PlayStation has steadily expanded its market share, gradually weakening that rivalry. A less competitive market rarely benefits buyers, and although it is impossible to know how events would have unfolded, Sony might have reconsidered major decisions such as moving away from physical media if a powerful competitor had been applying constant pressure.

The View of a Former PlayStation Executive

Shawn Layden spent two decades at Sony, working for the company from 1999 until 2019 and serving as president of PlayStation Studios for three years. Given his importance to the brand and the role he played in helping build its success, it would be reasonable to assume that he welcomed PlayStation’s current dominance. His position is considerably more complicated. During a recent interview with Kotaku, Layden discussed the large-scale layoffs carried out by Xbox and unexpectedly acknowledged that he misses the period when the console business revolved around two genuinely powerful competitors.

“I sincerely hope that Xbox becomes competitive again as a hardware platform. I know it might sound strange coming from me, but back in the PS3 and 360 era… it was like the Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali of the console wars. Everyone was in. Everyone was rooting for Team Blue or Team Green, depending on the situation. And it was so exciting that it propelled the entire video game industry forward.”

“People were talking about E3, about how Xbox and PlayStation faced off at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It had a lot of media coverage and generated a lot of interest. People wanted to be part of that exciting rivalry, and both platforms were pushing each other to improve. I think those things create a new energy for innovation, or a certain desire for innovation. These are things that are muted in a world with a single dominant player. Yes, I would like to see Xbox regain its former strength.”

Layden nevertheless believes that the company where he spent much of his career faces major difficulties of its own if it intends to preserve its leading position. Those challenges extend far beyond the future of Xbox. He is particularly concerned about development cycles that continue to grow longer and more expensive, as well as the pressure created by current component costs, which could threaten both the affordability and long-term viability of traditional console hardware.

Source: 3DJuegos