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"There Really Is No Major Competition for PlayStation" – Former CEO Shawn Layden

thegamerztheory.com: Former PlayStation CEO Shawn Layden declares: "There really is no major competition for PlayStation."

With Xbox fading and Nintendo on its own island, Sony dictates the console timeline - including PS6. Discover why PlayStation dominates the market unchallenged in this insightful analysis.

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thegamerztheory.com
EveryPlatformGamer78d ago

Agree with this completely and this is the problem. Its Xbox to blame, they need to get their shizzle together and fight back. I don't want Sony becoming that arrogant Sony we had back at the launch of PS3. Granted they turned it around by the end and we as gamers got another amazing generation of games. PS4 was the GOAT.

Scissorman77d ago

people say keep mentioning this fear of a return to arrogant sony, but with game dev having ballooned both in cost and turn around time, i don't think sony can afford to be arrogant anymore. the risk is too great.

INMATEofARKHAM76d ago

Not that much risk if no one is competing with you.

TheCaptainKuchiki77d ago

How was Sony arrogant during PS3???
Just because of the price?? If it was a scam then I'd agree but PS3 was indeed worth the price it retailed at! Like the saying goes, dedicated Blu-ray players were the same price or more as the PS3 and you couldn't play games.
Compare that to Nintendo selling you a reheated $450 console when it's hardly worth half of that price.

Aloymetal77d ago

Exactly! 100%.
I keep hearing about this so called ''Sony needs competition'' xbox has never been competition for PS, not on ps2, not on ps4, not on ps5 but they bring the 360 only because released a yr earlier and had sold 10mil units before PS3 hit the shelves. Still failed to sell more than PS3. When xbox most ''successful'' console ever couldn't beat the less ''successful'' console from Sony, you know it's game over.

77d ago
Sitdown77d ago

@Aloymetal
So you really trying to say Sony never saw Microsoft as competitors in the console space? So without Microsoft, Sony would have just decided to do timed exclusives all by themselves? To say the 360 did not compete agains the PS3 is lunacy at best. Microsoft came in a space dominated by Sony, and made a dent...you could easily tell by the behaviors of Sony.

Huey_My_D_Long76d ago

Because the CEO said shit like gamers will get two jobs to pay for the price

TheCaptainKuchiki76d ago (Edited 76d ago )

@Huey_My_D_Long
Ken Kutaragi isn't Sony as a whole. He's just a guy who was certain he'd made the best console of all time. MS execs have said far worse arrogant things over and over again yet what people bring up as an example of arrogant Sony is the 20 year old PS3 launch and Kutaragi's words.
Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, at the end of the day these companies are not benevolant and they aren't your friend, they want to make MONEY. So yeah they'll sell you stuff, increase their prices and so on. They're no different from Walmart or Amazon.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 76d ago
Christopher77d ago

So all of the issues Sony has are self-made issues? Not because of them reacting to competition? Man, not sure that's the best way to look at this.

EveryPlatformGamer77d ago

Well, Shawn Layden was High up at PlayStation, he would know better then any of us, and what's really going down at Sony right? My favorite was Jack Trenton.

Kassanova0777d ago

Jack is the GOAT. He saved PS3 and the future.

77d ago Replies(1)
jambola77d ago

yep, and it's sad to see Sony not have to try

KyRo77d ago

The disagrees... There's no one who will say PS5 has been the best PS generation who's old enough to have played them all. It's by far their weakest. They haven't tried this generation and have had more announcements for special edition consoles, controllers, headsets and monitors than they have exclusive games. PS5 is a great console but the lack of competition has made Sony lazy.

EveryPlatformGamer77d ago

Thanks you absolutely nailed it. Check out our other article currently on the N4G homepage. Our video and Article discuss this very issue you touched on. Your sentiment nails it, and we at EPG agree wholeheartedly.
ANYONE who has played PlayStation since the beginning and owned all of the consoles will agree this generation has been the worst. Its not the consoles fault, both the PS5 and PS5 pro are incredible machines with amazing tech, its more the direction Sony has taken and the decisions senior management have made.

Shawn Layden knows better than anyone what the issues are at PlayStation and what may be going on behind the scenes. They have amazing tech, but Sony just seems like they are stuck in second gear and don't care to push up and actually give us gamers another legendary gen. With no competition from Xbox, and sales bringing in the cash why would they. PlayStation fans are also not demanding better which is confusing for some of us old timers who have been around from the start.

The fact that PS6 is now already being spoken about, yet we only recently got the PS5 Pro and have not really seen anything close to the PS5/Pro being maxed out, we find ourselves asking again and again, where are the games! Not third party, we want the first party exclusive bangers PlayStation has been built on.

ABizzel177d ago (Edited 77d ago )

@Kyro

This has nothing to do with being lazy it’s a combination of games taking significantly longer to make, and Sony betting most of their eggs on live service games and basically canceling all of them.

God of war, twisted metal, the last of us, Spider-Man, Bungies destiny spin-off, Deviation games studio closure, London studio game, Neon Koi’s mobile/console game, and Bend Studios open-world game were all cancelled.

Jade Raymond’s game might be cancelled as well. If so that’s 10 games gone, and why it feels like “lazy”.

@EPG

The PS6 is being talked about in the same time frame the as the transition from PS4 to PS5.

PS4 launched 2013, PS4 Pro 2016, PS5 2020 (7 year cycle).

PS5 2020, PS5 Pro 2024, PS6 2027/2028 (7 - 8 year cycle).

The reason PS6 is being brought up is because the speculated APU is already in development with leaks pointing to it, and Xbox just officially announced Project Helix for their next PConsole.

ianyoung377d ago

Just because it's not the best generation doesn't mean Sony has been lazy. I think that trope is truly lazy analysis. People somehow conviently forget that when PlayStation was releasing TONS of exclusive games on the PS3, those games collectively did not sell a ton. They trimmed

ianyoung377d ago

Just because it's not the best generation doesn't mean Sony has been lazy. I think that trope is truly lazy analysis. People somehow conviently forget that when PlayStation was releasing TONS of exclusive games on the PS3, those games collectively did not sell a ton. They trimmed down the number of exclusive games tremendously in the PS4 generation and this generation they went after live service and that has not worked out. Canceling games isnt lazy. Game development takes longer these days and cost more. These reasons are not due to a company being lazy. There have been some bad bets made and unfortunately that has undoubtedly resulted in some of our favorite studios inability to release a game. And it seems that the Jim Ryan tenure had its flaws. Jim Ryan will absolutely get credit for being able to deliver a console during a pandemic, a great accomplishment. But the overly aggressive live service push, and studio acquisitions hae not worked out. Now they need to pivot. They are fortunate that XBOX refuses to get out of their own way, and can't make up their mind of their direction either. I love games, so I will take those XBOX exclusive games all day.

Anyway, first party games this generation feel more like icing on a cake and I think many of us would like to see it be more of the cake. Even with that I have MORE games to play than this generation has time left to play them. There is nothing PlayStation can do about the situation other than realign their priorities which we see happening. Relative patience isn't something the gaming community exhibits. The changes will take time and at this point as a fan who prefers PlayStation, I want to see moves at the end of the generation that continue to signal their realignment. And a continuation once the PS6 gets here.

jambola77d ago

I feel like the same idea happened at the start of the ps3, but because they had real competition they were forced to turn around
Even ps4 had a weak start but at least it eventually got better

Whoseverleaf76d ago

I agree that it’s weakest PS so far. Dave gave up on so many good franchisees it’s ridiculous.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 76d ago
1nsomniac76d ago

Sony have lost it completely over the last few years. The past 12 months especially they’re in massive damage control mode.

To say they have no competition, especially now. Wow. That’s bold and a pretty embarrassingly stupid statement to make.

60°

Take-Two CEO Once Again Side Steps Grand Theft Auto 6 Price Point

Strauss Zelnick says price of GTA 6 is being carefully considered and that Rockstar is focused on "making the most spectacular piece of entertainment on Earth."

Kuma25d ago

If GTA 6 abandons everything that made GTA 5 great, it will crash and burn right out of the gate. GTA 5 was funny and not at all PC. My worry is that they will cave to the PC crowd and ruin the vibes.

Eonjay24d ago

They got freaking BBLs twerking on the top of trucks for the gram, the freaking Flordia joker, and dude running down the stree in their undies and you are worried about it being 'too PC'? The internet has runied gamers. It doesn't matter how non-PC they make the game, you will all listen to the grifters telling you not to believe your lying eyes lol.

gigoran824d ago

"Rockstar Games’ co-founder and former VP of Development Jamie King said he envisions GTA 6 as a game that’s “maybe not quite as edgy or quite as funny” as its satirical predecessors."

oh yeah, totally internet grifters spreading rumors...

blacktiger24d ago

That's part of the plan, they destroyed you but they need to destroy the shareholders? Only 1 shre holder is the true elite that don't care

1nsomniac25d ago (Edited 25d ago )

Meh.., if it’s above £55 I ain’t buying it.

Rockstar are genuinely not half the company they used to be. I was a die hard GTA fan I’ve purchased every game and expansion and spin off day 1.

My opinion of GTA6 is that I can take it or leave it. Not bothered. They burnt too many bridges.

DaReapa24d ago (Edited 24d ago )

So they're actually leaving the door open for an L.A. Noire sequel? Nice!

VaNdAl24d ago (Edited 24d ago )

He should just come out and say it already it's getting stupid it's going to be a 100 bucks $200 for the special edition🤡🤡; 29315;🤣♿

Storm2324d ago

I won't be getting this game until I can get it for $70. SHoot, I could wait for it to be even lower. I don't need the game that badly as my backlog is still huge and I am enjoying playing other things.

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40°

Talking Aliens: The Video Games With Author Mike Diver

Skewed and Reviewed have posted an interview with Author Mike Diver about his pending book on Aliens video games.

70°

Xbox boss: Memory crisis could impact next-gen hardware pricing

Xbox boss Asha Sharma has discussed how component shortages will impact the company's plans for Project Helix.

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gamedeveloper.com
Eonjay26d ago

When does this end? Its killing everyone. Consoles and PC. And for what? AI? The benefits of AI are completely outweighed by the negatives. And the government should have never allowed one company to buy up all the RAM.

Lexreborn227d ago

This kind of proves this is an after thought product, most products like this are in r&d 5 years before they start mass producing. So they typically have the cost of components and things worked out long before assembly starts.

This is an assumption still, but I wouldn’t be surprised if project helix is similar to Scalebound,perfect dark and sod3. They had an idea but no actual execution other than concept stage. Being impacted by the ram shortage likely would also put this device 3-4 years out.

I’m not even sure MS has that endurance with Xbox yet

Fishy Fingers26d ago (Edited 26d ago )

I mean.... what?

We're at a point that Samsung wont even provide their own phone department ram because they can sell it at higher prices to 3rd parties (AI). Its more profitable to sell the ram than make their own devices with it.

You think because R&D starts 5 years ago the 3rd party component manufacturers will honour that price? They'll sell it to whomever is paying the most today, not some gentlemens agreement they made years ago. AI farms will buy more volume at higher prices than any console manufacturer will. It'll be the same for Playstation.

Lexreborn226d ago

Contractual agreements are not the same as “gentlemen” agreements. If you think that they work with their distributors a month before production then their entire business model is trash. They work with companies like nvidia constantly for building the graphics cards they need. They work with companies that build motherboards years in advance. This is what proper business planning does.

They are not buying components on a whim like a consumer. So again, considering the ram isn’t a singular module and is integrated into the motherboard I highly doubt they wouldn’t have a final schematic that they are supposed to be building around.

If they are delaying production another 3 years then it’s obvious again this is an after though project and is just trying to be responsive to their bad execution they had the last 14 years.

It also isn’t far fetched to use their failure to produce first party titles the last 7 years including the highly anticipated games I mentioned all being cancelled. That they would continue to you know… lie

Sitdown26d ago

You don't really know how this works huh?

Profchaos26d ago (Edited 26d ago )

Helix is going to be stupidly expensive

Instead of leaning into smarter upscaling techniques they're brute forcing hardware that will cost them dearly and it remains to be seen if it's genuinely going to provide a meaningful differential

I know in the oc.doace people like to brag about not using frame gen or dlss to get to high on a game but for the majority of players they happily use those technologies without a second thought

That's going to be ps6 vs Helix

Eonjay26d ago

Yeah with FSR 5 they should be able to offer a much cheaper version of Helix.

Eonjay26d ago

While this does seem to be the case, I am encouraged by the statement from Microsoft about wanting to provide affordable options. If this means a Series S style Helix, at least there will be something affordable being offered.

XBManiac26d ago

Series S is what has killed Xbox Series so... Will they dare?

blacktiger26d ago

It's called systematic inflationary. Yes we get it Microsoft, keep raising in the name ofall kinds of stuffs

pwnmaster300026d ago

Honestly if there was thing I learned from this generation is that new consoles arnt day one anymore.
I can wait 1-3 years.

DarXyde26d ago

Another important lesson from this generation: while Nintendo showed us that prices don't necessarily need to ever drop, we've now learned that waiting 1-3 years does carry some risk that prices increase. This generation is just bizarre in all the wrong ways.

LucasRuinedChildhood26d ago (Edited 26d ago )

The factors are largely external. Covid and Russia-Ukraine war causing inflation led to the first price increase in 2022.

Then we get Trump's tariffs increasing hardware prices, AI boom causing a RAM crisis, war on Iran causing a worldwide fuel crisis which impacts the cost of everything.

Gaming doesn't exist in a vacuum. The last few years have been a shitshow and lot of it was definitely avoidable.

DarXyde26d ago

LucasRuinedChildhood,

For sure. No disagreement on the external factors doing a lot of this. Where I have to gently push back however is on two fronts:

1. The pandemic definitely caused some issues: asynchronous development was a big issue and really complicated timelines and affected game quality. At the same time, when it comes to price hikes, it's really difficult to know what was genuine necessity and what was taking consumers for a ride. The pandemic brought about "stag-flation" which was increasing prices and stagnant wages, which was a problem caused by supply chain constraints. There was also "Greed-flation", where companies that were slightly affected or had no issues took advantage of the situation and squeezed everyone citing supply chain issues when there were none.

2. It's definitely true that the tariffs, AI boom, and RAM crisis were all things enabled by tech broligarchs throwing money at this caricature of a world leader, one of them being Satya Nadella. I don't think Sony and Nintendo have contributed much to this problem if at all, but Microsoft's Nadella I feel was instrumental in causing every one of those issues. Microsoft as a company contributed to both candidates (though they gave Harris 4x as much if I recall), but Nadella was all in on letting AI run wild. He paid for unregulated AI, and got a war that's not a war (even though Trump called it that at least five times on television) that screwed up helium access. So for me, I feel that one of the players in the gaming industry is a key architect of these issues, and for that reason I struggle a bit to think of it as "external".

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