The times in gaming have changed. Between blockbusters and indie titles, there doesn’t seem to be much left, at least according to a former Sony manager. He sees the industry as threatened.
Which manager is being talked about? Shawn Layden was the chairman of Sony Interactive Worldwide Studios and recently spoke about developments in the gaming industry at the ongoing Gamescom Asia.
He painted a grim picture. The focus was particularly on the presence of large game productions, also known as blockbusters or AAA titles. We are talking about games that, according to Layden, have a budget in the triple-digit millions. In the conversation, the ex-manager explained why this is a problem for the entire industry.
One of the upcoming blockbusters was recently postponed: Assassin’s Creed Shadows – here you can see the trailer:
There is not much left between blockbuster and indie
What is the problem? On one side, there are huge and expensive blockbusters that are primarily designed to be profitable. On the other side are indie games, often developed by just a few people and with little money. These days, they are the truly creative games – even the streamer HandOfBlood is now a publisher of such titles.
Because creativity and new, fresh ideas always entail a certain risk. AAA titles do not want to take that risk and choose the safer, often uninspired path.
It used to be different, says Shawn Layden today:
[In the past] we spent a lot more time looking at games and didn’t ask: ‘What does your monetization scheme look like?’, ‘What is your plan for recurring revenue?’ or ‘What does your subscription formula look like?’ We asked the simple question: Is it fun? Are we having fun? If you answered yes to those questions, you usually got the green light.
Shawn Layden via gamesindustry.biz
Blockbusters used to be cheaper to produce and could take bigger risks. According to him, a similar development can now be observed in the gaming industry as in the film industry. There are blockbusters and indie productions – but hardly anything in between.
The games that can be termed AA titles are dying out, according to the ex-manager. This is a threat to the industry: “If we only rely on blockbusters to get by, it’s a death sentence in my opinion.” He cites Interplay, THQ, or Gremlin as examples of studios in the AA sector.
Is there a way out of the problem? Layden appeals to mid-sized studios to bring new ideas into play and not focus too much on monetization:
If you present me your AA game and on the first two pages of your deck are your monetization and revenue as well as subscription scheme, I’m out. Your first page needs to say: ‘This game needs to be made and here’s why.’
Shawn Layden via gamesindustry.biz
Industry attention must therefore shift away from monetization and towards unusual ideas. And this at a time when some studios are already talking about AAAA titles. On the other hand, developers of Palworld are doing things differently: The CEO of Palworld reveals why they don’t want to make “AAAA” titles – Even though they have the budget for it
