At the opening of Gamescom Asia in Singapore, former Sony executive Shawn Layden shared his thoughts on the state of the gaming industry. He pointed out the disappearance of AA studios and explained why this is detrimental to the future of the sector.
“In the gaming business, you have Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, indie projects. But that middle layer, the mid-tier where companies like Interplay, Gremlin, Ocean, THQ, and others used to thrive… that mid-tier has vanished. If you can become AAA, you survive, or if you’re doing something interesting in the indie space, you have a chance. But AA has disappeared. I see this as a threat to the ecosystem,” Layden emphasized.
He clarified that developers previously focused more on evaluating the games themselves rather than monetization issues or plans for generating recurring revenue.
“We simply asked: is it fun to play? If the answer was yes, the project usually got the green light. Of course, back then, millions of dollars weren't spent on development, so there was a greater tolerance for risk,” Layden noted.
According to him, the cost of creating a AAA game today reaches hundreds of millions of dollars, which leads to a decreased willingness to take risks. This results in numerous sequels and copies of successful projects.
“We are witnessing a decline in creativity in games due to the consolidation of studios and high production costs,” Layden pointed out.
He compared the situation to the film industry, where only blockbusters and independent films remain, while the mid-tier has moved to streaming platforms. In the gaming industry, Layden noted, such a transition has not occurred, leading to the disappearance of the mid-tier.
Despite the pessimistic outlook regarding AA games, Layden acknowledged positive changes in the overall quality of video games.
“With the emergence of technologies like the latest Unreal Engine or what Unity can offer, we can all say that the standard quality of video games is quite high compared to ten years ago,” he remarked.
As for the strategy for the remaining AA studios, Layden advised focusing on creating new things rather than copying AAA projects.
“Bring something new, challenge yourself. The gaming environment is so flexible; it can do so many different things,” he urged.
Layden also cautioned against excessive focus on monetization in the early stages of development.
“If you present your AA game to me, and the first two pages of your presentation discuss monetization and revenue schemes, I will decline. The first page should explain why this game should be made,” he stressed.
Speaking about artificial intelligence, Layden noted that it is merely a tool and not the savior of the industry. He sees practical applications of AI in testing and idea generation, but does not consider it a revolutionary solution.
In conclusion, Layden highlighted the potential of the Asian market. “I see Asia, South Asia, this part of the world, as a place where all the next big opportunities will come from,” he summarized, urging developers to create games for local markets and cultures.
Source: Gamesindustry
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