Former Sony executive Shawn Layden has said that the ever rising cost of game development is making the industry difficult for smaller players, ultimately leading to consolidation and a lack of diversity.
Speaking to Games Industry, Layden pointed out that the number of people who own consoles today – around 240 to 260 million – is roughly the same as it was back in the 90s. However, the cost of making games has gone up 2x with each console generation. In addition to this, big players seem to be gobbling up smaller companies, and this “consolidation is the enemy of diversity.” As opposed to making more games, companies are making players spend more money on the same games.
“Music on a revenue basis is probably one fifth of the games space, but their cultural impact is 100x what gaming is,” Layden pointed out. “Right now, we are narrowing ourselves down into genres and sequels and certain types of games. Favorites like my own, like Parappa and Vib-Ribbon, those things don’t seem to get a chance to come out on stage. That’s bad for the industry and for fans. Over time, that leads to a crumbling of the games industry if we just keep talking to the same people and telling the same stories in the same way.”
Layden explained that he joined Streamline Media Group because nearly all of its 20-year existence has been spent with a “remote distributed development model.” The company is multicultural, putting it in a position where it can reach a wider audience.
“They speak 27 different languages throughout their studios and have people from 47 different countries,” Layden continued. “It is an incredibly multicultural workforce, and that is where the future of breaking gaming into a wider audience beyond the 240 to 260 million.”
[Source: Games Industry]
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