Former PlayStation chief talks “importance” of platform-exclusive games

Former CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment and PlayStation worldwide Shawn Layden has spoken about the importance of platform-exclusive games.

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The discussion around platform-exclusives has heated up in recent months after Microsoft confirmed a number of Xbox-exclusives would be made available on “rival” consoles. Both Grounded and Pentiment are due to come to Nintendo Switch while Hi-Fi Rush and Sea Of Thieves are coming to the PS5.

Speaking on the What’s Up PlayStation podcast, Layden said (via VGC): “Exclusivity will always be important, it helps focus and highlight the features of your platform. What can you do here technically that you can’t do someplace else.

“But, as your platform becomes established as the market recognises where you sit in that pantheon of gaming options, I think the necessity of exclusivity becomes a little bit less,” he added.

Earlier this month, Layden described exclusivity as a studio’s “Achilles’ heel” due to increasing production costs. “It reduces your addressable market. Particularly when you’re in the world of live service gaming or free-to-play. Another platform is just another way of opening the funnel, getting more people in.”

“The business is all about conversion,” he added. “You have to improve your odds by cracking the funnel open. Helldivers 2 has shown that for PlayStation, coming out on PC at the same time. Again, you get that funnel wider. You get more people in.”

It comes after Xbox boss Phil Spencer spoke about wanting PlayStation and Nintendo exclusives to launch on Xbox.

“When I look at a game like Helldivers 2 – and it’s a great game, kudos to the team shipping on PC and PlayStation – I’m not exactly sure who it helps in the industry by not being on Xbox,” he said. “This is not some kind of bartering system [though]” Spencer added of Microsoft’s decision to share exclusives. “We’re doing it for the better of Xbox’s business.”

In other news, Player First Games’ brawler MultiVersus has confirmed details of a relaunch. The updated version of the game will feature a new PvE mode alongside new characters and levels.