Over the years, the concept of “bigger is better” has worked for the video game industry. However, today we see that this is not always the case. a lot play station Large scale AAA productions like Xbox are facing serious problems due to how unsustainable they are. For Sean Layden, former CEO of SIE, the answer lies in making the games smaller.
During an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Leyden talked about the issues currently facing the video game industry, noting that one point that should be considered is the duration of games. Instead of experiencing 50 or more hours, Developers should focus on smaller titles, which are not as expensive and hold the player’s attention longer. Here’s what he said about it:
“We live in a world where only 32% of players finish video games, so we’re making a lot of titles that 68% of people quit. So should we make games that most people can’t finish? Is your development process expensive? You can accommodate this by building your games on a shorter timeline, which will reduce its cost. This will get you to market faster, you will be able to please your clients instead of asking them to wait 45 years for your next job. I think we need to reexamine how we present ourselves and our games to the gaming public.
Maybe it was a decent metric back in the day when the average gamer was in their late teens or early 20s, meaning they were time-rich and money-poor, so they could sit through a session long enough to get through a big RPG. It seemed to have happened. Reasonably now the average age of players has reached 30 years old, you now have opportunities, they are wealthier in terms of money, but poorer in time. If you’re going to sit down and tackle this with Red Dead Redemption 2, you’ve got to give yourself some downtime.”
Leyden recommends that studios focus on experiences that get right across, rather than stretching your playtime through content just to fill a quota. And provide something significant. Considering the current state of companies like PlayStation, his comments are focused on providing a better experience for users, but perhaps he doesn’t consider everything that is on the minds of the current managers of these companies.
We can only wait to see if anyone listens to Leyden. Relatedly, PlayStation will not be participating in Gamescom 2024. Likewise, you can play multiplayer on PlayStation for free.
Author’s Note:
Leyden’s message will likely fall on deaf ears. The industry has grown so much that it is unlikely that a small experience will have the success that companies want The new Astro Bot is an anomaly, and if the distribution is unexpectedly successful, it will likely change in the future.
Through: GamesIndustry.biz
