PlayStation Boss Shawn Layden Talks “Post-Console” World
Console gaming seemingly has an interesting time ahead of it, with greater focus being brought to services like cross-platform play and streaming than ever before. While staples like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo have thrived on their ability to deliver standalone experiences, the rise of projects such as these have begged the question of how platforms might fare in a potential post-console world.
SIE Worldwide Studios boss Shawn Layden recently spoke on the subject with Game Informer, talking about the future of how unifying services like streaming may ultimately affect consoles. In a possible post-console environment, Layden expressed a need to recognize these growing technologies as well as rival platforms for the benefit of the gaming community as a whole.
I don’t want to put too fine a point on this because it might upset some of the people I work with, but I think effectively, we’re looking at kind of a post-console world where you can have quality gaming experiences across a variety of technologies. Sure, PS4 and PS4 Pro provide what, of course, we think is the best gaming experience, but the other consoles out there, be it Switch, Xbox One X, or tablets, or phones – there are great experiences across all these.”
“What we need to do is recognize all that. We’re not little gaming ghettos that are not federated or aligned at all. We’re all part of the same gaming community, we just come at it through different doorways. I think the future will be an extension of that metaphor. Your platform is not your hideaway. It’s just your doorway to all these other gamer folk.”
Shawn Layden’s words are pretty interesting, especially with the much-rumored next console generation looming. This could indicate a stronger streaming focus for the inevitable next generation, but that too is only speculation at the end of the day. We’ve seen game streaming already break through with Xbox Game Pass and Sony’s own PlayStation Now, but even greater potential lies with future projects like Xbox’s xCloud as well as Google‘s Stream.
What do you think? Would you be a fan of a post-cone world, or is that a thought to scary to even think about? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day! For more headlines recently featured on DFTG, check out these next few news stories:
Eric Hall2712 Posts
Phone-browsing Wikipedia in one hand and clutching his trusty controller in the other, the legendary Eric Hall spreads his wealth of knowledge as a writer for Don't Feed the Gamers. Be sure to catch his biweekly "Throwback Thursday" segment for a nostalgic look at trivia from the past.
