Category: Shawn Layden

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Sony Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden is Leaving PlayStation

There’s a lot going on over at Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) currently, with the company currently shaking up its promotional events by hosting State of Play broadcasts and not appearing at events like the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Today, even more is going on with the announcement that SIE Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden is departing.

A Tweet from the official PlayStation account stated: “It is with great emotion that we announce that Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden will be departing SIE. His visionary leadership will be greatly missed. We wish him success in future endeavours and are deeply grateful for his years of service. Thanks for everything, Shawn!”

The official SIE website also noted that Laden: “Resigned as executive personnel (as of the end of September 2019).” He hasn’t given any details as to the reason for the departure and as yet, there’s been no mention of his replacement.

Layden has worked at Sony across various departments since 1987, becoming VP of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) in 1999 and then in 2007 President of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (SCEJ). He was then COO, CEO, and President of PlayStation before his final role as SIE Worldwide Studios Chairman. It’s in this latter role he is most famous for, often taking to the stage for events like E3 to announce the latest PlayStation titles.

Shawn Layden

He’s leaving just as PlayStation 4’s lifecycle begins to draw to a close as PlayStation 5 is expected to be officially revealed in 2020 – but no new PlayStation VR just yet. When it comes to VR SIE isn’t following its rivals like Oculus and HTC with lots of new and improved headsets – or standalone ones – but it has previously hinted at what could feature in a new model, like better resolution and wireless connectivity.

It’s not just Shawn Layden leaving Sony. Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia (SIEJA) president and SIE corporate director Atsushi Morita is retiring, reports Gematsu. Kazuhiko Taekda will serve as the new corporate director while the role of SIEJA president is still to be announced.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of SIE as further announcements are made, reporting back with the latest updates.

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Shawn Layden Says Sony-Made Games May Come To Other Platforms

Could we one day see Sony-made PSVR exclusives on other platforms? Sony’s Shawn Layden just made that seem like a possibility.

Speaking to Bloomberg in an interview this week Layden, stated that some of its first-party titles may need to access a “wider installed base” in the future. Bloomberg notes that this was in particular reference to multiplayer games perhaps coming to PCs.

“We must support the PlayStation platform — that is nonnegotiable,” Layden said. “That said, you will see in the future some titles coming out of my collection of studios which may need to lean into a wider installed base.”

Much of the wider press around these comments has focused on traditional gaming. But Layden’s remarks could mean big things for VR too. The install bases of current VR headsets is much lower than that of traditional consoles. Sony, for example, makes blockbuster exclusive games like Blood & Truth and Astro Bot, then sells them PSVR owners. According to Sony’s last update, PSVR has sold around 4.2 million units since launch. That’s thought to be more than most headsets, but still a fraction of the PS4’s sales.

Last month, Oculus’ Jason Rubin noted that he would be open to trading some of the Oculus Studios titles made for the Oculus Rift with PSVR exclusives. At the time it seemed like a pipedream, but Layden’s comments have us wondering if that could change. Maybe we could see Lone Echo on PSVR and Blood & Truth on Oculus Rift in the near future after all. Perhaps when PlayStation catches up with PC horsepower with its next console, we’ll see that finally happen.

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Sony’s Shawn Layden: ‘We’re Seeing Progress Towards VR 2.0 Games’

Sony’s Shawn Layden: ‘We’re Seeing Progress Towards VR 2.0 Games’

Sony’s Shawn Layden says the VR industry is starting to move into its second generation of content.

Layden said as much during his keynote speech at this year’s DICE conference. He began by speaking about how it’s still early for the new tech, adding that “much of VR is one dot out, and it still feels experimental.”

But those experiments are laying the foundations for what’s next. “We’re starting to see progress towards VR 2.0 games and software,” Layden said. He then brought up an ever-popular example of great VR game-making: Astro Bot Rescue Mission. Sony Japan’s 2018 PSVR-exclusive platformer stole people’s hearts with its engaging gameplay and inventive use of VR.

“Astro Bot used the VR medium to redefine what a platformer could be, and to very good effect,” Layden said. “A game of this quality arriving in the first generation of a new technology helps us lay a foundation for everyone to build upon.”

Indeed, we loved Astro Bot. But, like Layden, we’re excited to see what games are built upon the template it established. PSVR is nearly three years old now and we’re hoping 2019’s slate of content will be its strongest yet. We know that Sony London Studio is working on Blood And Truth, but past that we’re not sure what else is coming to the headset this year.

Of course, we’re also excited to see what’s next for PSVR itself. In an interview published earlier this week, Layden said that the changes the headset sees over the next ten years will be dramatic.

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US-Sony-Vorsitzender über PSVR: “Uns erwarten dramatische Veränderungen in den nächsten zehn Jahren”

In einem kürzlichen Interview sprach Shawn Layden, Vorsitzender von SIE Worldwide Studios und ehemaliger Präsident und CEO von SIE America, über die optimistische Zukunft der Spieleindustrie sowie der PlayStation VR (PSVR). Demnach glaube er fest an die Zukunft der Virtual Reality und erwartet langfristig drastische Veränderungen der PSVR-Brille, ruft jedoch zu mehr Besinnung und Geduld für die Entwicklung der Technologie auf.

Shawn Layden über die Zukunft der PlayStation VR – Führende Position in der Industrie und dramatische Veränderungen in der Zukunft

Dass Sony fest an die Zukunft der Virtual Reality glaubt, verkündete bereits Kenichiro Yoshida im September letzten Jahres. Nun meldete sich auch Shawn Layden in einem Interview mit Gameinformer über das Thema zu Wort. Dabei zieht er ein Resümee über Sonys derzeitige Rolle für die VR-Industrie und spricht visionär über das Potenzial der PlayStation VR (PSVR) in den nächsten zehn Jahren:

“Ich denke, dass wir die größte VR-Plattform in der Welt sind. […] Die PSVR stellt eine aufregende Technologie für uns dar. Einige sagen, dass wir in der Rolle der ersten Akteure, die eine derartige Technologie nutzen, einen Vorteil haben. Ich weiß nicht, ob das stimmt, aber ich kann sicher sagen, dass wir Pioniere sind. Wir laufen niemanden hinterher, wir sind in einer führenden Rolle. Es ist eine einzigartige Möglichkeit, ein Teil einer echten 1.0-Erfahrung zu sein.”

Sony-Shawn-Layden-Gameslab

Shawn Layden auf der Gameslab 2018 | Image courtesy: Gameslab / VentureBeat

So sieht er zwar die Vorteile sich frühzeitig auf dem Markt zu etablieren, kritisiert jedoch in einer Analogie zur Entwicklung von Mobiltelefonen die Erwartungshaltung vieler Nutzer in unserer heutigen Zeit:

“Das Problem heutzutage ist, dass die Erwartungen und damit verbundenen Spannweiten der Leute zu kurz sind. Aktuell sagen viele Personen zu mir: “Oh! PSVR, das ist toll! Aber wann wird es größer und ausgereifter sein?” Daraufhin antworte ich normalerweise mit einer Handy-Analogie: “Erinnerst du dich an dein altes Nokia-Handy mit dem lustigen Klingelton, das alle damals hatten? Wenn du heute dein altes Nokia-Handy neben dein Smartphone legst, könntest du dir nicht vorstellen, wie dieser Sprung zustande kam.”

Playstation VR kostet 399 Euro

Diesen Gedanken transferiert er daraufhin auf die PlayStation VR (PSVR) und blickt auf eine strahlende Zukunft der VR-Brille, welche jedoch Geduld fordert:

“Ebenso verhält es sich mit der PSVR. Keiner kann sich vorstellen, wie die Zukunft genau aussieht, aber uns erwarten dramatische Veränderungen in den nächsten zehn Jahren. Man muss sich nur stets vor Augen führen, dass man keine 5.0-Version erhält, bis die 1.0-Variante fertiggestellt wurde. Das liegt einfach in der Natur der Sache, sich schrittweise fortzuentwickeln.”

Sony hat seit dem Verkaufsstart der PlayStation VR (PSVR) im Jahr 2016 bereits mehr als drei Millionen VR-Brillen verkauft. Wie der nächste Evolutionsschritt der Hardware aussehen wird und ob uns eine PSVR 2 erwarten wird, ist derzeit noch offen. Die optimistische Einstellung der Führungsriege von Sony lässt darauf allerdings hoffen.

(Quelle: Gameinformer)

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PlayStation US Boss: PSVR’s Change In 10 Years ‘Will Be Dramatic’

PlayStation US Boss: PSVR’s Change In 10 Years ‘Will Be Dramatic’

PlayStation’s Shawn Layden has us hopeful that PSVR 2 will happen. And maybe even PSVR 3 and 4, for that matter.

In a recent interview with Game Informer, Layden, who heads up Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) US, said that PSVR’s change over the next 10 years will be “dramatic”. Talking about the future for the platform, he compared its growth to that of smartphones. He reasoned that it’s hard to see how current phones had evolved from their predecessors.

“By the same token, you look at PSVR right now, none of us are going to be able to imagine what it will look like 10 years from now, but the change will be that dramatic,” Layden said. “You can’t get to 5.0 until you do 1.0. It’s just the nature of the thing.”

His words seem call for patience on the PSVR 2 front. We’re just reassured to hear high-level Sony executives talk as if a follow-up headset is a possibility.

With over three million units sold, PSVR is thought to be the most successful major headset on the market right now. Layden himself later stated: “I think we’re the biggest VR platform in the world.” But this is just a fraction of 91.6+ million units PS4 itself has sold. There’s no guarantee that Sony will push on with the medium until it definitively says so itself.

That said, we have seen a lot of patents pointing towards potential PSVR improvements over the past few years. Just yesterday we reported on new documents that give us a closer look at what could be new PlayStation Move controllers. At this point, PSVR 2 would likely debut on PS5, a console that’s also yet to be announced.

We wouldn’t hold our breath for any PSVR 2 news this year, then.

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Sony Confirms There Won’t be a PlayStation Experience This Year

Every year in December Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) holds its annual PlayStation Experience event in Anaheim, California, not only allowing gamers to test the latest videogames but also revealing new and upcoming titles. Well it now turns out that it won’t be taking place in 2018.

PlayStation VR Group shot

On the PlayStation Blogcast released today, Sony Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden confirmed the consumer focused event won’t be held for the first time in four years in the US.

Explaining why Layden said: “For 2018, I know this is going to be a disappointment for some people, but we’ve decided not to hold PlayStation Experience. We won’t have it in the States this year. The reasons behind that really are, we don’t have, we have a lot of progress that we’re making in our games [and] we’re seeing that coming out, now that we have Spider-Man out the door we’re looking into 2019 with games like Dreams and Days Gone but we wouldn’t have enough to bring people, all together in some location in North America to have that event. We don’t want to set expectations really high and then not deliver on it.”

That will certainly annoy fans who enjoy travelling to the event to see the very latest that SIE has to offer, whilst putting a worrying twist on the lack of third-party titles that tend to make an appearance. Could this be Sony starting an early wind down to refocus efforts on its next console. While the rumour mill has been rife about PlayStation 5, there’s been no concrete details from the company just yet.

And what about PlayStation VR? The headsets sales of 3 million may trifle in comparison to the PlayStation 4’s 82 million+ but its still proved more popular than PC rivals Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. And there’s always a constant influx of titles for the device, including a number of notable exclusives.

What ever the case, VRFocus will continue to bring you the latest PlayStation VR news and updates.