Shawn Layden, who served at Sony Interactive Entertainment from the first PlayStation era through the launch of the PlayStation 5, is speaking out regarding the company's recent decision to reverse its strategy of bringing console titles to PC. During his tenure, Layden was a key architect of the push to expand PlayStation's reach beyond its own hardware.
In a recent interview with PSI, Layden clarified that the initial decision to port games to PC was not strictly a financial play. Instead, it was an attempt to grow the footprint of Sony's intellectual property. "The PC thing, in my mind anyway at the time, was not to make money, frankly," Layden stated. "It was how do I get my intellectual property in front of people who wouldn't normally see it? How do I get the world of Horizon to be seen by people who aren't in the PlayStation world?"
Expanding Brand Awareness
Layden emphasized that the move was aimed at broadening brand awareness as Sony sought to push its characters and stories into other media, including film, television, and merchandise. He maintained that he never expected these PC players to necessarily transition into buying PlayStation consoles.
Addressing the current strategy shift, where Sony is moving away from its previous porting cadence, Layden pushed back against the notion that PC releases were cannibalizing console sales. He challenged the internal thesis that a PC release occurring 18 months after a console launch negatively impacts hardware performance.
"If they think that a game coming out 18 months after its launch [on PC] somehow stopped a sale from happening 18 months ago in the hardware business, I'd like to see how they can prove that thesis," Layden said. "I think if someone's waiting 18 months for something to come on PC, we didn't lose a sale to them. They weren't going to buy the hardware anyway."
The Future of Live Service Ports
Despite the current pullback on single-player ports, Layden believes a complete exit from the PC market is unlikely for certain genres. He noted that for live service and free-to-play titles, the economics of the industry necessitate a multi-platform approach.
With Sony continuing to pursue live service projects despite recent high-profile difficulties, Layden expects those specific titles to remain available on PC and potentially other platforms, as the player base requirements for those games make exclusivity a difficult path to success.