
Former PlayStation Boss Shawn Layden Discusses Xbox Multiplatform Strategy - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 02 February 2025 / 6,743 ViewsFormer PlayStation boss Shawn Layden in an interview on the KIWI TALKZ YouTube channel was asked about his thoughts on Microsoft's changing approach with Xbox and how they are releasing their games on more platforms.
"Multiplatform is a strategy, particularly in a world where the cost of development is increasing so dramatically," said Layden (via VideoGamesChronicle).
"What does it do to their brand? It makes the conversation harder to create the FOMO (fear of missing out) you're trying to do that by bringing everyone to your platform by saying, 'if you’re not here you're missing out,' but if it's available on all platforms, that’s one of your marketing tactics you can't use."
Layden mentioned Sega did something similar when it dropped out of the console race and became a third-party developer releasing its games on PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox.
"We've seen it before. I was in the business when Sega brought their Dreamcast titles to PS2, in time then Sega became a software-only company, and have had a great transformation in that sense," he said. "So it does have historical precedence."
Another former PlayStation executive, Adam Boyes, recently applauded Xbox for being "agile" in a gaming market that is changing. He said Xbox is now "an entertainment provider" and is no longer "just a disc producer and disc distributor."
"So if we think about that, the analogy that maybe PlayStation is HBO, Microsoft is Netflix, and Nintendo is Disney, then their job is to get incredibly interactive and engaging entertainment out to as many people as possible."
Xbox has been releasing more of its games on other consoles - the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation. This includes Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded in 2024. Doom: The Dark Ages and The Outer Worlds 2 will launch day one on the PlayStation 5, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 are coming to PS5 this Spring.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Bluesky.
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People forget the plethora of options of running video games is alot higher then the Sega days. Sega had no choice but to drop out and release content on the only platforms available.
MS have a huge platform, their 1 plastic box isn't selling but they literally own the cloud network, Windows, and are partnered with many brands to bring their games to everyone while boosting the Xbox brand as the biggest in the world.
Not really, PC ports are relatively poor sellers and xbox players love renting.
Nintendo and Sega also loved renting games. Renting games was hugely popular during the 90s.
It's great to have options
Renting was physical in the 90s because there was no gamepass, esentials... these services are basically digital renting games. You can play them as long as you want but you don't own them and pay a monthly fee. Of course its much cheaper today than in the 90s.
It's alot better today for convenience. You had to drive to a store, pay just for 1 game or movie, then return it in the same condition you recieved it in. Plus not all the time the item you wanted was in stock.
People today have it so easy. One easy payment and you get access to 100+ games with no effort and no issue with stock levels.
Options are awesome. Best part, if you like the game you rent, GamePass gives you a discount on the total price.
Hmmm for renting digital only could eventually be an option. Yes. It could be practical. Personally i do not use it but i can understand people who do. And today of course its much cheaper! The only thing i disagree is your statement about "one movie". Of course it was possible to rent more than 1 movie. But with the rest i agree more or less.
But its a huge advantage being able to buy films on DVD/ BD as cheap as 5- 10$/€ on Ebay even nowadays. We have to admit that.
The problem is that Laydon does not seem to underatand that Sega basically had no choice because they where in financial trouble. MS is one of the richest companies ever, miles ahead of Sega in their beat years. They could buy them out with a small managers pocket money. The only problem would be the national pride of japan to sell a japanese company to an american one. MS could do more than another flop generation and still be fine. MS could also make Xbox games that are not on PC no matter what their costumers say and they'd be fine. Sony had to bring their games to PC because they would have been way to costy to keep them PSonly. Hardcorefans will deny it but its a financial fact! They don't just go out and say: We are super rich, we don't have to, but hey, lets waste some of our exclusive on the PC, only because we love PC gamers so much, although PC games cost less than console games so they bring less revenue and they sell less (sorry people but thats the truth) than the PS5 versions. Look at Spider Man 2 for example. That says it all and thats not the only game. IF it was selling so much better on the PC, why not screw Playstation and go 3rd as a PC Bitch... ähm sorry 3rd Party developer for PC.
What leads you to believe Layden doesn’t understand the Sega situation from this interview? Sounds like he was just providing an instance where an important hardware developer started releasing first-party software on rival systems…unless im misunderstanding? (which is very possible lol.)
He is comparing MS with Sega when they went 3rd Party in 2002/03. I think we agree over the fact, that the financial situation of MS (today) is totally different from Sega's in 2002 especially after the Dreamcast (and the Saturn).
Difference is Sega wasnt profiting. Xbox is.
Note on the PC versions - they may make less revenue but in financial terms the ROI will still likely be higher because costs are much lower. As the PS version shouldered the bulk of the dev costs, you only have to consider the costs of porting the game, which will be much lower.
Yes! You seem to love the PC really much! Everytime i read about evergreens i see Mario Kart 8, Zelda, Horizon, GOW, GTA, but not because of the PC, because it is released on 3 generations or 7 plattforms! I do not see Age Of Empires, Crysis, Comand And Conquer... in the charts for years, let alone the original game! And no, PCs have shorter legs than consoles. If you buy a Graphics card, as a hardcore PC user you will agree with me that its basically old after only a few months. Graphic cards are like shorter console generations. Thats why PC moves on so fast. If they'd stick with lets say a 1080 for 10 years, watch consoles fly past it. A GPU from 2000 is never selling at the same rate as te PS2 in 2010 and you know this! You act like every Graphics card is a PS2/DS/Switch from its lifetime.
You're basing those Spider-Man 2 numbers as sales when it's CCU data for literally the first few days and acting like it is a fact metric, when it isn't.
This is just compounding more and more that you're acting like a console warrior on this site the more you talk so negatively about said platform you apparently have "no interest in buying".
You claim PC gamers look down, but you're doing just that. Saying "it's the truth" means very little when you're not able to back it up against folks like Pemalite/Conina.
Also why mock selling to PC as a "third party bitch"?. Does selling to PC make anyone a bitch or something?. Why are you like this?.
Short: Yes it does! If you cannot stay on your plattform and give biyers what they want wich are real exclusives, than you are a "PC bitch". Imagine if every PC game got ported to Switch/ Xbox/PS. As a PC fanatic wouldn't you get pissed? I mean i would always buy consoles as long as they support physical media no matter what happens if they where to stop (or stop having physical games) i would not buy them- if all 3 did it, i'd be a retro gamer all the way. I would pump up my home cinema, do much more sports, travel more, something no console or PC can give me.
No it does not. You do not even begin to know how this kind of metric works, and I already explained this to you before.
You will never back down to anyone on this site no matter what facts and receipts they bring to the table and as I said before, the more you act in that manner, the more likely you are to get booted.
There is no such thing as a "PC bitch". What that entails is that "no one should ever make games for PC or release them anywhere near it", which again, is another one of your negative connotations, which itself is posed as a negative bias against the platform.
"imagine if every PC game was ported to consoles", you mean like since forever?. For years we've seen RTS games and even city sim games going to consoles and that hasn't bothered ANYONE. The only time it will ever, and I mean ever bother a PC gamer, is when the game FOR PC, is designed from the ground up to work for consoles first, despite it being a PC franchise, and then everything else for the core PC version is paired back (and no, it's not a tribal thing before you get that in your head, it's down to the technical and way games are played on that platform that I was specifying).
Also no, I'm not a "PC fanatic", again with the negative stereotyping dude. I've owned consoles since I was a kid in the 80's. I've owned Sega systems, Nintendo handhelds, a PS3, a 360, a Switch etc.
Well you won't be supporting console for long seeing as how digital file sizes are becoming the norm and physical media is being phased out with time.
Your home cinema isn't a gaming system, so I've no idea why you bring that up in regards to PC gaming, other than another troll attempt at a jab. Getting really tired of this.
Why do you think GTA VI will be released on consoles FIRST? Why is the Game not even coming to PC day 1? Has it got something to do that the money is made with consoles?😉 No Sony did not pay Rockstar to keep the PC out day 1 but has no problem with an Xbox release!🙂
GTAV did record numbers on xbox 360 and PS3, not on PC. Rockstar would be stupid to exclude consoles day 1! You think i get booted because of saying the truth?😆
Everything i said here did actually happen! I don't think vgchartz is overrun by so much PC freaks. You say physical games get phased out. Tell that to Nintendo! 🤣MS does it yes, maybe Sony, but that does not mean Nintendo does it. Also, since when did Nintendo follow MS and Sony since the last nearly 20 years?😉
Because Rockstar has done this for years based on double and triple dipping data only THEY have access to?.
Again, I am surprised why you seem to think this concept does not exist to you.
Again at this point you are not even trying to hide your disdain and bias towards a platform you claim to have "no interest" in, yet propose "facts" and "hard truths" to put down/shutdown said platform you have the bias against.
What do you mean "trippe dipping" data only they have access to? If you mean people who double and tripple dip, you can be sure they pay for each time they buy the game. Its just that you want to "sell" the PC to me like it was the only important plattform and all consoles are meaningless despite the sucess of PS5 and the Switch wich just cleard the 150 million mark in less than 8 years wich is an absolute record no console (also no GPU) has ever reached. If anything GTA VI has better chances of coming to Switch 2 before it comes to PC (i am NOT saying this wil happen). Just look at the hype around Switch 2. I can guarantee you- independend wich plattform you like- no GPU has this hype level!
So you don't think double dipping and triple dipping is a valid concept in any given industry/market?, is that what you are trying to say?.
I'm not selling you anything here. You're selling this notion that anyone selling games to PC makes them a "bitch", which is an attempt at mocking anyone daring to sell to PC, which also implies to "ignore" the platform.
You are the one who holds convictions against the platform. I hold convictions against CEO's and those filled with greed/making terrible business decisions.
There are more GPU's sold out there in the world combined than there are consoles, so I'm not sure why you are devolving this argument of yours into "only counting GPU sales", because that doesn't even make sense.
GPU's have their own hype levels and fanfare, I've no idea what the hell you are on about, are you moving onto "hype levels" now as your arguing point?.