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Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden will be departing SIE
- Thread starter HeisenbergFX4
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Mochilador
Member
Cert.in.Death
Member
Really interested to know the details about how the dirty went down on this one. For it to happen so suddenly is indicative that (A) Layden himself did not anticipate his departure; and (B) some perceived wrongdoing, incompatibility, or emergency precipitated the announcement. I don't know which is worse for Layden at this stage, but I will hope for his reputation that it is the last option, seeing as he oversaw a generally successful period in Sony's history. But I also wouldn't hope a personal issue be the driving reason for this to have happened.
SlashBringingHasher
Banned
put Shu on top. I didn't like Layden, he didn't do anything, first party production went down. not a fan of much of his work at all. he was all for being quiet and cryptic wasn't a fan of that.
hopefully they have Japan at HQ again but unlikely. they will probably make Jim Ryan the head, I hope its Shu tho.
Layden just ruined playstation events big time.
hopefully they have Japan at HQ again but unlikely. they will probably make Jim Ryan the head, I hope its Shu tho.
Layden just ruined playstation events big time.
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CyberPanda
Banned
You guys are really mean to Mr. Layden.
bitbydeath
Gold Member
Seems a lot of people don’t know this but Jim is already the CEO of SIE.
Taking Laydens position would be a backwards move.
He took over John who had taken over Kaz.
Sony’s PlayStation business gets new president and CEO, Jim Ryan
Jim Ryan replaces John Kodera as the head of Sony Interactive Entertainment. Kodera is stepping down to deputy president where he will work on services.
venturebeat.com
RSB
Banned
Hell yeah. Announce Gravity Rush 3 and bring back the GR2 servers, redeem yourselves Sony.
jakinov
Member
The generation changed; everyone is taking a lot longer to make games from everybody. The games that they did release do way better than the vast majority of PS3 games did. Microsoft used to boast that Halo outsold most of the PS3 exclusives combined. Sony also shut down studios entering this generation due to low performance. They also cut ties with a bunch of studios who they had some multi-game deals with. A lot of those studios also I believe either collapsed or went into mobile development. I'm not sure what you mean by being quiet and cryptic but game companies and other companies in other medias have adopted the model of only talking about things close to when they come out.
I strongly believe that Sony strength this generation comes from distancing themselves from Japan.
Hudo
Member
I agree. Layden was horrible and put me off of Sony big time. First-party is still a problem at Sony (they couldn't support a console on their own, IMHO) and it got worse under him. I'd like Yoshida to take over as well and get the Playstation HQ back to Japan... but the reality will probably be that someone from California will take over or, even worse, Jim "Why would anyone want to play old games?" Ryan
bitbydeath
Gold Member
Shawn reported to Jim so that is unlikely.
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bitbydeath
Gold Member
As above. Shawn reported to Jim Ryan.
Neff
Member
Every time I've ever heard Ryan say something, it was either wrong, or stupid, or both. Dark times ahead.
Statistically speaking, there are millions of women who would be a better choice than Ryan.
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Ar¢tos
Member
Just a woman barely gets you points now.
It has to be a black transgender pregnant, overweight, amputee woman that talks with an Electrolarynx (and also has pink hair, obviously).
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TeamGhobad
Banned
why does sony get rid of their playstation CEOs so quickly?
Panajev2001a
GAF's Pleasant Genius
I do not get how he can keep failing upwards :/... Will miss Shawn as he was a great connection point with the Japanese side of things and he was there since the early days too.
Jigsaah
Gold Member
I dunno, Ryan ranks pretty high if you ask me.
FranXico
Member
Think of the children.
Panajev2001a
GAF's Pleasant Genius
Shawn was doing a pretty stellar job with SIE / WWS to be fair.
Panajev2001a
GAF's Pleasant Genius
Le sigh... yeah, maybe he is sooooo much better behind the scenes, but I am not holding my breath :/...
Kagey K
Banned
I think this is more of a power move on his part, he gates to say he took PS3 to PS4 and doesn’t need to worry if the PS5 declines (it will) he went out on top and makes his resume look better.
TeamGhobad
Banned
what resume? every single sony ceo has either gone jobless or major downgrade. he leaves no he goes on a pension.
Kagey K
Banned
I don’t think that is true. I’m going to need receipts. I can think of a few Sony execs that moved on to other things.
bitbydeath
Gold Member
Phil Harrison went onto Microsoft.
TeamGhobad
Banned
other things but not better things. what is jack doing now?
TeamGhobad
Banned
major downgrade statement stands true. he went from playstation boss to some mid level ceo at MS for a short while.
jakinov
Member
Sony first party has been the best it's ever been. They have less games overall coming out but they also have less studios, deals with studio and games take longer to make. In the last two years, they've had 3 games be more successful than any other game before.
I don't understand why people want them to go back to Japan. Moving head quarters back to Japan will probably hurt them. The Japanese console industry has been shrinking for a while with only some small recent signs of regrowth. The people there tend to not like the games that are really popular around the world today and so there's more likely going to be a disconnect between the management and the industry. From the platform and services perspective; Japan is notorious for being bad at software and user experiences; also, paying developers like shit and looking down on them. The actual game studios have also been extremely weak long before this move to Japan and still are. The hardware team made very stupid design decisions with the PS3 but got fantastic results with Mark Cerny
. If people just want more Japan Studio games or more Japanese studios in general; moving the entire business unit in Japan probably isn't the way to do that.
Mistershine.
Banned
What are the odds he's joining The Initiative? 
Hudo
Member
Well, I would disagree that Sony's first-party is the best that it's ever been. Sony's first-party were never their strength but at least they tried in the last generations. Sony are more than ever dependent on third-party deals and exclusives to help fill the void, IMHO. It also concerns me that the variety of first-party titles is lacking overall. Many of the high-profile first-party titles are third-person action/movie games. Yes, they sell and yes, people like those games. And that's OK and those games should exist! But I'd like Sony to invest in Japan Studio more, for example. Japan Studio brought some really cool stuff to Playstation in the past. But again, I can concede if someone disagrees, saying "well, that's because your taste is just different". That might very well be the case. But I still stand by my opinion that Sony are more reliant on third-parties than ever.Sony first party has been the best it's ever been. They have less games overall coming out but they also have less studios, deals with studio and games take longer to make. In the last two years, they've had 3 games be more successful than any other game before.
I don't understand why people want them to go back to Japan. Moving head quarters back to Japan will probably hurt them. The Japanese console industry has been shrinking for a while with only some small recent signs of regrowth. The people there tend to not like the games that are really popular around the world today and so there's more likely going to be a disconnect between the management and the industry. From the platform and services perspective; Japan is notorious for being bad at software and user experiences; also, paying developers like shit and looking down on them. The actual game studios have also been extremely weak long before this move to Japan and still are. The hardware team made very stupid design decisions with the PS3 but got fantastic results with Mark Cerny
Thing with Japan is, the working conditions (including pay) in the US aren't actually that much better, there are more then enough reports that say as much, even by third-rate bloggers like Jason Schreier who shills books about that. In terms of hardware decisions, you can look at it from multiple perspectives. Cerny did a very good job in choosing a conservative layout and choosing components that are (somewhat) reliable, cheap and known to developers. PS4 is a well thought-through system but it's safe, which is understandable after what happened with PS3 (I would argue that the build quality of the PS4 hardware is horrible, though). From a platform, services and software perspective, I would also argue that the US aren't a shining beacon of light in that regard either. I think all the services are lacking quality and reasonable pricing (they are all overpriced). And let's face it, services are there because every company wants to bind you to their eco system and the longer you stay in one, the more attached you are. And there are more than enough reports about failures and problems with software from big companies like Microsoft, Google, Apple etc. as well. So I would rather say that software in general is notorious for being shit (especially after a major version bump), it's just how development is done nowadays (ship features first, patch later). And again, saying that the Japanese game dev scene is weak, is a matter of personal preference because I would say the same about the US game dev scene (at the moment). Point being that it's not as black and white (as with everything).
So, while I agree with you that moving back to Japan is no guarantee that Playstation will somehow benefit, I would disagree with Sony being in a good position with regards to the long-term. I'd love for Sony to be less reliant on third-party and I'd love third-parties to already embrace multi-platform development completely (which many do already, fortunately). For example, I expect FF7 Remake to come to other platforms as well down the line because Final Fantasy is too big for one platform and Square Enix know that. So why don't Sony work on their own "AAA"-RPG IP? Wouldn't that be cool? Or why not take Astro-Bot and try to make it their premier platforming IP? So you don't have to rely on Activision with Crash and Spyro.
But hey, I'm currently playing armchair mananger here and maybe Sony management are happy and have stuff planned that I don't know about, so who knows? So everything I've just mumbled is just my (probably badly informed) opinion.
Senhua
Member
Sorry but I must correct you little "insult" here:
OC 2019 Hall of Fame
- 8 from top 10 is made by Japanese dev
MC 2019 Top Score
- 5 from top 10 is made by Japanese dev
Not to mention this is taken from western "gaming" journalist critics who hate everything "anime" these days.
Mr. PlayStation
Member
what are you people on about with first party is still a problem at sony talk? Like really what are you guys smoking to say shit like that?
xool
Member
Hell on earth scenario.
Don't ever make wishes - only the devil answers
Hudo
Member
For a platform holder, Sony are quite focused on specific types of games that take, on average, quite long from announcement to release. Sony are relying on third-party deals to fill their lineup with genres they are currently not developing themselves (even though Sony have IP for that), like FPSs, RPGs and platformers. They also have problems supporting their other platforms that are not "core Playstation", like PSVR or the Vita. However, if you are a big fan of third-person action/movie games, then yes, Sony's first-party is brilliant (and I don't mean that in any derogatory manner, they really are brilliant). But again, the problem then is the release schedule. But that's how Layden wanted their strategy to be; have fewer but bigger releases, which can be interpreted that he wanted to fill the "void" with third-party deals, like FF7 Remake or Yakuza. So it's probably more a matter of personal prefrence, really. For me, I'd like Sony to have more variety, that's all (I see Dreams as an "outsourcing" effort, to let the community handle that problem, so to speak, which I don't know if I'm a fan of an approach like this).
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S
SLoWMoTIoN
Unconfirmed Member
So the Japanese CEO got canned as well? Lol
CJY
Banned
Can't say I'm disappointed or upset about this announcement. I'm just mostly feeling indifferent, which is the greatest damnation of his tenure of all. Changing of guard always results in a transition and transition has its risks, so I'm concerned a little, particularly with the launch of a new console on the horizon.
If anything, I have a positive opinion of him leaving/being oustered, public-image-wise, he was shit.
If anything, I have a positive opinion of him leaving/being oustered, public-image-wise, he was shit.
Schrödinger's cat
Banned
Leave when the company is on a high. Looks good publicly - regardless of what is going on internally.
Cerny, time to make your move.
Cerny, time to make your move.
Ryan... isn't he the guy with foot-in-mouth disease every time he opens his mouth? I hope he doesn't make the brand look bad. Jack tretton/andrew house as the face of the sony presentations in the past gave me faith that they care about the brand, but these guys(ryan & layden), I don't have much faith.
Layden is by no means a bad guy, and I am sure he is a chill guy, but good lord, I can't listen to him speak, and during his time, sony had a mediocre showing the last couple of years in terms of presentation, then decided to pull out of E3/psx this year, and the state of play was bland and poorly made, and even with the good games shown like FF7 remake, I was Zzzzzz...
Layden is by no means a bad guy, and I am sure he is a chill guy, but good lord, I can't listen to him speak, and during his time, sony had a mediocre showing the last couple of years in terms of presentation, then decided to pull out of E3/psx this year, and the state of play was bland and poorly made, and even with the good games shown like FF7 remake, I was Zzzzzz...
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Trab-Pu-Kcip
Member
Too many key guys have left Sony in recent times. Pretty strange and this makes me worried about what is happening behind the walls.
Dr. Kitty Muffins
Member
Sony definitely needs a culture change. Not everyone wants politics in their games.
CyberPanda
Banned
I like your username.
Javthusiast
Banned
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