Former PlayStation Exec: Exclusive Games Are Key to Console Identity
Former PlayStation Executive Believes Exclusive Games Are the Heart of Console Identity
As the lines between consoles continue to blur and cross-platform releases become increasingly common, former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden has firmly stated that exclusive games remain the “core” factor that gives each console its distinct identity and makes it stand out from competitors.
Shawn Layden on PlayStation Exclusives
Layden spoke in the podcast Pause for Thought, emphasizing that while not every game needs to be exclusive, tying certain titles to a platform’s ecosystem is what makes a console “alive” and memorable.
He humorously noted that if Mario ever appeared on PlayStation, it would be akin to the apocalypse“cats and dogs living together” and added that characters like Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series serve a similar purpose, acting as signature icons that define a platform.
However, some may see a contradiction today, as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy have been released on PC through Naughty Dog’s remastered packages. This demonstrates that Sony’s approach to exclusives in the PlayStation 5 era is more flexible, particularly with single-player titles that eventually arrive on PC. Even successful live-service games like Helldivers 2 have launched on Xbox Series X|S.
Layden acknowledges the reasoning behind this strategy, particularly for online games that require large player bases to thrive. At the same time, he highlighted a key advantage of exclusive games: they allow developers to maximize the hardware’s performance. Cross-platform development often requires adhering to the “lowest common denominator,” whereas exclusives let developers fully optimize and push the console’s capabilities.
Layden’s perspective underscores that exclusives remain a debated topic: balancing platform identity against broader player access. In today’s rapidly evolving gaming industry, the question may no longer be whether exclusives will disappear, but how they will be redefined in the future.
What do you think are exclusive games still essential, or are they becoming a relic of the past?
Source: Pushsquare
