Earlier this year, former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime left the company after many years at his post, and now, PlayStation has suffered a similar blow. Sony announced via Twitter that Shawn Layden, Chairman of Sony Worldwide Studios – the umbrella under which all of their first party studios fall – has left Sony Interactive Entertainment.

The tweet making the announcement noted that “his visionary leadership will be greatly missed”, but did not go into the reasons for his departure, nor has an announcement been made for who will be replacing Layden at his post.

Under Layden’s leadership since 2014, Sony’s first party has seen a meteoric rise. Building on the narrative-focused single player experiences that Sony found success with with the likes of Uncharted and The Last of Us late last gen, the last few years have seen Sony Worldwide Studios’ lineup delivering similar products, with Horizon: Zero Dawn from Guerrilla Games, God of War from SIE Santa Monica, and Spider-Man from Insomniac Games (who recently joined the Sony WWS portfolio).

It remains to be seen how Sony operates in the coming years without Layden in charge.

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 endeavors and are deeply grateful for his years of service. Thanks for everything, Shawn!

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 30, 2019

If there’s one good thing we can say about Sony, it’s that they have an incredibly pro-creative attitude towards game development. They let developers work on new stuff, and they let them take their time. The result is that a lot of Sony games may see a lot of delays, but when they release, they are almost inevitably worth the wait without exception.

This is because of Sony’s unusual attitude towards deadlines in game development. Speaking to Business Insider, Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shawn Layden said that while the company does try to enforce deadlines, they understand that they are not an end unto themselves, and that creative considerations always take precedence. The results, he said, end up compensating for the disappointment that delays generate.

“You know, we’ve been at this for over 25 years now. And I think we are understanding better the power of unleashing the creative — and really being able to speak with individuals, or with teams, that have a vision for a game they wanna bring forward,” he said.

”Having done it so often over so many years, I think we’re just getting better at it. We’re more experienced at it. We understand what the real cost, time and money, for a great scope is, and prepare ourselves to deliver that.

”Deadlines are important, but they’re not an end unto themselves. Deadlines, or milestones, are ways that you measure your progress across a trajectory. They’re check-in points. Are we achieving this level of artistic quality? If the story works, what are the beats? Are the animations executed? And more often than not, if we feel that we need to spend a little more time in any one of those categories, we’ve made provisions, and we’re prepared to move a date if it’s in service of achieving a greater result.

“And I know in the game community, people are disappointed to find out that, ‘Hey! What do you mean you’re moving it up 30 days, or 60 days, or 90 days?’ But once we’ve come to market, everyone says, ‘Oh my God, I’m so glad you did.’ Because we can only answer that disappointment by delivering an awesome result.”

It’s a healthy attitude to have. Delays often help games reach their true potential and end up far better a product than they would have been had they been forced to release by a certain date to meet whatever deadline. It’s good to see Sony values the creative process more than anything else when it comes to game development.

If you want to see more of what Shawn Layden has been saying recently, make sure to check out his remarks on how Sony isn’t standing in the way of cross-platform play (which a developer has refuted since), and why Sony isn’t attending E3 this year.

Microsoft has been on a bit of a spending spree of late, having acquired multiple studios last year in a bid to expand their portfolio of first party studios and games. While Microsoft’s acquisitions have been more in an attempt to catch up to the quality of first party games Sony and Nintendo are already at, many have been wondering if Sony or Nintendo will counter by expanding their own lineup of first party developers as well.

Speaking to CNET, PlayStation boss Shawn Layden discussed the prospect of studio acquisitions for Sony, noting that it’s something they would do if they found an opportunity that was “exciting”.

“We’re always exploring opportunities. If we found a partner or a team or a game that we felt was particularly meaningful and interesting in a service area, we will look to bring that in. We’re always open to that kind of experience,” Layden said.

“We try to make it really easy for our teams to focus on what our vision is for the future. And we have simplified it to “first, best or must.”

“If your title is going to be “first” and creating a genre, or “first” and creating a new game activity, let’s look at that. If you’re going to make an action adventure game, It better be “best” in class. And we have the third category called “must,” which is we must support the platform, we must be present when new technology comes out.”

To be fair, as I already noted, Sony doesn’t need to acquire new studios. Their arsenal of first party games and studios is already formidable, and it’s Microsoft who must catch up to Sony’s offerings in that area. That said, it’s good to see that further expanding their first party to stay ahead of the competition is not something Sony has completely ruled out either.

If you want to see more of Shawn Layden’s musings, make sure to check out his remarks on why Sony is choosing to skip on E3 this year.

Sony currently rules the roost in the console gaming world, with the PlayStation 4 holding strong in its fifth year on the market, and with its game lineup continuing to swell by the day. However, not that long ago, the company was in trouble- the PS3 launch was a disaster on various levels, and threatened to bankrupt the entire company.

Speaking at at Develop in Brighton (transcription via Eurogamer), Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida spoke about Sony’s journey as a console vendor, from the original PlayStation through to now with the PlayStation 4. Yoshida discussed how Sony managed console transitions in the past, noting that the PlayStation 2 was their first time doing something like that (and they ended up flubbing it more than they would have liked), while the PlayStation 3 was a disaster for the first few years after launch.

Sony finally managed to get a console transition right with the PS4- but how can they ensure that they don’t repeat some of the mistakes that have haunted them in the past as the PS5 approaches on the horizon?

“It’s human nature,” said Yoshida. “People make mistakes. I don’t know why. We’re all human – we’re not perfect. PS4 is doing so well, but we don’t forget why we’re here now.”

In a lot of ways, Sony does understand what is important and what has made it successful- it focuses on the few things that hold the largest cachet with the mass market, including, of course, a world class lineup of games. I just hope that Sony doesn’t forget, going into the next generation, that its consumer friendliness was a major reason for its early triumphs over the Xbox One early in this generation- maybe then, we can see a PS5 that allows backward compatibility, refunds, cross platform play, and more.

Here’s the thing with the gaming industry- most publishers are localized to certain regions. Even companies like EA, Ubisoft, and Take-Two, who have studios all around the world, do the bulk of their AAA game development in some regions. Nintendo’s game development is almost all done in Japan- the odd Retro Studios game notwithstanding.

The one exception to this, however, is Sony- Sony is the only company that has managed to create a slate of studios around the world who can churn out AAA games. And this is something we have seen the benefits of over the last few years, as Sony’s first party lineup has truly come into its own.

It’s also something that Sony’s American boss Shawn Layden is proud of. Speaking during his Gamelab panel (fully transcribed by GamesBeat), Layden noted that Sony remains the only company in the world that has studios in all three regions capable of putting out AAA games.

“You may not know that my same studio structure that brings you Gran Turismo is the one that also brings you The Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Detroit: Become Human, and soon this game called Spider-Man,” he said.

“We have these 13 studios worldwide. One of the things that makes our structure a bit unique — I challenge anyone to argue my claim — is that we’re the only studio structure I know that can create triple-A content in three regions. We can make it in Japan, in Europe, and in America. I think that gives us a certain energy, a certain power. Certainly, it’s a wider viewpoint about the markets and gamers worldwide. That’s a benefit to all of the studios. We have probably 2,500-3,000 people. We have a lot of external partners that we work with, whether it’s Insomniac — again, I’m pushing Spider-Man — or Quantic Dream or Supermassive. Our breadth is really wide.”

This is undoubtedly true. While there may be many who contest the quality of the experiences Sony pushes out – which, fair enough, you’re entitled to your opinion and everything – there is no contesting the claim that Sony is the only company that can push out AAA games across all three major regions in the world. Even Microsoft, after their studio expansions, or Nintendo, with their 19 studios, cannot claim that. Not yet, anyway.

Sony’s first party studios have been pumping out one great game after another. Though they’ve been one of Sony’s biggest strengths for as long as they’ve been in the industry, lately, they’ve become even more notable in their efforts to create memorable games, having delivered the likes of The Last of Us, Uncharted 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and God of War in just the last few years. And that, of course, is as a result of the philosophy all of Sony Worldwide Studios adhere to very strictly.

Recently, while speaking with Venturebeat, Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shawn Layden spoke about what this philosophy is, boiling it down to three very simple things- “first, best, and must.” What that means is that Sony’s games must be either the first of their kind, the best of their kind, or simply be the kinds of games that they must make, even if that means they might incur some losses.

“The game you’re working on has to fulfill at least one of the criteria, preferably too,” Layden said. “First means creating a first of its kind game — a genre that doesn’t exist, a market that hasn’t been actualized yet. Will your game do that? That’s an obligation for us as first-party development. We’re not here to create games that steal market share from other publishers. Because we manage the platform, it’s not to steal pieces of the pie. It’s to grow the entire pie. If you create a new genre like Parappa the Rapper did — rhythm action gaming, who know that would be a genre? Or SingStar, bringing in a microphone to your living room? And soon coming out of our studios, a game called Concrete Genie, a new form of entertainment we haven’t seen before. If you can fulfill that, at a Worldwide Studios studios level we’re interested in that project.”

“Best is probably the easiest one to explain,” Layden continued. “If you’re best, it means if you’re making an action-adventure, you’re making Uncharted or God of War. If you’re making a racing game, you’re making Gran Turismo. Or a golf game, Everybody’s Golf, my favorite golf game. You must be the best in class. If someone came up with a plan, did all the spreadsheets, and said, “Shawn, this is going to make money for us and it’s going to be the fourth-best racing game ever,” I’m not interested in doing the fourth-best anything. That wouldn’t be something we’d get behind.”

He then moved on to the third pillar of their philosophy. “Must is probably the other thing that reflects our position as first-party development attached to the platform,” Layden said. “There are some games we must do, even if initially the profitability might be hard to make. For example, an easy one for that is PSVR games. When you’re trying to grow the PSVR installed base, how many units are in homes, it’s difficult for some third parties to look at that addressable market and get the business to work for them. But we need games to move the platform. It’s a chicken and egg thing. So at Worldwide Studios we took on a number of PSVR projects in order to support the launch of that platform and getting it off the ground.”

“So first, best, and must,” he concluded. “We look at all of our games through that lens. It helps us make the right decisions, most of the time.” And really, that philosophy reflects in their output. At least on the more high profile AAA front, other than the games we’ve already seen over the last few years, they still have so much more coming in, with the likes of Spider-Man, The Last of Us- Part II, and Ghost of Tsushima. Here’s hoping that also propels them to building some truly great games on their VR platform as well- it wouldn’t exactly be controversial to say that they haven’t been very successful on that front.

Sony has come a long way as a first party publisher over the last decade or so. In that period, they have shored up their stable of first party studios, built up beloved IP like Uncharted and God of War, and released several critically acclaimed games. The end result is that they now have an enviable catalog of first party games, which can have the ability of selling their platforms all by itself, much like Nintendo.

It is also a lineup that Sony is rightfully proud of. Speaking to GameReactor, Michael Denny (Head of the European branch of Sony Worldwide Studios) said that the publisher’s lineup right now is the best and broadest that they have ever had.

“If you look at our current releases and our upcoming releases, I truly believe that we now have I think not only the best lineup ever but the broadest lineup ever of games,” he said. “We want to be inclusive, we want to offer games for all our players. Of course, the core triple-A titles will always be there but doing things like PlayLink is important to us as well in terms of, maybe having something for the friends and family.”

I think that’s a reasonable stance to have- as a publisher, I don’t think Sony has literally ever had a better output than they do right now. Between their console games, VR games, PlayLink titles, and the whole range of genres and game styles that Sony’s games cover, they truly have one of the most diverse portfolios in the industry.

In some rather sad news, it sounds like multiple people working at Sony Worldwide Studios have lost their jobs in a recent round of layoffs conducted at Sony London and Sony San Diego- Sony have confirmed the layoffs to GamesIndustry.biz.

Sony London, working on PlayStation VR exclusive London Heist, will apparently be kept assigned to PlayStation VR games for the time being, from the sound of things.

“London Studio have done a great job in leading the way in VR development, and as their first project nears completion it is time to plan for the next VR project,” a Sony spokesperson said. “The team will take all their learnings and experience as they move forward, however in order to achieve its ambitious goals, the Studio will need to restructure around the needs of the new projects.

“Unfortunately, there will be a number of compulsory redundancies within the London Studio. We accept that this will mean that we risk losing high calibre staff whose projects have reached completion and where possible, we will try to reallocate people to new projects currently being nurtured.”

As for Sony San Diego, it seems the shakeup there is more severe- although it also sounds like the team working on MLB every year is safe, if only because of how well that series sells.

“We can confirm there has been a reduction in headcount at San Diego Studio,” a Sony spokesperson again told GI.biz. “The team working on MLB The Show have not been affected. We continually evaluate teams and programs at SIE Worldwide Studios to ensure we have the proper resources in place to deliver innovative products within a competitive landscape.

“As projects are completed, it is natural to review and restructure teams around current and future needs. We wish our departing team members success as they pursue new opportunities and we have nothing but heart-felt thanks for their contributions to PlayStation.”

Let’s just hope that the people who are being let go can get back on their feet again, and soon. Being unemployed sucks, and I would hate to see such talented people be jobless for long.

Sony may have had a remarkable, unforgettable E3, but they are not done just yet. In fact, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida seems to be excited at the prospect of upcoming Sony first party games- specifically, he seems to be pretty pumped about the new games that Sucker Punch (of inFamous fame) and Japan Studios (most recently bringing us Bloodborne) are working on.

Another game that we will see soon is the new Gravity Rush, the sequel to the PS Vita exclusive hit action adventure that was teased almost two years ago now. Yoshida also mentioned that he had played Quantic Dream’s (known for Heavy Rain and Beyond) newest game, though he declined to say any more about it.

He said only to wait for Tokyo Game Show to find out more about Sony’s lineup. Personally, considering how much on the ball Sony has been for the last few conferences now, I am ready to get hyped.

Gamescom is this week, and then the Tokyo Game Show will be next month; once a premier hotbed for the Japanese game development industry, it has become a shadow of its former self in recent years, with game developers jumping ship from consoles, and even the handhelds, to announce new projects for smartphones and tablets instead.

However, in a new interview with Famitsu (translated by zeromcd73 on NeoGAF), Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida heavily hinted that the PS4 would be featured heavily at TGS.

The bullet points from the full interview, as summarized by zeromcd73, are as follows:

• Some new titles they planned to announce at Gamescom had to be cut out of the presentation; one of the reasons why was because they decided to put in new trailers for The Order and Bloodborne
• Sony will be working with other publishers in Japan to help increase the userbase of the PS4 in Japan
• PS4 will be be getting lots of new content at TGS
• Project Morpheus will have content that will be very appealing to the Japanese audience
• Studio that’s developing WiLD are the new studio by the people that made Rayman
• Not a single mention of PSV/PS3/PSP

All of that sounds great and promising, although it sounds like even SCEJ is ditching the Vita for the PS4…

Oh well. Hopefully they can compensate by having some kickass PS4 support.