- Former PlayStation chief Shawn Layden thinks hardware innovation “is starting to plateau”
- Layden doesn’t think there will be another PS1 to PS2 jump in performance
- He says the real competition is “content”
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has said there likely won’t be another major jump in hardware performance as it’s already been ‘maxed out’.
Speaking in a recent interview with Eurogamer, Layden discussed the future of PlayStation amid the company’s 30th anniversary, as well as the technological advancement of today’s current consoles compared to that of the PS1.
“I think we’re at a point where the console becomes irrelevant in the next… if not the next generation then the next next generation definitely,” Layden said.
When asked if he thinks consoles could see another major leap in performance ever again, like the recent release of the PS5 Pro, the ex-PlayStation chief said he isn’t sure what that would look like.
“I don’t think so. I mean, what would that leap look like? It would be perfectly-realized human actors in a game that you completely control. That could happen one day. I don’t think it’s going to happen in my lifetime,” he said.
“We’re at a point now where the innovation curve on the hardware is starting to plateau, or top out. At the same time, the commoditization of the silicon means that when you open up an Xbox or PlayStation, it’s really pretty much the same chipset. It’s all built by AMD. Each company has their own OS and proprietary secret sauce, but in essence [it’s the same]. I think we’re pretty much close to final spec for what a console could be.”
Layden went on to discuss the release of PlayStation’s consoles over the years and how each improved upon the other in some way, however, he doesn’t think the market will see something as significant as the jump from PS1 to PS2 again.
“If you look at it from my lens, which is of course the PlayStation lens, the leap from PS1 to PS2 was dramatic…” Layden said, before touching on the following generations.
He explained that the jump from PS2 to PS3 was “remarkable” with HD standard and the introduction of 60 FPS gameplay and network capability.
“Then PS3 to PS4 was just, like, getting the network thing done right. Then to PS5, which is a fantastic piece of kit, but the actual difference in performance… we’re getting to the realm, frankly, where only dogs can hear the difference now,” Layden added.
“You’re not going to see another PS1 to PS2 jump in performance – we have sort of maxed out there. If we’re talking about teraflops and ray-tracing, we’re already off the sheet that most people begin to understand.”
Layden concluded by saying that the “real competition” will be “content”, which “should be the competition for publishers, not which hardware you get behind.”
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