Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden thinks the console wars are effectively over, and gaming can't grow much with just three manufacturers – Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo – dominating the console sphere.
Speaking to PlayerDriven, the man who was in charge of PlayStation during most of its iconic PS4 run said he wants to see "more people playing, more people making games." But to do that and for "game machines to have the same penetration rates as television sets," Layden reckons we need to move past "only having three manufacturers."
Part of his reasoning is that the internal architecture of the Xbox Series X, PS5, and high-end PCs are "all quite close" and "very similar." Most tech advancements made from here on out are almost negligible as Layden jokes "only the dog can hear" the different between machines nowadays.
"In my idealized dream, there's some day going to be – just like the Blu-ray format and MP3 format and MPEG format – all these different formats that are agreed upon by a consortium of industries," he said. "We need something similar along the same lines with the game format."
"Let people compete with content because I want more boxes out there," he continued, arguing that more consoles from different manufacturers would help gaming become the most "socially impactful" entertainment medium and not just the most profitable.
Of course, handhelds like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally are a step in that direction, and mobile games are arguably even more popular than consoles, but there's no denying that PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo steer the industry more than anyone.
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