Shawn Layden's run at PlayStation was one of the most impactful parts of the platform's history. He joined during the PS1 era and stepped down just before the PS5 hit the scene. He was there for massive moments like the PS2 launch and journey to become the highest-selling console ever made (and the best one), the "599 US Dollars" debacle, and the launch of industry-defining hits like Knack. But despite all of those successes, the moment he's most proud of from his time at PlayStation isn't anything to do with games.
Speaking with Destin Legarie, the former PlayStation boss was asked what the hardest thing he managed to pull off and was most proud of. Layden responded by saying, "I didn't pull off any of these games," saying that his job was to "make sure the money faucet stayed turned on." But Layden did give his answer, saying, "One of the greatest things we did was [when we] finally got to create PlayStation Productions." Which – for those unaware – is the company founded towards the end of Layden's tenure that handles film and TV adaptations like The Last of Us series and the Uncharted film.
Layden told Legarie, "We've been talking with Hollywood since the early 2000s about the viability of game IP in other linear media – ie, film, TV. And I'll tell you, in the early 2000s, I got laughed out of every studio in Hollywood. People were saying 'oh, what do you mean? Pong the game? Haha, get out of here'." But as we've seen now, gaming adaptations are a hot new thing, but even with the discouraging attitude from Hollywood, Layden knew it was a matter of time, saying, "I realized at the time that a whole generation has to retire before I can have this conversation again."
He likened the current gaming adaptations to the influx of comic book movies in the early 2000s, which came about because studios now had producers and vice presidents who read comics growing up, with the same happening for games now. Legarie then asked Layden what his favorite video game movie has been so far. While the ex-PlayStation boss did give his former rivals some credit with praise for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the Sonic trilogy, and Detective Pikachu, he said, "Last of Us is where the rubber meets the road as far as 'how do you take that kind of gripping game experience and translate it into television'."
