PlayStation is celebrating its 30th anniversary, but former chief Shawn Layden says the industry may have reached its limit. In an interview with Eurogamer, Layden believes that console performance improvements will be incremental from now on, rather than significant leaps.
Layden notes that the difference between console generations is becoming smaller, and innovations in hardware are plateauing. The biggest improvement he’s noticed is a reduction in loading times. He also points out that the silicon used in consoles is increasingly commoditized, with most games running on similar chipsets.
This lack of significant hardware upgrades means that gamers may not see the same level of performance improvements as they did between previous generations. For example, Layden notes that the jump from PS2 to PS3 was remarkable, but subsequent upgrades have been incremental rather than revolutionary.
Despite this, Layden remains optimistic about the future of gaming, emphasizing the importance of high-quality content. He believes that publishers should focus on creating engaging games, rather than competing with each other over hardware capabilities.
Layden’s comments come as the gaming industry continues to evolve, with 100-hour games becoming increasingly popular. However, he argues that this format is a mismatch for today’s reality, and he hasn’t even opened Red Dead Redemption 2 due to its massive length.
Source: https://www.gamesradar.com/platforms/playstation/former-playstation-boss-says-youre-not-going-to-see-another-ps1-to-ps2-jump-in-performance-and-believes-were-nearing-a-point-where-the-console-becomes-irrelevant