Former Sony Executive Shares Reasons Why Game Consoles Are Selling So Expensive

JAKARTA - Seeing the price of console games currently on the market makes us stroke our chests. How not, the price offered for a new game is so expensive. Gamers have to spend a lot of money. However, it is understandable after knowing the cost of making one game is not cheap.

This was revealed by former vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Shawn Layden in an interview with Bloomberg recently, as quoted from Wccftech, Wednesday, September 8.

Layden said that the cost of making a AAA game for the PlayStation 4 alone reached 100 million US dollars, or around Rp. 1.47 trillion, it was not a small number. Likewise with the PlayStation 5, developers have to spend even more.

"They need funds of up to 200 million US dollars (equivalent to Rp. 2.85 trillion) for an AAA game," said Layden.

In addition, Layden was concerned that this might have a negative impact on innovation. If you can't stop the cost curve from rising, all you can do is try to reduce the risk.

"That puts you in a place where you're incentivized for a sequel. What happens there is you end up with 3 to 4 game silos or game types that just keep on going, and the variations are squeezed out," Layden said.

The hefty increase in development costs could explain why games on the PS5 cost $10 more than PS4 titles. In fact, Sony recently came under fire because the standard PS4 edition of Horizon Forbidden West didn't include a free upgrade to the PS5 despite the promise.

They ended up backing out on this particular game, but they also clarified that all future PS4 to PS5 upgrades for PlayStation 1st-party exclusives in the future will cost you $10.

For your information, Shawn Layden worked at Sony for 32 years, covering various roles such as Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, and most recently President and Chairman of Sony Worldwide Studios before suddenly leaving. in September 2019.

His departure was reportedly caused by a dispute with PlayStation boss Jim Ryan. Layden recently joined the advisory board of Streamline Media Group, a company that aims to develop Metaverse solutions for industrial brands.