Shawn Layden, former president of PlayStation, has revealed an interesting fact in a recent interview, advocating a reorientation of development strategies in the world of video games. According to him, the current obsession with games with photorealistic graphics and considerable lifespans is not viable, as the completion rate of these titles stagnates at a mere 32%.
In this conversation with GameIndustry.biz, Layden called on studios to reconsider their approach in favor of shorter, less expensive productions. He points to the exorbitant costs of triple-A games that stifle innovation and limit access to game creation by more modest studios. And for the former president of PlayStation, this obsession with length and photorealism is not always justified and responds more to an artificial norm than to a real need of the players.
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Along with that, he indicated that he considers that this race for size often leads to artificial extensions of useful life, to the detriment of the gaming experience. To support his argument, Layden relies on a disturbing statistic, which says that 68% of players abandon along the way, tired of too long or repetitive experiences.
“We live in a world where only 32% of players finish the game, so we’re making a lot of games that 68% of people don’t watch. So should we continue making games that the majority of people are unlikely to see? “People see the end?” explains Layden.
In addition, he comments that he believes: “Now the average age of players is approaching the early 30s, which means that, on the one hand, they have more money but, on the other hand, less free time. We really have to do an effort to get some free time if you want to sit down and finish Red Dead Redemption 2.”
That is why, in conclusion, Layden advocates a reevaluation of current production models. He encourages studios to explore shorter, more accessible game formats, allowing for faster project turnover and better cost control.
“I think we simply have to reevaluate how we present ourselves and our games to the gaming public,” he says.
90% of Hellblade 2 players on Xbox still haven’t finished the game, and half of them still haven’t passed the first boss
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II came out on May 21 for Xbox Series S/X and Steam, and has had a fairly positive reception from players, however, recent analysis from its players reveals that almost three weeks after its launch , half of the players have not progressed beyond the first boss, and 90% have not yet reached the end of the story.
A recent analysis of Xbox achievement data by TrueAchievements revealed that nearly 90% of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II players have not completed the game’s story. This figure is surprising, especially considering that finishing this Xbox exclusive takes around seven hours. The achievement “End Tyranny”, which is unlocked by completing the sixth and final chapter of Hellblade II, is the one that reveals all the important information: This achievement is practically inevitable since it only requires finishing the game, but incredibly, an 87 % of Xbox players who have started the title since its launch two weeks ago have not yet unlocked it.
