Ex-PlayStation Executive Believes Sony Should Broaden Its Focus Beyond Graphics

From the original PlayStation through to the PS5 Pro, graphics have always played a key role in marketing that console. Former Sony president Shuhei Yoshida thinks that it might be time for Sony to start focusing on other aspects of video games so that Sony can become popular in a “broader” sense.

“Up until now, PlayStation’s DNA has been driven by values ​​such as ‘cutting-edge graphics’ that have continued since [Ken] Kutaragi-san’s time,” Yoshida said to AV Watch (via a translation by Genki). “Users have also expected that from PlayStation games. However, it’s about time we have to reconsider that. Of course, I think it’s necessary to provide the very best–in terms of graphics quality–to those who want it. But, in order to continue to be popular with users in a broad sense, we naturally have to change our way of thinking.”

Several of Sony’s first-party games are graphical showcases–with last year’s The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered being a prime example–and the company has continued to push for photorealistic visuals in several of its biggest games. While games like last year’s Astro Bot are an exception to the rule, Sony generally tends to favor a degree of realism with its exclusives. Meanwhile, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick believes that games with live-action-like visuals aren’t far away from being realized.

There are downsides to this, as games striving for realism can look dated after a few years and the cost to produce them has grown enormously. Former Sony executive Shawn Layden has said the AAA video game space is unsustainable due in part to rising development costs, and Sony is aiming to speed up its game-development process with AI and machine-learning initiatives.

Interestingly, Naughty Dog co-founder Andy Gavin recently revealed the reason why the studio sold itself to Sony back in 2001 was due to rising development costs. As Gavin explained, Naughty Dog spent about $100,000 to develop 1992’s Rings of Power, $1.6 million on the first Crash Bandicoot game released in 1996, and $1.6 million on Jak and Daxter in 2001.