Former PlayStation leader Shawn Layden has elaborated on his controversial remarks that Sony should have released a PlayStation Portable 2 instead of the PlayStation Vita. Layden's central argument is that Sony overburdened the Vita with advanced features, increasing its cost and alienating consumers.
According to Layden, the PSP2 concept was simple: "just take a PSP and put another stick on it." The original PSP, while popular, was criticized for having only one analog stick, which felt outdated as players grew accustomed to the dual-stick controls popularized by the PlayStation 1. Layden stated that the primary complaint about the PSP was its single analog stick, making a PSP2 with improved controls a more logical evolution.
In contrast, the PS Vita introduced several significant changes, including a rear touch panel, an OLED screen, and proprietary memory cards. Layden views these additions as unnecessary innovations that inflated production costs. He compared this to a design philosophy attributed to Shigeru Miyamoto, where a limit is placed on the cost of features to maintain a game's value proposition. "There's a tipping point where you're putting more into a game than you get back for it," Layden explained, suggesting that excessive features can lead to a product that costs more to produce and sell than consumers are willing to pay.
The Vita's use of unique cartridge-like memory cards, incompatible with the PSP's UMD discs, meant users had to purchase Sony's expensive proprietary cards, further impacting sales. Layden noted that while the OLED screen was a premium feature, it was an "unnecessary expense" that drove up the final cost.
This overemphasis on features, Layden contends, contributed to the PS Vita's commercial struggles. While Sony has not released definitive sales figures, estimates place lifetime sales between 10-15 million units. This pales in comparison to the PSP, which sold over 76.4 million units by 2012. Sony eventually discontinued Vita production in 2019.
Layden also touched upon the broader issue of game preservation and hardware obsolescence in the industry. He lamented that unlike other media like film or music, which remain accessible across generations, video game content is often lost with new hardware. "Every time you have a new generation of hardware, it seems you take an entire generation's content and put it in a lockbox and throw it into the ocean and you can never get it," he said. This sentiment is particularly relevant as Sony prepares to close the online stores for the PS3 and PS Vita, making digital purchases for these platforms impossible.
He dismissed the idea that Sony's decision to cease making physical game discs from 2028 is aimed at curbing the second-hand market, calling it a purely financial consideration driven by market data. Layden, who left Sony in 2019 after 32 years, is now focused on developing his own publisher aimed at double-A tier games, which he believes offers a more sustainable model for creative risk-taking in the industry.