Ex-PlayStation Boss Says True Innovation Is a $300 PS5, Not a $1,200 PS6

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden would rather see Sony focus on making a cheaper PS5 than building a prohibitively expensive PS6, per Kotaku. In an interview with The Trophy Room, Layden argued the company has enough power in its current console and should innovate on price.

Layden said the real challenge would be to make another PS5 for $300. "Now, that would be true innovation," he said, rather than chasing a PS6 that could reportedly cost over $1,000.

The ex-chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios has been critical of the escalating console arms race. He pointed out that improvements from one generation to the next are getting harder to see for the average player, while budgets for major games are exploding.

He described the leaps from PS1 to PS3 as dramatic but said recent talk about PS6 specs like more ray tracing and teraflops is creating differences "only dogs can hear." Push Square also reported on Layden's comments, summarizing his view as "make it smaller, make it cheaper."