Key information
Former PlayStation head Shawn Layden has expressed concern that Sony and Xbox are disconnected from reality if they expect players to spend 1,000 euros or dollars on future hardware like PS6 or Project Helix.
Layden argued in an interview with The Expansion Pass podcast that merely increasing ray tracing quality and teraflops will fail to convince consumers to pay such high amounts, noting that manufacturing complexity, expensive memories, and current pricing for PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X are already driving costs up.
The former executive pointed out that technological improvements face a plateau where marginal upgrades in speed and color no longer justify doubling the launch price, contrasting this with past generational leaps like the transition from VHS to DVD.
Although official prices for PS6 and Helix remain unconfirmed, Layden cautioned that technological stagnation makes it increasingly difficult to persuade players to invest heavily in minimal improvements.
