Former PlayStation president says online game layoffs aren’t as a consequence of company greed, tells these impacted to “recover from it”
A scorching potato: By no means let it’s mentioned that executives, and former executives, lack fundamental human empathy. Chris Deering, the previous president of Sony Pc Leisure Europe, for instance, has simply given his opinion on the mass layoffs throughout the gaming business. He says the job losses aren’t the results of company greed, and that those that now discover themselves unemployed ought to “recover from it.” There was additionally a suggestion to “go to the seaside for a 12 months” or “drive an Uber” till the job market improves.
Talking on journalist Simon Parkin’s My Good Console podcast, Deering, who was Sony’s pc leisure president from 1995 to 2005 and president of Codemasters from 2006 to 2010, gave a considerably controversial opinion on the large variety of layoffs being seen within the video games business.
“I do not suppose it is honest to say that the ensuing layoffs have been greed,” Deering mentioned. “I all the time tried to reduce the pace with which we added workers as a result of I all the time knew there could be a cycle, and I did not wish to find yourself having the identical issues that Sony did in electronics.”
“Now, after all, there was only recently an enormous layoff of Sony studios, and in London, however that entire studio setup has been run out of Amsterdam now for a number of years, and I do not know… if the cash is not coming in from the shoppers on the final sport, it’ll be onerous to justify spending the cash for the subsequent sport.”
Chris Deering, former boss of PlayStation, doesn’t imagine the latest, widespread layoffs within the video games business derive from company greed, and that affected staff ought to “drive an Uber” or “go to the seaside for a 12 months” till issues flip round: pic.twitter.com/uXUkNTbXQ5
– Simon Parkin (@SimonParkin) September 10, 2024
Sony let go of 900 PlayStation workers, or round eight % of its workforce, in February, closing its London studio and reducing jobs elsewhere.
Deering continued: “I feel it is in all probability very painful for the managers, however I do not suppose that having ability on this space [of game dev] goes to be a lifetime of poverty or limitation. It is nonetheless the place the motion is, and it is just like the pandemic however now you are going to should take a number of… determine the way to get by it, drive an Uber or no matter, go off to discover a low-cost place to reside and go to the seaside for a 12 months. However sustain along with your information and sustain with it, as a result of when you get off the prepare, it is a lot tougher.”
Deering did supply a barely brighter view by saying he was optimistic concerning the future, even for these laid off, however undid this transient glimpse of humanity with: “I presume folks had been paid some form of a good severance package deal, and by the point that runs out… nicely, you understand, that is life.”
“I all the time say what’s actually thrilling concerning the business is that you just by no means actually have the prospect to get depressed. What you need to do, is issues leap out in entrance of you, and also you take care of them, similar to in a sport. So recover from it.”
“Actually, that is the joy of the business that shit like this occurs, and it’s totally unhappy, nevertheless it’s not going to be ceaselessly, and you understand, come on guys, get up. This isn’t the primary time.”
In accordance with videogameslayoffs.com, 10,500 folks within the business had been laid off final 12 months. That is an enormous quantity, however the 11,540 jobs misplaced to date in 2024 is even larger. The latest of those got here at Rocksteady, which removed half of its Q&A crew within the wake of the disastrous Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League launch.
There was additionally a backlash towards Bungie’s CEO, who announced that 220 workers could be laid off – to make issues worse, it was found he’d spent $2.4 million on traditional automobiles since Sony acquired Bungie. EA, in the meantime, paid executives $60 million in the identical fiscal 12 months that it laid off 670 folks, which clearly backs up Deering’s claims that the layoffs don’t have anything to do with greed.
In April, Larian director of publishing Michael Douse said the claims made by CEOs about streamlining being essential to survive in a aggressive market had been lies, noting that “none of those corporations are prone to going bankrupt.” Douse mentioned they had been simply prone to “pi**ing off” the shareholders, who solely care about seeing progress.
