This year has probably been one of the worst for video game developers despite numerous smash hits coming out from across the world. However, the former president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe believes these layoffs weren’t driven by greed, and has proposed several totally sensible solutions of those affected.
Chris Deering, the former chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment’s European branch, spoke on the My Perfect Console podcast yesterday, Sept. 9, (thanks Eurogamer), and commented on the layoffs affecting the gaming industry. During the discussion, he said that he doesn’t believe it’s “fair” to state the layoffs have been driven by corporate greed. He added that his approach to hiring was purposefully careful so as to avoid having to lay off many employees once a development cycle ended, further justifying the practice of cutting jobs at studios that didn’t make enough money on their previous games. “If the money isn’t coming in from the consumers on the last game, it’s going to be hard to justify spending the money for the next game,” he said.