Sony's Shawn Layden on making fewer PlayStation games: 'We're spending more energy on them'

- SIE Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden on deciding what games Sony chooses to make. 

Sony has created a name for itself with PlayStation-exclusive titles, having continued success this past year with games like God of War and Marvel's Spider-Man. 

With upcoming exclusives like The Last of Us Part 2 and Ghosts of Tsushima looming on the horizon, it's important for the studios owned by Sony to understand what attracts players to the console.

In a recent interview with CNET, SIE Worldwide Studios chairman and former SIE president and CEO Shawn Layden discusses Sony's future regarding acquiring studios as it looks to expand the types of games it produces.

"I think we've done a lot over the last three or four years to get us to a place right now where we're building fewer games per year than ever before, but we're spending more time, more energy, certainly more money, on making them," Layden says. 

The formula has worked in Sony's favor so far. "We're striking on all the beats that we want to, and we're getting both critical and commercial acclaim," he adds.

So how does the company decide which studios to add to its arsenal? Layden mentions that the company is always looking for opportunities, and should a team or a game feel particularly meaningful and interesting, "we will look to bring that in."

He also discusses the "first, best, must" vision Sony holds for its teams when it comes to the future. 

"If your title is going to be 'first' and creating a genre, or 'first' and creating a new game activity, let's look at that. If you're going to make an action adventure game, It better be 'best' in class," Layden explains.

"And we have the third category called 'must,' which is we must support the platform, we must be present when new technology comes out."

Be sure to check out the entire interview over at CNET, where Layden provides some more insight into certain business decisions made by Sony (like choosing to skip E3 this year).