SCEA boss Layden joins calls to end GamerGate harassment

The president of Sony Computer Entertainment America has become the latest high-profile gaming exec to publically condemn GamerGate’s hate campaign.

I think the industry has spoken with one voice on this one, through the ESA,” Jack Tretton’s successor Shawn Layden told VentureBeat. All of us are members of that trade body, including me and Phil Spencer and Reggie and all the big publishers.”

When pushed on the fact that hiding behind trade body statements is nowhere near sufficient, Layden added: I don’t think there is one statement or one position on it, or one answer to whatever this very broadly-defined #GamerGate really means. A lot of things are getting swept into that.

I’ll be very clear about my view of harassment or bullying. It’s completely unacceptable. Completely unacceptable. I will not be vague or equivocate about that.”

The exec also argued that Sony is among the most pro-active companies in the industry when it comes to the employment of women in senior positions.

The question about women in the gaming industry, that’s something we all take on board as individual corporations,” he added. We are best in class — or close to it, certainly – in this industry.

In the development group we have Shannon Studstill, who runs our whole Santa Monica operation. She’s going to bring the next big franchise out from there. We have Connie Booth, the studio head up here in San Mateo. Women executives up and down the [organization chart], and in the production teams. We make our statement just by executing to that plan.”

Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime earlier this month used his Blizzcon 2014 address to call to an end to the online harassment of women.