Microsoft is shaking things up with its new strategy of launching its own games on rival platforms, and now Sony has reacted to Microsoft’s latest moves. As part of an investor fireside chat, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino was asked to respond to speculation from investors that Microsoft is “moving away from the console.”
To be clear, Microsoft has made no announcements about moving away from building hardware, and in fact, the company has already said it’s working on its next console. In any event, Nishino responded by saying Microsoft trying something new and creating an additional competitive element in the gaming landscape by launching more of its games on rival systems is “healthy and pushes us to innovate.”
“There are multiple participants who together drive the overall game industry, and while there are new engagement models being explored, we ultimately think this is a good thing,” he said. “However, as I mentioned earlier, we are confident and committed on our current strategy, and there isn’t an urgent need for us to pivot. We will continue to monitor play patterns and invest appropriately as required.”
The next big Xbox game to come to PlayStation is Gears of War Reloaded, which debuts in August, representing the first time the Gears franchise will be available outside of Xbox and PC. Microsoft recently launched Doom: The Dark Ages on PlayStation, and the company’s biggest series, Call of Duty, is developed for both Xbox and PlayStation systems.
Microsoft’s Xbox platform is understood to be the lowest-selling of the main three when compared against Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo’s Switch devices. Microsoft is no longer pushing Xbox hardware as much as it once was, as it’s rolled out a new marketing campaign saying you don’t need to buy an Xbox because many of the products you may already own can play Xbox games.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said Xbox’s goal is to increase the number of people playing on Xbox, but “playing on Xbox” doesn’t mean a dedicated Xbox console. “It means somebody who is logging in and playing a part of our ecosystem, whether first-party or third-party. And it could be on an Android phone. It could be on a Switch. It could be on a PC. That’s how we think about it,” he said.
Game consoles make money, but games and services are more lucrative. This is why Microsoft is pushing Xbox Game Pass so hard. Creating more subscribers gives Microsoft a regular and recurring revenue stream. Bringing Xbox games to PlayStation and Nintendo devices is another way Microsoft can make more money as well.
Spencer has time and again repeated his comments that Xbox is a business, and his job is to grow that business, even if it means laying people off, closing studios, and cancelling games.
Also during the presentation, Sony management briefly discussed the PlayStation 6 and responded to the record-breaking launch of the Switch 2. Sony also discussed its strategy for PC releases.
