In a recent Inner Circle podcast, Xbox executive Aaron Greenberg was asked numerous questions about the Xbox One, including one that sought to get more info behind the actual launch of Microsoft’s current-gen console.
The questions essentially asked if Microsoft only launched the Xbox One in November 2013 to compete with Sony’s launch of the PlayStation 4. Greenberg’s response was somewhat interesting.
I don’t think so. We had to launch head-to-head with them. We didn’t know what they were doing. They didn’t know what we were doing. You assume they’re going to do some things; you get some right and some wrong. But we were pretty focused. The titles we had in development, whether it was Forza 5 or Ryse or any of our launch titles, we felt like we were ready.
His answer, though slightly confusing, makes it seem that the Xbox One was launched to compete with the PS4, although it sounds like Microsoft also made sure the console was actually ready to be released before sending it out into the world. Greenberg went on to say that this has never happened before – the PS2 launched a year before the original Xbox, and the Xbox 360 launched a year before the PS3. He mentioned that because the current-gen consoles were released at the same time, “it’s just a different dynamic.”
What do you think about Greenberg’s comments? Do you think the simultaneous release makes sense?
[Source: ICXM (YouTube) via GameSpot]
