Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about video game platforms unifying in the near future, fueled by advancements such as cross-platform play. With the recent announcement of Sony and Microsoft teaming up for “joint development of future cloud solutions,” even some developers believe that platform exclusivity will eventually become a thing of the past.
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Jim Ryan, doesn’t think that will be the case. In a recent interview with Financial Times, Ryan said that despite recent developments, PlayStation and Xbox will maintain their distinct identities and brands, and will even continue to attract different types of users.
“There is to my knowledge no scenario where the PlayStation and Xbox platforms combine,” said Ryan. “The two platforms will remain separate, with their separate identities and brands and fans.”
This statement echoes previous comments by Jim Ryan, in which he revealed that Sony’s partnership with Microsoft came in response to a fast-changing gaming landscape that involves the Cloud. The timing of the partnership led many to believe that both Sony and Microsoft see Google Stadia potentially becoming a serious competitor. However, Ryan stressed that Sony has been working on its cloud gaming service, PlayStation Now, for a number of years but has been “guilty of not talking about it enough.”
For now, Sony’s focusing on enabling a smooth transition from the PS4 to its next-gen console.
“When everything is networked and everybody is connected and everybody is friends, the opportunity – with backwards compatibility – to migrate that community in a more efficient manner I think is massively more attractive for gamers and for us than at any point in the past,” he told Financial Times.
What do our readers think of Ryan’s statements? Share your thoughts with us below.
[Source: Financial Times via Games Industry]
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