Adam Boyes, VP of third party relations at PlayStation from 2012-2016 was the co-star of the infamous “this is how you share games on PlayStation” video that targeted Microsoft’s new Xbox One disc rights policies that they were pummeled into ultimately removing.
Now, ten years later, Boyes spoke to Gamertag Radio for a lengthy interview, and is not combative about his former rival, indicating what Xbox is doing seems logical and that “there are no victims” in its new multiplatform distribution plan for former exclusives.
“I understand why people have feelings about it and opinions, because their idea is the identity of me choosing a brand and being beholden to that brand is unilateral, and therefore that should be the one source of all content,” Boyes said.
He believes the current ecosystem of the console/games space has fundamentally changed, and he uses an interesting metaphor to describe it:
“So if we think about that, the analogy that maybe PlayStation is HBO, Microsoft is Netflix, and Nintendo is Disney, then their job is to get incredibly interactive and engaging entertainment out to as many people as possible.”
The metaphor doesn’t quite work as all three of these are streaming services, and Netflix is not giving its content to other places, but I get what he’s saying. HBO is known for producing high quality original series that air on its service. Netflix pioneered the subscription streaming model in the way Microsoft is trying to do with Game Pass. Nintendo being Disney is kind of an obvious comparison with its mass family appeal.
The one thing he does admit is that while Microsoft’s software strategy makes sense in a lot of ways, there is probably going to be an obvious challenge to continue to make the case for its hardware, where we have seen sales drop precipitously every time new numbers are revealed.
As it stands, here’s where things are in terms of “strategy” for each brand:
- PlayStation: PS console exclusive single player games that launch on PC 2+ years later, multiplayer games that launch same-day on PC (a few on Xbox to come, like Marathon)
- Xbox: Every game on the table for cross-platform release on PlayStation and/or Switch 2. Depending on the title, this can be same day, time delay or some indefinite point in the future, if ever. Appeal for MS loyalists is “same day on Xbox Game Pass” launches.
- Nintendo: Doing what Nintendo always done with beloved first party games. Will get more third party games and some Xbox games with the launch of Switch 2.
As you can see, the “console war” is not what it used to be. Xbox lost, but is trying to be a leader in the subscription space. Nintendo just sold more consoles than they ever have. Sony is still putting out many critical hits but it’s tough to balance big single player budgets and successful multiplayer releases. We’ll see where things go from here. Watch the full Boyes interview here:
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