Over the last few years, the difference between Sony and Microsoft and their approach has shifted in different directions. Sony has focused on a certain type of big budget template with a cinematic approach, alongside a few other different and smaller titles, whereas Microsoft has taken the subscription service path of trying to produce as much content as possible that has lead to several high profile buyouts, with more promised to come. Despite this obvious difference, it still seems like the two sides can see some value in what the other as done, as the Head of Xbox Game Studios states.
Speaking with Kinda Funny Games, Matt Booty was asked about Sony and the huge success they have managed to find with their first party output over the course of the last several years. He tipped his hat to the competition, and stated that despite the two companies tackling the industry in different ways, Microsoft still has interest in creating games in that style, and doesn’t see the Game Pass model as hindering to that.
“I tend to come at that, less of ‘one of those’ and more making sure that we are paying attention to fan expectations. I think that there’s a certain kind of game that generates an anticipation that kind of becomes this big tentpole moment, it’s a game that fits that intersection that everybody can play and it’s also a big world that you feel like you can inhabit, and I think those kinds of games are important.
“And certainly, it’s been a place where we have not been out in front, we haven’t really had the sort of one to one with Sony there. I don’t necessarily want to get into, ‘what’s our Uncharted? What’s our Horizon Zero Dawn? What’s our this? What’s our that?’ I don’t think that does anybody any good.
”But you hit on a great point which is, what I take away was, what are those game that have got universal themes, that have got a big world that people want to get lost in, that have really well realised characters and really high production values? That is absolutely what we want to go after.”
Microsoft has some bigger titles in the pipeline, such as a reboot of Fable and Perfect Dark and obviously Halo Infinite coming out at the end of this year, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can generate the kind of hype that Sony tends to at some point as the Xbox Game Studios continue to grow.