When Sony announced and revealed the PlayStation 4 from February 2013 onwards, it worked hard to convince gamers that nothing was changing from the PS3 era. And for most part, how it approached digital rights management, used game sales and region locking were pretty much the same.
Which made Microsoft’s approach with the Xbox One – when it debuted with 24 hour online authentication and other compulsory features only to drop them later due to public backlash – all the more confusion to Sony UK’s Andrew House.
“The one thing that surprised me most is that we were required to make such a clear statement that we were going to maintain status quo in areas that we took for granted. That wasn’t something dictated by us, that was by the moves the competition was making. That remains the largest surprise for me – how visceral that reaction was from consumers. But the fact that we had to put a stake in the ground, in an area that we felt was just common sense, still has me quite literally scratching my head.”
These policy changes coincided with Don Mattrick’s departure from the company, Steve Ballmer’s retirement and many more internal shake-ups at Microsoft. Regardless, the Xbox One and PS4 are now both available and selling well according to retailers.