If you were to tell PlayStation gamers 10 years ago that the likes of Gears of War, Halo, Forza and Fable would all be on the console, they’d probably not believe you. On the inverse, Xbox fans might’ve flipped out at the news, knowing the company’s “pillars” were on the competition.
That is, however, the current reality we live in, and it’s not just the key tentpole exclusives making the jump, as other titles from Microsoft’s laundry list of acquisitions are similarly releasing either day-and-date on PlayStation or shortly after.
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It’s been twenty long years since the Xbox 360 first came into our lives.
However, it’s that shortly after part that’s been a point of contention on either side. Specifically, the inconsistency over what will eventually come, won’t come or will launch the same day as the Xbox and PC versions.
In a new interview with GamesRadar, Craig Duncan, who serves as the head of Xbox Game Studios, clarified some of the missteps while also pledging a desire to get better.
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In the interview, which touched on a number of topics, including canceled titles and priorities, Duncan cited “development realities” as one of the chief reasons why things have an air of inconsistency around them.
“There’s always development realities about when these projects start – how big a team is, and what plans we have at the start of development,” Duncan said. “Like you said, when a strategy changes, maybe you’ve got a plan that exists with a game, and maybe you can adopt that, maybe you can’t. So that’s why.”
Still, Duncan didn’t shy away from the critique.
“Sometimes we are inconsistent,” he said. “You see some games in one place, some games in multiple places. Just know that we’re going to work on that, and we’re going to try and be more consistent with what we do.”
Ultimately, the goal is a simple one. Using Fable as an example, Duncan said, “It’s like, how can we get this game to as many players as we can?”
Will There Be A Time With 100 Percent Day-And-Date Drops?
In a follow-up, Duncan was asked about first party releases dropping everywhere all at once, and the answer is a bit more complicated than yes. It seems that Xbox doesn’t directly view its efforts as “ports,” and instead is seeking to position games so they can “be the best that they can be for that platform.”
“So we want to take advantage of whatever features and nuances that the platform has,” Duncan added. That might result in “optionality” when it comes to releases, with things sometimes going PC first, console first or Xbox and PC only first.
Either way, it’s a fascinating look at how the proverbial sausage is made.
- Brand
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Sony
- Original Release Date
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November 12, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$499, €499, £449, ¥49,980 (Base) // $399, €399, £359, ¥39,980 (Digital),
- Operating System
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Orbis OS
- Processor
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Custom 8-core AMD Zen 2
- Resolution
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720p – 8K
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