Ex-PlayStation Boss Questions Why Sony Would Put PS5 Games On Xbox

I hear the klaxons blaring in the distance, summoning the ‘Play Everywhere Defense Force’

I mean once the work is already complete making the game, does it really cost that much to port it? For example porting Spiderman 1 +2 to PC only cost Sony around 7m total for both according to the leaked insomniac documents. Xbox really isn't that much different than PS and even more identical to PC.

Surely there's enough juice there to squeeze enough to recoup costs like that if it's a similar story to porting to PC. I feel like this is more about wanting to pull more people into the Playstation ecosystem and to keep them there more than it is a cost vs profit scenario.

I've been saying this for a couple of years now. Not only do I think the install-base on the Xbox makes no sense in economic terms for Sony, but their fanbase will go through the same angry response that we went through when Xbox first ported games to PC, and then, probably to a lesser extent, the PlayStation. Xbox took a lot of heat for the decision, and arguably, the situation they now find themselves in is due, in part, to porting games. So why should Sony, who have watched the Xbox fanbase loudly proclaim their displeasure, and watched the Xbox business 'suffer' as a consequence not learn from that lesson? I don't blame them for not porting games to the Xbox, and do not expect that to change at all, and that includes Helldivers 2 (at least, not until the game is absolutely on its knees).

The much smaller install-base is also why developers prioritise the PlayStation over the Xbox, why some games completely skip the Xbox, and why Sony is able to secure AAA exclusives whereas Microsoft is not.

All of Microsoft's woes probably stem from the huge mistakes they made at the beginning of the Xbox One era, and have been compounded by decisions they have made as time has gone on. This is pretty much entirely Microsoft's own doing, and unfortunately, we are the ones that have to live with it...

The only way we’ll see PS games on Xbox is via the back door. If the NextBox is a PC for the living room then anything PlayStation ports to PC will be on Xbox by default.

You only have to read the comments here that Xbox gamers don’t want the Sony ‘walking sims’ - that is until they get similar on Xbox like hellblade, Indy and DS.

But Sony has a different issue to MS, (with parity) Sony would HAVE to get the games running on the S. and Sony would want it to their standards is this part worth the effort?

asking the interviewer to "just imagine" what would happen if their games were ported to Xbox too.

I don't think anyone has to imagine a scenario that is as likely to happen, as finding/seeing unicorns grazing gleefully on rainbows....

Sony is just nailing it. Xbox has had to walk back on so many things ever since the launch of the XB1

If I was Xbox I would not have put games on Sony or Nintendo platform but on all other devices and just left out Switch and PS5 consoles.

And then focused on more Xbox console and console GP sales.
In my opinion Xbox should have not put games on other consoles PS5 and Switch. They have so many studios now they should have battled and grown console sales.
They have never been in such a strong position studio wise and the amount of games they could produce for Xbox consoles only and all other devices, not switch or PS5.
They wimped out of something they could have gained ground on and ultimately won. 🥇

@Fiendish-Beaver
If I was Xbox I would not have put games on Sony or Nintendo platform but on all other devices and just left out Switch and PS5 consoles.
And then focused on more Xbox console and console GP sales.
In my opinion Xbox should have not put games on other consoles PS5 and Switch. They have so many studios now they should have battled and grown console sales.
They have never been in such a strong position studio wise and the amount of games they could produce for Xbox consoles only and all other devices, not switch or PS5.
They wimped out of something they could have gained ground on and ultimately won. 🥇

@PsBoxSwitchOwner

You only have to read the comments here that Xbox gamers don’t want the Sony ‘walking sims’ - that is until they get similar on Xbox like hellblade, Indy and DS

So not at all dissimilar to PlayStation gamers that (in the past) repeatedly made fun of Xbox being just a Gears, Forza, Fable and Halo console, right?
Yet now that Microsoft is running a multi-platform strategy, we have PlayStation centric sites running polls on what former Xbox exclusives should be ported, the Gesrs, MCC, and Fable franchises rank high up as games PS players would want...

@Fiendish-Beaver well, you really don't have to live with it. It's a piece of tech, a gaming box under/next to your TV. You can always change it for a reasonable price to a one that offers you more for your buck. It's a console, not a godly creature with users it's following

@CadErik The reality of the SE situation however is so far all they have really offered is words, but nothing to back them up. FF14 made sense to bring over as its an mmo and its a constant cash churn. But out side of talk there has been no action on the bigger single player titles yet, and they are the ones people want.

More people being able to player 7 / 16 would be great, but until they deliver its currently just words.

@Fiendish-Beaver
Another changed I’ve made is Xbox360 and xbox one x and series x was my go to third party console, picking up on your point.
But as the PS5 seems to get more third party games and sometimes better optimised than series x I have now changed of course with my PS5 Pro to being my third party machine as there is no Xbox mid generation console.
So that’s less 30% cut of the game sale going to Xbox but now to Sony.
To me it’s like a very slow demise of Xbox consoles.

Well...he's not wrong 🤷‍♂️. I mean I get why MS is porting games over there. They don't want too, but the benefit of the sales are too great to ignore. Especially because they aren't worried about consoles sales anymore, just mainly a GP company at this point.

@OldGamer999 Uncle Phil already said it perfectly in that interview on XCast. It doesn't matter at this point what exclusives they put out. They lost the most important generation there was (PS4/XboxOne) when people built out there digital libraries.

Slightly off topic, but I'm a fan of getting these interviews and opinions from the likes of Shawn Layden and Reggie Fils-Aime after retiring from Sony and Nintendo. While we might still be several years off, Phil Spencer will have loads of good years worth of analysis, thoughts and stories to share once he leaves Xbox.

Sony can keep them, and I say this as a PS5 owner. Xbox has already started getting some great games (Stalker 2 and Indy this year, Avowed and Fable next year) and as a PS3/4/5 owner I can say I rarely feel excitement over Playstation games anymore. I don’t feel like playing Ghost of Tsushima, God of War Ragnarok etc. The Last of Us 3? Years away probably. Uncharted 5? Prolly not even happening. Horizon series- I like them a lot but I’m close to the end of FW and I’m kind of forcing myself to play. I’m being honest, no hate or fanboyism. I’m way more excited for Xbox games coming up than anything Sony has been releasing or have in the pipeline.

I'm swinging towards PC next gen.

I know the entry cost is mega high but in all honesty I don't think the consoles are offering the same value as before and if everything is on PC anyway, give me that and the flexibility that comes with it.

@gollumb82 same. Big RPG fan and despite still hoping that the ff7 stuff makes it onto Xbox, Avowed and Fable are tonnes more exciting to me than Ghost of Yotei. The stuff Insomniac puts out is mostly awesome but otherwise, team Xbox looks like it's gonna have a killer year

@Medic_alert Rog Ally has made me fall in love with the PC space, specifically indie stuff (although you can play most of the AAA stuff, just need to be plugged in and accept low/med graphics). At heart I'm a console gamer though, so hoping the Xbox/PC hybrid rumours come true. Best of both worlds.

I believe Sony has already started the process. First by porting to PC and the gap of time between releases are getting smaller. Then we have Sony testing the waters on Switch and I guess the next step (although it may time a while) is releasing some games on Xbox.
I know the hardcore fans would hate it but investors care about more money not about fan feelings and they are the ones who call the shots

@Coletrain I was trying to get something similar with the PS5 and the portal but it just isn't as good.

The Switch gave me a glimpse of what could be but that ends up with my collection being too fragmented and I often double dip for holidays etc.

I traded in some stuff for a Steam deck Oled and with some games have cross-saves I've had a glimpse of an almost seamless gaming future and I want that...

@Coletrain
I had a Steam Deck OLED and a ROG Ally earlier this year. Both great devices but limited by their battery life/screen size/specs. Had a gaming PC 2 years ago and it seems like the promised land but it wasn’t in my experience. Way too many launchers to deal with, software issues (Windows updates messing up more than fixing, taking ages to download and install at the least opportune moments), driver issues (yes, they still persist), broken HDR in many games. I hated the noise level generated by mine (cheap cooling) and the RGB was just next level yuck. Plus, the size of that thing. PCs have their advantages but I feel consoles give you the best bang for your buck, unless you like to chase the graphics/mods/ fps rabbit. To each their own, though.

@themightyant I think it depends on Xbox's current strategy. If the eco system explodes in popularity due to the all devices being an Xbox. Then I could see Sony taking advantage with titles like Helldivers 2 & online spin offs of popular franchises. As Death Stranding proves that at a descent price even older Sony exclusives will sell. Sony could also wait till Microsoft has all their titles on Playstation & announce that Xbox is no longer a threat but part of the family. But more likely they'll allow Xbox users to use their cloud service.

@gollumb82 well, hypothetically an Xbox/PC hybrid could eliminate some of the compatibility issues by having a console "quality standard" for games on other storefronts, although that might be halcyon thinking because it would still only be optimised for a small number of SKUs.

But in general the limiting factor for me with PC gaming isn't value, it's just down to where I want to play. On a chair in an office room just doesn't hold a candle to being on the sofa (handheld or console), which is why the future potential of xbox excites me so much.

@Medic_alert SD Oled looks awesome to be fair, imagine what valve could do with their massive user base and whatever the "next gen" mobile APUs are.

@Feffster I've entered through the back door before very refreshing and satisfying 😎👍

@Coletrain I really appreciate their response in saying that they won't make another one until a genuine upgrade is available.

@gollumb82 I don't know if I agree. I would like to see Astro Bot come to Xbox / PC.

@nomenclaturist
PC is possible (lets you use Dualsense controllers, this game lives and dies by those). Xbox- no chance. I will say that Astro Bot is amazing, though.

In my opinion this is also the reason why sony is not earning enough , i explain you: 1st Sony doesn't sell more consoles than nintendo from a while now, their active gamers per month is almost the same in 10 years, their games cost many times more than 10 years ago, their games should be already everywhere even on mobile for how much they cost, but their fanbase will kill sony if they follow the same strategy of microsoft and all this cause to sony to "milk" their fan.
A multiplayer game like helldivers should be anywhere, or their dreams of GaS will keep dying in matter of time.
Sony keep saying they are earning more and more, but with expenses and inflation, is that enough?

@Foxx_64740 I still feel Death Stranding was possibly a test. As selling the franchise back to Kojima & allowing them to release the game with all the SOE references included allows a seed to be planted. Plus with Kojima being a close partner. I bet he'd share how well it's sold also.

If I was sony I wouldn't either. Anything that pushes Xbox closer to becoming a publisher is a win in their books.

Strange that the Playstation makes more money than the Xbox, yet Sony is worth a fraction of what Microsoft is worth. Lol.

Returnal is the only one worth porting...

@Balaam_ as long as they keep releasing on pc I don’t really care what Sony do. As Sean has said the console space is at saturation point, and Microsoft have access to 100% of that high end portion of the market through PlayStation and Xbox.

Microsoft are diversifying their gaming income with significant investment into other growth markets while Sony are stuck with rising costs in a market that cannot achieve further growth.

I can only think of one reason: the industry going thru a long term downslide. In which case they would try to milk every single existing and portable title for every cent. It should be noted I fully expect this downslide to happen anyway. The next few years, especially post-GTA6 look dry as a bone. Despite Nintendo's current reputation, it feels like a WiiU moment coming again.

Getting Sony games on Xbox was always going to need either a Xbox in position of strength (which just isn't happening) or via some sort of very public trade offer.

"PS5 gets Sea of Thieves, Xbox gets Helldivers 2 and we both get more people buying the games and paying the MTXs".

But with Xbox seemingly happy to port everything onto PS there isn't any reason for Sony to engage with that.

Xbox has no install base to make it worthwhile, and Sony knows it would kill their image and brand.

If it was day one it would be "worth the squeeze" financially as it would sell well

Great to see even he acknowledged the serious image damaging Sony fanboy problem and the whole new level of tantrums they would throw

Sony has been actively trying to kill Xbox since 2001, the same way they killed Sega. Right now they have their heel on Xbox's throat. The idea that they'd pick their foot up NOW is hilariously naive. Who even asked this question? They are literally in the very end stages of destroying Xbox and making MS move out of hardware and become "Microsoft games."

Here, let me hide my shocked face. /sarcasm. No one cares.

And it won't be up to Sony for long, except for the own IP. The cost to develop and deploy live and multiplayer games is becoming too expensive to be limited to.just one console player base. We're likely to see Devs only agree to exclusives for the highest performing franchises.

We're already seeing Sony push more games to PC. This was just a PR stunt. 😂

I’m in the buy a Xbox and buy a Switch and buy a PS5 camp and be happy… and a bit lighter in the wallet…

@Fiendish-Beaver MS is betting on the fact that people have made their choice already and nothing they can release could bring Ps gamers to move to Xbox now…and I tend to agree. Same goes for Ps. I don’t see Ps grabbing shares off of Xbox player base, its just the same 120M Ps users upgrading. I think most of the lost sales on the xbox side comes from their users moving to Pc, which is the obvious choice if you want to play both Ps and Xbox games.

If the console split was 50/50. Or anywhere near 50/50....
I just think this is all pie in the sky thinking while Microsoft sells so few Xbox consoles.

@gollumb82 I wish your evaluation of PC was not so true, but that's my experience exactly and what I don't game on my expensive PC. Console gaming is miles better to me.

Other than their tools/engines to work on Xbox if Sony cares enough for the sales then sure. If not then not.

I couldn't care less anyway I don't even buy those IPs and they killed the ones I did care about so not a loss for me either way. XD

@themightyant Its a funny world we live in. I still believe Death Stranding releasing is key. Yes Sony sold it back to Kojima. But nothing SOE related has been removed. It runs on the Decima engine. Which Sony owns. So probably needed permission first. So the ground work has already been completed.
But like you said. Do I expect it to happen anytime soon? NO. If it does though? Id expect it to be live service titles like Helldiver's 2 & licensed titles like MLB the Show or Marvels Spiderman & Wolverine.

@themightyant the Insomniac leaks stated that the deal with Marvel demands that each title must sell 6 million units each. But the reason Sony might go fully multiplatform is the % Marvel takes. Disney will receive 9-18% of digital sales, 19-26% of physical sales, 19-26% of DLC sales, and 35-50% of bundle sales.
Also Disney could be putting pressure on PlayStation to go multiplatform due to Xbox doing the same to Indiana Jones & The Great Circle.

@themightyant I agree with everything you've said. But only time will tell what direction Sony will go. If they want easy money then the Marvel license would be it. As it's an easy sell to customers & fanboys.

@themightyant but will it damage the PlayStation brand. The media plus PS Fanboys moan but at the end of the day still obey. Like MLB & PC ports. If Sony says its someone else's fault or its to grow the business it's genius. If it was Xbox saying that it's GAME OVER!!!. Look at the recent response to Sony's expanding it's cloud strategy. Little to nothing was said. Even the defending of constant remakes.

If Sony announced the original Spiderman & Miles Morales was heading to Xbox & Switch. Then later said that all parties wanted more revenue from older titles. I could see the media & fanboys blow it off due to they had to wait so many years to play it like they said about Death Stranding.

But I agree. I don't see the problem of PlayStation & Xbox games being everywhere. As the more players that buy & play the better chance we will see more games from our favorite franchises.

@themightyant I think we are in a minority though. As I asked the kids & they couldn't care less if Xbox games go to PlayStation & Switch. As long as they get to play on their Series S's.

I thought I'd think that as well & jump fully to PlayStation next gen. But Sony hasn't been great this generation with constant remakes & PC ports taking priority over new titles. So can't see anything change except maybe build a descent PC to compliment the Asus Rog Ally. Kids play on Xbox also. So they'd want the newest one when it comes also. Like I said before. I enjoy being able to play certain games on my Xbox Series X or Asus Rog Ally via Games Pass in my living room. Then later once I've been kicked out. Up the stairs on my PS5 after paying full price.

While I'm sure that was supposed to be a dig at Microsoft. To me it sounded like he said PS games aren't worth crap.