This person is known for a legendary video from 2013, where Sony showed how to work with the benefits of sharing games.
This was done because at the time Microsoft was planning to require an internet connection for the Xbox One (this was essentially implemented on its successor, the Xbox Series) and that discs of used games would not be sellable. In response, Sony, with Shuhei Yoshida and Adam Boyes (who has since left the company and was VP of external relations), made it clear that they were only concerned with the migration of the disc from one to the other.
Boyes worked at PlayStation from 2012 to 2016, then served as co-CEO of Iron Galaxy, and most recently founded a consulting firm, Vivrato. Now, in an interview with Gamertag Radio, he talked about his views on Microsoft’s multiplatform strategy (which includes Forza Horizon 5, which we’ve covered before). He says that not everyone is happy with this change in strategy:
“I understand why people have feelings and opinions about it, because their idea of identity is that I choose one brand and I’m beholden to that brand, and therefore that should be the only source of all content. But I think if we think of it in the analogy of, they were Blockbuster that became Netflix, and what I mean by that is when they started, it was about the physical unit being the entertainment experience in the living room, and that was a plastic player that you put discs in and it plays them, so you have to serve people with the physicality of it.
Retail and partnerships matter. You and I have both stood in a lot of lines and a lot of early morning openings to rush in there and sprint against everybody else – and I usually lost the race, by the way – to get that console as fast as we could. And it’s just different now. Xbox is an entertainment provider, not just a disc producer and distributor. So when we think about it, the analogy that maybe PlayStation is HBO, Microsoft is Netflix, and Nintendo is Disney, their job is to deliver incredibly interactive and engaging entertainment to as many people as possible. I understand why traditionalists look at that and say, “I don’t like change! I just want it to be where I want it to be! And that’s where my logic gap starts to break down,” Boyes said.
Boyes then answered the question of who is the victim of the multiplatform strategy: “Because if Phil Spencer and his team are putting out amazing content on more platforms, who’s the victim? I ask a lot of people, ‘Who’s the victim? And there isn’t one, except for people who say, ‘I only want it where I bought it, and that’s what I expect! I applaud Xbox for being agile enough to expand in a changing and transitioning market, but the multiplatform strategy presents challenges when it comes to the value proposition of its future consoles. You’re absolutely right that when we’re trying to sell people the new version of a console… is it 8k, is it 16k, is it 32k? Where do we go from here? Right now I’m happy with the number of Ks and the fidelity – it’s great. Then the value proposition changes,” Boyes added.
His point is understandable.
Source: VGC
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