When it comes to the state of gaming right now, it’s a pretty exciting time. The latest generation of video game console platforms has come out, we’re starting to see big AAA titles to make use of the newest hardware, there are new service features to make games more accessible, and also the fact that we’re seeing quite a few acquisitions come out into play. Still, while things may look like a race to scoop up as many big-name development studios as possible, Sony is keeping their picks very selective.
Of course, this is what Hermen Hulst has to say about the matter. Hermen Hulst is the head of PlayStation Studios who was recently interviewed by GQ. The interview went on to bring up the fact that Microsoft, one of Sony’s biggest rivals outside of Nintendo, has made several purchases recently. The biggest of which is ZeniMax Media which came with not only a variety of studios but Bethesda as well. While Sony may be missing out on some iconic RPG titles going forward without Bethesda, it looks like the company is not keen on the idea of jumping up to purchase everything they can get their hands on.
Hermen Hulst doesn’t view the current situation as an arms race. Instead, Sony is being very selective on what studios they attempt to acquire. Recently, this company had acquired Housemarque and that has left plenty of fans wondering just who else may be coming alongside the studio to further flesh out Sony’s line of first-party studios. Still, this is not something that happens overnight according to Hermen. Instead, this is a long discussion and with a studio that Sony has worked well with in the past alongside having similar values or creative ambitions.
Still, Microsoft has a pretty stacked line of development studios so this could be an interesting generation of gaming. Not to mention, Microsoft also is pushing their Xbox Game Pass subscription service. This service will bring every Microsoft exclusive to the subscription at launch so players could potentially pay for the most premium tier service which is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at $15 a month to enjoy a massive backlog of titles and future first-party studio launches. This is also paired with cloud gaming so players who don’t have a gaming PC or an Xbox console could use any PC with capable bandwidth along with a smartphone to play the games through a web browser. We’re certainly interested to see if Sony ends up making some kind of a competitive service.
Source: GQ
