Former PlayStation exec Shawn Layden comments on Xbox’s multiplatform plan
- Microsoft has announced that Forza Horizon 5 is the latest Xbox exclusive heading to PlayStation
- Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden thinks Sega is proof that Xbox’s multiplatform plans can work
- Xbox could struggle to create “FOMO” when marketing its brand
When appearing on a recent Kiwi Talkz video, former PlayStation worldwide studios chairman Shawn Layden commented on Microsoft’s new strategy to release its first-party games on other platforms.
“Multiplatform is a strategy, particularly in a world where the cost of development is increasing so dramatically,” Layden said. “Multiplatform means widening your addressable market; just giving more people a chance to see it, so I certainly can appreciate and welcome that ability to have Xbox games appearing on other platforms.
“What does it do to their brand? It makes the conversation harder to create the FOMO; you’re trying to do that by bringing everyone to your platform by saying, ‘if you’re not here you’re missing out,’ but if it’s available on all platforms, that’s one of your marketing tactics you can’t use.”
While Microsoft might lose the FOMO (fear of missing out) factor, Layden also points out that Sega, which left the hardware business in 2001, is proof that a company can make the transition successfully.
“We’ve seen it before. I was in the business when Sega brought their Dreamcast titles to PS2, in time then Sega became a software-only company, and have had a great transformation in that sense,” Layden said. “So it does have historical precedence.”
So far, Microsoft has already launched Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and Sea of Thieves on other platforms, with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Doom: The Dark Ages, and now Forza Horizon 5 joining them later this year. Last week, Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirmed that “keeping games off other platforms is not the path” for Xbox anymore, so we can expect more first-party games to head to other platforms in the future.
According to reports, Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be launching on PS5, although it’s unclear when it’ll make the jump. Age of Mythology: Retold, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 are also said to be on the docket.
What do you think of Xbox’s multiplatform plans? Will you be staying with Xbox in the future? Drop a comment below and let us know!