Late last week, it was revealed that Sony and Microsoft are partnering for a game streaming service and honestly, this partnership took me by surprise a bit. It seems that I wasn’t alone as the PlayStation team themselves was reportedly largely left out of the negotiations.
RELATED: Sony and Microsoft are Partnering on a Game Streaming Service
Microsoft and Sony’s strategic partnership to develop game streaming technology together and even host some of the PSN on Azure servers came as a big surprise to most of the PlayStation team, according to a new report by Bloomberg. So much so that according to the report, managers had to calm and assure workers that plans for the next-gen console aren’t going to be affected.
According to the report, negotiations for this partnership began last year and was handled directly by Sony’s senior management in Tokyo, largely without the involvement of the PlayStation team. The report explains that:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”#33fff9″ class=”” size=”25″]Negotiations with Microsoft began last year and were handled directly by Sony’s senior management in Tokyo, largely without the involvement of the PlayStation unit, according to people familiar with the matter.[/perfectpullquote]
On the topic of the staff, the report further explains that:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”#33fff9″ class=”” size=”25″]Staff at the gaming division were caught off-guard by the news. Managers had to calm workers and assure them that plans for the company’s next-generation console weren’t affected, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private matters.[/perfectpullquote]
Honestly, this partnership will probably be great for the gaming industry in the long run but the PlayStation team being surprised about it makes sense. Heck, they’ve been battling it out with Xbox for many, many years. In Sony’s defence, big partnerships like this should be left to upper management and while negotiations were still going on, a need-to-know policy does make a lot of sense.
What are your thoughts on the Sony and Microsoft partnership and the PlayStation team being caught by surprise? Let us know in the comment section below.
