You misspelled Xbox there.
No, he's right. SIE are basically trending the same way Microsoft are, they just don't have (or want) a Phil Spencer type to openly message it. If SIE were really going a different route, they could have more people high up speak out against that narrative, or better yet, show they're going a different route through their actions.
Right now the PlayStation console is basically a timed exclusive box for 1P games with a window of likely one year, probably shorter with upcoming releases like Death Stranding 2 and Ghosts of Yotei. I won't be surprised if Day 1 Steam is a thing by the end of the generation, for all games.
Not saying this because I agree with the idea or approach, but because their actions give me no reason to take pause with that aforementioned viewpoint being their most likely strategy.
- It's good for the developer - More revenue from potentially 30 million players, a larger player base also means you get more people talking about the game, which means more active users, which draws more people into playing the game
- It's good for gamers - As I mentioned, more people playing the game. It also means that the developer has more resources to pour into the game.
- It's good for Microsoft - More revenue
- It's good for Sony - More revenue
It's only bad for Sony fanboys who think that there is prestige in having something being exclusive. Whether they're playing it or not.
I'll put one caveat on this in that if Sony starts going heavy with PlayStation centric expansions, like tie ins to Killzone, they're probably not going to want those things on Xbox, so this might create a two-tiered system or an IP problem. At the end of the day, I'd be surprised to see it happen.
But eventually you'll see Helldivers (probably Helldivers 3) on mobile, PC, and console. You can already see they're trying to bring in Unreal in the future, whether they move Helldivers 2 to Unreal or make Helldivers 3 on Unreal.
"More people playing the game" is a smokescreen; the Xbox audience who really wanted to play Helldivers 2 either already have a PS5 or a PC to play the game on. They were not discriminated against by SIE from playing the game on the basis of owning an Xbox. So we can stop with this talking point that predicates itself on the idea owners of one platform are being "deprived" games through some systemic action like their civil rights are being ignored.
"It's good for Microsoft". I couldn't give less of a shit. Same with SIE. As a gamer & hobbyist, I don't care if these multinational conglomerates make more revenue or not because clearly, them making record-breaking revenue
right now isn't doing much to produce more of the type of content I as a customer would prefer, by and large. And the usual clap-back at this is "well it's not just about you", to which I'd say....so then I should simply ignore my own wants from it altogether? It's funny; people don't tell shareholders that type of rhetoric, I wonder why?
I am not even in disagreement that there will likely be a HD2 port to Xbox, given SIE's modern day trajectories. And with those trajectories, it probably won't stop with Helldivers 2, either. And al of the reasons you mention why it'd be good for parties involved, are obvious go-to points most could see corporates looking at the decision from. But I'm also not here to be a Yes Man to these corporations, either.
