Sony’s Xbox Exclusives: What’s Missing?

by

At the recent Nintendo Direct, while there weren’t many significant first-party announcements, numerous third-party developers graced the event with their presence. For instance, Atlus revealed a remastered version of “Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army”, Square Enix offered a fresh look at the “Dragon Quest 1+2 HD Remake”, and Spike Chunsoft unveiled a new installment in the “AI: The Somnium Files” series. It’s not unusual to see these developers at Nintendo Direct, given their past appearances. However, what was unexpected was Sony’s participation in the showcase.

During the Nintendo Direct broadcast, two games from previously PlayStation-exclusive series were showcased: Patapon 1+2 Replay and Everyone’s Golf Hot Shots. The former is a revamped collection of rhythm games from the PSP era – Patapon 1 and 2. On the other hand, Everyone’s Golf Hot Shots represents a fresh installment in the Everybody’s Golf series (formerly known as Hot Shots Golf in the U.S.). Sony has published these franchises until now, but Bandai Namco will handle publishing duties for their latest releases. Both games – Patapon 1+2 Replay and Everyone’s Golf Hot Shots – will be available on PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC later this year, but they won’t be playable on Xbox. This decision to exclude Xbox consoles from the release might not sit well with fans of these series.

Sony is Bringing Two PlayStation IPs to the Nintendo Switch, But Not Xbox

Sony Normally Doesn’t Release Games on Nintendo Consoles, But Times are Changing

Generally speaking, Sony has tended to keep its games exclusive to its own platforms, with only a handful of exceptions such as “Wipeout 64” in 1998 and “Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale” in 2015. However, things have started to shift recently. Last year, Sony released “LEGO Horizon Adventures,” a LEGO-themed spin-off of the popular “Horizon” series, not just for PS5 and PC, but also for Nintendo Switch. A few months later, it was announced that a remaster of the cult classic PS Vita action RPG, “Freedom Wars,” would also be coming to Nintendo Switch, thanks to Bandai Namco.

It seems that the remastered version of “Freedom Wars” moving to Bandai Namco and being released for Nintendo Switch isn’t an isolated event. Titles like “Patapon 1+2 Replay” and “Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots” are also being handled by other developers, indicating that Sony is willing to pass on its lesser-known intellectual properties while maintaining control of the brands. Unfortunately, these PlayStation-exclusive series won’t be making their way onto Xbox platforms.

Despite Microsoft Bringing Its Games to PlayStation, Sony Will Likely Not Port Its Games to Xbox

Bandai Namco usually backs Xbox’s ecosystem, yet none of its PlayStation games have been released on Xbox thus far, which implies that Sony might have some influence over where these games are distributed. It’s worth noting that Sony has never intentionally put a game from one of their franchises on an Xbox platform. Instead, they often negotiate with third-party publishers to keep games off Xbox and sometimes bring them to other platforms. Conversely, Microsoft is pursuing the opposite approach in its strategy.

For the past year, Microsoft has disclosed intentions to transfer several of its Xbox-exclusive games to competing systems, including popular titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5. Although Microsoft appears ready to distribute its games on PlayStation consoles, Sony shows no signs of reciprocating. Given that the PS5 outperforms the Xbox Series X/S in global sales, Sony may think there’s no need to release its games on Xbox to help its main rival. Despite showing openness towards reviving dormant IPs for the Nintendo platform, Sony’s refusal to bring even minor games like Patapon to Xbox hints that it won’t be porting any games to Microsoft’s consoles in the near future.

Read More

2025-03-30 20:13