The head of Microsoft’s game studios, Phil Spencer, claims that the future of video games lies in the plane of cross-platform entertainment. The manager expressed his point of view in an interview with the Australian website Ausgamers.
A Microsoft representative only partially talked about how the company thinks to mix mobile platforms and set-top boxes within the same project, taking the Halo series as an example. According to the head, a partially similar connection can be seen in Halo: Spartan Assault, which is available on Windows Phone and Windows 8 devices.
“A common ecosystem connecting different gaming devices is exactly what will determine the future of the gaming industry,” explains Spencer. – “Xbox Live is great for combining different entertainment devices.”
The mobile gaming market for Microsoft looks something like this Microsoft has been working on cross-platform entertainment for a long time.
Recall at least the Shadowrun shooter of 2007, which supported network matches between Xbox 360 and PC owners. Recently, experiments have become more frequent. For example, Skulls of the Shogun was simultaneously released on Windows Phone, Surface and Xbox Live Arcade, offering users interesting features in asynchronous network mode. However, officially, Spencer did not dare to talk about the new cross-platform functions.
Sony plans to include cross-platform functionality in the PS4 from the very beginning. In theory, almost all PS4 projects can be played with PS Vita.
A source: pocketgamer.biz