Game Exec speaks his mind in his latest interview on missing 'No Man's Sky' game that releases as a PS4 timed-exclusive title this year. Hello Games has been clear that the biggest game in terms of scale coming out this year will hit PC at some later date but what about Xbox One?
Agostino Simonetta, European boss of the ID@Xbox program spoke to Eurogamer about what the latest official line is from Microsoft - and whether the company wishes hype indie title, 'No Man's Sky', had it not fallen to its arch rival Sony as a PlayStation timed-exclusive.
When Eurogamer asked Simonetta whether it is safe to say that, unless a game is entirely exclusive to another platform - developed by a Sony studio, for example - there's nothing to stop a game coming out on Xbox One.
Simonetta replied, "Correct. Unless a title can never come to Xbox, because a developer has signed a publishing deal with someone else, any title can come to ID@Xbox."
"We always get this question. The answer is pretty straightforward - we do understand that developers sometimes need to decide which platform to tackle first, he explained."
"Sometimes this is just because they don't have the resources, sometimes because they have a specific agreement with a particular platform or publisher.What we say to developers is - come and talk to us. Then we can figure out the best approach for making that title the biggest success it can be on our platform. The message is - talk to us, we can work together."
He added saying, "There are no specific limitations on titles that have launched on other platforms coming to Xbox.The company originally indicated it would not publish games if they had been released first for other platforms, but has since softened this stance to state it understood the budgetary restrictions indies can face when trying to launch on multiple consoles simultaneously.
The parity clause is designed to encourage developers to launch on Xbox One at the same time as on other platforms. Or, if they launch later on Xbox One, this version is different somehow."
The ID@Xbox exec has also answered Eurogamer's follow-up question if Microsoft regrets missing out on 'No Man's Sky.'
"That's an interesting question... Look, last week we announced we were working with Frontier on Elite, and there are so many games coming to Windows 10 and Xbox. Personally, no. We have some exclusives that other platforms don't. Over 1000 developers have Xbox kit in their office today with over 100 games in development. My personal answer is that we have a very strong line-up."
'No Man's Sky' release thrives on open-ended gameplay ambitions similar to 'Minecraft,', however, Hello Games is firm and quick to comment that the two titles can just be compared at the surface level.
Rumors of a summer 2015 release date continue to surge online but hasn't been confirmed, although, the reliable GameSpot lists on its website the same launch window for 'No Man's Sky'.
'No Man's Sky' arrives sometime this year as a timed exclusive PS4 title and to PC at some point later as well as a possible release to Xbox One in the future, perhaps?
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