Ex-Xbox Boss Says The Console War That He "Encouraged" Was "Healthy For The Industry"
"I think gamers loved to see Xbox versus PlayStation, maybe Nintendo as well."
In a recent interview, former Xbox executive Peter Moore shared his thoughts on the console wars between Xbox and PlayStation. Surprisingly, he frankly said that he once "encouraged" the wars while working at Microsoft in the early 2000s in an interview with Gamertag Radio podcast held by Danny Peña.
Moore, who left Sega and joined Microsoft as corporate vice-president of Interactive Entertainment Business division in 2003, believes that the fierce competition was "healthy for the industry." He then recalled how the console wars helped save video gaming from the fame of "a waste of time, creating violence, blah blah blah, all of that" and "be taken seriously as an entertainment medium." He said.
"We needed to do a ton of missionary work in those days, and at the same time we were young enough to have fun, and do all the daft stuff that we did, and all the stunts. I think the console wars that you’re kind of alluding to were healthy for the industry.
Look, I've said it before – certainly, I did encourage the battle, because I think gamers loved to see Xbox versus PlayStation, maybe Nintendo as well, and that I think was a rising tide that lifted all ships." (via VGC)
Moore had some crazy actions, which have been recognized as his unique ways of bold marketing. For example, he had a GTA IV tattoo to announce that a DLC would be exclusive for a limited time on Xbox 360.
However, things have become very different two decades later, as Microsoft is attempting to shift its strategy to launch first-party games on multiple platforms. Moore acknowledged that the industry has transformed. But still, something feels lost here. "Has it lost a little bit of the feistiness that the industry fed upon and grew upon? I think so, yeah," he said.
Do you think his encouragement of the console war is beneficial for the industry? Let us know. Also, don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.
