LogInThe Xbox head knows how to offer a good deal.
Image credit: Playdead, Inside
During a conversation with the hosts of the Danish podcast Arkaden, one of the creators of the legendary adventure game Inside, Dino Patti, revealed how the game got short-term exclusivity for Xbox One.
The developer shared that during the production of the game, his team had almost finalized a contract with PlayStation, which satisfied both parties. One of the main conditions was to obtain the shortest exclusivity period possible, and the offer from PlayStation had a very short duration. They reached a good deal and thought it was the end of it.
Then, Phil Spencer entered the scene – the head of Xbox called the game's producer and offered Playdead Studios a better deal (details were not disclosed, unfortunately). The Xbox deal won as Microsoft presented Inside at their E3 2014 conference and took charge of most of the adventure game's marketing efforts.
"I don't know if he got wind of it somehow. I was sitting one night at eight o'clock, in my sweatpants, and then my phone rings, displaying an American number. And it's Phil Spencer from Microsoft. It was crazy," Patti said.
Basically, Spencer promised he can do anything for the game – that helped get the team's attention. The project launched at the end of June 2016 for Xbox One, and then, in early July, visited PC. The PS4 version of the adventure was released two months later.
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