While Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are currently locked in fierce competition, major publishers see the future of the industry in no longer being tied to any one manufacturer. This would only have advantages for everyone involved.
Bethesda takes a similar approach, citing Blu-ray as a comparison, which doesn't just work on one specific device but on all Blu-ray players. Whether physical media will still exist in the future is, of course, a completely different matter, but the idea of platform independence could also be pursued digitally.
"I think we'll see the platforms become more homogeneous. And I think the games will get closer and closer to that." said Bethesda's marketing boss Pete Hines. "You could choose to play it on a Sony machine or a Microsoft machine, or use the Google [streaming] service, but I think it will look more like it really doesn't matter where you play it. Things like cross-platform play, cross-platform progression, all that stuff."
Bethesda believes the industry should no longer operate according to the concept of exclusive, tied-up thinking. The sooner this approach is abandoned, the better it will be for players, developers, and the games themselves. The focus should shift to thinking less narrowly about what will ultimately attract the most players, achieve the greatest reach, and generate the most revenue.
Whether Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo will actually be persuaded to do so remains the exciting question for the future.
