Sony: There is "no scenario where PlayStation and Xbox platforms combine"

However, while Ryan had previously stated that this closer relationship between his former rivals was partly a response to new competitors such as Google, he insisted that the two companies' game brands would still remain separate.

"To my knowledge, there is no scenario to combine PlayStation and Xbox platforms," ​​he said. "The two platforms will remain separate, with their distinct identities, brands and fans."

Historically, this position would be a given, but the landscape of the games industry is changing. Microsoft, in particular, has regularly demolished the Xbox brand, pushing its Xbox Live service to mobile and Nintendo Switch.

The current trajectory of Microsoft certainly would not exclude the desire to see the Xbox products on PlayStation also, provided they have enough time. However, Ryan made it clear that Sony had no interest in this type of synergy.

Sony's main goal for the coming years will be to ensure the smoothest possible transition between PlayStation 4 and the next generation of hardware. In a "networked world," Ryan said on US television, one must above all ensure that the army of PS4 users remains on PlayStation.

"When everything is networked and everyone is connected and everyone is friends, the opportunity – with upward compatibility – to migrate this community more effectively is, in my opinion, extremely appealing. the players and for us only in the past, "he said.

This is also the will of the major industry publishers, who depend more and more on service-based games that, they hope, will transcend the generations of consoles. Ubisoft recently touched on this topic about Rainbow Six Siege, expressing reluctance to create a next-generation "sequel" or even forcing existing players to buy the game again for new hardware.