PlayStation & God Of War Director Celebrate Xbox Series X/S Launch Day

In a surprising and heartwarming display of industry solidarity, the PlayStation Twitter account came out to celebrate the launch of the Xbox Series X, as did God of War creative director Cory Barlog. Microsoft’s newest console has released today after an achingly long development period made much more tedious and complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Issues have already cropped up even around release day; starting yesterday, some fans were notified that their preorders had been delayed, and might not arrive until December.

But despite all obstacles and struggles, players are eager to get their hands on a new machine. GameStop has made the controversial decision to stock consoles in-store, albeit in very limited numbers. It’s easy to see why; the new consoles are selling like hotcakes. When PS5 preorders went live, they crashed stores multiple times over in the brief period they were available. The machines are in such high demand that Xbox head Phil Spencer doesn’t expect there to be enough consoles for everyone until early 2021.

But despite the struggles of the consumers, a new console launch is still an event worth celebrating, which is a view held by perhaps the last people one would expect. A recent Twitter post from Xbox celebrating the launch of the new console was retweeted by PlayStation, of all accounts. The company shared a clip from Mortal Kombat 11, which is notably playable on both Xbox and PlayStation consoles, showing a special Friendship finisher with Jax playing the saxophone. The message, complete with a “FRIENDSHIP” banner at the end spelled out in balloons, is pretty clear. The event was also commemorated by Cory Barlog, who took a break from the presumably hard work he’s doing on the God of War sequel to tweet a gif of Kratos nodding approvingly. It’s a pretty clear gesture of solidarity and friendship.

It’s surprising to see such kind support from Microsoft’s steepest competitor and its employee. The two companies are characterized by an intense rivalry, at least when it comes to the video game market. Throughout the development period for both the Series X and the PS5, the companies have been struggling to one-up each other in all manner of ways, including direct attacks from one company when it’s caught the other one slipping. Seeing PlayStation congratulate its bitter rival like this is a refreshing change of pace.

Obviously this isn’t the end of the feud between these two companies. They’re still competing in a cutthroat industry, and neither one has anything to gain by burying the hatchet for good. But a new console launch is a very important time, and a good chance for the two companies to set aside their differences. It remains to be seen if Xbox will follow PlayStation‘s lead later this week, when the PS5 finally hits shelves.

Source: PlayStation, Cory Barlog

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Peter Morics
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Peter has been playing video games ever since he was a child, pulling his chair up to the TV so he could hold the GameCube controller for Wind Waker. Video games have been a vital part of his life ever since. They’ve been an important piece of his academic career as well; at the University of Redlands, where he studied Creative Writing and Theater, he once submitted a philosophy paper on the video game Soma. Today, in addition to his freelance work for Screen Rant, Peter spends most of his time blogging, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and, of course, playing video games. He believes that video games are an important and oft overlooked medium for telling stories, as well as an excellent medium for having fun. His favorite video game is still Wind Waker, the one that started it all, and he credits the fun he had with that game as the reason he’s here writing for Screen Rant today.

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