Xbox Boss Says Microsoft Encouraged Console War With PlayStation

The console wars are a pretty integral part of the development of the video game industry, whether we want to admit it or not. Whether it be Sega vs Nintendo or Xbox vs PlayStation, the vicious competition for consumers' attention and hard-earned cash helped to push companies to innovations that simply wouldn't have come around without it.

Some would argue that the console wars are still kicking with the new purchases meta that Xbox has established, but it's clear that the wars are a lot less intense. And now, the former Xbox boss has said that the wars were actively encouraged by Microsoft.

Did Microsoft Push For A Console War?

As it turns out, the former boss of Xbox was a major part in concocting a clash between the gaming giant and PlayStation, attempting to spur a console war - but supposedly, it wasn't for the reasons you might expect.

In his appearance on the My Other Passion podcast on the Front Office Sports YouTube channel, Peter Moore explained, "We encouraged the console wars, not to create division, but to challenge each other." Sure, Jan.

He continued, "When I say each other, I mean Microsoft and Sony. If Microsoft hadn't have stuck the course after the Xbox, after the Red Rings of Death, gaming would be a poorer place for it, you wouldn't have the competition you have today."

Xbox Nearly Failed During The 360 Era

The former boss of Xbox then went on to suggest that despite the console wars "challenging each other," it almost didn't matter - as the controversy of the Red Ring of Death almost sunk the Xbox 360 entirely, and the company with it. "If we didn't resolve Red Rings of Death the way that we did, I know darn well there'd be no Xbox today," he said. Blimey.

In this case, we're glad Xbox was able to stick it out, though it's interesting to discover that higher-ups are keener to push the consoles against each other than we may have thought. The next time Xbox gets a little cheeky, remember - it's by design.