Lego Horizon Adventures shows even PlayStation knows growth lies beyond your own platform | Opinion
The unveiling of Lego Horizon Adventures was not a surprise. As is often the case around major debuts, hints and details had leaked out in the days before.
What was surprising, however, was that not only is the game coming to PlayStation 5 and PC (as expected), but it is also coming to Nintendo Switch.
Let's take a moment to process that: a PlayStation-owned IP on a Nintendo platform.
As far as I can Google, such a thing has not occurred in decades – not since, as GamesIndustry.biz head Christopher Dring reminded me, Wipeout 64. Yes, Sony's MLB The Show is also available for Switch as well as Xbox, but that's a licensed title rather than a property PlayStation owns.
Lego Horizon Adventures may not have been the biggest blockbuster with which to open Summer Game Fest, but it's perhaps the most symbolic reveal we've seen throughout this year's array of showcases: seeing PlayStation IP coming to a Nintendo console is almost akin to Mario and Sonic appearing in the same game, both of which the '90s child in me sees as a sign of peace between the major players in the console war of that era.
Earlier this year, there was a lot of discussion around Microsoft going multiplatform, with simple rumours that Starfield and Indiana Jones were coming to PS5 escalating into full-blown conspiracies that Xbox was going to stop making consoles (it isn't).
It transpired that Microsoft was bringing just four games to other consoles, and they weren't exactly flagship titles. Starfield and Indiana Jones are still bound for Xbox and PC only as far as we're aware (for now?), while some of the firm's upcoming titles, like the newly-announced Doom: The Dark Ages, will also come to PS5. In fact, Pure Xbox reports that, during an on-stage interview at IGN Live on Sunday, Microsoft gaming CEO Phil Spencer said: "You are going to see more of our games on more platforms."
The point is, as we discussed at length earlier this year, there are a myriad reasons why it makes sense for Microsoft to release
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