Microsoft and Sony are two gaming giants that never leave a chance to outplay each other when it comes to grabbing massive opportunities. Albeit, it wasn’t the case around eight years ago when the Xbox maker passed on a massive chance to have the biggest superhero IP under its belt.
Yes, it was none other than Marvel’s Spider-Man game that was eventually made under Sony, and the rest as we all know is history.
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An industry insider recently revealed an unknown fact about how Marvel, before siding with Sony, had approached Microsoft to make a Spider-Man game. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the company didn’t show much interest in the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler.
Sony made Marvel’s Spider-Man its biggest title for PlayStation following Microsoft’s lack of interest
A user account named Okami Games, on Twitter keeps track of gaming news and various stories on a daily basis. Recently, they posted a tweet while sharing a very interesting fact related to Spider-Man’s gaming journey and how he ended up at Sony.
Going by the information mentioned in a new book called ‘The Ultimate History of Video Games Part 2’, Marvel had approached Microsoft back in 2014 to make Spider-Man titles. The superhero company wanted a long-term involvement from the interested party. Apart from the Xbox maker, they also had Sony in mind.
According to a new book, Microsoft passed on the opportunity to develop Marvel games back in 2014.
"I pinged both sides, both Xbox and PlayStation […] Microsoft's strategy was to focus on their own IP. They passed."
Spiderman went on to become Sony's best selling game ever. pic.twitter.com/bx9WXWMFFU
— Okami Games (@Okami13_) May 22, 2022
Microsoft passed on to this offer to focus on their own IP for the Xbox at that time.
Eventually, Marvel then approached Sony, who not only showed a heavy interest in the wall-crawler but also assigned Insomniac Games to make a brand new game for PlayStation. And in 2018, the now-iconic Spider-Man title arrived amidst heavy praise from critics as well as the players themselves.
READ MORE: Popular Voice Actor Drops a Massive Hint on the Future of Spider-Man Video Games
In the coming future, fans will soon get a second installment to the first part.
Meanwhile, gaming fans had their own opinions after knowing about this amazing fact. Some mentioned that Microsoft did the right thing by not going for Spider-Man. Simply because they didn’t have a huge budget eight years ago.
In 2014 Xbox division was still under a bean counter. They were strongly considering spinning it out and selling it off. This is not surprising at all. They didn’t have the budget or teams at this time to make that deal.
— Mark Michaels (@MichaelsMMX) May 23, 2022
Yeah but if Microsoft developed it it wouldn't have the same quality, sadly, would end up being subpar and forgettable. Sony's SPiderman game is amazing, despite the repetitive open world side activities.
— Jeff Herk (@JeffHerc) May 23, 2022
Honestly, it probably wouldn’t have been as much of a success under Xbox anyway. Insomniac was the perfect company to make Spider-Man. Idk if they would have made it under Xbox. Plus, I have less faith in Xbox making a polished game as well as Sony. I hope that changes soon.
— Adam Daniels (@AdamDaniels5) May 23, 2022
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Let’s just ask this… who of Xbox studios would have made a game as good as Spider-Man by Insomniac? Back then I’m not sure any of them could have, no offense but their best studios were already tied up with things.
— Aaron Anderson (@Aarow_16) May 23, 2022
Other users thought that it was good that Sony took this opportunity and eventually presented them with a memorable game from Insomniac.
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WATCH THIS STORY: Best Spider–Man Games of All Time
Do you think Microsoft could’ve made a better Spider-Man title had it grabbed the golden chance? Or do you think Sony’s take on the character is the best version already? Let us know in the comments.
