When Sony Corp. unveiled a cloud gaming pact with archrival Microsoft Corp., it surprised the industry. Perhaps no one was more shocked than employees of Sony's PlayStation division, who have spent almost two decades fighting the U.S. software giant in the $38 billion video game console market.
Last week, the companies announced a strategic partnership to codevelop game streaming technology and host some of PlayStation's online services on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. It comes after PlayStation spent seven years developing its own cloud gaming offering, with limited success.
Negotiations with Microsoft began last year and were handled directly by Sony's senior management in Tokyo, largely without the involvement of the PlayStation unit, according to sources familiar with the matter. Staff at the gaming division were caught off guard by the news. Managers had to calm workers and assure them that plans for the company's next-generation console weren't affected, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
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