10 Video Game Studios Probably Founded Out Of Spite
4. Microsoft Games Studios
Up to a certain point, the perceptions of video game consoles and PCs were entirely different things. Whilst your Nintendo or PlayStation was impressive, it was only playing video games whereas your desktop personal computer ran the high-end Windows ‘98 and could do so much more.
The PlayStation 2 was a major step in crafting a home video game system that was more than just a sophisticated kids’ toy in the eyes of parents, by including audio CD and DVD support. Microsoft started to sweat about the possibility of the market demographic of gaming widening so vastly in scope, and the reality of being left behind.
Bill Gates felt threatened, and thus the pathway to the release of the original Xbox was laid ahead of the Microsoft team.
Technically speaking a team already existed known as Microsoft Games Group, but this was a whole other ballgame. Rebranding the studio made sure the world knew they were serious. They immediately got to work crafting a launch lineup to compete with the PlayStation 2 under the moniker of “Microsoft Game Studios” (now known as “Xbox Game Studios”).
You could say that they were reacting out of concern, but it's pretty spiteful to try and stop your contemporary from succeeding by creating an entire console to compete.