Pete Hines apologizes for ‘Starfield’ exclusivity
Pete Hines, senior vice president of global marketing and communications at Bethesda, said he is sorry to PlayStation users who are frustrated with the exclusivity of their most recent title.
"If you're a big fan of the stuff we make and a game that we're making is no longer available on your platform, I totally understand if you're unhappy or pissed, or whatever," Hines said during an interview with GameSpot.
Starfield is Bethesda’s latest project that focuses on science-fiction, and brings the RPG elements—that fans know and love from the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series—to space.
"Like, I get it. Those are all real feelings and frustrations. How should you deal with that, I haven't the foggiest idea. I would never presume to say, 'Oh, here's how you can make it better and feel better,'" said Hines.
With Microsoft/Bethesda’s numerous reveals during and after E3 still lingering in the bones of their fans, PlayStation users are surely frustrated with the exclusivity war.
"I don't know how to allay the fears and concerns of PlayStation 5 fans, other than to say, 'I'm a PlayStation 5 player as well, and I've played games on that console, and there's games I'm going to continue to play on it. But if you want to play Starfield, [it's] PC and Xbox. Sorry. All I can really say is, I apologize," Hines said.
However, Bethesda Game Studios executive producer Todd Howard believes that Starfield’s exclusivity can help them focus more on the development and optimization of the game as it is only available on fewer platforms.
"You don’t ever want to leave people out, right? But at the end of the day, your ability to focus and say, this is the game I want to make, these are the platforms I want to make it on, and being able to really lean in on those is going to make for a better product," Howard said in an interview with The Telegraph.
Starfield will be playable starting November 11, 2022 on Xbox Series X|S and PC.
(Images from Bethesda)