Sony and Microsoft have been competing for what is now the better part of 14 years. When the original Xbox came out, the console wars were leveled up to a huge proportion. Now, as the PS4 and Xbox One are set to become last generation of consoles, the companies are working together. It’s a huge step in gaming, particularly for Sony.

It’s not necessarily what it sounds like. Sony is practically in the final steps of choosing a cloud service to support their PS Now service. It’s a great concept, but with the lack of stable storage, it’s falling apart every update. Sony will use Microsoft Azure for its own game and content-streaming services, including a push to build better tools for content creators. The two companies are also committing to work together on semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

Both companies, despite competing, think highly of one another. Sony president Kenichiro Yoshida said in the announcement, “our mission is to seamlessly evolve this platform as one that continues to deliver the best and most immersive entertainment experiences, together with a cloud environment that ensures the best possible experience, anytime, anywhere. For many years, Microsoft has been a key business partner for us, though of course the two companies have also been competing in some areas.”

It’s worth the wait for Sony fans seeking a better cloud service for online services. Google also owns a popular cloud service, but what does Microsoft have? A system in place specifically for console gaming. The back-end services of Xbox have long been more consistent and reliable. Now, Sony gets to reap the rewards. While it may not benefit Xbox specifically, the money paying for Sony’s use of Azure will likely be used, in part, for Xbox and other gaming projects.

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