Microsoft feels frisky after winning August, disses Sony over Fallout 4 user mods

Bethesda revealed this morning that the reason user mods are not in the PlayStation 4 version of Fallout 4 is because Sony is against the practice, and this has Microsoft on the attack

Xbox One has had mods for Fallout 4 since May, and Microsoft has come out this morning to reiterate that feature. The company is on something of an assault against Sony this week. Xbox One outsold PlayStation 4 in the U.S. over the last two months, and Microsoft is emphasizing features that its Xbox One S has that the newly revealed PlayStation 4 Pro does not. And now, in a tweet, the Xbox evangelist Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb is using his social-media presence to remind fans that Microsoft fully supports Bethesda’s modding program. Fallout 4 enables PC and Xbox One players to go to the Bethesda.net website to subscribe to modifications that remotely install into the game. Mods have appeared in PC games for decades, but Fallout 4 is the first time that players have had this option on consoles.

We’ve asked Sony for a comment about why it is not permitting Bethesda to bring mods to the PlayStation 4, but in the meantime Microsoft is hammering the company hard. We’ll update this post with any new information from Sony.

Mod support ✅
Backward Compatibility ✅
Fastest, most reliable gaming network ✅ https://t.co/XS7pwdZWHB

— Xbox UK (@xboxuk) September 9, 2016

This is the latest salvo that Microsoft has thrown at Sony this week. On Wednesday, Sony debuted the $400 PlayStation 4 Pro, which is an upgraded system that can play games and stream media at a 4K resolution. It does not have a UHD Blu-ray disc drive. While that is likely a minor selling point for a lot of people, it’s something that both savvy consumers and Microsoft have jumped on because the $300 Xbox One S includes the feature.

Following the Pro announcement, Microsoft jumped in with a response on social media that highlighted the features of its box.

4K Blu-Ray ✅
4K streaming ✅
HDR gaming ✅
Greatest games ✅
40% smaller ✅
Xbox One S – £249 https://t.co/lHhkhnohvB pic.twitter.com/JnnqeZlcI6

— Xbox UK (@xboxuk) September 7, 2016

Note that the Xbox One S does not support 4K gaming. It can upscale 1080p images to look slightly better on 4K sets, but it’s not nearly as powerful as the PS4 Pro. In addition to Microsoft’s positioning of the Xbox One S, the company announced yesterday that it had the top-selling home console in the United States in August.

With all of these factors combined, Microsoft seems like it smells weakness in Sony’s strategy. And the Redmond corporation is trying to put the PlayStation side on its heels.