Sony’s deal with Microsoft blindsided its own PlayStation team

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 20: Attendees walk by the Sony PlayStation booth at the 2019 GDC Game Developers Conference on March 20, 2019 in San Francisco, California. The GDC runs through March 22. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

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 US software giant in the US$38bil (RM159.04bil) videogame console market.