Right back at you. 

What difference does it make in the bigger picture? Today, there are things Microsoft does that neither Sony nor Nintendo do that are good for the consumer. Whether they are new or not shouldn't matter: Sony was among the first to introduce backwards compatibility and today, PS4 cannot play PS3 games. What difference does it make that they were among the first? None from what I can see: PS4 still can't play physical PS3 games.

I get that YOU don't want it but what about the other PS4 owners who do? They're screwed and they're not being forced to subscribe to EA Access. It's OPTIONAL. Not for PS4 owners though: it's mandatory that they cannot sign up as Sony has ordered.

Contrast this to Microsoft that HAS allowed the OPTION.

Don't like it? Don't subscribe. It's not rocket science.

Had plenty to do with MS: they had to greenlight it on their console. If not for that, Bethesda mods might have just been an idea stuffed inside Bethesda HQ. Sony initially didn't want Bethesda mods but maybe the pressure got to them... Sort of...

Competition is lovely isn't it?

It's almost as if Microsoft are deserving of praise for competing with Valve's refund policy.

No, it's not their idea but it WAS their idea to compete with Valve. I think this is a first for a console maker.

Well where else would you download said games to without streaming? Thin air?

There are PS3 emulators that can run on PC built partially by volunteers and funded by Patreon.

Surely Sony of all organizations would be able to build one for the PS4.

I don't give MS credit for the tech, I give MS credit for putting 4K blu-ray playback into a revision of their old X1 when Sony didn't bother for their premium, upgraded Pro.

It's surprising but then again, Sony sells 4K Blu-Ray players so perhaps that had something to do with it?..

Honestly, I didn't even think about DVD vs Blu-Ray back then. I cared infinitely more about playing video games on these devices.

Well isn't competition a lovely thing? PS4 forced X1 to ditch its old policies and now Sony's pulling back and Microsoft's getting a few jabs in. Good on Microsoft for that: if not for them to land a few blows from time to time, who?

With all due respect thismeintiel, not sure you'd be the person to readily call Sony out when they push some not-so-consumer-friendly policies. You're quite enthusiastic about calling out Nintendo and Microsoft based on posts you've made in other threads...

Many of those things named aren't things Microsoft came up with--but then why isn't the competition doing the same?

Anyway, Microsoft was...

-The first to have a built in HDD (Xbox) -- technically PS2 offered a $100 HDD add on in 2001 but quickly dropped support. M$ went all in on Broadband and hard drive support

-The first to offer Achievements in their current form (Xbox 360)

-Online profiles aka Gamertags (Xbox 360)

-The first to support streaming apps (Xbox 360)

-They popularized downloadable games (XBLA)

- Snap (Xbox One) console multitasking

- Smart glass (Xbox 360 Companion app for smart devices)

-External HDD support (Xbox 360)

-Cross game chat (Xbox 360)

Sony isn't flawless, either. They have:

-A fair share of exclusive DLC last gen, too.  They were the only console that had Joker DLC for Batman Arkham Asylum, for example.

-A history of unsupported peripherals (though all companies have done this)

- Removed features from their consoles like backwards compatibility, USB ports, memory card readers, etc (PS3)

-Tried to charge a whopping $600 for their console (PS3) which caused the aforementioned removed features

-Forced players to pay insane amounts for proprietary memory cards (Vita)

- Forced to settle TWO class action lawsuits with gamers (PS2 Disc Read Error and Vita false advertising) as well as offering free games due to a month long PSN outage

You seem to hate Microsoft with a passion but they do some good things in the industry and for their fans. Even if some of the ideas didn't originate with them. At the same time, as good as Sony is, they aren't flawless. Try to be objective, here.

Didn't they just post like almost 2 billion in gaming revenue for the quarter? Yeah breh, they're clearly about to say bye bye to gaming. I've been a member here for almost 5 years and you're always talking about how Microsoft is like, one bad thing happening away from leaving the industry. I guess if you throw shit at the wall long enough, something might stick eventually. Personally I think it's sad that anyone would want there to be less competition in the industry. You can feel however you want about Microsoft's games or the Xbox platform as a whole, but these companies at least keep each other in check.

Can I let you in on a secret? Yeah, Microsoft is trying to extract as much money from gamers wallets as possible. Here's the secret part: Sony does too. They are, after all, a business. A business, which, last I checked, made most of their money selling insurance. That might have changed though, I only read headlines on these financial reports, I don't break down the data. But hey, maybe they're totally one of those completely trustworthy, consumer-oriented insurance companies. Or maybe you'll conveniently separate one entity of Sony from the other. You can bitch and moan about things Microsoft does to milk money, but there's plenty of mud to fling at Sony as well.

- Online passes.
- PS+.
- PS Now.
- Pay to play online.
- No backwards compatibility, but hey, feel free to repurchase those games on our store!
- $599 US dollars, but hey, you'll want to work 2 jobs it's so good.
- Pay to win BS in some of their MP games, most notably Last of Us. In fact they've pretty much turned ND MP games into F2P games that cost money.

Among many others I could list if I wanted to make leaps of logic as you did with your list. And yeah, Sony might not have "created" some of these business practices, but they support them, which makes them just as "bad". Or I guess it's ok "suck money" from your consumers if you're just copying what someone else did?

Have you already forgotten last gen existed? You can speculate where gaming would be if Sony wasn't around to keep MS in check, but that axe swings both ways. I don't want a gaming market that exists as the Xbone's original vision, but I sure as fuck don't want PS3 launch era Sony to be in control either :)

This thread has taken a bizarre turn. It's as if Papa Phil said every AAA Xbone game will now be split up and spoonfed exclusively to Game Pass subscribers. The dude is just talking about episodic video games. They've existed for a long time. Even Netflix has things they release in episodes. You guys can rest easy knowing a majority of games will release in the exact same way. But as someone who used the Game Pass beta and is going to be a day one subscriber, hell yes to the idea of some sort of exclusive episodic content. Sounds amazing.

If I may, I'd like to add to that list: Sony's handling of No Man's Sky and The Last Guardian as well as their attempts to trademark "Let's Play", a phrase that is free for anyone to use for their YT vids was suddenly threatened by a for-profit corporation.

I'm going to guess thismeintiel was not terribly passionate in his condemnation of such maneuvers... He reserves his passion for Nintendo and Microsoft.

I really dont think this would help them in the long run. Outside of Telltale games has the episodic approach been better for games. I think they need to nut up, strap in and actually make some video games like the other two do. I mean more of them and quality.

Yeah... I'm fine with games as a subscription service, but I like my games to launch as complete packages, not a bit at a time.

I agree. While i dont really like the idea of episódic games released over an extended period of time, as sounds like a gross misunderstanding of what makes the netflix method so appealing, in the end it can do nothing but improve the already solid Xbox service.

Theres also the fact that single player story driven experiences dont tend to get a lot of traction con Xbox. Releasing them through a subscription service might make their playerbase more receptive to these types of games.

I find it hard to believe. They said the same with Xbox One.
Microsoft spending $1 billion on Xbox One exclusives
http://www.gamezone.com/news/microsoft-spending-1-billion-on-xbox-one-exclusives

Take your pick!

Just kidding. I was trying to defend them, even when I was pointing out something. Much like when I gave them credit for the HDD in the PS2. I was hoping that by being transparent, I could convey my point rather than saying "Sony is evil and here's why!"

Nobody's flawless. Don't even get me started on Nintendo and they're my favorite company....