| Domicinator said:
1 and 3 certainly do not contradict each other. Microsoft or whatever studio working for Microsoft is going to make the best game they can make because they want to drum up hype and get you to buy the software. Once they get the hype machine moving and get the momentum going, there's really no stopping it. After that, they really don't care if you get the warm fuzzies when you play their game or not. They care that you bought the game and opened it. Whether or not you play it or even like it at that point is irrelavent. Microsoft, as a company, has a lot more money than Sony or Nintendo. Therefore, they conduct their business much differently than either of those companies. You can bet that if Sony or Nintendo had the cash flow that Microsoft had, they would probably be using it in a similar fashion. (Nintendo's strategy would probably be a little different because they don't have an HD console on the market and are releasing a different type of games.) In other words, you can't fault Microsoft for using their resources. It's called business. If Microsoft has the money to take mindshare/market share/attachment rate away from their competitors by paying for titles, exclusivity, DLC, or whatever, then that's what they're going to do. They didn't become the company they are by sitting around with their thumbs up their asses. Love them or hate them, they are a smart company. Sony is no less shrewd or evil than Microsoft. They just have less money to throw around and have made some marketing and PR mistakes thus far this generation. And disc media most surely will go the way of the dodo at some point in the not so distant future. Netflix was pushing its downloadable content well before the Xbox Live deal. Pay Per View, DVR, Tivo, etc. have all become household names now. You can get HD movie content on demand any time you want it without having to leave your house or your hotel room. How long before Netflix or similar services start making deals with the big cable companies? I don't think it's too far off. Unless you're a hardcore movie collector (I'd venture to say that most people aren't), there is virtually no need to go to a brick and mortar store to buy movies anymore, and there's certainly no need to go to Blockbuster to rent a movie either. I'm sorry, I'm just sick of the fanboy BS around here, and I haven't even been here that long. But I have been a member of other gaming forums for a long time, and the fanboys are no better on those. What I hate is the serious lack of understanding of how the business world works. Again I will reiterate, companies are not out to make friends with you or make you feel good about yourself. Their goal is to get you to open up your wallet and give them your money. If you think it works any differently than that, you're either a fanboy of the worst kind, a conspiracy theorist, or an idiot. |
Ouch. Nice post.
