SMcc - Actually, MS didn't 'spend' a dime on the exclusive content.
It was a $50m short-term loan. When the content launches, MS makes back 100% of the money up to the $50m. Anything after that it's a typical 70/30 split.
The advantage MS has with that setup (versus Sony paying a similar amount of cash for KZ2) is the fact the GTAIV content was made in 9-10 months, whereas KZ2 has taken 3-4 years.
And like you said, we semi-unfortunately have to wait for E3. The good thing with that is that we'll have a solid list of what's coming, whereas Sony typically over-hypes what's coming, then delays multiple titles that are assumed to be in a specific period of time. Choose which you like more, but 360 gamers still get a ton of great exclusives, and content.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
