Sony on 3rd party exclusivity

[Bodhesatva]

Sony published Final Fantasy 7, Tekken 1/2/3, and many other prominant games for third parties back in the day. I think it's unquestionable that they also did something similar for the PSP's recent surge in third party support. How else to explain an exclusive Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed, Metal Gear Solid, and others, when the system's performance is so abysmal? And of course, we have examples like advertising assistance for recent games like AC II, and so forth.

Sony gives money to third parties all the time. Even Nintendo does, albeit to a lesser extent. I've often felt that Sony bested Nintendo in the PS1 era in large part thanks to their wallet, offering generous incentives and publishing assistance to major franchises like Final Fantasy (and DQ and Tekken and others). It often seems that Microsoft is returning the favor, as MS is an even bigger fish with even more money beating Sony at their own "we will outspend you" game.