Darth Tigris said:
It's just so expensive, though, to go that route this late in a generation. The cost to pay for such large staff full time would be extensive, especially considering the economic situation that has hovered over the world this gen. Also, MS never would've paid for Bioware the way EA did. EA wanted SW:TOR, which they're hoping is their WoW. MS has proven that they just don't want to sink that kind of money into the risky MMO market. Really nothing they could've done about the ME situation that would've been cost effective for them outside of what we've seen. It would be nice to know how much the port (or heck, the games themselves) cost Bioware to develop. Unlike movies, games aren't near as transparent with that information. |
I know, but what it means is that MS is often exposed to the risk of loss of exclusives, particularly now when globally, most popular titles sell roughly the same on each console. For most developers this means multi is the safest route to go. I don't mean MS has to own the studios outright, but it should engage in deals where it owns the IP fully and the developer is just developing it. That way they keep control.
The whole 'sorta exclusive' is just a weak position to be in IMHO.
Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...