Microsoft to announce Mojang (Minecraft) buyout on Monday, for $2.5b

[starcraft]

Zekkyou said:

starcraft said:

Its also a very self-defeating hope.

Sony's consoles are enormously better than they otherwise might have been due to the fantastic innovation's Microsoft has brought to the table. Most of that advancement would cease a day after Microsoft announced a withdrawal from the console market.

I doubt it would be quite that dramatic :p MS is Sony's biggest competitor, but they do also have Nintendo and PC gaming to consider. In the short term i can't see them going back on their current set up, especially when it's working so well for them.

In the long run though, yeah, if either MS or Sony were to leave the industry the other would likely get progressively worse. Heck, they're both still here and they still still pull shit every so often (MS more recently than Sony, but we all remember Sony 2005 - 2007. Fun times ¬¬).

Sorry I did word that poorly. To clarify I am not suggesting that Sony would go backwards. But the regular one-upmanship and innovation Microsoft and Sony have brought out in each other would slow very dramatically. For example, Sony wouldn't have anything like the online features they have now if it weren't for Microsoft. Their camera probably wouldn't be available at all, cross-game chat on consoles might be something that never happened.

What are tomorrow's innovations? Who knows. But we're far more likely to find out with both Microsoft and Sony as active players in the hardware business.