ICStats said:
I agree with a lot of those points, but I never underestimate Microsoft's ability. In fact last time I mentioned that, they soon after they announced the Tomb Raider exclusivity. Damn I hate being right Imagine if Microsoft got FFXV as XB1 exclusive, that would piss people off and cause more damage to PS4 than good for XB1. But if you find that hard to believe just think they paid $2.5 billion for Mojang. They can definitely write a cheque big enough for Square Enix to go XB1 exclusive. That would really suck |
.Yes, MS is a strong company, far stronger and wealthier than Sony. They have the ability (not just in term of money) to spend to be on time or go back (MS-DOS, IE, Nokia, etc.).
But this time, I think there are large limits to what they can do:
- This not a core business. It has no impact on major activities like OS or Office. They will spend billions to not lose to android and ios, but put Zune in the trash bin.
- They can't expect the high return on investment they are used to: they lost a lot on the first xbox, are starting with a handicap on the XOne. But it's not just that, even Sony with 3 leading consoles (including the PS4), one half-success (PS3) didn't get high profit to that... 15 years of investisment and competition and the result is pocket money for MS
- They are already investing a lot on smartphone, and attacked at their core business. They can afford to spend in more areas, but most companies like to focus in term of goals and means, to increase impact and reduce risk.
- It's very expensive. For 2.5 billions $ you get something significant (Mojang), but you are far from getting a clear edge. How much is it to have a clear win in term of games ? What is the chance to get the money back ?
