Snoopy said:
If sony was smart they would release their games on PC. Maximize their profits. Sony and Microsoft knows PC isn't their competition. |
The primary purpose of an exclusive is to attract people to your platform. Sony don't want you to just buy something like UC4 and then be done with them, they want you to buy a PS4 and become invested in their platform. They want you picking up a PS+ subscription, giving them royalties by buying 3rd party titles on the platform (or better yet, through their digital store), maybe picking up another controller, etc. This is also why advertising deals exist. In those situations, Sony, MS, etc, are literally throwing millions at a publisher to just to have them not mention their competition. Why? In the hopes of attracting people to their platform.
MS aren't really doing anything different. They're not simply putting their games on PC, they're mostly putting them on another closed platform that they directly benefit from (the W10 store). They don't just want to sell more copies of their 1st party titles, they want to attract people to that platform, and have them stay. They're betting away the X1's appeal to PC gamers (not all of it, but progressively more over time), in the hopes that they'll become invested in the W10 store (rather than something like Steam). MS have been trying to make Windows a more closed platform for years now. The W10 store is just their latest, and largest attempt. Profit is obviously the ultimate end goal, but they're not trying to get there just by selling more 1st party games.
When Sony eventually brings PSNow to PC, they'll be doing the same thing (far be it likely to a more limited degree). It's less "We are putting our games on PC", and more "We're letting you access our closed-platform through your PC. Why don't you stay and have a bear?".
