| JRPGfan said: “Is it possible to recoup a $7.5 billion investment if you don’t sell Elder Scrolls VI on the PlayStation?” I asked. |
Not as long as you think.
If they lock Elderscrolls VI to Xbox, then every sale is 100% going to Microsoft. (Minus distribution and licensing costs and other aspects.)
On a Sony console they give up 30% of the sale to Sony or there-abouts.
But it's not just the short-term sale that they need to consider, it's going to draw more gamers to Xbox, those gamers over the long term will likely buy games that aren't just Elder Scrolls VI, those gamers are likely to buy accessories, those gamers are likely to subscribe to game pass.
It's the flow-on effect that a single game can have to an ecosystem.
It's the same concept as a petrol/fuel/gas station, not all service stations offer LPG.
If you have a dual-fuel vehicle that can run on LPG and Petroleum, you are more likely to go to a service station that offers LPG where you will also likely buy Petroleum... And likely buy foods/drinks/snacks inside the service station resulting in an overall larger sale and thus profit for the garage, even if the LPG sale is only relatively small in volume compared to other fuels.
Plus Microsoft has 10's of billions of dollars laying around not doing anything, from an investor point of view, spending that money on something that can bolster revenues is a much better investment than having cash laying around and not bringing in additional profits.
It's the long term goal here that needs to be considered, not just the short-term gain.
Honestly, it will probably do Microsoft some good to have Elder Scrolls VI exclusive to Xbox, one of the biggest criticisms of Xbox is the lack of exclusives, so this will help fix that relevant criticism.
--::{PC Gaming Master Race}::--
