aaaaandddd......./thread

Microsoft has done this with Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil so this isn't surprising to me at all. I'm expecting them to do the same with Metal Gear Solid.

I see the logic with Microsoft paying for the exclusives and earlier releases. Calling "dibs" on the products makes them money now as apposed to later. Yes, some of these projects end up in Sony's hand but by the time they get there, the game isn't hot anymore. Sony still makes a pretty penny by waiting but Microsoft gets the money up front. That money can be used in a number of ways such as advertising another product. Meanwhile, Sony is waiting.
See where I'm going? Microsoft is willing to pay extra to get results immediately. We see that it isn't paying off like they hoped. Continuing to say "this DLC is exclusive to Xbox" will probably convince a certain few to pick up the game for Xbox as opposed to PS3. That may not be the case but once again, MS still gained that money immediately.
Microsoft being such a Juggernaut in terms of cash, I don't think a loss here and there will affect them too badly. They're still getting to say, "we got dibs on this first" and get people to buy the game for their product instead of their competition.

I'm desperately trying not to beat my head on my desk. How does this stuff slip by people sometimes?

I don't love the timed exclusivity thing, but really doesn't hurt me either. I have no real horse in this race, but this is an obviously slanted blog post put up as a kind of "news" here on the forums, that a few people *ahem* have been doing a lot of lately. They are really roundabout "look how smart Sony is" threads, some are just a little more roundabout, like this one.

Anyway, awesome. yes indeed, Sony is smart, their only thought in life is to make awesome games for their userbase, MS is greedy and only wants to steal peoples money, and are stupid too. We get it.

I only have two points about this article.

1. I wouldn't make that big a deal about swapping discs. However, if the tech is there, why not use/praise it. I feel that if the next X-Box uses a tech that gets rid of disc swaps, 360 fans won't hesitate to praise MS for it.

2. I really don't have a problem with the commercial. What's the point of having a product if you're not going to advertise it? What I do think is foolish is the purchasing of timed exclusives (especially DLC) and games that were once going to be multi-plat (mostly JRPG's). These seem to rarely work out for them. Some like to point out GTA4 as a success in this, but I beg to differ. For one, the actual sales of the DLC has never been disclosed, only that Take 2 was dissapointed by the sales of said DLC. Also, when the game released PS3 had a userbase of 11.76 mil and the 360 one of 18.15 mil, or the 360 had a larger install base by ~35%. However, the 360 version only sold ~18% more. In other words, it doesn't seem that $50 mill for exclusive content changed much, as selling 18% more copies on a 35% larger install base seems relatively normal. Especially for a game that is 4th in an established franchise, that has mass market appeal.

I don't think this is Microsoft throwing money at SE. SE is obviously using MS to penetrate the American market so it's more of a partnership that may involve money but I don't think it's just MS giving a bunch of money to be the exclusive advertiser. MS has a 9+million userbase advantage over Sony in America. The MS userbase would probably benefit/rely more from a commercial than the Sony loyal fanbase would. So why wouldn't SE advertise with the 360 logo? SE wants to get the Halo kids to buy their games. I don't know how successful they will be but that's who they are targeting. The typical west gamer.

They already praise MS for it. Its called games on demand. An Xbox 360 user would not have to swap discs even half as much as a PS3 user if he was so appalled by the idea of doing so.

Yup. Sony indeed has a huge God of War campaign to handle, they can't sidetrack it with ads for what people already know or WILL know once they get to their game retailer.

So, is this why Sony has neglected the JRPG market for as long as it has, because the 360 is not a market for such games, so Sony assumes they have them locked up?

When Final Fantasy XIII was first mentioned long long time ago, everyone and their moms and grandmoms and great grandmoms went out to get a PS3 for it. I know I did. Only people who been living under a rock wouldn't know.