Now that Nintendo and Sony have both released games featuring the stars of their respective franchises, I'm just wondering when/if Microsoft will ever follow suit. Do you think they will? If so, when? If not, why?

Maybe after next generation I think. They need to bring up a stronger first party showing next gen to really build towards it though

I think they need to build up some characters first, before they can do something like that.

I don't think a fighting game could work with only two characters. Of course they could use Rare characters, but those guys are remembered for their Nintendo games. I wonder if we could play as a car from Forza?

They need some characters first.

Sony had some first-party characters (even if a few weren't too well known) so it worked OK. But M$ has like... what, 1? Master Chief, right? (I'm probably forgetting somebody, though.)

Would Microsoft really have the characters for such a thing? Setting aside the Rare stable, list who or what Microsoft could put in

My guess is that Micro will moneyhat multiplat-characters when it happens, like making Dante exclusive to their game so that Sony can't use him. They could possibly make them timed exclusive.

When will it happen? February 20th, 2014 at 10:30AM.

Possibly guys from games that tend to be identified as Xbox games like, say, some of the Splinter Cell guys

Blue Dragon would also be a possibility

Well thats true, not not all Characters from Ps All Stars are Sony characters.

they don't have enough exclusive characters to do that.