You'll need to provide context.

Hardware wise, I think they are more similar than they are different. 

In terms of digital content, the only area where Microsoft and Sony are the same is in their policies as first-party publishers, and in their policies toward third-party publishers.  The problem is that Sony hasn't defined how it will implement an active DRM solution, nor it's features and policies regarding it.  By leaving it up entirely to the publisher, Sony is opening the door to disaster. 

In a worse case scenario, let's say The PS4 gets hacked over the next year, and as a result the pirating of PS4 games becomes rampant.  Sony's passive DRM is compromised, disc copying possible.  Sony doesn't have a solution to this problem ready.  Developers and third-parties, seeing their work get stolen and distributed without their control implement various active DRM solutions.  Some stringent, requiring constant contact with the server and no offline play at all, others a bit more user friendly.  Some allow for resale, others don't.  Some allow for rental, other's don't.  Now the PS4 is no better or open than a PC and worse than the Xbox One.

If we do the same worse case scenario with the Xbox One, nothing has to change.  If the Xbox One gets hacked, there are measures built into the system to restore it to original.  If a hacker persists, then there are measures built into the system to disable it without ever going online.  If somehow the Xbox One gets hacked and disables the two processes mentioned before, the active DRM built into the system ensures that content will only work if licensed to that user.  If somehow a hacker circumvents that process, another exists to verify that the content was activated and authenticated on that device. 

Nothing has to change on the Xbox One.  There are a number of security measures hackers would have to be able to circumvent that they won't be able to.  The first one is getting on the system at a root level itself.  The second is getting their software to run.  The third is getting license restricted content to run.

God forbid if the PS4 gets hacked because the house of cards will come tumbling down.

A High cost AAA game that is in development for 3 years or so will cost about 65million...

The price of a game is $59.99, subtract about $28 of that for Shipping/Packaging/Retailer Profit ranges and Each game sold = $32 in Sony/developer pockets... AAA rated games can easily sell 2-3million at full price if they are actually good games.

That's $64-$96 million USD in Dev+Publisher hands.

So on average, a AAA title with a large development cost of $65Million, will need to sell about 2 million at full price to break even. Any further sales are straight profit.

And this is for a game with huge development costs...like Uncharted or Halo.  And we all know those games sell at least 3 million at full price. It's a very hefty profit margin.

Cliff is talking out his ass because his favorite company is shit.

Why do XBOX fans seem so shaky right now? Are they afraid that if Sony overtakes Microsoft next gen then all the trash talk from early current gen will be spewed back at them ten fold? Just buy the console if you're gonna buy it and quit trying to justify Microsoft's new policies.

Repost - Sorry

I asked for context.  You've offered none.

How do I jump to too many conclusions.  Start with one, then explain.

The only assumption I make is that physical media will go away and that digital content will be the primary focus during this generation.  Other than that assumption, I have made no assumptions.  This is a natural trend, not just in gaming but across all entertainment platforms.  Print publications have by and large disappeared because of electronic editions, the majority of music is sold digitally.  The only two forms of mass entertainment that are taking up the digital transformation are console gaming and video.  The latter simply because the amount of space required is substantial, the former because of the consumer.

I proposed some "What If" scenarios, but those were not assumptions.  What if the PS4 gets hacked?  How will publishers react, especially if they're getting hurt by it?  What if publishers all enact their own active DRM solutions?  How will that impact the PS4 market and gamers?  If a developer or publisher used an active DRM that required you to be online the entire time you played the game, would you be OK with that?  What if it's a game you ABSOLUTELY must play?

I don't think either Microsoft nor Sony are in a particularly bad spot right at the moment.  Sony may benefit from Microsoft's position, but I'm fairly confidient it'll be short-term.  The reason is simple.  The benefits of going digital only and the features Microsoft is building into the Xbox One for that purpose, outweigh the negatives.

In the long-term, by being upfront about it's transition to digital content, Microsoft will be in a much better position by the end of this generation.  Simply because it's being upfront about where it is headed and where it's headed is where consumers will eventually want to be.  At some point, as with PSN and Multiplayer, Sony will have to make a policy change.  If the rest of the industry gets behind Microsoft, because Microsoft is already building the framework necessary for a digital future in gaming, where will that leave Sony or Nintendo for that matter?

You're right, I should've said American corporations. My mistake.

Im never buying another one of this guys games. He's so anti-consumer it's not even funny.

Cliff Bleszinski

You cannot have game and marketing budgets this high while also having used and rental games existing. The numbers do NOT work people.

If the games can't make money, then Publishers need to be able to better manage their budgets. No one is asking for AAA 150Million dollar titles. All we want is good games and a high budget does not equal a great game. Before trying to blame the consumers for the industry's broken model, we should first look at the suits who put themselves in that position first. By the by...Fuck you Cliffy B, you're a superficial cunt

They won't ever announce it, if they know what's good for them. Sony's PR machine became 50% less stupid when Phil Harrison defected to the other side.

He is so inept it isn't even funny. And by that, I mean it's really, really funny.