Agreed. At the end of the day, MS are just annoyed Sony is getting in the way from their real competitors Google, Amazon and Apple.

Google has already entered the gaming space and we know Apple and Amazon want to join.

Ya let’s start taking Google off that list lol. This acquisition makes Xcloud the champ in ways Stadia will never be. 

Yup. I agree in that I don't see full exclusivity as necessary endgame, being available on Game Pass on Day 1 is itself major platform draw,
So 12-18 month timed exclusivity would give them most of benefits and more profits too. I think EVENTUALLY releasing it on Playstation
actually is way to ensure continued attention from Playstation fans, who all aren't going to jump ship immediately just for this, but if they
are eventually fed the games that will keep their attention drawn to where they consider Xbox more in future.

Really the question is what is Sony's next move. Honestly I wonder about  CD Project Red who would be great counter move IMHO,
in terms of game dev teams not equivalent to Zeni/Bethesda but has competitive assets there and overall is very solid and skilled.
Issue being not wanting to sellout their independence, but why not consider a minority shareholding with some oversight and deal
for console exclusivity, they are PC developer in their genes and Playstation already is most of console market share anyways.
I feel like GOG's prospects are not fully clear and bright, and they might also be interested in potential to merge that with Epic Store,
with CDPR able to insert it's team and expertise into managing combined store they could hold active stake in with Sony and Epic.

Not sure what other dev studios/publisher might be open to buyout or merger with SIE...
Maybe also fair to wonder if all Zeni studios will continue as is, or be prone to head hunting by SIE or others...?

Seems like Brexit also leaves Sony with too UK heavy stance that could be better balanced with stronger EU presence,
with France seeming to have plenty of opportunities as well as Poland with CDPR to have political pull with EU regulators.
Paris would be default, but Marseille seems in renaissance mode, plenty of tech/IT in nearby provinces and California like climate...?

I agree for the most part. It's smart because GP needs it, and the marketing team picked the perfect time to announce it. Right after the SNY cross gen hypocrisy talk. At the very least, MS can now just say, 'we're both hypocrites, so what'? The news is big enough that'll get swept under the rug anyway.

MS and their, 'we don't like the idea of exclusives', and 'we just wanna play nice together', is now crystal clear not to be the case. Like anyone should have been 100% convinced it was, but MS have now leaped over the threshold. If SNY has been sitting back leisurely assuming MS wasn't going to make too many big moves, then they've now been put on notice and this no doubt means war.

SNY now knows that every worthy third party studio who is open to selling, whatever the price, is on MS's radar, and if they don't lock them down, MS likely eventually will. If you're SNY and one of your biggest draws is exclusives, you either need to stay well ahead of MS in this case, branch out in other ways, or offer something uniquely new. There was a SNY third party exclusivity rumor a while back that was this level, if not beyond.

Glad to see MS actually making waves, yet worried to see how SNY responds and where this leads in terms of potentially creating giant walls around once open gardens. This is the way the world seems to be headed as of late unfortunately.

You forget that Google can also burn a lot of money if they want.

Sure. That's why we should expect any minute now the announcement that Avowed, Fable, HB2, Everwild, and Sea of Thieves are all coming to PS5. You know, since all of those games are being developed by recently bought studios to fill up Game Pass.

And you know what? maybe we are being short-sighted. How about they also put Halo, Forza, Gears, and Flight Simulator? I mean, more games on PS5 means more money for them, right?

More like:

"Today Microsoft held us all as hostages." lol

I do think this perpetuates a cycle that could turn out to be negative in the long run.

Its undeniable that Gamepass has given fantastic exposure to games/developers that wouldn't have gotten it otherwise.

Eventually, Gamepass (and its eventual competitors) could become large enough that they in fact crowd out non-Gamepass titles.

Nintendo started the entire exclusivity business during the SNES era. Back then the console marke was far more vibrant and Sony was just yet another newcommer, who actually knew what he was doing. Lets not forget it was Nintendo who screwed them over with their exit from the unified console deal They never needed to moneyhat exclusive deals in any major way as 3rd parties flocked to them after they burnet themselves with the horrible deals they made with Nintendo and later with MS. Or ar we forgetting the exclusive rush MS had with the first Xbox? Or the pricedrops of the GC that made it far cheaper than a PS2? Or the several billion $ loss MS had with their first system just because they bought up exclusives and sold the system at a loss?

Your memory seems to be selective as of late Rol, for pretty much any info that doesn't suits your bill.

This. I really do not understand how people don't see this. Sony will be forced to respond now, and the domino effect was set in motion. I don't think we have ever seen such a huge purchase from one console manufacturer before. Then Sony will buy some studios, then Nintendo, then MS again, and soon all the 3rd party games will be hidden behind a payment wall atop a payment wall. I do not like this, one bit.