DMeisterJ said: Yeah, they were, as were the gaming industry at large, and probably MS too MS should focus on internal development though. Especially as the PS3 userbase rises closer and closer, multi-plats may wind up doing better on the sony console *cough* DMC4 *cough* and not make it worth Microsoft's while. We've all conceded that FFXIII PS3 > FFXIII 360 in sales, so I'm not too sure what it helped MS to do that for.

 

A. It doesn't have to outsell Sony's version to make a profit.

B. It helped out MS' fans a lot, and in turn it helped MS.

C. It, undoubtedly, moved some 360's and decreased some PS3 sales in the US and Europe. I can name one friend of mine who already returned his PS3 he had just bought for MGS4 after this news.

 

If you're saying it might not have been worth the money they paid, then you might be right. If you're saying this move didn't help Microsoft at all, then you're wrong and no opinion can change that fact.

DTG said: ROBOTECHHEAVEN said: i am glad sony is upset with square-enix bringing ff13 to the xb360. why, because sony is so arrogant in thinking that they cant be touched or hurt this gen and they are losing exclusive games/series and potential ppl to other platforms. ff13 will sell around 2 million- 3million ww on the xb 360 i think, the reason is simple now all the potential ppl who where gonna buy a ps3 for ff13, can save that money and buy other games on the xb 360. i do agree ms should build a better internal profile of games, but untill that happens i am happy that they are willing to spend some money in bringing games to the xb brand, that otherwise wouldnt see the light of day on that platform. i think sony should stop bitching about losing games to ms and either match them in price for the game or just accept the fact the devs want to make more money this gen to cover the cost of games. Which might make sense, except that no amount of games will save the xbox in Europe and Japan because the issue there is not the lack of games but the fact that MS is American and not well percieved.

Looks like we've got an expert on our hands.

Can someone please explain why Microsoft would pay to have the game, but not in the region it would help the most?

There is no loyalty. Devs, publishers, and even gamers go to greener pastures. How the heck did Sony become what it is today, anyway? In 1995, third parties saw potential profit in the PS1, and gamers followed the games. Don't be bitter, Sony.

superchunk said: He's right and honest about it. Good man.

Same impression for me.

I would add that given lower than in the past Sony HW sales, it could be perfectly understandable for SE to go multiplatform, but slowing USA and EU PS3 release, that being a localization could be sooner than a conversion AND localization, besides being very rude towards Sony users, that in the past made a very consistent part of SE fortune, smells quite fishy too. And no, I'm not a Sony fanboy (I never liked very much either PSOne or PS2, but I think it's good both for console gamers and PC users too that some companies can counter MS' power and prevent them from getting another monopoly), currently I am a PC gamer, but quite interested in this generation consoles tech, innovations and wars and I could buy a Wii, when it costs less than 150€.

LordTheNightKnight said: Can someone please explain why Microsoft would pay to have the game, but not in the region it would help the most?

Well for all we know the price tag for that to happen might have been even more than MS was willing to pay. I know some fanboys think this was a huge attack move for MS. The way I see it is it was more of a defensive move. This wasn't a move to gain new sales, it was a move to keep existing 360 owners from going out and buying PS3's for this game. MS has no real 1st party support, while sony's 1st party studios are getting better and better. MS is just trying to pull away what 3rd party exclusives they can to stop the bleeding. with their pathetice japan userbase the price tag would have been redunkulous.

LordTheNightKnight said: Can someone please explain why Microsoft would pay to have the game, but not in the region it would help the most?

 

That's just it , it wouldn't help at all unless it was exclusive.

SE suck

@LordTheNightKnight

we all guess japan is lost for MS

whatever, they do ...

The stat from about a year ago was that first and second party Sony studios had 100 PS3 games in development.  No word on whether that counted PSN titles.  Doubtless, there are a number not announced yet b/c they are not big IPs.