SCEA hardware marketing boss John Koller has told VG247 that Microsoft’s apparent need to pay for exclusivity on certain products - such as the Lost and Damned - is borne from a self-perceived lack of strength in its first-party line-up.

“Microsoft has had a much more lenient policy to writing cheques than we do,” he said. “We don’t feel the need to write cheques necessarily with every publisher, like they did with the Lost and Damned and some other titles, because we feel very strongly in our first-party line-up. “I think it’s safe to say that we’d put our first-party line-up against anyone’s, and Microsoft and other manufacturers probably lead a little bit when they’re writing cheques about how they feel about their own internal line-up.”

Microsoft reportedly loaned Rockstar $50 million for two episodes of GTA IV DLC, although the figure’s never been confirmed. The first episiode, The Lost and Damned, is rumoured to have sold in the region of 1 million units. Koller was speaking at GDC last month

http://www.vg247.com/2009/04/14/sony-microsoft-writes-cheques-for-games-thanks-to-first-party-line-up-insecurity/

In B4 shit storm.

MS can write as many cheques as they want, double standard to say the least when Sony do the exact same thing. PR people really are nothing but mouth pieces.

At least Microsoft knows their weaknesses and does something about it.

What is the problem if the good games keep coming? :)

What double standard? I thought it was common knowledge that Sony doesn't pay for exclusivity for games, they might take over as publisher and fund the projects but never go straight out and just write a cheque.

what they said... Nuff said

it's like 2 girls fighting over a boy which is hilarious haha.

Damn. We'd gone a good two months without a Sony-Microsoft PR war. What next, "at least we can afford to" from Microsoft? This can't end well.

I'm noticing that Sony usually starts these fights, but then Microsoft starts playing dirty, and Sony does the same, until they both get bored and give up.

atleast they didn't insult Nintendo in this one and Sony never said they don't buy games sometimes. They just said they do it a lot less then Microsoft.