Is MS buying out the smiles of PS Fans?

Prologue

I've suspected this a very long time now. But now I have a little evidence! It's happened to Take Two Interactive and Electronic Arts.
EA has kept blaming the Framework of PS3. But that bridge has probably collapsed now.

Evidence and comments

Sorry the links are in Swedish so i'll just explain them quickly.

http://www.fz.se/nyhetsarkiv/?id=20779
This is about Advertisement Partnership between EA and MS. But at the bottom it's about Peter Moore (one of the bosses at MS Xbox), he leaves his post to lead EA Sports. His replacement is Don Mattrick (earlier President of EA). So they do have a very tight relationship.

http://www.fz.se/nyhetsarkiv/?id=20175
This one is about MS paying Take Two no less than $50 000 000, lets give that some time. 50 million dollars. FIFTY! Anyway, they pay 50 million dollars to get exclusive download content for the Xbox version of GTA4. Take Two just smileys and takes the money, as most people would do.

I pre-ordered NHL 08 but sold it the day after i got it since features were missing. I contacted EA Support and asked them where the Season Mode was and this is their answer.

EA Customer Support

Thanks for writing us at EA Technical Support. I understand that you are currently having game feature issues with NHL 08. I apologize for your situation, and the inconvenience that this causes you. Unfortunately, the Season mode is a game mode only available on the PS2 version of the game.

It is not always possible for us to explain specifically why a particular feature is included in one console version of a game but not another, but we are happy to offer any information that we do have. In the case of NHL 08, the versions on Playstation 2 and X-Box expand on previous versions of the game released on those consoles. This means the developers already had a framework to use, and allows for easier inclusion of new features. While developers certainly endeavor to include as many features as possible, it is sometimes necessary to prioritize certain aspects, and it is not always possible to include all of the features present in the versions of the game available for the older and more established consoles.

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When i read this i got the feeling that he knew more than he told. He does the classic thing to blame the framework but it doesn't hold because there is a Dynasty Mode with economics, drafts, AHL-teams and all that, but not a stripped down Season mode. It's there for the Playstation 2 and Xbox versions of the game. So it can't be disc space either.

Epilogue

So what do you guys think, am i right? Please post your opinion.

It does appear that way, but what are sony going to do about it.
Sony has been in this market much longer than MS i'm sure they wont let this happen to them.
Also if MS are squeezing out the opposition so blatently like this than would this be an infrigment on some competition law, like the were fined for only a few weeks ago!!

Well the Take Two/Rockstar one certainly isn't an issue if the following is true...

According to the November 2007 issue # 76 of the Official Xbox Magazine Sony has secured the next Grand Theft Auto, which would be number 7 in the series, to be a true exclusive to the Playstation 3.

"Rockstar really wanted to make a game that you can truly only do on PS3, harnessing the power of the Cell and Blu-ray disc and this deal lets them do just that" as said by Sony's Michael Shorrock in a statement to the press. " We handed Rockstar a signed blank check because we were short sighted enough to let Grand Theft Auto's exclusivity get away from us. Oops!"

Looks like the Xbox fans may be out of luck when it come to the next installment of Grand Theft Auto. If they do release a 360 version it sounds like it would have to be on multiple dvd discs if the game truly takes advantage of Blu-ray.

One thing is for sure. This will be interesting to watch play out. Stay tuned!

Peace! I am off to work.

*CLARIFICATION* It seems some of our readers are totally misunderstanding this post. The OXM article is NOT referring to the soon to be released Grand Theft Auto IV. What it is referring to is the next game in the series. We have also noticed that some readers seem to think that OXM published this news as a joke. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. As a matter of fact it was not even published as a rumor but as news in the "Inbox" section on page 106. If you don't believe us go buy the magazine.

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Source - http://www.hdgamenews.com/2007/10/sony-secures-exclusive-for-grand-theft.html


Regards

Scaff

Scaff

Well the Take Two/Rockstar one certainly isn't an issue if the following is true...



Source - http://www.hdgamenews.com/2007/10/sony-secures-exclusive-for-grand-theft.html


Regards

Scaff

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That sounds really good. Would be great to see what the PS3 really goes for. I think Gran Turismo 6 will be a good example too.

The only thing slowing ps3 game development is MS ,straight(like GTA) or with market share making it no. 1 platform support for 3rd party. I think MS will reduce those checks, now that they know that ps3 is here to stay and can not killed with 50M checks to delevopers.50M is still big money even for MS.
Sony will have to find out other ways to push 3rd party developmet than money; I don't think they have enough to spare(PS has made biggest losses in SONY). Maybe HW sales will turn with new cheaper sku from sony and 3rd party will follow hopefully.

Raitziger

The only thing slowing ps3 game development is MS ,straight(like GTA) or with market share making it no. 1 platform support for 3rd party. I think MS will reduce those checks, now that they know that ps3 is here to stay and can not killed with 50M checks to delevopers.50M is still big money even for MS.
Sony will have to find out other ways to push 3rd party developmet than money; I don't think they have enough to spare(PS has made biggest losses in SONY). Maybe HW sales will turn with new cheaper sku from sony and 3rd party will follow hopefully.

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I really hope PS3 will sell more by christmas. Many people want to buy but are waiting for a little price-drop. It is sad that MS tries to be some kind of President over gaming.

Its hard to follow up on the best console ever when it just keeps on selling. $400 PS3 plus MGS4, Killzone2, FFX13 and many good looking multiplatform games for 08 should sway some ps2 owners that have not upgraded yet. Thats 142 gallons of regular gas. What was that like for a $300 PS2 like 146gallons back in 2001? Price should not be an issue. I would assume most games my age(soon to be 29) who enjoyed ps2 already have a ps3/ if they are waiting for a price drop they are just being a cheap. Nothing wrong with that as long as they are not turning on Sony.

I voted no as EA is not the fuel that runs the Sony engine. And PS2 is still having a good run. PS3 will pick up reguardless of what EA/MS does. I predict EA will try to buy/merge Microsofts game division and have their own console, That's very EA like.

I voted No, simply because im still smiling. Ive never been a big fan of Sports games, and the only ones I like are Golf, TW has now gone stale and I play Everybodys Golf instead. GTA can blow me too, it's simply the same game over and over, nothing new apart from bigger. And the GTA type game from the guys who made Elite back in the day is looking allot better.

Sprite

I voted No, simply because im still smiling. Ive never been a big fan of Sports games, and the only ones I like are Golf, TW has now gone stale and I play Everybodys Golf instead. GTA can blow me too, it's simply the same game over and over, nothing new apart from bigger. And the GTA type game from the guys who made Elite back in the day is looking allot better.

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A few other titles will have a later release for PS3 for reasons unknown. The Simpsons Game and Skate are two of those, but there is more.

so theres no franchise mode in nhl 08? are u ****ing kidding me

there is a dynasty mode with everything but no season mode which is normally in the NHL games as a stripped down version of the dynasty.

It really annoys me how M$ forks out money to developers so that they can get exclusive content. For some of it I dont really care but some things like this just really grind my gears.

kekke2000

A few other titles will have a later release for PS3 for reasons unknown. The Simpsons Game and Skate are two of those, but there is more.

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Juiced 2, oblivion(game of the year ed) are another two i can think of, of the top of my head.

Season Mode? Huh?

Bottom line is M$ right now is buying out smiles of PS fans but come down the road it won't be that way. Scaff's post is a classic example of that as well as being funny. Either way once M$ runs out of good games to keep them afloat they are screwed.

Playstation 3 year end exclusives:

• Folklore
• The Eye of Judgment
• Singstar
• Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
• Haze
• Gran Turismo 5: Prologue

Xbox 360 year end exclusives:

• Beautiful Katamari
• Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
• Mass Effect

Who is smiling now?

The current line up of PS3 exclusive titles planned for 2008 is also quite impressive:

1. Afrika
2. The Agency
3. The Aquanaut's Holiday: Inner Mind Adventure
4. Big Time Revenge
5. Bipedal Movement Simulation
6. Brave Arms
7. Buzz! Quiz TV
8. Chain Limit
9. Coded Arms: Assault
10. DC Universe
11. Digimon World Online
12. Disgaea 3
13. Driver
14. Eight Days
15. Eyedentify
16. FIA World Touring Car Championship
17. Fifth Phantom Saga
18. Final Fantasy Versus XIII
19. Final Fantasy XIII
20. Free Realms
21. The Getaway 3
22. God of War III
23. Gran Turismo 5
24. Heavy Rain
25. Imabikisou
26. Infamous
27. Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
28. Killzone 2
29. L.A. Noire (although I believe this has been delayed to 2009 now)
30. LittleBigPlanet
31. Metal Gear Online
32. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
33. Monster Hunter 3
34. MotorStorm 2
35. Nobi Nobi Boy
36. Persona 4
37. Red Dead Revolver 2
38. Redwood Falls
39. Rengoku: The End of the Century
40. Second Season 01
41. SOCOM: Confrontation
42. Star Ocean 4
43. Steambot Chronicles 2
44. Tears to Tiara: Earth's Wreath
45. Tekken 6
46. Terracotta Warrior Iki
47. Time Crisis 4
48. TimeSplitters 4
49. Valkyrie of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles
50. WarDevil - Unleash The Beast Within
51. White Knight Story
52. Yakuza 3
53. Zone of the Enders 3

That list is awesome, I can't till next year when all of these great games come out for PS3 and all my friends will be wishing they had one.

Ferrari Challenge has not been announced for Xbox 360. It may be on Wii but who is really going to care for that version? Thats looking good. If it has clutch support for the G25 or Porsche wheel thats going to be awesome.

Answer really should be "yes", shouldn't it?. It's no secret that Microsoft's been dumping money to fight Sony. Securing publishers, seeking their support, etc., are some of the ways that they are trying to solidify Xbox's position.

I'm not a fan of how their foot bought their way in into the business, but it is business.

a6m5

Answer really should be "yes", shouldn't it?. It's no secret that Microsoft's been dumping money to fight Sony. Securing publishers, seeking their support, etc., are some of the ways that they are trying to solidify Xbox's position.

I'm not a fan of how their foot bought their way in into the business, but it is business.

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True but Sony has the best console (judged by the power of the machine and space of the discs) and MS pays the game publishers to give Xbox the upper hand. That's like paying a referee to judge a game to profit the worst team.

Sony will get my money in the future too, i am not going to sponsor MS's rotten tactics, even if it's legal.

I'm not sure if it's true or not, but if it is, it really only works in the short term. As long as there's a few publishers releasing truly quality games for a system, it'll make the other ones look obviously sub-par which will put pressure on those other developers. But until then, we'll just have to weather the storm of 'Haw-haws' from the fanboys.