Did Microsoft make a mistake agreeing to Titanfall on Xbox 360?

Titanfall is finally arriving this week on the Xbox 360. Will it cannibalize the Xbox One's sales? Sean seems to think so.

[Neonridr]

Somewhat. I mean in the end MS is still getting money from games sold on both the 360 and Xbox One. But by having it on both platforms, you are not encouraging enough people to make the jump to the next console. However, by limiting it to only the Xbox One, overall sales for the franchise would be considerably less than offering it on both consoles.

[Gazondaily]

Agreed.

3 of my mates were almost buying the X1 because of Titanfall but they've held off because of the 360 version.

[thrust]

I did not think the 360 version would look as bad as it does tbh!

Atleast the gameplay is still there tho!

[Dirtnapstor]

You think they dumbed the visuals down on purpose? Wouldn't surprise me if that was the case considering the controversy.
As I've stated before, there are plenty of 360 games that look incredible. Why shouldn't this game look up to snuff. Sure, it won't outshine it's big brother, but there's no reason for poor visuals.
Picking up my copy after work... Then I'll know for sure.

[OrangePowerz]

They do a great job of hiding the fact it comes out on the 360. That might actually cost EA sales because you see very little coverage or advertisement for the 360 version and more mainstream gamers who don't frequent gaming websites won't even know it's comming.

[N2NOther]

I wouldn't be surprised if the advertising is part of the exclusivity deal. Meaning that MS is supposed to be handling it.

[HacSawJimThugin]

I'm pretty sure 360 owners knew TF was coming due to the huge countdown posted on the homepage 2 days ago. There may not have been a huge campaign for it like the initial launch but word of mouth more than took care of that. The day I picked my copy up from Target a gentleman who told me he was 59 yrs old picked up his. If that ain't marketing power I don't know what is.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

@Orange they weren't hiding it they had a timer clocking down TF for 360 release on its Website and XBL.

[OrangePowerz]

A timer on a website that people frequent how much?

They fully downplayed the fact that it comes to the 360 constantly from advertisement to the media black out and not sending review copies or showing the game to the media.

[Mr Pumblechook]

Well said Neonridr. EA and Microsoft strongly marketed it as a must have game. If it was only available on the new Xbox then many more gamers would have bought a Xbone to play it on. However knowing that it is also coming to 360 has meant that potential Xbone buyers have decided to go for the cheaper option of just buying it on 360. Sure it may not be quite as pretty but it is a much cheaper way to experience the same game.

Microsoft realised this too late and I feel this was part of the reason why it was delayed on 360. But I honestly thought it would have sold more despite the reviews fantastic multiplayer. I suspect this is more to do with the fact that there is no single player mode.

[medman]

Microsoft made plenty of mistakes. Hopefully Phil Spencer starts correcting some of them. Stop selling gamers complete and utter bs with cloud this and Directx that and produce some content.

[NYC_Gamer]

There are tons of people out there who can't afford to upgrade to new consoles at the min..Titanfall isn't a game that runs on bleeding edge tech so might as throw it on 360 and collect profit from those guys.

[N2NOther]

There will always be tons of people that can't afford to make the jump. That's what exclusives are supposed to entice them to do. If they can't afford it yet, they don't get it yet.

I get why EA wants it, and I get why MS conceded. Still think it was a mistake when you consider that they want it to be system seller.

[micx]

I think they made a mistake not making it a true Xbox One exclusive. It would push much more people to buy or consider an Xbox One.

[Nicaragua]

I would be surprised if they had a choice. I would imagine that MS wanted it to be X1 exclusive, EA wanted sales, Xbone wouldn't have enough install base to generate the sales that EA wanted, so the deal was that they wouldn't release it for PS4 as long as they could release it for 360.

[TitanUp]

titanfall releasing on xbox 360 lets more people experience the game so more sales for ea when titanfall 2 comes out.

[mcstorm]

I think you are spot on there. This could work as a plus point for MS if they can keep titanfall an xbox exclusive (On Consoles before people start with its on pc) In the end it could work out well for both MS and EA depending on how the game is taken on the 360 and if they can do a trade up deal too for if and when people look to move to the xbox one.

[jmac53]

I'm sure even if TF2 came to the PS4 it would still be perceived as an Xbox game as MS probably has a sole advertising/DLC deal in place for any sequels. Much like COD.

[IAmSovereign]

@jmac

Nope. Activision owns CoD. They are allowed to milk it as they see fit. Respawn owns Titanfall, and they can dictate how much EA tries to milk the franchise. And, they'd be fools to keep TF2 off PS4. They originally intended Titanfall for PS4 but Microsoft made a deal behind their back with EA for full exclusivity, rather than timed.

[mcstorm]

@IAmSovereign do you know that for a fact do you that Microsoft made a deal behind their back with EA for full exclusivity? Also dose that not go against what you said about Av and cod?

I don't think titanfall will come to the ps4 but the industry is ever changing so you never know what may happen people said mgs and gta would never be on Xbox but the came so could be the same with titanfall but then again it maybe they do a gears and keep it on the Xbox n pc.

[Gamer666]

There is no mistake when you get and exclusive on your platforms and it rates 86 on Metacritic.

The cost of developing AAA games like this are high. By shipping on PC, X1, and X360 Titanfall will probably get 3-5 million in sales by the end of the year. For a new IP and platform exclusive to do that is impressive.

[MCTJim]

No, because if they did there would be sooo many people complaining MS abandoned the 360. The other plus is the install base...Hype surrounding the game for those that cant afford a next gen console are going to buy it on the 360. There is a ton of money to be made.

[Derekvinyard13]

A lot of people still have old consoles

[N2NOther]

And without incentive to get a new one, this will remain the case. Which is my entire point.

[thrust]

Yeah kids can not afford to upgrade at the drop of a hat they have to wait till birthdays or Xmas in some cases save from both!

[lemoncake]

If you are serious about playing this game then pc or x1, if you are just curious and dont own either then its nice to have the 360 option. If anything it might help sales a bit with those who like the game and want to play it with better graphics further down the line.

If anything I am a bit surprised sony didnt do it with infamous SS and put a lower graphics version on the ps3 to show it some support, since its supposed to last 10 years.

[N2NOther]

Cross-gen development hinders the current gen version because it has to be made scaleable. Without this anchor, they can achieve more. Plus, Sony wants to sell PS4s.

[stuna1]

My thing is, the Xbox 360 was also suppose to be benefited by the use of the cloud! So although they weren't able to up the resolution, I don't see why the frame rate is locked at 30!? Wasn't COD still able to maintain 60 fps!? And this was before all the talk of the cloud.

And yes I understand that someone else is doing the port, but it just seems counterproductive to have 3 different versions, doing three different frame rates, but yet all are supposedly tied into the same network.

[STK026]

I would say they had to do it. Titanfall is an Xbox exclusive on consoles, but it's still owned, published and developed by external people (EA, Respawn and the studio responsible for the X360 port).

Most AAA exclusives are likely to have a hard time turning a profit in the first year of a console, as great as inFamous is, I wouldn't be surprised if it barely breaks even, the same applies to Killzone, Forza, Ryse and Dead Rising 3. The install base of the new consoles are small, and the development costs are high. For a console manufacturer, it makes sense to develop these big games at a loss, simply because they are system movers; you need them if you ever want to stay competitive.

But for a third party like EA, it simply doesn't make any sense, and even with exclusive agreements, EA will still want to turn a profit on Titanfall. Their best chance to achieve that is by releasing the game on the X360. They did however give the Xbox One/PC versions some breathing room by having them launch about a month before the X360 version. I'd say that for EA, this is a win-win situation; they got Microsoft's money and marketing for releasing the game on the Xbox One, and they'll also be getting high sales thanks to the X360 version.

[corroios]

80 million of xbox 360 against 4 millions of Xbox 0ne... EA is not that stupid to let that go.

[N2NOther]

Totally understood, but it's going to hurt the Xbox One, which is why MS wanted it exclusively in the first place.

[erictaylorkid]

No. There are 80+ million Xbox 360's in homes and only 4 million Xbox One's. The math speaks for itself. Respawn cannot afford to neglect that large of a market.

[HacSawJimThugin]

This game is making tons of money for all parties involved. We have an idea of what the x1 and PC did at retail (physical not digital) and if at least ten percent of that 80 million buys this game...yea you get the picture.

[No_Limit]

EA is the one publishing the game so why wouldn't MS allow them to put it on the X360? Shoot, it might sell a few more X360 in the process. The XB1 is competing against the PS4 and not really the X360 itself so I don't see a problem there. Having said that, the XB1 is the one to get if you have both system or are planning to get the XB1 anyway. Best game this year thus far.

[AceBlazer13]

putting it on 360 as well maybe the only way EA would've accepted the exclusivity deal. Keeping it off PS3 ,PS4 and Wii U is one thing but throw 360 into the mix and even Microsoft might have been hesitant to write that check.

[Ninjamonkey82]

Game doesn't look half bad on the 360 I'm not gonna buy it there either lol but if its comparing being done it was never gonna be a big thing to aim for.

Titanfall was only held back not to affect sales it sucks tbh for those that own 360's but that's EA and Microsoft for you. That's one massive install base to leave out in the cold -_-.

I own each off these consoles in question and though after the beta (x1 PC) i didn't feel the game warranted the purchase. I never fought it was something the 360 could not handle.

Yeah the resolution is dropped shadows are down and textures etc but overall the titanfall experience is in tact and that's all the guys on the 360 will care about at the end off the day.

[DevilishSix]

Did MS make a mistake by agreeing on the 360 version? uh, I don't think MS really made that decision, thats more of a decision for the publisher to make to try to have a certain amount of sales and income.

[Rivitur]

No not everyone's going to buy an xbone for one game and for thoseppl they still get the game without the console.

[MasterD919]

Its a double-sided coin...they're going to make money on both console versions regardless. However, it also stops anyone from buying an Xbox One (just for Titanfall) if they have their 360's still.

I can't imagine playing Titanfall on my 360 at this point- but at least others get to enjoy it too.

[Ank666]

This is without even saying "obvious" that M$ would have tried anything within their limits to try & keep this Game exclusive for XBone ,not even wanting it to show up on PC

They haven't really seen a new killer App. Exclusive since Alan Wake(which came on PC much later)

It's just that it simply wasn't upto them to decide

They would hv had to pay a lot more money to EA/Respawn to keep it next Gen. Exclusive(XBone,PC)
& hell lot more to keep it totally exclusive to XBone

Basically pay every single dime of potential sales profit that could be made on any other platform
The more Platforms M$ excluded the more money they would have paid...simple as that

It is already rumoured by Patcher that EA & Respawn weren't really happy at the end of they day with what they got for Excluding PS4/3
They weren't really expecting Playstation to land up much more popular then XBox this Gen.
& Their maths went all wrong & potential sales on PS3/4 would have earned them much more profits at the end

Also the fact that M$ literally had to give this game out for free with ever XBone to give it a push
Even reducing the price of the base system along with free game in recent few days

It was a Solid new IP & could hv escalated to CoD & BF charm only if it was on as many platforms as possible
I Wonder if EA/Respawn would hv excepted any more money to make it more system seller for XBone

It Simply wasn't M$'s say