Next Xbox Development Woes Could Spell Trouble for the PS4

Push Square: "Microsoft is supposedly struggling. According to reports coming out of Kotaku overnight, the platform holder is as much as six months behind on producing content for its next generation console. The site’s sources claim that the company recently canned a number of internally developed titles for its impending machine because they weren't coming together as expected. However, the firm’s aiming to compensate for that by pulling out its cheque book, and is aggressively targeting third-party exclusives for its machine. That spells danger for the PlayStation 4."

[MariaHelFutura]

Sony owns enough solid developers. They'll be fine.

[Muerte2494]

Microsoft has always been know to rope in a trilogy every gen. This did it with Bungie (Halo) Epic(Gear of War). So I'm not expecting anything different. But still Sony manage to completely outpace them in terms of exclusives.

So if Microsoft was to continue this same old tactic, then by all means let them. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Microsoft feel like their gaming on xbox infinity in the back seat.

This article is making the assumption that Microsoft will be able to acquire, GTA5 as a timed exclusive. Also they're assuming that Sony's exclusives won't sell.

[Blackdeath_663]

@gameonbro
more than 90% of games on kinect are shovelware made purely to increase the numbers and add absolutely nothing to the gaming experience.
sorry but i refuse to acknowledge jumping on the spot in front of a camera as gaming. also the vast majority of kinect games are dancing and fitness games. the reason kinect games are discredited as you put it is because none cater to the core gamer.

[Army_of_Darkness]

If your including kinect games as "competitive exclusives" to ps3 games, which MUST mean you buy, play and enjoy them then i will agree with you and not discredit them. However, if you have done nothing i mentioned above, then well.. the kinect games aren't comparable exclusives to Sony's library as normal....
When we talk exclusives, you should know by now that we are talking about quality exclusives such as halo, gears, alan wake vs. God of war, uncharted, killzone and so on;-)

[AngelicIceDiamond]

I read this article somewhere last night that MS was 6 months behind in its first party stable. If I remember correctly

"The Xbox 720 delay rumors, for both hardware and software, are especially troubling considering Nintendo's Wii U console. Nintendo blames the failure of the system to catch on squarely at the foot of software, or lack thereof. And it wasn't for lack of trying: Nintendo siphoned so many resources into developing the system that the software withered on the vine and suffered severe delays that, largely, still continue. The software lineup was theoretically robust, but practically nonexistent. The same thing happened to be PS3 in its very early days. And the same seems to be happening to Xbox 720."

The Wii U is struggling with its software and PS3 did as well when it first launched. This could happen with the 720 as well.

[Enemy]

3rd party exclusives? Here we go again with "exclusives" that will be on PS4 and PC months later with exclusive content.

It's not Microsoft's if they don't own it. Poor guys still haven't learned. Try again.

[Muerte2494]

There isn't anyone putting Sony on a pedestal. People are simply pointing out that Sony edges out Microsoft in terms of exclusives. "Next Xbox Development Woes Could Spell Trouble for the PS4" is the title of the article. This piece was not meant to be a pro Sony piece.

[revben]

For all the people who really think Sony has more exclusives that MSFT are dead wrong. MSFT has the second highest amount of exclusives followed by Sony.

But you will say "but Sony has the better games". No! MSFT has a 74 metascore while Sony has a 73. Plus MSFT's exclusives sells better than Sony's. No matter what way you twist it, you cannot change facts.

The only thing Sony has over MSFT is that they have more triple A exclusives. But in terms of innovation, nothing beats XBLA.

[thechosenone]

Makes perfect sense, MS is the one who's deficient on games yet Sony will be the one who will suffer as a result...perfect logic.

[ALLWRONG]

The 360 has more exclusives even without Kinect titles. In fact in just about every category the 360 has more.

Retail
Kinect vs Move
Indie
Arcade
DLC

Deny all you want but facts are facts. There are search engines available if you need check.

Third party exclusives have helped the 360 a lot this gen so Sony should worry.

[Muerte2494]

"Third party exclusives have helped the 360 a lot this gen so Sony should worry."

Even with all that help, Microsoft has still been outsold by Sony worldwide. While still remaining the most expensive out of the 3 consoles. Also PS3 has quality over quantity.

Uncharted 2 recieved game of the year 2009

Journey received game of the year 2012

God of war 3 received best graphics in 2009

Now Braid won Game of the year in 2008 @ AoIAS awards (Academy of Interactive Arts & Science)
But even he is now in Sony's camp.

So what exactly does Sony have to worry about?

3 months after PS3 hit 77 million, Microsoft hit 77.2 million.

http://gengame.net/2013/04/...

These.........these are facts

[WeedyOne]

To all the people saying MS has more exclusives id just like to say 1 thing...

Most of those "exclusive" games are on my pc!

[pixelsword]

@ allwrong:

How about "good" exclusives, and leave it at that, huh? Please don't act like people don't own both or that that's a slap in the 360's face, or that someone can't merely go to wikipedia, but that's how it is.

[sikbeta]

Respawn Exclusive Game seems to be just the beginning then...

[MrBeatdown]

@ALLWRONG

That response of yours is always good for a laugh. The funny thing is that you keep posting it, no matter how stupid of an argument it is.

Let's take a look at some of those fine exclusives you speak of, yanked right from Wikipedia...

It's so epic, we'll have to limit it to just A's and B's.

11eyes CrossOver (Console exclusive)
A-Train HX
Absolute: Blazing Infinity
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
Akai Katana Shin
America's Army: True Soldiers
Amped 3
Apocalypse: Desire Next
AquaZone: Life Simulator
Arcania: Gothic 4 (Console exclusive)
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Battlestations: Midway (Console exclusive)
Battlestations: Pacific (Console exclusive)
Beautiful Katamari
Black College Football: The Xperience (Console exclusive)
Blue Dragon
Bomberman: Act Zero
Bullet Witch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

You a big fan of Bomberman and Black College Football? Nah, you're probably more of an AquaZone and A-Train guy. Maybe Bulletwitch. I mean, who doesn't like Bulletwitch? And of course, who can forget the GOTY contender that is 11eyes CrossOver. Isn't that a Hideo Kojima game?

You keep living up to your name. At least the PlayStation fans you so desperately want to prove wrong don't need to resort to mentioning Lair, Haze, and games so obscure, you don't even know they exist.

Come back when you can produce a list that isn't inflated by shovelware, trash, and games so obscure, not one person reading this site has ever heard of them. There are search engines to help you out.

[Knushwood Butt]

The only way I can see this being a negative for the PS4 is if some next gen multiplat titles are delayed due to these supposed XBOX development woes.

If that happens, it will impact the flow of games for the PS4.

Other than that, if true, this is only really going to spell trouble for MS.

[Army_of_Darkness]

So if you never bought, played or enjoyed infamous or god of war on your ps3, how do you even know you would or wouldn't like them??
And as for kinect games, you didn't answer my question as to wether or not you buy, play and enjoy them??

[DeadlyFire]

So Microsoft has reached out to EA for an exclusive game deal. When has EA ever released a single platform game? .....Never to my knowledge. They even took Bioware and stepped back and grabbed their old titles to port to a new platform. Respawn's game will come to PS4 as well. I myself am not worried one bit about PS4 overtaking X720.

You can't just buy in exclusive titles. That won't last forever. Activision clearly said no to Microsoft for Destiny. Now its landing on PS4 at the same time as it launches on other platforms.

[abzdine]

while MS will be showing tech demos of games techs that will never come out (Milo and Natal anyone??), Sony is delivering proofs that their studios and partners will be kicking for years to come.

[morganfell]

The only exclusive CONFIRMED material for a next gen console belongs to the PS4.

[humbleopinion]

I love it how people argue with ALLWRONG here, yet he simply asks everyone to look at the actual valid stats and facts. Some people moan how most of the stuff coming from MS is Kinect shovelware, while others complain that MS used to push out more games in the past but that trend changed in recent years.

So let's see how things stuck up on Metacritic publisher rankings - only in the last 3 years (post Kinect shovelware:
2012:
Microsoft 2nd. MC average of 73.0.
Sony 3rd. MC average of 72.3.
2011:
Microsoft 1st. MC average of 77.2.
Sony 3rd. MC average of 72.8
2010:
Microsoft 4th. MC average of 73.4
Sony 7th. MC average of 70.9

Buy hey, one may argue that we're counting here both Xbox 360, PS3, Vita and PC games. Let's see how games stuck up on console VS console

2012:
Xbox: 243 games. Avg 69.5. 7 great games. 8 good exclusives.
PS3: 204. Avg 70.3. 6 great games. 6 good exclusives.
2011:
Xbox: 261 games. Avg 68.9. 9 great games. 12 good exclusives.
PS3: 253. Avg 69.5. 12 great games. 13 good exclusives.
2010:
Xbox: 260 games. Avg 67.8. 9 great games. 13 good exclusives.
PS3: 231. Avg 70. 7 great games. 12 good exclusives.
Pretty tight competition, huh?

Overall good games (75% ranking and up) in 3 years:
Xbox 101 + 112 + 101 = 314
PS3: 101 + 96 + 83 = 280
Great Xbox games: 7+9+9=25
Great PS3 games: 6+12+7=25
Good Xbox exclusives: 8+12+13=33
Good PS3 exclusives: 6+13+12=31
(BTW, The exclusive list excludes "console exclusives" which are basically PC ports - such as The Witcher 2. Something which could have given the Xbox an extra edge for people who don't bother with PC gaming).

So overall, in the past 3 years (2010-2012) people had 314 good Xbox 360 games to play versus 280 good PS3 games to play. And in all metrics, the Xbox 360 is on par or surpassing the PS3: be it publisher rankings, number of good exclusives or number of good games: no matter how MC cuts the data - the Xbox 360 is still coming on top.

And as Muerte2494 puts it:
"These.........these are facts"

(and before someone here bashed MC: you can always come up with your own metrics instead and share the data with us. Until you do that though...)

[MonkeyNinja]

@ loulou

http://n4g.com/user/blogpos...

Don't blame the mods.

[MrBeatdown]

@humbleopinion

If ALLWRONG wants to take issue with people discussing quality exclusives, he should present relevant numbers. Nobody wants to play crap, so why use a list that includes it?

Not only that, but he's using Microsoft's publishing Metacritic score, alongside a list of all exclusives. MS's average rating doesn't apply to third-party exclusives.

Also, nobody criticizes XBLA or PSN games. They're fine. Always have been. But they aren't a replacement for the big budget $60 games people want too. And ALLWRONG's "proof" ignores that fact.

The problem people have with Microsoft, is the lack of retail exclusives nowadays (something especially important to multiplatform owners), and when you look at those specific numbers, it's clear who is doing better.

I'm not even going to attempt to compile a list of every last third-party exclusive, so I'll just use first-party lists from Wikipedia from 2010 on, using Metacritic scores, excluding everything but $50 - $60 retail games, for PS3 and 360 only. I left out HD remasters, and retail releases of DLC games like Journey. I didn't pay close attention to "console exclusivity", but this includes Alan Wake (console exclusive), but not DC Universe, and I'm too lazy to adjust it one way or the other. Alan Wake was 360 only for a couple years anyway.

Sources...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

First, the games...
2010: MS - 9, Sony - 14
2011: MS - 6, Sony - 16
2012: MS - 9, Sony - 8
2013: MS - 1, Sony - 3
Total: MS - 25, Sony - 41

Average Metacritic scores...
2010: MS - 72, Sony - 69.2
2011: MS - 80.7, Sony - 71
2012: MS - 74.1, Sony - 73.6
2013: MS - 79, Sony - 81
2010-2013: MS - 75.1, Sony - 71.9

Sony wins on quantity. Microsoft wins on average quality.

But here's the kicker... When you have more games, as Sony does, players don't need to waste time on the crap. More games means more good and bad games. But gamers can focus on the good.

MS had 25 games total with an average of 75.1 on Metacritic.
Sony's top 25 games had an average of 81.9.

Sony's best 25 trumps Microsoft's 25 by a big margin of nearly 7%.

Even worse, on the MS side, only 9 of those 25 games can be played by without Kinect. Combined, those nine games have an average score of 83.6

On the Sony side, 22 of those top 25 games can be played without Move. Those 22 have a combined average of 82.4, just 1.2% shy of MS's average for their controller-based games. When it comes to controller based games, Sony flat-out obliterates Microsoft in quantity, offering more than double what MS offers, with only the slightest hit to quality.

If you look at just Sony's top 9 controller-based games, they average 87.4, compared to MS's average of all nine controller-based games, 83.6. Again, Sony wins by a notable margin of almost 4 points.

It's pretty clear, at least on the first party side, Microsoft is clearly lagging behind Sony, especially in controller-based games, which is exactly what people take issue with. It's a complaint, because it's a very real issue.

Throw third-party games in there, and I doubt the situation changes all that much. The notable ones are so few and far between, they aren't going to skew the results any one way or the other.

[humbleopinion]

@MrBeatdown,

You're making two biased assumptions here to manipulate the data towards your favorite:

1) For some reason, you decide to ignore third party publisher exclusive games for each platform in order to decide which console has a better selection of games.
The real kicker? This is EXACTLY what this article is about, and exactly the point AllWrong raised himself. Quote:
"Third party exclusives have helped the 360 a lot this gen so Sony should worry"
Maybe you still don't understand: nobody cares how who the publisher is as long as the game is good. Microsoft and Sony can choose to pay salaries to an internal studio to develop a game (Forza, Gran Turismo), hire an external developer (Gears of War, Heavy Rain) or sign a 3rd party exclusivity deal (Splinter Cell Conviction, Metal Gear Solid 4).
The only thing that matter for the user base is how good the game is: the fact the The Witcher 2 for example is published by a third party is irrelevant - the only think that relevant is what a superb RPG this game is, and that you can play it on one platform but not on the other.

2) You somehow make the assumption that people should distinguish between different kinds of games based on how they are distributed (kind of surprising knowing how Sony especially is blending the lines between the two with many PS3 games getting a multiple retail and download release as well as PSV release.
Minecraft for example is a 20$ XBLA game, but it probably provides more content than almost any retail Xbox 360 or PS3 game to date (and sold more than most of them). Why should it be ignored?
Trials Revolution is a Pseudo 2D game with an enormous amount of content not to mention editing and sharing - just like LBP. Is it somehow Microsoft's fault they decided to distribute it digitally and not charge 60$ for the retail package?
Journey won quite a few 2012 GOTY including at GDC and BAFTA IIRC. Should we ignore it simply because it's a digital download? It's still the best exclusive on the PS3 in 2012 by far.
Microsoft released over 40 XBLA games in 2012. Among these are Dust, Fez, Minecraft, Mark of the Ninja, American Nightmare, Trials Evolution and Spelunky: well received, deep hardcore experiences, surpassing many 60$ retail games with the experience they provide.
And you're saying now "let's ignore all of these, and instead focus on retail only", so we can talk about... what exactly? Book of Spells and Kinect Star Wars!?

If you want to skew the numbers towards Sony you can simply say it: "While I love my PSN games, I know that Sony only published less than 5 PSN games in 2012 while Microsoft published over 40, so I'll try to make a sad excuse to ignore them".

But the discussion here is about high quality games without discrimination: no matter the format, no matter the company logo. If it's a good game - it's worth our time and money. And the facts are that one console has more games than the other.

[MrBeatdown]

@humbleopinion

Biased, huh? I see you didn't take the time to do an unbiased equivalent. Probably because it doesn't change the outcome. Ignorance is bliss, right?

Microsoft and Sony are the biggest creators of quality exclusive games on their systems, by far, so what I covered is the vast majority of what's out there that's worth a damn. I even acknowledged I didn't cover third party games, but said I doubt it would change the outcome, because it's the truth. A truth you didn't seem to want to take the time to actually disprove.

For all your complaining about me leaving out third party games, you only managed to name a measly two retail games for 360, and even that's a stretch, considering they're on PC as well.

Witcher 2 and Splinter Cell. An 88 and 85. There's a reason you only named those. They're the only two worth a damn for the 2010-2013 period we covered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

See anything else noteworthy? I see a whole lot of trash.

How about the most recent batch of third party 360 exclusives...

Dragon Ball Z for Kinect. A 49.
Harry Potter for Kinect. 54.
Steel Battalion. 38.
Country Dance AllStars... so irrelevant, only OXM (surprise, surprise) rated it. A 65.
Sesame Street. A 79.
Rapala for Kinect... so irrelevant, nobody reviewed it.
Victorious: Time to Shine... so irrelevant, nobody reviewed it.
YooStar on MTV... A 49

That's a year and a half of ALL third-party exclusives during that time. I could throw the "console exclusive" Witcher 2 in. Think that will help? The average for all those, Witcher 2 included? 60.3.

Have I proven my point, or are you still deluding yourself into thinking third party exclusives would help? They'd drive the average score right into the dirt.

These are the games that ALLWRONG so brilliantly uses to win his little "but, but, but... the 360 HAZ MORE!!" argument.

Like I said, a pure quantity argument encompasses a big steaming pile of garbage. A pile of garbage guys like you and ALLWRONG are more than willing to roll around in if it gives you something to defend 360 with, no matter how pathetic of an argument it is.

I didn't cover the only TWO 2010-2013 360 third-party retail "console exclusives" worth a damn that you or I could come up with. I didn't include actual PS3 exclusives, Ni No Kuni (86), or Yakuza games (78 and 79) either. Because, just like I said, it's but a drop in the bucket, and not going to change the results in any meaningful way. My proven point stands... Everyone bringing up the lack of exclusives on 360, and from MS, is referring to a very real problem, and ALLWRONG's big list padded with garbage games doesn't change that.

Sorry.

[MrBeatdown]

Oh, and as for downloadable games, you act like I made a total "biased" assumption that the people ALLWRONG responded to weren't discussing them, even though the article only mentioned retail games, and nobody but the guy who brought up XBLA mentioned downloadable titles. You however, assumed they are included in what everyone here was referring to, article included, but nobody aside from the guy who brought up XBLA to shoot everyone down mentioned any. You made a bigger assumption than I did.

Either way, the fact of the matter is, it's ridiculous that you act like retail and downloadable can't be distinguished. There's a reason they aren't $60. You fall back on the argument that "games are games". Acting like people shouldn't complain about the lack of retail games because there are XBLA games is as absurd as suggesting they shouldn't be complaining about a lack of racing games because there's a ton of shooters to play. Mark my words, the vast majority of games shown at the Xbox reveal will be retail. There is a reason for that. You'll be lucky if you see one XBLA game there, just like every E3.

And I love your idiotic jab at me...

-----
If you want to skew the numbers towards Sony you can simply say it: "While I love my PSN games, I know that Sony only published less than 5 PSN games in 2012 while Microsoft published over 40, so I'll try to make a sad excuse to ignore them".
-----

You act like me specifying retail games is in response to (what you seem to think is) Sony's lackluster downloadable lineup. Ignorance at it's finest. For one thing, it's flat out hypocritical that you act like third-party is such a big deal when it comes to retail (even though I proved that wrong), then play up the fact that MS published 40 games, versus Sony's five on their online stores, and ignore third-party published downloadable games.

But the real funny part... MS requires a publisher. They'll even publish multiplatform games. Sony doesn't. Devs can self-publish. Sine Mora? Joe Danger? Spelunky? On PSN. Yeah... you reeeaaally got me. Sorry, but using a list of games, including multiplats, bloated on 360 because of Microsoft's publishing requirements, doesn't exactly make for the best troll attempt.

But let's not leave your "excuse to ignore them" theory just swirling in the bowl. Let's send it right down the hole. Let's look at 2013 downloadable games...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

26 games released on XBLA.
36 released on PSN.

Yeah, clearly a lack of PSN games is my "excuse to ignore them". Brilliant.

*slow clap*

[avengers1978]

If MS is having problems... How is that trouble for PS4??? Right now Sony has already shown me enough to make PS4 a day one purchase for me with KZSF and infamous second son, both exclusive games, not timed exclusive, not exclusive content.

[Blackdeath_663]

they do have exclusive content on watch dogs i am just glad sony isn't doing timed exclusives because that is just silly.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

These and Watch Dogs will be a man's first 3 first party games. A man still has to see more of Knack but it is also a strong candidate for adoption. A man's PS3 library is over half exclusives and with the same great studios coming back for PS4 a man doesn't see that changing. He looks forward to new IP from Guerilla, SSM, ND, SP, Insomniac, and MM on PS4 as well as the potential return of old favorites like Jak, Sly, Ratchet, LBP, Uncharted, and GoW.

[MysticStrummer]

@Blackdeath - Who says that Watch Dogs PS exclusive content content isn't timed? It most likely is.

I can sort of see the point of the article. If MS is behind on games and decides to buy devs to make up for it, it could certainly impact Sony. For me, the devs Sony already has are enough to keep me a PS guy but more fickle fans might see it differently. I guess the main question, besides how all those negative 720 rumors turn out, is whether what MS buys is timed or a real exclusive.

[loulou]

jaqen hghar

is that how his name is spelt in the books?? i cant remember now as i am on the 5th book..

[Blackdeath_663]

@MysticStrummer
multiple ubisoft games had 60 min of exclusive content for the ps3 most notably the assassins creed games. the new one black flag also confirmed to have 60min of exclusive content (source: http://uk.gamespot.com/news... ) none of the previous examples of exclusive content on ubisoft games for the ps3 were timed so it doesn't take a genius to notice there is a pattern forming

[DeadlyFire]

Funny part about Sony is that only 5 games have been showcased so far. PS3 nearly had 15-20 games at its E3 debut shown off. :)

[OlgerO]

Microsoft is paying developers big sums of money to keep their almost finished titles away from the PS4. Sony funds and makes entire new exclusives that would otherwise not exist.

[Gazondaily]

Please provide a link to prove your sweeping statement.

[pixelsword]

@ septic:

For the first part, I think that's what this article is basically speculating.

As far as the other games not existing part, 8 days would be a candidate, I think:

http://www.gamingunion.net/...

8 days looks to be a replacement for GTA's exclusivity.

[Silly gameAr]

@Septic

I think this current gen is proof enough of what OlgerO is saying. Just look at games like Skyrim, RE6, Tomb Raider, and COD for proof. I doubt they'll change their strategy up to much for the next gen. They'll most likely just buy more timed dlc or a game from a dev that's already almost complete.

[fr0sty]

Microsoft is the one in trouble here, as that check book is only going to get them some exclusivity contracts that the third party publisher's team of lawyers will non-stop try to find a loophole in so they can sell it to another console as well. Look at Mass Effect, Ninja Gaiden Sigma (they just renamed the game to get around that contract), Bioshock, etc... All games MS paid good money to be exclusive that wound up on PS3. They even had to watch Bungie walk out on PS4's stage and reveal their next game before it was even mentioned on the new Xbox.

MS tried this approach before and it hasn't worked out well for them. The only reason they still sold well is that PS3 is a pain in the ass to program for, so in many cases the multiplat games looked or played better on Xbox. Next gen Microsoft will not enjoy that same advantage, so I don't see this ending well for them. They need to beef up their first party studios with developers who have released proven AAA titles.

[_-EDMIX-_]

though I agree with you that Microsoft should be building up there party studios, I disagree with the notion that these exclusives were lost through contracts loopholes. The Mass Effect IP was never owned at all at any point by Microsoft. Bioware owned that IP and then it was sold to EA at no point did Microsoft ever own or have any power over that IP. these are all facts that can be looked up. Microsoft merely published Mass Effect and even the publishing rights where sold to EA in May 2008.

Mass Effect was published by EA for PC in 2008. by May 2008 Microsoft had 0 ownership over anything Mass Effect. even with Ninja Gaiden Microsoft merely publishing the game they had no ownership over the series or even the IP. so there is no confusion at Microsoft over these games appearing on other systems in fact I think it's obviously implied that the point of this tactic is to make it seem as if there is no place other than a Microsoft System to own these games they're merely trying to get the initial sales of the game to sell units they could care less where the game goes 2 years from now

There point is to try to get people to buy 360's or 720s under the false understanding that is going to be the only place to find games like Bioshock Lost Planet Ninja Gaiden etc. I don't think Microsoft at all is under the impression that these games will stay on the system's 100 percent exclusively. it's why they just merely purchased publishing rights and not the intellectual property.

its why even despite the game appearing on a competitor's system month or a year later you still see Microsoft working with Osain publishers. It's because it was very intended plan to only have it on the system for 6 months to a year. but this plan is becoming quite stale at this point many people know when they hear the word exclusive it really means timed ( unless the developer and the ip are owned by first party publisher) so at this point if its true which is most likely is I'll just wait a year before I play respawns game. no one is falling for Microsoft BS what they should be doing is spending money building first party studios I always love how they try to create this false allusion of having something exclusively. at the end of the day does it really matter got it first? If Microsoft does nothing but spend money on timed games will just end up like what we got this generation at the end of the day everyones getting the same games but Microsoft gets less. I don't know what Microsoft is giving you their just taking it away from another system to give people false sense of justification for purchasing a new Microsoft System. I'll see what all the fuss is about six months to a year later lol

I'm sorry but MS is not MAKING EA's new game so....why should one feel like MS is GIVING them something they would not have had? So...by a system for 1 years of a game being one one platfrom as suppose to just waiting that one year and getting it on another? I mean, this year is so packed full of games, I just don't care what ReSpawn makes or what timed games MS gets......I'm not getting a 720 FOR A TIMED 3RD PARTY GAME! If MS can show me something cool in there first party studios not Kinect or Illumiroom or any of that crap, if they can show me some new IP's....I'll be interested, but to buy a system for 2 new IP's, mind you by MS no less, is a tough sell. They have to truly WOW me and show me they are commented to the new IP.

[Pherros]

"The only reason they still sold well is that PS3 is a pain in the ass to program for, so in many cases the multiplat games looked or played better on Xbox."

I agree fr0sty, things seem as if they will play out a lot differently for Xbox. Especially sense the PS4 will be much easier to develop for.

[Ju]

Yeah! Way to go in turning this into a PS4 issue when actually MS is 6 month behind. Not biased, heard it all I guess.../s

[Aceman18]

personally i don't care if microsoft pays to get Respawn game exclusive, or timed exclusive. it will not persuade me to purchase the 720 or whatever its going to be called.

i'm not going to pay full price of $60 to half the game because i still refuse to pay to play online. plus microsoft's reliance on spending for 3rd party stuff instead of funding new ips doesnt give me much confidence that they take my hobby serious enough.

[Kaneda]

Isn't that what they did last gen! Nothing new here...

[OmegaSlayer]

NEXTBOX will mean trouble for Sony anyway, it won't made Sony life easy in any way.
The theatre of war is only the US anyway where people still didn't understood Sony's reliability both as hardware and software provider.

[Convas]

"Microsoft is supposedly struggling"

And there ends my involvement with this story. May 21st is but 3 weeks away. I'll form my opinions there.

[a_squirrel]

But it's almost definitely confirmed supposedly! Maybe.

[Hicken]

The only problem is that there's no guarantee we'll find that out on the 21st, or even a little while later at E3.

To the article, I don't think it'll be any sort of trouble for Sony, as they've got a pretty good stable of third party exclusive partners, as well as ample in-house studios.

[Godmars290]

Actually the title's as misleading as the article itself is all over the place. It talks about MS 3rd party exclusives, but then goes on to site ME as an example despite it being multiplatform now.

[Cueil]

Mass Effect is as much a Microsoft exclusive as MGS series belongs to Sony... it'll always be associated with Microsoft who helped make the series the hit is was

[trouble_bubble]

@cueil

Not even close. MS had one exclusive mass effect game but even that came to ps3 eventually with an upgrade to performance. All 3 are on ps3 now, Ps3 even got the ME1 digital comic first. PC had everything day and date with xbox.

Meanwhile mgs1, mgs portable ops, mgs4 are all canon yet remain sony exclusives. Even mgs rising has exclusive ps3 dlc vr missions, while ac!d remains a psp exclusive. Raiden is playable in exclusive ps all stars battle royale, definitely not the same thing.

[_-EDMIX-_]

....I laughed. Before Mass Effect was even released it was known that EA would be owning the series. Mass Effect was barely a timed exclusive by then. At least games like Bioshock had a year or so before anyone knew of a PS3 version, By Oct 2007 EVERYONE knew there would be a PC and PS3 version.

Umm..HELLO EA OWNS IT! LOL! I can't even understand how anyone can say Mass Effect is a "3rd party exclusive" it was never mean't by EA to remain on 360 exclusively so....I'm not sure why one would call it a "timed exclusive" or "3rd party exclusive" in that respect.

@Cueil....no...just no. Bioware made Mass Effect and owned the IP...not MS. Had Bioware had been with another publisher, Mass Effect would be just fine.

Just saying...Mass Effect 2 is the best in the series....not made or publisher under MS BY EA! LOL!

When this is all done and over with and Mass Effect next gen is shown, I don't think many gamers will even remember that Mass Effect 1 at some point was a 360 exclusive.

[TheLyonKing]

Its a competetive market so it is woe for both bringing out consoles but great for consumers.

I am very interested to see sales between both games since they are being realeased at the same time.

[Minato-Namikaze]

If this gen is anything to go by then MS will start to lag behind pretty soon.

[hellvaguy]

Under that same logic of this gen, ms will jump off to a huge lead. Obviously u cant pick and choose tid bits to screwer your "facts" because this next gen has alot of positives going that last didnt.

[Natso]

@hellvaguy

Umm, no. The 360 had a year long headstart on the PS3, with the PS3 catching up in sales.

You're not using "logic", you're using favoritism.

And wth is "screwer"? That's not even in the English language.

[NYC_Gamer]

There is no reason why people should listen to rumors that from web sites that are known to pick up anything for hits

[OC_MurphysLaw]

@NYC_Gamer what I find a bit funny is supposedly the mods are hammering down on rumor articles from "anonymous" sources. They Actually failed the stories from Kotaku on this rumor yesterday and approve opinion pieces on the very same failed rumor source. Doesn't make sense to me.

Dont post the anonymous rumor on the site but you can have an opinion article on that rumor. <shakes head>

[Knight_Crawler]

The mods on this site are the worst mods I have ever seen...sometimes I think they let articles like this slide becuase in reality flambait and rumor articles generate more hits.

I never understood why the mods banned HipHopGamer but keep site like this alive on N4G.

I hope a mod is reading this becuase you guys should be a shame of yourselfs.

[MysticStrummer]

"sometimes I think they let articles like this slide becuase in reality flambait and rumor articles generate more hits."

You only think that sometimes? I think it's pretty obvious that N4G's bread and butter is flambait and fanboy reaction to it.

[DragonKnight]

It is amazing how little people know about how the mod system actually works here. You'd be surprised at how few articles get failed by mods in comparison to the community, and even fewer are approved by the mods. Mods get 10 votes towards approval, which means an instant approval for any article they wish, take a look through the approvals and see how many they've actually approved.

[Nate-Dog]

@Knight Crawler: The simple fact is we can't spot everything as we can't all be on at the one time. If people don't report articles then we won't see them all but a lot of people just complain about articles or other users and don't report them, so the chances are with the amount of traffic the site gets we won't see everything.

@DragonKnight: I can't speak for any other mods but the reason why I don't approve articles much now I'm a mod is because of the instant approval an article gets. If I approve an article that has 0 heat then chances are no-one will see it, so I let the community contributors decide if it's worthy to get to the front page or not.

[jetlian]

wondering when will nate dogg take this duplicate, anonymous sources article down.

What does MS being behind on games have to do with sony or even 3rd party. Watch dogs is probably done so it has no bearing on 720

[Roper316]

hopefully a untrue rumor but is does sound like the typical MS way of doing things.

[izumo_lee]

This is Microsoft so it wouldn't be surprising if this exclusive deals are of the 'timed' variety. They did it with GTA & COD to name a few & it worked so they'll probably do it again.

[Minato-Namikaze]

It probbaly wont even be the game, just DLC......which is even worse. Exclusive DLC doesnt sway video game pruchases all that much.

[Dfooster]

Ill eat my hat if gran turismo launches on ps3. Especially as the next forza is as good as confirmed for the next gen Xbox.

[Monkeysmarts]

I think you'll be eating your hat then. DriveClub will be the PS4 racer.

Besides, it would take PD another 5 years to make the game for PS4 lol...

[HiddenMission]

@Monkeysmarts
You do realize every developer that has a confirmed PS4 game has come out and said what took months to make on the PS3 takes weeks now. Yeah with that in mind and the new found power of the PS4 if the next GT hits PS3 then it won't be 5 years for the following title to hit PS4 but more like 2 or 3 tops.

[Monkeysmarts]

Polyphony Digital will find a way to make it take 5 years.

[NarooN]

The moment I saw "supposedly" and Kotaku, the article lost all credibility for me.

[Sevir]

Kotaku's Rumors and sources are pretty legit when they report as it gets confirmed with minor details being a little off the mark.

They reported about MAG months before its reveal at E3 They reported about PS Home before it was revealed. They were pretty accurate about DMC being developed by Ninja Theory many moons ago, The Hardware of the PS4 and its functionality of it was pretty well reported, and the same is likely to follow suit for MS and the Xbox.

As much as Kotaku does spew sensationalism type articles, they are very credible.

And this News that MS is inking deals because their internal studios aren't producing well enough is no surprise. MS did this in the last generation.

And its more believable when MS said Games will not be shown at the Xbox reveal and will be shown at their June 10th Event! So stop reading all you want, there is plenty of evidence that supports the notion here that MS is once again throwing bricks of money at 3rd party studios to produce content for the next Xbox. It's how MS has ran its game business for 2 generations of Xbox.

[MariaHelFutura]

100%

Like N4G, people only like to see the bad. To be fair though, it can get pretty bad sometimes.

[Monkeysmarts]

I don't see how this spells trouble for PS4. Sony's exclusives more than hold their own and we already know there will be no lack of 3rd party support from both major studios and indies. MS does what MS does and that is drop a dump truck of cash on a publisher for exclusive content or timed exclusive content. It is what it is. PS3 did fine with this practice and PS4 will be more than fine.

Unless they get Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Madden exclusive it's not going to hurt squat. Core gamers will have plenty to play.

[-Falaut-]

unrelated but important

everytime I look at your account pic, its like a tiny 5-10 sec acid trip. Thank you sir.

[NobleTeam360]

Like? Gran Turismo and Uncharted are the only heavy hitters on PlayStation. Unless their is something else that has the potential to sell 5+ million copies.

[sway_z]

I can believe Microsoft are 6 months behind with Next Xbox game development, and I also believe they will launch after PS4, as late as Feb or March 2014.

Microsoft have distracted themselves with this whole 'entertainment' 'always on' thing. They have split the Xbox division into two. One for Games, one for Entertainment.

Seriously, are you really surprised there are delays to games, when they have been spending (you hope) 50% of time and resources building an illuminated Movie Theatre and TV studio?? ...this is a company that wants (reportedly) to resurrect the (cool) but (we've moved on now) TV series 'Heroes' and 'Lost'

Think!

Yes, Microsoft will show some amazing trailers and demo/ videos of next gen games currently in production, and when E3 hits, some of those titles will be slightly more advanced.

They owe it to their fanbase to prove the rumours wrong @XboxEvent

[maddfoxx]

They want to resurrect Heroes? Everyone who watched that show knows it went down hill after the first season.

[josephayal]

The Next-Gen Console Wars has begun

[MysticStrummer]

They began months ago.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

Can't wait to see their E3 Press Conferences and Interviews (and I also want to see how Nintendo's new way of doing E3 works out for them).

1 Month and some days!

PS
I hope whatever happens that they don't lose sight of the industry and start deploying underhanded tactics that could slowly bring the industry down.

I don't want the Atari vs Intellivision annihilation all over again.

[Minato-Namikaze]

They already started that this gen with their "anti-competition policy" which basically protected their inferior tech. With sony stepping up their game with the ps4 then hopefully then can get devs to ignore that policy.

[Ken22]

I'm staying out of this one... http://youtu.be/9QGQtJL7hSk

[GraveLord]

No smart 3rd party developers will agree to an exclusivity deal. It is damaging to franchises that plan on going multi-platform down the line.

[illtornworld]

When i seen KOTAKU in fine print i didnt bother reading.

[MasterCornholio]

Supposedly the next Xbox is rumored to have better development tools than the PS4 and its also rumored that its easier to develop games for than the PS4.

If said rumors are true than why are 1st party studios struggling to make games for the console?

Anyways this is just a rumor and the Xbox reveal will happen within 1 month and by then we will know the answers to some of these rumors.

Motorola RAZR i

[Nodoze]

Time for Sony to play hard ball. If EA inks crazy exclusives, Sony should prevent them from releasing ANY games on PS3 of PS4. That would cripple EA significantly (especially outside of US).

Let MS throw their wallet around. The curse of the 3rd generation is going to bite them in the ass. Watch and see. Xbox will be a shadow of it's former self this next generation.

[PunisherRevenge]

Wooooow!!!! That is the dumbest idea I have ever heard. Why would Sony do something that stupid? If they did something like that it would really give Microsoft the upper hand next gen.

[JeffGUNZ]

I am so tired of these types of articles. Since MS is trying to get respawns game, now "leaked" rumors come out saying they don't have any first party games ready. Give me a break. Lets think about this. What made COD a monster? COD4MW, right? The reason it's still popular is because people hope to get a true sequel from it. Who were the backbone to that company? That's right, the guys who left and are in respawn. COD has made MS so much money, common sense indicates they would try and lock these guys down because they know that this game is going to be special.

[vishmarx]

both will do just fine.//discussion

[CEOSteveBallmer]

So the point of the article is that Microsoft may start buying 3rd party exclusives. But its an opinion on the authors side. So stealing exclusives again? I dont think so. If what the source said is true then it seems microsoft really is having a hard time producing "New IPs" and instead rely on 3rd party exclusives which is kind of lame. I have the feeling about microsofts xbox team is having in mind. "Why make it hard for us to create exclusive games with our own studios when we can pay other 3rd party devs to make it for us"? But that depends on the thinking of a company. If they side with one console maker, in a business point of view, they will lose "potential" income since not everyone will have the same console. Its a risk. that's why there are very few third party exclusives. I don't know if this will really hurt sony but well see. I think Sony also has an Ace in the hole if microsoft have a trick up their sleeve.

[Veneno]

I believe, and I think Microsoft know this pretty well, that buying exclusives at the beginning of the gen is very beneficial because there is the initial "wow we are in the next gen" factor . The gaming masses, journalists included, will be impressed.

The best example of this is GTA 4. Yes 4. MS had a huge edge waving around the timed exclusive content for THE game everyone was waiting for to make a next gen debut. But after all the major games of the previous generatio had finally made it to the present gen, it was pretty clear what to expect. There were no longer any surprises. We knew the limits of the 360. There wss no way we could be fooled anymore after GTA4.

So sadly its still very possible for MS to pullout its checkbook and start nabbing up 3rd party games.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

For the record...this is not an Opinion article...this is 100% a RUMOR article off of an anonymous source from Kotaku.

Stay frosty N4G

[Veneno]

You worry too much.

[sync90]

I think the way MS hasn't invested enough into developing great studios has bit them on the ass. Sony on the other hand has done nothing but invest in dev's and new ip's. i truly believe they will have a huge advantage next gen when it comes to games. MS will you ever learn?

[Jek_Porkins]

It'll be competitive for the simple fact that for the first time since the 16 bit era, both the next Xbox and PlayStation will be very similar in a lot of ways.

Power
Share feature
Camera
Functions and applications
Games/over 90% of third party games will be exactly the same.

So it will just come down to preference, and a lot of people like PlayStation's first party games, and I cant blame them, the quality is just phenomenal, I'd look for a pretty even generation where all is concerned, which just means Microsoft and Sony will give us gamer's better games, and better deals.

Game on!

[Campy da Camper]

I agree. It all boils down to personal preference. For me, I'm not into motion stuff or social media. I just want to sit down grab a controller and play awesome games. So far, Sony has my attention. This last gen I really enjoyed all their exclusives. Infamous and uncharted and little big planet are top notch games. Plus the multiplats like fallout, etc are bonus.

With hearing devs say how much easier the PS 4 is to code for then I just expect more games with better quality. MS would have to come out with some real surprises in the game dept for me to consider buying their next console.

Side note: on the 360 release date I slept outside best buy. I was on their team til the ps3 hit its stride. Add in a couple rrod and the release on the MGS4 ps3 bundle n I have never looked back.

[imt558]

"It'll be competitive for the simple fact that for the first time since the 16 bit era, both the next Xbox and PlayStation will be very similar in a lot of ways.

Power"

Very similar... NOT! PS4 FTW!!!:)

[dcbronco]

Interesting idea but I doubt there is anything to it. I don't think there is anything to the rumor that MS is six months behind either. But for MS to buy exclusivity on major titles it would cost a ton of money. They could buy new studios for less. CoD sells ten million plus on the PS. It would cost MS 500 million or more to get exclusivity. Buying lesser games like Respawn's new IP would be possible because they have no track record on that IP. They could be buying traditionally PC game ports. A few million to a dev to get a port of a game never intended for consoles.

But none of it matters to me since I don't believe the six month rumor is true. There have been reports of devs working on 720 games for 3 or 4 years now. I doubt if anyone is behind.

[Sevir]

But this one is pretty laughable much like the one saying Sony is making a mistake launching the PS4 with New IPs instead of established well known ones. As if The PS3 launched with Well known Established IPs.

None the less this article doesn't make sense. Last Generation, people called the PS3 a paper weight because Sony stopped courting 3rd party studios for exclusive while MS backed up the Dump truck and poured the money on the studio's lawn, and look where we are, LBPs, Uncharteds, Infamous, Resistances, Motorstorms, Beyond, MAG, Heavy Rain, Killzones, Gravity Rush...

For every one 3 rd party Exclusive MS announces Sony counters with 3 in-house/second party exclusive. And that trend is going forward briskly this gen. There were 4 in house PS4 exclusives announced and we already know more will be announced at E3 , both Quantic and Guerrilla have unannounced new PS4 IPs in development and they've been vocal about that.

So to insinuate that it spells trouble for Sony because MS is handing out "Blank Checks" so to speak is just plain funny!
Sony Still gets 3rd party exclusives, this gen has shown it, and they'll continue that this New gen and it'll only make the system attractive. Try a little better Push Square.

[TheOneEyedHound]

They could spell trouble's huh?!

[TheKayle1]

is just a way ...to do it

sony pay first party/second partydevs to keep their games ps exclusives naughty dog..guerrilla etc etc...

ms pay first party/second party/third party to produce exclusive

wtf difference u think theres between 3rd or first party? they r just devs....first party r just into a long contract...

[OC_MurphysLaw]

@TheKayle1 someone who gets it.

[MariaHelFutura]

TheKayle & Dlacy13, 2 people who just don't get it and I'm not going to insult any of our levels of intelligence by explaining it to either of you.

Good day.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

@MariaHelFutura... quite the contrary. I do get it. I don't discount the fact that being 1st party has definite advantages / privileges... doesn't make them better devs just that they have more resources.

When you are talking exclusive games, 1st party devs, 2nd party and 3rd party ultimately are basically just employed by the publisher. Some have long term / life time agreements (1st party), others will have a more timed contractual obligation (2nd & 3rd party devs).

You can insult me all you want, I know our views often don't agree and that is ok.

Good day to you.

[Taker_129]

First party are studios owned by said console maker. (Media Molecule, Guerrilla Games, 343 Studios etc.)

Third party are studios that produce content for multiple consoles and usually owned by/contracted with a publisher.(EA, Activision, 2K Games, etc.)

Second Party are studios that make games for a console maker, but are not owned by them. (D3, QD, Epic with Gears of War, etc.)

There are some exceptions but this is just a general idea what those terms mean.

[PunisherRevenge]

Actually EA and Activision are publishers. The only third party on your list is 2k games.

[Jazz4108]

Good point

[MrBeatdown]

There's a big difference.

You used Guerrilla and Naughty Dog as examples. Those studios were no name developers before working with Sony. Just like with all their first-party studios, and even many of the third party developers they publish for, they only became what they are with Sony's support. They enabled developers who didn't have much going for them to create big budget, memorable titles. They didn't go to them after they already made it big, and wave cash in front of them in exchange for cancelling an Xbox version.

The simplest way of putting it is, we have Uncharted, Infamous, LittleBigPlanet, MotorStorm, God of War, and Killzone, among others, because Sony gave new developers the support they needed to succeed. Without Sony's publishing, odds are we wouldn't have those games. The same goes for Microsoft when it comes to the likes of Bungie, Turn 10, or 343.

That's a business strategy of creation.

On the other hand, you have a studio with as much talent as Respawn, which is already supported by one of the biggest publishers in the world, and didn't need Microsoft to get their game to where it needed to be to succeed. We would have undoubtedly seen Respawn's game on PlayStation and Xbox.

Now, if the rumors are true, all the gaming world gets from Microsoft's involvement, is one less game on PlayStation. That doesn't benefit Xbox gamers. All it does it take away from PlayStation gamers.

That's a business strategy of destruction.

There isn't a single gamer that benefits from that. Xbox gamers would have gotten the game anyway. All that's different now, is that PlayStation doesn't get the game.

Microsoft could have let Respawn do their thing with EA, and put whatever money they used to can a PS version into supporting a small start-up, or for example, saving a THQ studio from closure, and helping them reach a point where their game could be the next Halo or Killzone.

[dafegamer]

there is nothing to worry about, Sony has enough capable developers. Media Molecule, Naughty Gods, Santa Monica and Guerrila Games have created one the highest acclaimed games ever made

[smashcrashbash]

@ TheKayle1.I think paying for exclusives and actually owning the company is two different things.Paying to keep exclusives means that at any point they can decide to let others have the game too.Owning the developer means that the game belongs to them even if their contract is up or you decide to leave. Epic can decide to give us Gears of War any time they want to. But even if ND leaves they can't give Uncharted to anyone else. It's not exactly the same at all.Hiring mercenaries to fight for you is different then having your own personal army.

[Crystallis]

Someone who gets it.

[Bobby Kotex]

You people popularize the stupidest articles.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

A CEO should be enjoying his extra millions instead of trolling on N4G

[sync90]

To the people saying 'wait there all rumours' yes your right, but i do believe alot of the 720 rumours are true, if you look at all the rumours leading up to ps4 reveal, i'd say about 80% of them ended up being the truth. MS are running scared.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

Not to mention that we've had over a year straight of the same rumors so there has to be something going on a man thinks

[Dan_scruggs]

Games take a long time to make. News to no one. Of course there wont be any crazy exclusives for the launch. Those games will take years to make. It's mostly gonna be a 3 or 4 rushed no risk next gen exclusives and a shit ton of cross plat games that will also be available for he PS3 and PS4 and Xbox 360. It's common sense.

[kupomogli]

I see more complaining about N4G being pro Sony than actually Sony fanboys. I think that more people just hate Sony and to them, people not hating on Sony are fanboys.

Back on topic, if Microsoft purchases third party exclusives, depending on the amount, they'll only be timed exclusive and be ported to the PS4 and PC later. Timed exclusives are nothing more than a patch up, but hurts the industry more. What they need to do is get more quality first party development teams rather than pay for timed exclusives.

Anyone who remembers how most third party titles jumped over to the PS3 a year later might just pass on the 360 because they know they're getting definite exclusives and they'll still be able to play those games later. In the long run it hurts Microsoft and wastes money that they could have put towards actual exclusives, meaning less quality games and forcing people who don't own a Microsoft console to wait to play the games. Same goes for the timed DLC as well. So not only does it hurt other consoles, but it actually hurts Microsoft's own console(just a little less since they're getting new adopters.)

[jmac53]

I love how this article gets approved because it has a negative spin on Microsoft but the Respawn article wasn't approved. Both articles from Kotaku with anonymous sources. Maybe rename the site N4SG.

[Veneno]

This article is not from kotaku. Its from push square and it is a commentary. It got approved on a technicality, for lack of better term. It isnt being passed of as news or even rumor.

[jmac53]

Maybe you should actually read the article. "Reports coming out of Kotaku" are saying that Microsoft is 6 months behind in development.

[Krosis]

Yay, more hollow articles based on rumors. May reveal is close enough journalists, let's wait until we actually know what we are talking about. Must be dry for news.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

MS used moneyhat
It's not very effective...

[mrmancs]

next xbox game development lagging? And this could be bad news for Sony? Ha haa ha ha . Xbox fans wishful thinking. Good news all round for Sony and there strongest line up of first day titles ever...ps4 ftw.

[4lc4pon3]

I am by far an xbox fan and I will not own an Xbox but I can tell you that they are NOT in any trouble. M$ has a huge fanbase and I dont see them going anywhere anytime soon.

Yes I am a PS fanboy and with my comments and bans have shown this but as I said I dont think M$ is in any trouble nor Sony.

[TheFamous1]

We don't even know if Respawn can replicate the success or even the quality of (early) Call of Duty games.

[Thomaticus]

Has anyone seen any Xbox 720 games.... I've seen a couple of PS4 games. We've already seen companies develop multiplatform. Of course MS is going to try to buy up some exclusives...(and Sony will as well). The main thing is that both Sony and Microsoft will have a decent library of games for their upcoming consoles. But I do agree with the article.

[DarkZane]

Sony will have Final Fantasy Versus XIII exclusivity. Sorry, this probably beat whatever microsoft can get by a lot.

[ma1asiah]

Exclusives that made their appearence at the start of this generation and how many units they have sold to date

Gears of War November 7, 2006 19 million
Uncharted November 20, 2007 17 million
Wii Sports November 19, 2006 109.74 million
Wii Fit November 19, 2006 43.15 million
Just Dance November 17, 2009 28 million

Some multiplat titles that made their appearence this generation and how many units they have sold to date

Red Dead Redemption May 18, 2010 12.5 million
Mass Effect November 20, 2007 10.5 million Assassin's Creed November 13, 2007 38 million
Rock Band November 20, 2007 10 million

Other titles same deal:

Grand Theft Auto October 1997 125 million
The Sims February 4, 2000 150 million
Call of Duty October 29, 2003 100 million
FIFA Christmas 1993 100 million
Need for Speed 1994 100 million
Madden NFL 1988 99 million
The Legend of Zelda February 21, 1986 68.13 million
Resident Evil March 22, 1996 55.2 million
Halo November 15, 2001 50.55 million
Tekken December 9, 1994 41.4 million
Crash Bandicoot August 31, 1996 40 million
Guitar Hero November 8, 2005 40 million
Metal Gear July 12, 1987 32.63 million
Ratchet & Clank November 7, 2002 25 million
Minecraft May 17, 2009 24 million
Splinter Cell November 18, 2002 22 million
God of War March 22, 2005 21.65 million
Lego Star Wars April 5, 2005 20 million
SingStar May 21, 2004 20 million
Jak and Daxter December 4, 2001 13.79 million
Metroid August 6, 1986 14 million
SOCOM August 27, 2002 12 million
Devil May Cry August 23, 2001 11 million
Saints Row August 2006 9.8 million
BioShock August 21, 2007 9 million
Twisted Metal November 5, 1995 5 million

Make what you want from those figures but those are some of the titles that appeared in the top 50 best selling video games most others were PC titles.....BUT my question is this does it really matter for a title to be an exclusive and why????

[ma1asiah]

BTW it goes title/franchise date first released and how many units have been moved or sold.

Now one thing that surprised me is that given that COD has become an annualised franchise for so long I would have thought they would have moved or sold a lot more than 100 million units.

Now these figures I believe dont include the following titles unit figures

Bioshock Infinite
Gears of War Judgment
God Of War Ascension

Though with exception to Bioshock infinite I dont think it would have made much of difference to the other two games totals.

[jetlian]

what was the point? just dance are also on ps3/360. gow was at 20 million before gowj. wii sports is bundled.

it doesn't matter to answer your question in the grand scheme of things. After you buy the system of course

[ahm]

PS4, pre-order for sure.MS it doesn't matter what u do, PPPPPSSSSS4444444

[LogicStomper]

Now that's what you call an uneducated decision.

[VTKC]

Xbox spell trouble for Sony? Yeah sure that TV thing and the "I spying" on gamers is really going to bring in the sales.

[Daves]

Isn't it a bit late to be 'pulling out the cheque book' ?

For launch titles most deals should be done by now.

[fsfsxii]

I don't care who's the strongest, i care for the friggin GAMES!!!!

[S2Killinit]

That actually means that the next xbox is going to employ the same strategy the 360 had, which was to pay for exclusive content (usually timed exclusivity). In the end though that strategy only worked for a limited time and even then it was only plausible because Sony had come into the market a whole year late. This time around the timed exclusives will cost much more for MS since PS4 is hitting the market at the same time (or sooner) making it less justifiable for developers to develop games for the xbox alone. Even in the current generation this strategy was a short sighted one in my opinion.

[SpinalRemains138]

Seriously?

Why doesn't it just say
"Microsoft lags during development, but will win anwyway because I deepthroat them!"

That is what I read.

[zoks310]

BS, thats liking saying PS3 woes might cause trouble for the 360.
It doesn't work that way.
If MS are having issues developers will move on to other platforms.
Developers are like current, they follow the path of least resistance.
MS issues will be their own, and it won't spill out and affect their competitors, in fact their competitors will benefit from MS woes.

[ziggurcat]

"However, the firm’s aiming to compensate for that by pulling out its cheque book, and is aggressively targeting third-party exclusives for its machine. That spells danger for the PlayStation 4."

no it doesn't.

[Automatic79]

The funny thing is that everyone under estimates Microsoft and does not realize they learn and get better every generation.

[LogicStomper]

And so does Sony and Nintendo. Heck, all three of them learn and get better every generation.

[SOULJER]

Microsoft and the check book. What's change. Sounds like the same old same from them.

[Adolph Fitler]

Yes, but this means NEW IP's for PS4....And I would prefer to see 3rd parties making sequel after soulless sequel for the squillions that MS pays them, yet these developers still want to be making & releasing games, so this just means the 3rd party developers will either just give us the same game that MS supposedly has exclusitivity on, but they will just rename characters, the game, & change enough to make us think it is a different game.

3rd party developers ain't gonna risk missing out on that sweet launch window when PS4 is launched & for the months afterwards, when it's owners are salivating for new half good games.
MS paying 50million for some extra content for GTA4 was a pittance of what they would have to pay Activision to hold back COD until 720 releases, & it WILL NOT happen, as if they hold back there yearly sequel from other machines, then someone else will come along with THE NEXT BIG THING, & COD risks being forgotten in a hail of fps shrapnel.

So, MS may get a few cheap shots in from Companies like Capcom, that sell there a$$ cheap for the instant quick buck, but the smarter greedier companies like Activision & such, will not sell out an IP to one console for cheap, in fact, anyone who thinks MS would be dumb enough to risk this type of approach, is smoking something I wish I could be smoking.

[ACEMANWISE]

Microsoft will do just about anything else to get gamers to buy their consoles. They have created a highly efficient online experience. They have created an image of popularity. They have created a great social based platform. They also created a device that can do many other things outside of gaming.

What they lack is being a gaming company. In that weakness they compensate with their money. They go out and buy the talent instead. Great games that are bought by Microsoft doesn't mean it is Microsoft that should get the credit. They believe that XBox Live (a service) is more important than the game itself. They also believe that every game is enhanced because of it.

Technically Microsoft is a service company that integrates other parts of their businesses into it. From their securities division they integrate security identification equipment like Kinect. Then they integrate services like face and voice recognition and use it for account logins. They definately used their media, such as MSNBC (Microsoft National Broadcast Company) to advertise their products through news.

On the game front Microsoft has had a very weak gaming history, even during their emergence on PC.

[DOOMZ]

All will be fine with both consoles...

[SITH]

One thing that is definitely shining through, Sony locking up third party and first party support is paying off again.

[JeepGamer]

Microsoft being unable to compete and just smothering everything with money predates the word "Xbox".

After all, the definition of Windows 95?

'Windows 95/98, (n): 32 bit extension and a graphical shell for a 16 bit patch to an 8 bit operating system originally coded for a 4 bit microprossessor, written by a 2 bit company that can't stand 1 bit of competition. '

[glennco]

Whatever. Gaming sites go to crap around new console time. They are like vultures circling fanboys to see who can pass off the most dumbass article as rumour or even fact. Why am I even bothering to comment, I am over this site for a while, there is no point when both the articles and the comments are just fanboy rubbish.

[Soldierone]

What? If you look at titles "in development" 90 percent of them were Kinect crap titles.... MS probably went "oh crap, Sony has real games!"

Maybe if MS would stop blowing money on third party exclusive stuff, they would have the same amount of first party titles as Sony. They have the same amount of studios and talent, they just waste it on Kinect.

[Evil_Ryu]

i would take bungie and epic over any of sony's first party developers any day of the year.

[satam55]

Both Bungie & Epic are independent developers not owned by Microsoft. So what's your point? Microsoft's actual 1st party developers & games are anemic compared to Sony's 1st party developers & games.

[Phi39582]

I hope whoever wrote this didn't get paid for it.....it is truly the most ridiculous waste of time. "Company B can't get their act together, this spells trouble for Company A that has everything going well".

It's as stupid as saying, "Cancer is a good thing because it will let you know that you may die and take the fear of getting ran over in a cross-walk away".

[joefrost00]

Its funny how.anything positive about the xbox goes under rumor
And the PS fanboys are to point out rumor but anything negative full blown
Conversation like you know for certain this is true
I never thought full grown men could act so childish and petty
But I guess there are some children on here to
Fanboys are like southern tea party members
Really dont know how dumb yall sound cause all you all do is converse with other idiots that think the same way you do lol

[steve30x]

If you thought grown men could act childish and Petty then you mustnt be on N4G for very long.

[steve30x]

Just because one console is having trouble it doesnt automatically mean another one is in trouble. Thats like saying the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are in trouble because the WIIU is in trouble.

[Adolph Fitler]

And lets not forget that many of the indie developers that MS have/are turning there backs on, are finding solice in Sony on PEN/PSN with there pub fund program & such, so, the fact is, that Sony will get ALL the 3rd party support they have enjoyed in the past, plus probably more than they did with PS3, then they will also get near all the indie stuff.

Anyone with half a brain knows that even MS can't afford to buy complete exclusitivity on many of these huge selling games, as the cost, as opposed to the payoff, could ruin them in one fell swoop.

So, in actual fact, MS will just have to release a bit later, & cop it on the chin. Sony will benefit from MS's delay, just like MS did with PS3's delay.

The fact is, that MS are stupid....they are stupid for closing up certain 1st party developers, they have the money to build up a kick a$$ lineup of inhouse developers that could kick both Sony & Nintendo's inhouse a$$e$.
They have lost Bungie, & it would seem that Bungie's new game will hit PS4, while MS fanboys are still waiting for news on when there beloved 720's may release.
And then there are all the other awesome looking titles. Hell, in all seriousness, Sony's inhouse stables are so good that they could lose 50% of 3rd party support, & I would still have too many games to play & shedloads of money's worth to have to buy.

I guess I am just lucky that many of Sony's inhouse guys, make games that I really enjoy. infamous, LBP, Modnation Racers, Killzone, Unchartered, Ratchet, Motorstorm, Wipeout & Socom (RIP), Jak & Daxter, Starhawk/Warhawk, Twisted Metal, Resistance, God Of War, GT, etc, etc, not to mention that there are many awesome Sony exclusive IP's from PS1, PS2 & even PSP, that I would love to see make comebacks on PS4.... games such as Syphon Filter, Destruction Derby, Medievil, Tobal, etc, etc.
Fact is, Sony's inhouse teams are still the best in the biz, even with the fact that many of there awesome teams have been scrapped (due to poor sales of there IP's), teams like Zipper & such, then many of there other teams have been re-shuffled & mixed & matched with other teams & the like,.......yet, Sony still have the no.1 1st party games & developers making games for there machines.

I really hope that with PS4, owners put there hands in there pockets more & support these developers, as poor sales has ensured the deaths of great developers like the ones responsible for the awesome Starhawk, Twisted Metal, Socom, just to mention a few....

[gigoran]

HAHA believing something Kotaku said.... HAHAHAHAHAHA

[spoonard]

I think this will spur competition. That's a good thing. So...this doom & gloom bullshit needs to stop.

[CLOUD1983]

As long they don't pull any dirty moves with any quality JRPG I don't fcking care

[Gardenia]

Playstation has always been about games in the first place

[Pxljunk]

Not for nothing but this is just what I got for this article lol.

Bla bla bla bla shooter, bla bla blabla another shooter and bla bla bla bla bla FPS bla bla bla. Really!!!

Sony has more exclusive than just shooters so please they better coming with more than that for Sony to start worry about such thing.

Own both system and I'm really thinking to get the ps4 instead but let's c what they going to show this month.

[Cherchez La Ghost]

Give me confirmed facts and then I'll judge then. Until then, I'm not drinking the Jim Jones Kool-Aid from fanboys!

[Sparticus_1]

Ohhh...a futuristic first person shooter...Im shaking in my boots...bwahahaha...I bought my PS3 for one fps series...Battlefield.....the same reason Im going to buy a ps4...its the only games I play...so Im not worried about any other shooters and Sony shouldnt worry either

[gano]

I remember a non gaming company said, hdmi, bluray was not needed.
Yea, i'll follow them...

[killzone619]

XBOX SUCK