E3 2008 Editorial: Calm Yourselves Over Sharing Of Former Exclusives

[Blu Blur]

I will admit to getting caught up in the doom and gloom of it all, but thats because this one hit closer to home then the other announcements. Kind of like how Transformer fans felt when Paramount went HD-DVD exclusive. Still a fans reaction is always overblown but I did some thinking today while watching the press conference....

It's a huge loss and a big blow. Along the same lines as the Paramount HD-DVD deal , but in the long run I feel that just like that deal M$ acted out of desperation and it will not help them. It will not further their Japanese acceptance (as it's not coming out there for 360) and it will not deter or sway anyone to buy a 360. Truth be told the only one M$ hurt here is the Sony fan boys. Sure PS3 will be slowed down because it won't have this title to tout as an exclusive, but it will not stop the PS3. Especially if either of the MMO's Sony announced MAG or DC universe take off, then M$ is doomed as they have nothing comparable to an MMO. Also no PS3 owner is going to go buy a 360 to get FF13, this only prevents 360 owners from buying a PS3 for FF13, so no ground gained. So again what did M$ accomplish? FF13 was a huge loss but it's not coming out this year or next, so the damage is still looming not occurring right now. By the time this game is relevant to anyone besides fans, PS3 may have already over taken 360 and even if it has not the impact is not as huge due to the points I made above. SO from where I sit they did all that because they feared that 360 owners would buy PS3's not because they think it will sell 360's the only one making money here is Square-Enix the cold bastards they are.

Honestly outside of the FF13 announcement the MS conference was boring. Both major platforms are getting RE5, Fallout 3 and a bunch of other stuff they touted. The avatars? Lame, Sony took the Mii idea (and for better or worse) made them realistic and used them in a bigger fashion then Nintendo. While Nintendo uses avatars to represent a cute version of yourself which is a big hit with the non-gamers, also kind of cool to see how much the Mii's look like the real people they represent. MS avatars are some bastard mix of the two. Not as real as Sony's but not as friendly as Nintendo's. I honestly see this being a big flop for them as most 360 users are already enthused enough with gamer tags and then factor in all the XBL DH's now cursing out people with these semi cute avatars and you have a recipe for disaster. Not to mention that they look cold and corporate (something MS does best). Lips is just a Sing Star rip off, that’s it.


Sony's press conference today has given me more then enough faith in the PS brand (aside from obvious no shows... HELLO White Knight where are you?) . M$ could buy Sony and Nintendo and I still would not buy a 360, I would stop gaming first. I am too stubborn to be swayed back, and most PS3 owners are not going to be swayed either. Sony's on the ropes but far from down. Their first party games are way better then M$'s and those can't be bought. The third parties will wake up once PS3 sells over 10 mill and becomes the dominant brand in Japan and Europe. (glad I waited for Eternal Sonata I would feel pretty stupid if I went out and picked up a 360 a month or 2 ago only to get confirmation that it was PS3 bound finally!) Yes PS3 fans want JRPG’s but no PS3 zealot is going to buy a 360 for those titles, or now buy a 360 and get FF13 for it, they will just sit and wait for the titles they want (which in 6 months to a years time Square will give them) . Sony’s bleeding from the loss but MS takes the knives they cut Sony with and stick them in themselves, as they now bleed from money lost that they will never see a return on, only to be able to say “Yeah me too!”. Figured since I contributed to the chicken little sydrome I might as well go on damage control after. Hope everyone can appreciate a little silver lining.