A sober look at Microsoft's FFXIII multiplatform announcement
130 days 20 hours ago
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name
Being one of the many PS3 owners who felt a mix of anger and utter disappointment last night I saw to it that I'd describe how I feel after the anger worn off and I see things a bit clearer. The anger become distrust, and the disappointment has become disgust. I'll explain now.
I was angry yesterday that Sony has let yet another exclusive fall through their hands. It's less about how the exclusive was lost, but more that I was looking forward to FFXIII really taking advantage of the PS3's power. I've seen what happens when games do this and anyone who has knows exactly what I'm talking about. Multiplatform games never turn out as good as exclusives, let alone on the PS3. But after considering the fact that we get Versus still(which I've always found more appealing for it's darker tone and atmosphere) made me less pissed. Plus it's still exclusive in Japan, where it will make it's biggest impact. MGS is far more popular in America than final fantasy and it's affect here was definetely something, but minimal.
The anger REALLY started to wear off however, when Warhawk dev dylan posted on the PSblog about the warhawk updates. It reminded me that I have ALOT of games to play AND games to look foward to. While I've always been excited for FFXIII, I've been thinking about other games like Heavy Rain and Infamous far more than it. My distrust however, has formed because I no longer FULLY believe third party exclusives anymore. I still don't think MGS4 won't show up on the 360 because of kojima, but I'm not 100% sure about it. Luckily, like nintendo, Sony has a really good group of First party support to soften their fall as always. So I'm still a happy gamer.
My disappointment has become disgust...at Microsoft. This will probably piss off a lot of people, but I really don't give a crap. Microsoft's E3 showing was flat out terrible, it wreaked of nintendo's 07 showing and only proved microsoft's new focus would be the more profitable casual audience. The dashboard was nice, but that's about it. No new games to be excited about, no alan wake, no halo, nothing, but final fantasy's announcement. And this announcement was a "bad for sony" announcement that didn't include a "good for microsoft" followup. Here's why:
When I heard the announcement I wanted to sell my PS3. I knew I'd regret it, but I was just that mad. However, I didn't want to BUY another console afterwards. For a brief moment I just wanted to stop playing video games, I don't know why, but I did. That's bad for sony, because as a PS3 owner I'm the one buying the games and DLC and accessories and all of that. And losing a member of the playstation family is always bad. However, I also now decided that I will NEVER buy a 360. No matter what. Microsoft just really pisses me off now.
They've pretty much made a habit of specifically targetting PS3 exclusives in order to get ahead. Even 360 owners are seeing this. When FFXIII was announced multiplatform I didn't see the super "HAHA!'s" I'd have expected. Everyone, even 360 owners knew that this was seriously not the time to strike a nerve with PS3 owners. Microsoft's first party support is so terrible they rely 100% on 3rd parties. This makes for a better relationship with 3rd party devs because Microsoft needs them, while nintendo and Sony don't. They're throwing around money to get around instead of investing in talented dev studios and building their empire brick by brick the way that sony and nintendo have. They want a playstation, but they think that THOSE specific games make up the playstation experience.
When GTAIV arrived, all that happened was that in result, it barely pushed Microsoft and Sony's consoles at all. GTA is a far more popular franchise than Final Fantasy in America and Europe(which are the only places FFXIII's 360 version will exist).
I tell you sober, that the day after the announcement I've become even more of a sony loyalist. Seeing microsoft make those fanboyish comments about stealing the PS3's exclusives made me realise just exactly what I love about the PS brand. Sony introduces new faces to the playstation family every gen and always knows how to impress, they provide variety and have a reputation for showing everyone the light in the darkest times. While I've always said I'd be willing to buy a 360 before, that's no longer true. I'm willing to buy a wii and other nintendo products because I respect them, but I will never, I repeat, NEVER buy a microsoft console.
Feels good to be sober again.
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