Console war: How Sony lost exclusives

Newsweek's N'Gai Croal describes the battle of the HD consoles with an emphasis on Microsoft, detailing the company's expectation to sell 10 million Xbox 360s before the PS3 launch. Microsoft revised the goal to 10 million units sold by the end of this year, and Croal isn't sure that'll even happen. The second and third parts of this three-part series consider why 360 software sales haven't yet boosted demands for the hardware and how Microsoft courted many titles away from PS3-exclusive status.

Croal says that Sony was too focused on Japanese developers and its national launch of the PS3 that its American and European divisions couldn't get developer negotiation approval from the Japanese mothership. Microsoft maintained contact with Rockstar and others through this Sony silence, scaring up Xbox 360 versions of third-party PlayStation mainstays. Apparently, Ubisoft wanted Assassin's Creed to be a PS3 exclusive but couldn't steal Sony's focus from the initial Japanese launch.