[kyrra]

The issue is that this isn't Microsoft bootstrapping a new division that produces games exclusive for their platforms. This is a problem of Microsoft trying to buy one of the larger existing game publishers with some very popular titles and likely make many of them Microsoft platform exclusive.

[MikusR]

When Sony buys company to make exclusives - good. When Microsoft - bad

[Cyph0n]

Can you share an example of Sony buying a company at the scale of Activision and turning it exclusive?

The only recent significant studio acquisitions I can think of already had a long history of making PS exclusives (e.g., Insomniac).

[elzbardico]

Because they don't have the kind of money to do that.

But they never cared about windows and Xbox players when the game stakes were low enough for them to play the exclusive game.

[Hamuko]

The fact that Sony, who Microsoft insists is absolutely obliterating them in the gaming space, doesn't have the money to enact these sorts of massive mega-mergers seems telling that this kind of a deal is not just a natural part of the market. Rather, Microsoft is just leverating their wealth from their other businesses to armstrong the market.

[elzbardico]

And why is this any different other than from some naive puritanical point of view?

Developing new versions and new games will take as much money and probably more than the initial versions.

[edgyquant]

Because it’s anticompetitive and MS should have not been allowed to purchase such a company.

[elzbardico]

And what sony does is different? Just because they pay less at an early stage?

[pepemon]

That's why I additionally pointed about Windows releases. With Microsoft exclusive, you can play the title on Xbox, Windows PC, Linux PC, Steam Deck. With Sony, it's PS only.

[tapoxi]

Sony's actually made an effort to get many newer games ported to PC, and Steam Deck verified.

[pepemon]

What kind of "newer"? I only consider Spider-Man: Miles Morales as "new enough" and it was still released over 2 years ago. When God of War: Ragnarok will be available on PC? You get Xbox titles on PC on the same day of their console release.

[tapoxi]

Returnal which came out April 2021 and the PC version just released, technically Destiny 2: Lightfall (if that counts) was day-and-date.

Sony still has an incentive to sell hardware and keep games exclusive though. Unlike Microsoft, they don't control Windows and don't have an incentive to keep Windows the gaming OS of choice. Microsoft is also trying to push their own Xbox Game Pass and get users gradually away from Steam.