[KindAndFriendly]

Imho MSFT overestimates the loyalty of video game fans to a game franchise vs a console ecosystem. Even if the deal should go through and even if it should result in - let's say - CoD being exclusive to Xbox, I don't think a lot of fans would then switch away from Playstation just for that.

[favorited]

There is a huge number of folks who buy video game consoles to play one or more games from just a few franchises: Call of Duty, FIFA, Madden, and MLB: The Show. Modern Warfare 2, a 2022 remake of a game from 2009, was the 5th best selling video game in the US in April 2023. It was the best selling game in the US last year. Any console getting one of those games as an exclusive would gain an huge upper-hand.

[Edit] NPD source: https://www.npd.com/news/entertainment-top-10/2023/top-10-vi...

[dharmab]

> Modern Warfare 2, a 2022 remake of a game from 2009

Was it a remake? I played Modern Warfare (2019) recently and it was a completely different game than Modern Warfare (2007). Different plot, characters, settings and levels.

[favorited]

Definitely a fair point. I guess I'd call it a "remake" the way that "Final Fantasy VII Remake" used the term. "What is a 'remake?'" is a question I've heard a lot of games media ask over the last couple of years, and it seems to cover a whole spectrum of approaches.

[AdamJacobMuller]

Have to completely disagree with you.

I buy a console purely to play specific games.

I bought a XBox360/Wii/Switch/PS4/PS4Pro/PS5 specifically because some specific game I wanted to play was on that console. If something was cross-platform I'd obviously buy/play it on something I already owned, but, for whatever reason the games I play are mostly exclusives.

[mvdtnz]

I think you're dead wrong about this. It is well known that big games sell consoles. It's why this generation of XBox is struggling against PS5. Also, CoD is big but it's not the only thing in this Activision deal.

[worrycue]

> It's why this generation of XBox is struggling against PS5.

I think a big part of a console’s success is how its previous version did. The PS2 wouldn’t sell the way it did if not for the clout/consumer trust from the PS1.

The Xbox Series* line of consoles came after the Xbox One which was an utter PR disaster that handed Sony the generation on a silver platter.

* Horrible naming. You wouldn’t know it was the successor to the Xbox One if no one told you.

[goosedragons]

That doesn't hold. There is some stickiness but just look how horribly the Wii U did after the superstar success of the Wii, how hard Sony had to push with the PS3 despite the monster success of the PS2, how terrible the Sega Saturn did in North America, etc.

[worrycue]

The Wii did well as a fad but most of its buyers just toss it in the closet after the novelty wore off.

The PlayStation 3 was a screw up. It was too expensive and came out late after the 360. It damaged Sony’s reputation somewhat but did alright despite Sony’s misstep IMHO due to the PS2’s clout.

The Saturn … so many mistakes by Sega. Got trounced on price by the PlayStation. Was rushed to market at the last minute to try to beat the PlayStation to the market, resulting in shortages and uneven distribution that piss off retailers and limited launch titles. The earlier launch date also pissed retailers off because they have to adjust floor space and piss launch title developers off because their titles can no longer make the new date and they were banking on the visibility of being a launch title. There was mixed messaging with the launch of the X32, which flopped, relatively close to the Saturn’s launch too which hurt consumer trust. Sega burned a lot of bridges.

All things being equal this generation, the PS4’s tremendous popularity IMHO helped the PS5 pull ahead of the Series X - don’t get me started on the confusingly named cousin system the Series S.

[butnop]

Many a gamer avoided Xbox and Halo because MS; I’ve only every played Halo 1 split screen on OG Xbox.

COD is a fading franchise as-is, and MS has tanked Halo’s rep with recent releases. No reason to believe they can’t screw up COD and still lose to other consoles.

Sony could announce a new SOCOM tomorrow.

Steam on Linux is amazing; package that as a bootable image and consoles become redundant hardware.

Big software business moat building is holding technology back.

[drowawaygpt]

It is widely believed that Final Fantasy being exclusive to PS1 hurt both Saturn/N64.

CoD at this point is more like the NFL. There’s more money to make just licensing that thing to Sony than there is to lock in Xbox sales.

[retrac98]

Sample size of 1, but I was a kid who begged for a Nintendo so I could play Zelda, then I switched to PlayStation for GTA 3, and then Xbox for Halo.

It’s always been about the games for me. Exclusives really matter.

[sfmike]

a strong counter point is simply switch consoles marketshare