You’d swear they want MS/Xbox to lock their games to a $500 console just so they will fit these guys definition of “exclusive”.
Xbox should be praised for the way they handle exclusive games, not made fun of. It’s completely pro-consumer and it’s a win win for everyone.
“wHy WoULD I EvER BuY and XBoX if I HaVE a PC?!?!?”
Don’t! Play the damn games on your PC and enjoy them! And welcome to the Xbox family.
They can’t stand change it has to be the sony way in their eyes
Personally, as someone who has zero interest in PC gaming, I could care less that Microsoft releases their games on PC but I will say this - in regards to consoles, Microsoft needs to make sure they keep the vast majority of ZeniMax’s games and their first party studio games in general console exclusive to the Xbox eco-system.
Console exclusives are important to me. If you don’t have any console exclusives on your platform, there’s really no incentive for me to invest into it. This applies to all three console manufacturers.
Yeah I understand that, I don’t have a gaming PC and probably never will, so these games may as well be Xbox Console only to me.
They should keep doing what they are doing in regards to exclusives (and all ZeniMax games going forward) in my eyes, Xbox Ecosystem only. So they are available on Xbox Console, PC and Android.
It really feels like it sometimes! It’s like a guy with a horse looking at a car and going “pffft that thing can’t even jump”. It’s like… Yeah you are right, but it’s so much better in so many other ways. People need to get with the times on this!
Agreed. I have zero interest in PC gaming. Just not for me. Since NES, I have always been a console gamer and that will never change. Hehe.
It’s just puerile console warring, it’s nonsensical and you would hope that people would grow out of it, but some never will, it is what it is.
It’s simple:
People are still in the 2000’s thinking of what exclusive is. By this I mean simply:
They think that if a console is the only place to play something, it’s exclusive. It harkens back to the PS2/XBox/GCN generation.
With X360 we saw some of the early games release on both console and PC. Remember Bioshock’s only on PC/Xbox 360 logo? But still for the most part, if you wanted to play a game you had to buy a console for it.
With many people, this thinking has been drilled into their heads by years of “The Old Ways”.
Today, while I’m sure that they would be very happy for you to buy a Series S|X, the main idea is of the ecosystem. It’s a newish concept in the console market and many people still don’t under one simple face:
THEY STILL GET YOUR ****ING MONEY.
Dumb Fanboy “Haha, Indiana Jones is on PC. I’ll just buy it there. YOU HAVE NO GAMES”.
Without realizing the fact that by buying on PC, Microsoft still gets the same X amount of dollars they would have somebody went out and bought it on Series X.
In fact, one could argue that Microsoft gets MORE money by putting it on PC then keeping it on console. If Person A wants Indiana Jones, but doesn’t have $500 dollars to drop on a Series X, but instead has an okayish machine that will at least run the game, then Person A buys Indiana Jones on Steam for 59.99. That’s money that Microsoft gets that they wouldn’t have gotten before. Because of the fact that PC is most likely running Windows, and each Windows now comes with the Xbox APP/GamePass App installed, it’s therefore considered part of the Xbox ecosystem.
As of right now, the PlayStation ecosystem is just… PS4/PS5. You want Miles Morales you buy a PS console. However, Sony is dipping their toes with the Horizon Zero Dawn port and have said that they are exploring PC titles. So to most people PlayStation means “Only on PlayStation”.
This is what people think means it’s when it’s exclusive. You have to buy the $500 machine, pay the additional $70 to play the game. That’s mostly all Sony’s money coming from one place.
Yet with Microsoft, they see ALL the money. Doesn’t matter if it’s Series S|X, xCloud, PC, their line of thinking is… Play wherever you want… But Pay ME!
Tired of that on twitter
Excellent write up! You captured my exact thoughts on the issue!
Yep.
The “I have a PC” line always gets me because it makes it sound like a modern MS game will run on a 486DX.
It’s just console war bullshit. If Sony had a platform rivalling Windows, they’d do the same.
To put it this way, Microsoft has always been a software company. It’s in their name. That’s not to take away from their excellent hardware division, but software and services are the focus. By putting Xbox games on PC they are trying to pull away the casual consumer from MAC and the hardcore gamer from Linux. Much like how Microsoft makes money within the Xbox ecosystem, they make money between advertisements, software sales and services like Game Pass and Office 365. Microsoft does this to keep people in the Windows 10 ecosystem.
Now, for those who don’t want to splurge money on a PC or keep up, Xbox is a great subsidized entry point balancing power and price. It is also where most of these games are optimized first as while FH4 for example plays “better” on PC, it is better optimized on console. Xbox is also a great way to future proof. I have a capable gaming laptop but I know that it will eventually have to switch to XCloud to play newer games in a manner far faster than the Series X (which is twice as powerful and costs a good bit less).
Also, it’s just awesome for the platform agnostic player. I can start a game on my Series X, continue it on native hardware on my laptop when on lunch and then play on my phone on the commute home without losing progress. No matter how you slice it, it’s fucking cool.
Finally, I’ll end on this: how many of the people playing the PC Card are the same ones complaining that games like Perfect Dark and the Bethesda titles are not on PlayStation. I suspect it’s a lot. If you have a capable PC like you all claim just play it there. Or get an Xbox. Or stream. Or just continue in your myopic console warrior ways (this is directed at those who avoid Xbox like the plague, not those who have legitimate financial barriers to entry such as lower income or data caps. I am glad Xbox is becoming more accessible and I hope they continue down that path. Ultimately, it’s about getting as many of those 3 billion gamers playing as possible without adversly affecting finances and I hope MS and firms like Netflix continue to fight for cheaper, better and fairer internet and other forms of accessibility).
Don’t worry about it, it’s the same people who criticized Xbox when Matt Booty said they would support cross gen for two years, but now that Sony is doing the same thing no one brings that up anymore lol
They are morons. It’s all about what Sony does or doesn’t. If Sony where to announce all games coming to PC tomorrow, suddenly it would be the best thing ever! sO iNnOvAtIvE!
You know how backwards compatability wasn’t important, cross-play isn’t possible due to the children, we believe in generations etc etc. They all change their stance depending on the party line.
Most important of all though, is the hatred of Xbox. That will never change.
Horrible people.
It doesn’t really bother me because most people who are saying it are doing it to fuel console wars. Also if you look at Steam hardware survey and you can see most PC gamers don’t have a card stronger than next gen consoles. So, I highly doubt majority of them have a PS5 and a gaming PC because numbers don’t add up.
Anyways, it’s not a valid point, and people just pretend or say it doesn’t matter because it fuels console wars. Also Microsoft should be praised for not locking you into one platform and giving you a choice to play on; console, pc, or mobile.
In fairness, there were some massive meltdowns over Horizon and Death Stranding going to PC. Now, some Xbox fans had similar meltdowns over Quantum Break hitting PC, but Phil Spencer shot down the arguments (which lead to Crapgamer switching “sides”… really).
Yes but that wasn’t a change in policy, if Sony where to make a complete shift like MS and publish everything on PC it would be the best thing ever! Because Sony said so. You know how it works.
Crapgamer fits PERFECTLY in with the PS-crowd, so no surprises there.
And a year from now they will say ‘but it’s coming to my TV!’ or ‘it’s also coming to my streaming stick’, etc.
I do laugh at the “why would i buy a Xbox if i can just get the games on PC?” Well yeah, that’s the point.
As a pc only player this is the most hilarious thing to me how fanboys lose their shit. The very fact that I’m even interested in the Xbox ecosystem was because Microsoft finally started taking pc into the consideration and treating it as an equal part of the ecosystem. Sure, they still have a lot of work to do imo (and I’ve repeatedly gone on several rants regarding those issues in this forum Lol) but it’s just unbelievable how this is somehow a bad thing. The fact that Xbox is getting money from a pc only player who has no plans of buying either console anytime soon is not dumb, it’s smart. It’s the right way to go. Trust me, I’m not the only one who prefers pc, there are a lot more out there, and Xbox ecosystem fits right into their existing play habits.
The old paradigm of plastic box exclusivity is over, it’s just these people dealing with the cognitive dissonance of not having adapted to this change. It’ll take some time but it’ll happen.
Even Sony shall start relaxing their idea of what’s exclusive in the coming years, I have no doubt. It’s not that pc is part of Xbox ecosystem, it’s that pc isn’t part of PlayStation ecosystem yet, that’s all. But it’s bound to happen.
