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PS5 exclusives drove me to buy Xbox Series X — here’s why

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Vasto

Member
I love the PS5, but I don't like the way Sony is handling exclusives





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I’ve always considered myself something of a PlayStation fanboy.

When I worked in video game retail a few years ago I wore my blue PlayStation lanyard with pride, convinced gaming-illiterate parents that a PS4 was absolutely the system to get their kids for Christmas, and when the PS5 was announced I put my money down without hesitation. I even took launch day off work so I could play my shiny new next-gen console until my eyes stung.

Yet after swinging through a snow-blanketed NYC in Spider-Man: Miles Morales, dying repeatedly on the first level of Demon’s Soul and having watched the pre-release trailers for upcoming exclusive Returnal on loop, I came to one conclusion: I really wanted an Xbox Series X

Sony has made the frankly baffling decision that PS5 games should retail for £70, which is a £20 increase on the £50 standard price seen during the PS4 generation. This price increase has also been felt in the US, though to a more palatable degree, where the standard $60 price point has been increased to $70.

The hubris from Sony here is quite remarkable and it’s the direct opposite approach to what its biggest competitor has taken. Alongside scoring a Series X this week, I picked up 3-years of Game Pass Ultimate for £120, which is less than the cost of two first-party PS5 games. That means for the next three years I can play every single Xbox console-exclusive on day one all without having to fork over a single extra penny.

While Sony is actively raising the barrier of entry for players, Microsoft is working hard to lower it — I know which strategy I prefer.

In many ways when I think about Sony and Microsoft’s differing approach to exclusives I’m reminded of the battle between Netflix and Blockbuster in the late 90s. One company pioneering a new way to distribute content to its customer, the other desperately hanging onto the old ways hoping that nothing will change.

 
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AgentP

Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
When you do not value the end product, you get product that is not valuable. See Crackdown 3 and a whole slew of 6/10 Gamepass fodder. I pay gladly for quality games. Without this revenue, you cannot pay salaries and the true cost of the software.
 

Dr Bass

Member
As soon as Xbox has a truly next gen exclusive as good as Demon's Souls on Game Pass he should let the readers know.

It might, uhhhh ... be a very long time.

Side note: His analogy only works when Blockbuster and Netflix have the same content. If you can only get The Godfather, ChinaTown, Alien, Blade Runner, Apocalypse Now and Heat from Blockbuster, while Netflix only has Weekend At Bernie's, Meatballs, and Encino Man - Blockbuster is absolutely in no danger.

Content is king.
 

jroc74

Phone reception is more important to me than human rights
Whats wild about this is its the complete opposite for me. Not drove me to get a PS5, but just lets me know which I prefer.

I have both consoles now: had a PS5, gave it to someone as a gift last year, got a Series X a month ago. The time I had with the Series X, waiting for another PS5 (came today!!) made me realize I just prefer what Sony offers as far as exclusives.

Before today I've played:

MCC, Forza, Gears series, Quantum Break. None really do it for me, but I like Forza the most out of those. Havent played The Medium yet. What I do like: Crackdown series, Ori, State of Decay 1 and 2, Recore.

Obviously my opinion is shit, lol. That said, I just like what I like. Still, I'm looking forward for Hellblade 2, Scorn and Fable.
 
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RPSleon

Member
Tbf the £70 price tag is inexcusable and does raise the barrier to entry. Wont be buying any game for that price again as it doesnt sit right with me even if the games great.
Its not untrue that theyve done opposite things here.

PS5 only owner btw. Just gonna miss the release hype on most games it seems. :(
 

jroc74

Phone reception is more important to me than human rights
The article is just a big Gamepass add.

Waste of time.
Yeah, I have GP until Oct 2022. And the only thing I've used it for is Forza. Ppl just value different things. I think I used EA Access a few years ago more than GP. And I would probably use it more now. Was about to use it to download Madden before the PS5 got here.

GP for me just doesnt get me excited. I've basically just looked at the games on the service, and thats it.

Overlapping libraries is one reason. I did that in the PS360 era, PS4 and XBO, but not anymore. My Series X will be for exclusives only and games my family plays. They only play Xbox. My friends and co workers are all PS4, PS5.
 
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born free

Neo Member
Agreed I am actually more intrigued with MS approach this generation with game pass and their superior backwards compatibility upgrades (simplicity and library). Loving my series X and quick resume features as well.

I did pick up a PS5 this past week, very impressed with the feel of the controller and the upgraded menus / downloads compared to my ps4 slim.

So far both consoles have been pleasant surprises (not many next gen games I’ve been hyped for out now great experience to play older gen in the meanwhile).
 
The future of Xbox exclusives certainly looks rosier than it has done in years, and if beloved franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls will now be Xbox console-exclusives that is a major boon, one that Sony could struggle to match.

Can someone explain this bad take? I see it constantly. Curious why people think Microsoft will shoot themselves in the foot and only sell 1/3rd of the copies they could otherwise. One of the reasons these franchises are as big as they are is, they sold on them on every console known to man.

Do people seem to think if you own an IP and sell it on another console you don't get any money from it? It doesn't work that way. Now that Microsoft owns Bethesda, they will earn money from the next Fallout no matter what console it is sold on.

They have a financial interest in selling more copies of the games. Not less. Odd that people argue the opposite!

I guess the argument is that Microsoft wants console exclusives more than it wants to make money. Which is, lol, that is a funny argument to make, and mostly seems like projection.

Look if Fallout 5 is limited to a single console, I will eat my hat. But it's kind of stunning to see so many people convinced Microsoft purchased these IPs to sell less copies than before.
 
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Guilty_AI

Member
Can someone explain this bad take? I see it constantly. Curious why people think Microsoft will shoot themselves in the foot and only sell 1/3rd of the copies they could otherwise. One of the reasons these franchises are as big as they are is, they sold on them on every console known to man.

Do people seem to think if you own an IP and sell it on another console you don't get any money from it? It doesn't work that way. Now that Microsoft owns Bethesda, they will earn money from the next Fallout no matter what console it is sold on.

They have a financial interest in selling more copies of the games. Not less. Odd that people argue the opposite!

I guess the argument is that Microsoft wants console exclusives more than it wants to make money. Which is, lol, that is a funny argument to make, and mostly seems like projection.

Look if Fallout 5 is limited to a single console, I will eat my hat. But it's kind of stunning to see so many people convinced Microsoft purchased these IPs to sell less copies than before.
They are also selling their games on PC tho.
The PC + Xbox user base is higher than the PS one considering the sales by platform on high profile titles.

The high success of their games on PC is probably also the reason why Sony decided to start releasing their games there too.
 

MonarchJT

Banned
Agree games are becoming a very exoansive hobby and an average family (at least in central and southern Europe) will find the price per game really high. The things are two, or waits years to buy the game when it will drop at a reasonable price or simply buy less. GamePass solves almost all the problems and only adds one. It is sure to please casual gamers, especially with the addition of EA Access and all its sports games. It will allow you to play all Ms exclusive on day one and we are talking about a truly significant amount (already announced). And all this for the price of two games for 1 full year of subscription . The only drawback is for lovers of collecting and for those who want to "own" the game, but honestly Microsoft does not prevent the purchase of the single game indeed if you are a subscriber you should have a discount if you want to buy one of the games on the pass
 
Why is journalism so shit the last few years? Who cares if someone wants to switch to Xbox, how is that newsworthy?

I guess it's not as bad as the "journalists" who just write articles about reddit threads all day. "One reddit user, tongue_my_hairy_anus, commented 'yeah bro haha, I agree.' To which AnalCumGuzzler replied 'you, sir, are wrong.'"

Like come on man, this is the laziest "reporting" going.
 

SafeOrAlone

Banned
These journalists will never realize that you get what you pay for. Yes, $70 for a game is ridiculous but you cannot have the same quality games for $10 a month either. It's simply not sustainable.
This isn't a sure thing. Streaming is still a growing medium. We are now seeing Disney Plus and HBO Max funding projects for television the same way the fund projects for blockbuster films. The same can be done with Game Pass if it picks up enough steam. No reason to believe otherwise.
 
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