4 ms·

> The bad practice is placing bad behaviours on the contract fine print like not allowing for feature parity after the exclusivity deal runs out, or suffering t

> The bad practice is placing bad behaviours on the contract fine print like not allowing for feature parity after the exclusivity deal runs out, or suffering the risk of a lawsuit. Are you suggesting that e.g. Square-Enix executives didn't know what they were signing? They signed away exclusives in exchange for money. How is that worse than acquiring big studios with large IP portfolios and lock them to your own platforms?

pjmlp 3y ago
It is a nice business you have here, it would be a shame if something happened to it...
- manuelabeledo 3y ago
  You make it sound like the poor gaming studios didn't read the contract documents and got trapped in a draconian nightmare. That's a naive take if I have ever seen one.
  - pjmlp 3y ago
    Indeed, likewise no one should say the same about OEMs doing deals with Microsoft about pre-installed Windows, or researchers with NVidia. Those mean companies.
    - manuelabeledo 3y ago
      You are comparing a 70%-30% market share split in consoles, to a virtually 100% for Microsoft in OEM PC sales, and a >85% for Nvidia in AI and research oriented GPUs [0] Microsoft also controls ~95% of the PC gaming market, which makes up ~40% of the total video game market [1]. So remind me again, which studios were bullied by Sony to give up access to the majority of the market, in exchange for nothing? [0] https://www.reuters.com/technology/amd-likely-offer-details-ai-chip-challenge-nvidia-2023-06-13/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/amd-likely-offer-details-... [1] https://www.gamesindustry.biz/report-pc-and-console-global-gaming-dipped-to-923bn-in-2022#:~:text=Regarding%20the%20market%20breakdown%20by,2.5%25%20of%20global%20game%20spending https://www.gamesindustry.biz/report-pc-and-console-global-g....
      - pjmlp 3y ago
        Moving goalposts. First they are to blame, then they are poor fellows without an option.
        manuelabeledo 3y ago
        They are just not comparable. Microsoft has the means and the marketshare to compete, and they do, they just failed to take the lead so far. There is no scenario where Sony could pressure developers to release exclusive games and content, and give nothing in return. On the other hand, Microsoft has all the leverage in the world to pressure OEMs to distribute their software, and block competition. Historically, their marketshare has always been over 90%. Nvidia dominates in the professional market. These are all publicly available numbers. So far, you have failed to even provide clear and verifiable examples of developers "bullied" by Sony to not release content for XBox. You may want to take a look at Microsoft behaviour though, since they have a history of trying to get indie developers to prioritize their platforms or else [0] [0] https://www.techdigest.tv/2014/02/are_microsoft_b.html https://www.techdigest.tv/2014/02/are_microsoft_b.html

pjmlp 3y ago

It is a nice business you have here, it would be a shame if something happened to it...

manuelabeledo 3y ago
You make it sound like the poor gaming studios didn't read the contract documents and got trapped in a draconian nightmare. That's a naive take if I have ever seen one.
- pjmlp 3y ago
  Indeed, likewise no one should say the same about OEMs doing deals with Microsoft about pre-installed Windows, or researchers with NVidia. Those mean companies.
  - manuelabeledo 3y ago
    You are comparing a 70%-30% market share split in consoles, to a virtually 100% for Microsoft in OEM PC sales, and a >85% for Nvidia in AI and research oriented GPUs [0] Microsoft also controls ~95% of the PC gaming market, which makes up ~40% of the total video game market [1]. So remind me again, which studios were bullied by Sony to give up access to the majority of the market, in exchange for nothing? [0] https://www.reuters.com/technology/amd-likely-offer-details-ai-chip-challenge-nvidia-2023-06-13/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/amd-likely-offer-details-... [1] https://www.gamesindustry.biz/report-pc-and-console-global-gaming-dipped-to-923bn-in-2022#:~:text=Regarding%20the%20market%20breakdown%20by,2.5%25%20of%20global%20game%20spending https://www.gamesindustry.biz/report-pc-and-console-global-g....
    - pjmlp 3y ago
      Moving goalposts. First they are to blame, then they are poor fellows without an option.
      - manuelabeledo 3y ago
        They are just not comparable. Microsoft has the means and the marketshare to compete, and they do, they just failed to take the lead so far. There is no scenario where Sony could pressure developers to release exclusive games and content, and give nothing in return. On the other hand, Microsoft has all the leverage in the world to pressure OEMs to distribute their software, and block competition. Historically, their marketshare has always been over 90%. Nvidia dominates in the professional market. These are all publicly available numbers. So far, you have failed to even provide clear and verifiable examples of developers "bullied" by Sony to not release content for XBox. You may want to take a look at Microsoft behaviour though, since they have a history of trying to get indie developers to prioritize their platforms or else [0] [0] https://www.techdigest.tv/2014/02/are_microsoft_b.html https://www.techdigest.tv/2014/02/are_microsoft_b.html