Why i hate microsoft

richymcdermott

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-24-why-microsoft-wont-publish-psn-firsts

This is petty ****e going on

gizmo

And Sony's Pub Fund for developers on PSN is completely different? Or was I mistaken when I read that said releases would have to be exclusive to PSN in order for them to gain funding?

Outside of that I don't particularly have a problem with what MS are doing outside of the occasional game that hits the PSN first and doesn't make it to XBLA as a result, Joe Danger for example. Would it be nice if such rules didn't exist? Yep. Does it make sense from a business standpoint though? Most definitely yes.

richymcdermott

gizmo wrote: »

And Sony's Pub Fund for developers on PSN is completely different? Or was I mistaken when I read that said releases would have to be exclusive to PSN in order for them to gain funding?

Outside of that I don't particularly have a problem with what MS are doing outside of the occasional game that hits the PSN first and doesn't make it to XBLA as a result, Joe Danger for example. Would it be nice if such rules didn't exist? Yep. Does it make sense from a business standpoint though? Most definitely yes.

I would like to point out just so no one makes it out to be a fanboy bash thread i like the xbox , its a great console , i just dont like the company running the console :pac:

gizmo

richymcdermott wrote: »

I would like to point out just so no one makes it out to be a fanboy bash thread i like the xbox , its a great console , i just dont like the company running the console :pac:

No problem with that at all, the purpose of my reply was to highlight the fact that if you hate Microsoft for this reason then by that same logic, you should also hate Sony.

richymcdermott

gizmo wrote: »

No problem with that at all, the purpose of my reply was to highlight the fact that if you hate Microsoft for this reason then by that same logic, you should also hate Sony.

I dislike sony in so many ways buts than an entire new thread :pac:

Gamer Bhoy 89

I couldn't read all of that article I'm too tired lol But is the whole thing just basically, "if it's out on PSN before XBLA, XBLA ain't puttin it up" ??......

gizmo

gamercfc wrote: »

I couldn't read all of that article I'm too tired lol But is the whole thing just basically, "if it's out on PSN before XBLA, XBLA ain't puttin it up" ??......

Pretty much.

This is basically the main point being discussed in the article...

"Titles for Xbox 360 must ship at least simultaneously with other video game platform, and must have at least feature and content parity on-disc with the other video game platform versions in all regions where the title is available," it reads

Mr.Saturn

gamercfc wrote: »

I couldn't read all of that article I'm too tired lol But is the whole thing just basically, "if it's out on PSN before XBLA, XBLA ain't puttin it up" ??......

First paragraph of the article, my emphasis:

Downloadable games must ship on Xbox Live Arcade at least simultaneously with competing platforms or Microsoft may refuse to publish them, Eurogamer can reveal.

This is, essentially, a non-story. I mean, if said downloadable title also proves popular on PSN, then you can guarantee Microsoft will change their mind in a
moment. Now, if they pulled this stunt with XBLIG, that's ****ty.

gizmo

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

First paragraph of the article, my emphasis:



This is, essentially, a non-story. I mean, if said downloadable title also proves popular on PSN, then you can guarantee Microsoft will change their mind in a
moment. Now, if they pulled this stunt with XBLIG, that's ****ty.

Course that would only be an issue if we could access XBLIG from Ireland. Or, in my case, if I could change my account region so I wasn't forced to live with the limitations of an Irish account despite currently living in the UK. Now that's a reason to hate Microsoft richy. :cool:

Mr.Saturn

gizmo wrote: »

Now that's a reason to hate Microsoft richy. :cool:

You win. Does that mean you'd have to get a new 360 to access to indie games? Have they ever given a reason for this?
Can you set a region? If so, set it to Japanese, Microsoft'd be so shocked they sold a machine there, they'd give you run
of the shop.

gizmo

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

You win. Does that mean you'd have to get a new 360 to access to indie games? Have they ever given a reason for this?
Can you set a region? If so, set it to Japanese, Microsoft'd be so shocked they sold a machine there, they'd give you run
of the shop.

Nope, what you can do is create a Silver account in the UK and use that to access the Indie store. Of course other content which is region locked, the forthcoming iPlayer app I'd wager, will probably be Gold account only which would mean I can't access that via my Gold Irish account.

On top of this, 18s rated content is usually region locked too, so because my account is deemed "out of region" i.e. an Irish account in a different geographical location, I can't download it. That's stung me with both DLC (the free Gears 2 map pack) and also XBLA games (Dead Rising 2: Case West).

Microsoft's official line on this has always been "you'll just need to create a new account in your new region". But that means you'll lose all content you've purchased as well as your save games and achievements. Not really an ideal solution.

Overheal

richymcdermott wrote: »

This is petty ****e going on

Not really.

It's basically trying to avoid situations where people end up needing multiple copies of the same game for different consoles. Wasn't there some example, a few years back I think it was Dead or Alive. The 360 version had a Spartan, the PS3 version had someone else, etc.

Basically saying that if their isn't parity, and the source of that disparity is BS, they can block the game.

I don't really see an issue with that. And the former part about release dates just leverages their market position again to where games are sold based on their strengths, rather than any given example where PS3 gets the title 2 weeks early and as a result gets the majority of the sales. Whereas in a same-launch scenario the sales may have been split differently, perhaps evenly or in the 360s favor - entirely dependent on the preference of consumers.

Healium

gizmo wrote: »

Nope, what you can do is create a Silver account in the UK and use that to access the Indie store. Of course other content which is region locked, the forthcoming iPlayer app I'd wager, will probably be Gold account only which would mean I can't access that via my Gold Irish account.

On top of this, 18s rated content is usually region locked too, so because my account is deemed "out of region" i.e. an Irish account in a different geographical location, I can't download it. That's stung me with both DLC (the free Gears 2 map pack) and also XBLA games (Dead Rising 2: Case West).

Microsoft's official line on this has always been "you'll just need to create a new account in your new region". But that means you'll lose all content you've purchased as well as your save games and achievements. Not really an ideal solution.

You do realize that you can just download them on an alternate account, and play them on your Irish GT, yeah? Same with indie games. I bought Trenched and a few indies on an American account, play them on my Irish GT, and keep all my saves and Achievements

gizmo

Healium wrote: »

You do realize that you can just download them on an alternate account, and play them on your Irish GT, yeah? Same with indie games. I bought Trenched and a few indies on an American account, play them on my Irish GT, and keep all my saves and Achievements

Yup, that's what I've been forced to do. I dislike the practice though because the purchases themselves aren't linked to my main Irish GT.

I have a similar problem with my Windows Phone too, my Live ID which is linked to my Zune account is Irish so even though I'm in the UK I can't use all of the functionality of Zune either on my desktop or phone, such as the Zune Pass, music purchasing or proper music lookup.