Phil Spencer: Sony Uses Revenue From Our Games To Reduce Xbox's 'Survival In The Market'

It's been a very telling and very revealing hearing today. It's abundently clear why Jimbo didn't want to turn up in person.

If anything, MS owning ABK will force Sony to stop being so aggressive in the market. Through all the crying Mr. Rattlesnake did to all the regulators, and now the toad has been outed for being nothing more than a market bully.

There's no justifying his actions. Even diehard Sony fans will have a hard time defending that.

I’m just glad to finally hear some fighting talk from Phil against Sony and half the nonsense they pull against Xbox. The previous love bombing of all things PlayStation was getting just a tad worrying lol.

Some of this seems shaky imo. If they were so worried about star field being an exclusive why didn’t they just outbid them instead of buying zenimax? Obviously they have the income to do so. Instead they bought an entire publisher. Just to lock down their games as an exclusive. Which is honestly a worse look cause you’re taking away games that where definitely going to reach more gamers and were planned to do so.Meanwhile it’s safe to assume that Star field would have been a timed exclusive on ps if that was the case. Which means it would have still hit Xbox after a set amount of time like Deathloop etc. People get so caught up defending their preferred console of choice that they don’t step back and actually take a look at what they’re doing.

@Traman500 Really so the answer was to just outbid Sony ? 🤣

I would never defend Jim Ryan because he is the definition of a snake but Phil doesn’t half talk some crap too. Microsoft’s entire strategy is to destroy their competition in all aspects of their business. They even had coined the term for it internally at one point. I work with Microsoft everyday and I’m a big fan of a lot of their products but to play the victim in any of the industries they sit in is laughable. Phil just makes a fool of himself whenever he speaks. I’ve never known anyone speak so many words and saying very little. Jim talks when nobody wants to hear him. They are both making utter tits of themselves right now.

@Traman500
With Starfield being an exclusive to the Xbox you can still play the game on any computer or mobile phone through Gamepass Ultimate and a reasonable internet connection. If it was exclusive to Sony at best it may have been a 1-yr exclusive deal like Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo but you wouldn't be able to play it right away on PC or through streaming.

@Traman500 outbid Sony, probably there's already a contract for that. And zenimax was aquired that contract might have scrapped.

Thanks to Pure Xbox for reporting the truth today. On PS the only news about the FTC trial are...

"We've Lost the Console Wars," Says Trillion Dollar Underdog Xbox

@Traman500 a popular game has a 3-6 month window when it gathers most of its sales. If SF comes to PS5 for 6 months before Xbox that is a sure fire way to have those SF diehards by a PS to get it early. It’s better to have the company under your belt if able to control some momentum for your platform. I see what your point is and i don’t entirely disagree. But if so is throwing fast balls MS has to adjust. Seems like they have and will continue to do so in the future.

He'd have a point if MS didn't also use the money they make from games to snap up third party exclusives. It's embarrassing how he still tries to maintain that Sony are the only ones that do this.

What Sony is doing is crappy, but not illegal. That’s how business work and Sony is free to use that 30% for whatever the heck they want, even if that means biting the hand that feeds them. MS is no saint either; their infamous “embrace, expand, extinguish” destroyed many small and medium businesses.

@Belkan that’s a possibility but we also don’t know that for sure. That’s all I’m saying. Who really knows what goes on behind closed doors at both companies. I personally don’t put much stock into what either says or promises.

This would explain why they didn't put up a stink about previous mergers... part of the deal was that all established IPs stay multi-plat, so they just use the money from those games specifically to fund exclusivity deals to further their market leadership. But CoD and Activision-Blizzard's other IPs make too much money to use for the same strategy so they tried to fight it.

@Green-Bandit That’s a fair point

@Savage_Joe That 30% is the going rate, it's pretty much am industry standard. It's what MS currently gets from third party games too. Don't be fooled by their statement into thinking this is anything unusual, MS get the same 30% by third party suppliers. MS are just complaining because they bought up third party suppliers and aren't happy because Sony get a cut of their takings.

@Kevw2006 But how many of those Third Party games on Xbox are from the budget of a company owned by Sony or Nintendo?

@Savage_Joe you know who else does all that? Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft. This isn’t just a MS thing. They buy up the companies and put them inside their in house teams. Pretty normal in tech, and many of those small companies goal is to be good enough to get the attention of Apple and Google and Microsoft. Not saying it’s right or wrong, but all rich companies acquire others. I ain’t the biggest MS fan outside of Xbox, but i see all tech companies doing very similar business practices. 😊

How would Phil know what Sony does with their money? Phil doesn't work for Sony.

Xbox has to pay FAR MORE to get games Exclusive (even though they include PC) than PlayStation does for games like Final Fantasy 16. - Phil Spencer FTC Hearing 2023

These lawyers for the FTC are the reason you never accept a court appointed Attorney lol.

@Traman500 Microsoft did outbid Sony...it bought the company. 🤣

@Snake_V5 Any money Sony makes off PlayStation is going to be used in the best interest of PlayStation. And if Sony is paying to keep games off Xbox, then it's a safe bet that even the sales Sony makes off the cut it gets for sales of Xbox Game Studios games plays into that.

That isn't to say Sony has some kind of special bank for Xbox Game Studios games labelled "To screw over Microsoft", it's just a generalization that money Sony makes off rival platform holders games is going toward Sony doing what Sony does.

@GamingFan4Lyf jokes are all good and well but the fact remains buying an entire publisher vs buying an exclusive for a set amount of time are way different. Which is why it’s being investigated as we speak.

Kinda ironic the company behind Windows is saying this.

@Banjo- I mean, one could argue that third-party developers are taking that money to exclude Xbox.

So, in essence, the whole industry is fine taking money to exclude Xbox! Though, it's mostly Japanese developers that Sony cuts these deals with.

I guess that's why there is that whole other hubub about Japan potentially breaking some kind of international anti-competition laws or something that was reported a while back.

@Kaloudz

Didn't you call Jim Ryan a crybaby? Why aren't you doing the same here?

@GodofCapcom You're kidding right? The man travelled the globe in a very public outcry. You can't seriously be saying that you endorse the above behaviour? Taking money from a company's product, and then using that money to pay for other products to skip that specific company's platform.

You're absolutely behind that? Because if you're not, I don't at all see the relevance of your comment to me.

@Snake_V5 More than likely it's from his access to documents provided via the courts or third parties (that the deals would have been done with via Sony).

@Banjo- "Sony did not pay Square for Final Fantasy exclusivity and did not pay Bethesda for Ghostwire and Deathloop exclusivity".
Holy sh** that's some godlike contract they've got goin' on there. I'm guessing Tango game works drop the secrets when they were aquired.

@GamingFan4Lyf how much more did Sony has to pay developers to keep of games to Xbox. Literally, japanese government was okay with this kind of deal huh. To cope some loses people would start to buy PS5 because they've got games.

@Traman500 maybe they could outbid one time but this would have been 3 games in a row by the same publisher they would have had to outbid on. At what point does that become a waste of money and it becomes a better deal to just buy the publisher? It may have even been more than 3 games if Xbox hadn’t put a stop to it. Sony basically made Zenimax a better proposition for Xbox. Sucks for them.

@Alpha_Pulse
'Microsoft’s entire strategy is to destroy their competition in all aspects of their business.'
This the plain and utter truth, and phils obvious lies and manipulations make him as bad as anyone in the buisness - despite the cult of personality fans that blow him kisses from any comment section they can. The delusion is strong.

@old-dad because they r both from japan and xbox is not. The bro code u know 😎

@Traman500 I'd say because history was repeating itself. Microsoft didn't want a repeat of loosing Bioware to a competitor. Both Bethesda & Bioware helped make the original Xbox grow. So when EA snapped up Bioware they became multiplatform handing back advantage to Sony & same was happening with Bethesda as they were so desperate for cash they'd bow to Sony wishes.

N4G articles: lets ignore all of this and let me tell you how many remance options in starfield and why its disappointing!

@Titntin microaoft want to destroy compitition => sony proceed to use game exchange and no DRM as a joke to destroy xbox then buying exclusivity to final fantasy spiderman street fighter metal gear stellar blade ad exclusive contents in COD hogwards legacy and hundreds of japenese games

What a crazy person! As I said before both Jim and Phill are worth nothing to the gaming industry. In itself it is a pity that a large number of readers of this site also worship this man. I am a Playstation fan myself. But purely because of the Sony exclusives. I don't care much for racing and shooting games. So in that respect Playstation suits me just fine. But I'm not into Jim Ryan at all. And I find Phil Spencer quintessentially underhanded American. Bah bah what nonsense is all put down here in that court case. Just make games. I don't think anyone, both ps fans and xbox fans, are waiting for this nonsense.

I love how Phil is acting like Sony forced these companies to sign these contracts Square choose to make FF 16 exclusive to PS5 and PC because that's where most of they're sales come from Xbox are irrelevant to Japanese companies.

Just when you thought that it was not possible, Sony's followers have broken another record. Too bad we have to deal with the PS toxicity on PX. The "Microsoft wants to destroy the competition" and the "the cult of personality fans that blow him kisses from any comment section they can" parts speak for themselves. Attacking Microsoft because they are answering Sony's false accusations in a trial is a joke. I guess that Sony is happy because they are doing the dirty work while Jim and his team are hiding from the judge. Congratulations to them.

@Rangers420 Phil didn't say so, he explains why those games didn't come to Xbox. You should check the questions and the answers. He is not complaining. He is answering questions. It's a trial.

@GamingFan4Lyf So you replied to me to argue that in each case, two parties are involved? That one gives and the other takes. Isn't that... obvious?

Both companies take it off each other, pretty sure Microsoft doesn’t just set fire to the money they make from Minecraft etc that they have on PS. Also happy to take Sonys money for them to put the recent Bethesda titles on Plus.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

@Banjo- That's fair I'm honestly just sick of this ***** dragging on now mate didn't expect it to go on this long.

@Rangers420 Sony started a worldwide legal action against Microsoft and in the process Sony is being investigated for anti-competitive practices, such as the exclusion deals that they don't want to talk about. Sony's actions backfired and now some fans (not you) are in rage mode, those that only come here to attack Microsoft and Xbox fans. Once the acquisition is over, they will go home and relax so I can understand why most users want the acquisition to finish soon.

You know what's crazy, there are people openly saying they're playstation fans, right before negating Phil and xbox. This deal has everyone shook

@Zoidpilot4

You know what's crazy, there are people openly saying they're playstation fans, right before negating Phil and xbox

Those people are just covering all their bases, for instance, one can't really accused them of hypocrisy since they openly identify as Sony fan(boys)😂....at least there is that, huh?

The best thing for gaming as a whole would be for both Jim Ryan and Phil Spencer to just go away. Ryan is aggressive and Spencer has basically said that Xbox is only buying devs so it can survive. Neither of them are acting out of creative desire or acting to make gaming a better space.

It’s pathetic, it’s time to put a stop to the ego driven nonsense and get back to gaming! Because all of this is not about gaming. It’s about 2 big headed narcissists playing games.

Both need to go and let creative minds run the gaming space. That will be better for everyone.

@BaldBelper78

The best thing for gaming as a whole would be for both Jim Ryan and Phil Spencer to just go away and settle this issue via cage fighting.

We'll all be better for it 😁.

@BaldBelper78 Maybe. I do wonder that, perhaps, given how Sony has tried to strangle MS, Phil is a neccesity for Xbox survival. So yeah, is Ryan left, and Sony became more fair, then Xbox would have to do the same, and Phil would need to step down....however, these are two big corps and big corps will always compete. It's the nature of the beast, and for that reason, as a owner of all 3 but in preference of my Xbox, I say we need Phil Spencer.

He got Xbox off it's knees. He's the brain child of Gamepass, he's the reason Starfield is on GP day one. It's all a matter of context, right? If you play on Xbox, Phil is great. If you don't, then he's bad for your wallet. Ryan however, he's straight up making problems, though it might be his job, there is no denying the man reeks of a Tory politcian, I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up running one day for PM.

In conclusion, for Xbox, Phil is needed, maybe not wanted however. Personally I like him. But outside of my own bias, I understand the issues following Phil, if anything I don't think he's ruthless enough.

I think what we're going to see a lot of are people who now see the lies and snake skin of Jim Ryan, but can't, or won't, accept it without trying to throw shade at Phil too. It happens in politics all the time, when a dirty secret is unearthed they resort to what-about-ery, and it's simply nonsencial, straw grasping mentality. If you game on Xbox, and I assume those on an Xbox centric site do, then in how on Earth is Phil Spencer bad for Xbox? Starfield on Gamepass. Gamepass. The fact not only is Xbox off it's knees, but the MS heads are all in. And now, he's fighting for us to get COD, Diablo and more on Gamepass. I think, really, those who have a problem with that, probably don't play on Xbox.

@Sol4ris That too!!😂😂

@Zoidpilot4 Good points. I just find the whole thing to be a total mess and farcical. I just want these guys to get back to being creative minds and focused on gaming. It’s become a pantomime and none of this is good for the people that truly matter and that’s the gamers!

Sorry, still don't feel sorry for them. Not defending Sony, but the real reason Xbox is so far behind is Microsoft. If they didn't just sit back and let all of their momentum during the Xbox 360 generation evaporate by relying on a handful of series and ignoring mostly anything else they wouldn't be in this mess.

Finger point all you want, Microsoft, you are still not the victim unless the other person staring back at you is yourself.

@KilloWertz

Finger point all you want, Microsoft, you are still not the victim unless the other person staring back at you is yourself

Well that's the thing isn't it? For all we know Phil Spencer might practice the finger pointing in front of a huge mirror at Sony HQ entrance 😁.

@BaldBelper78 I agree there, 100%. They need to be more Nintendo, not as in the type of games, but just how they approach gaming as a whole. Have the two companies compete for who is more fun, that way we'd all have fun haha

The reason they didn't simply outbid PlayStation, @Traman500, is simple arithmetic. If we are to assume that Starfield was never going to be on the Switch, in terms of consoles alone, the player-base of the PlayStation versus the Xbox is a 70/30 split, or thereabouts. So, in order to secure Starfield as an exclusive for the Xbox, Microsoft would have had to compensate Bethesda for 70% of the lost sales. For a game that was always likely to have sold millions on the PlayStation alone, that would have cost Microsoft a great deal of money indeed. Then, for having Starfield as an exclusive on the Xbox, and if we assume that it would not have gone on to the Game Pass, the game would have needed to bring in a massive amount of new Xbox console owners. If the game had indeed gone on to the Game Pass, then the uptick in new subscribers would have had to be enormous.

Quite simply, the sales figures for new consoles and/or new Game Pass subscribers would never have resulted in a profit for Xbox, and would never have covered the cost of paying for the exclusivity. On the other hand, outright buying Bethesda outright, meant not only securing the exclusivity for Starfield, but it would mean that there would be an uptick in console sales and new Game Pass subscribers, AND, crucially, Microsoft would get to keep ALL of the profits from Starfield (and that's not to mention the extensive back catalogue of games that came with buying Bethesda).

Also, you say that Starfield would have been a timed-exclusive on the PlayStation, but in truth, that is a best case scenario. There is every possibility that Sony would have paid for permanent exclusivity, as they have done with Final Fantasy. Yes, Sony only opted for timed-exclusivity with Deathloop and Ghose Wire Tokyo, but those games are not on the same scale as Starfield. Starfield is a system seller. Deathloop and Ghost Wire Tokyo are not. There was therefore, every incentive for Sony to seek permanent exclusivity for Starfield.

There's nothing shaky about this at all. It was just very good business sense...

@cragis0001 That's hilarious!

I've been saying this for some time now. It's why I boycott Sony.

Microsoft destroying playstation would actually be great for gamers, and would clear the space for another company that isn't as anti competitive

The hearing is interesting. Sony acts in the gaming space like MS acted in other places. Exclusion = the new exclusivity. At the end of the day, I think Sony did a bad move complaining about ABK ...

https://cand-uscourts.zoomgov.com/j/1613661817?pwd=Z0tnSzBvKzJMN25SRFB3M1B6dFBadz09#success

@themightyant I disagree. Sorry

@themightyant I disagree. What else is there to say

@GodofCapcom Are you having a laugh? Why should they not put games on PS? Is that fair to the players? No. Is that fair to MS? No. Of course MS get a bigger cut, it's their game... that's not what's up for debate though is it.

"Who in the world would expect the competition not use their money to COMPETE?"

There's a big difference between competing, and using your market weight to damage the competition. Had MS not have purchased Zenimax, there's every chance PS would have swooped in and (just like Deathloop and Ghostwire) paid specifically to keep Starfield from Xbox. This "For the Players" platform that you're stood in front of with your sword and shield utilizes those sorts of techniques.

Is it legal? Sadly yes, but I wouldn't be surprised if it dances on the edge of being anti-competitive.

"They're blaming sony for just breathing at this point lol."

No. They're pointing the finger at Sony and exposing them for being market bullies. Which, no matter which way you cut it, they are. Christ, MS couldn't even showcase CoD last year due to Sony's demands. Y'know, the multi-platform game that your fearless leader Jim Ryan got all hot under the collar about?

"Oh and MLB and Bungie games are on xbox so... so MS can't use that money to make MS grow I'm guessing? In your mind that is hahaha."

MS are no saints and you'll see no denial of the fact from me. They aren't however, anywhere near as snake-like as Sony. The deals that Sony pulls are self-serving, manipulative, and line-crossing. Hence why Mr. Rattlesnake didn't want to attend the hearing. He knows MS' legal team would have made him their pinata.

Now, as for

"Either you're clueless or you are a biased fanboy. Maybe both."

and

"Jim Ryan sucks too. Just mentioning this because it seems your emotions clouds your judgement too much and I would not be surprised you assumed stuff from me."

Apparently you know me well enough to know how my mind works. I'll bite though. I'm neither a fanboy nor clueless. Simply someone that's been following the facts. If you took the time and energy to follow them too and had a sound mind, you'd be just as appalled as the majority of us here, regardless of your platform of choice.

And no, simply saying "Jim Ryan Sucks" is not the same as shaming his behaviour. Not when you laugh about it further up...

They need to make a law that blocks the behavior of paying for exclusivity to 3rd party developers. I'm willing to bet this is part of the reason the Final Fantasy VII remake still has no part 2 of what 3 parts to release? Sony is killing the industry trying be the top and only place to play console games. In contrast Microsoft is trying to get new games on every device possible.

Exclusivity deals appear (at least in the US) in the same legislation that regulates monopolies for a reason: They can have a similar effect on the market. The problem is exclusivity deals are a lot more difficult to prove.

@themightyant I’m glad you also see that Xbox gets the same cut etc from Sony.

But yes you have to laugh at all the high 5s that Jim is evil and that Phil walks on water and Xbox can’t do anything wrong. Then they call others fanboys. It’s very strange.

Both Phil and Jim are as bad as each other. Both want our money and time consumed on their device.

Phil. Where does the revenue from mlb the show go?

Console wars are alive and well it seems smh. All these companies are unendingly ruthless, they didn't reach billion/trillion dollar size by being sunshine & rainbows with everyone and both have done or would do everything they're accusing the other of. Get both plastic boxes and play all the games without having to pledge allegiance to either company, seems simple.

Sony is the definition of a crybully corporation.

@Traman500 the cost of making it exclusive with the small market of Xbox gamers wouldn’t be profitable. Makers need to get paid a lot. Better off to buy. How do people not get this?

@Alpha_Pulse Phil hasn't made a tit of himself at all. He was brilliant. Sarah Bond was amazing in court too. The biggest fools in this whole thing are the clueless FTC who don't have a clue what is going on. It's embarrassing!

@themightyant rarely has Phil said anything negative or dodgy. People want him to be more passionate and less corporate. He's amazing. The more you see of Phil the more you see how a great and unique leader of Xbox he is. Smashes Sony and Nintendo out the park for public speaking and just a real gamer too. You only have to see him on Twitter to know he's a genuine nice guy. You can see that. It's not business talk with Phil most of the time. He's not all suit and trousers. It's been 10 years or more and people still think he's some corporate mouth piece. I mean really wake up guys. He's not Jim Crying Ryan.

@Sol4ris why are you on the site if you're bashing Phil when MS and Xbox are the ones getting shat on. Weird comment.

@themightyant disagree I'm afraid. Sony and the clueless CMA are the only ones looking bad. MS have been decent and fair for years now. Jim has lied so many times now. They were going to take more games away from Xbox than ever. Let that sink in. I've also checked EG and their coverage has been so poor and bias. I've seen some of your comments against Xbox over there. Disappointing from many others at EG. That community is on its last legs I can see. I went into own thread and over 20 comments or more were deleted haha. And I was one of the good ones. I'll be back in July.

The more that comes out the more my dislike for Sony and Jim grows. The Fact Sony tried to take a bunch of games away from Xbox would have literally been criminal. They get away with so much BS its unreal. This isn't about Bias. Sony want Xbox dead. No Sony fans can defend that. MS had to make Starfield exclusive as sony fecked MS and Xbox around with other deals. That's all there in black and white. I will be telling my friends this on party chat soon. As that is damming stuff. Imagine if Sony has got these Bethesda games. Xbox would be potentially dead. Sony killed the Dreamcast. We can't have Xbox leaving the market. They are amazing and deserve to be here. Online gaming was made beautiful by them. Halo 2 alone and party chat and Xbox Live etc. We need Xbox as much as we need Nintendo and Sony.

@Ep_13

This is the reason why Sony does not want games to come to Xbox and Nintendo consoles

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/03/sony-wants-to-make-playstation-the-best-place-to-play-third-party-games

@Ep_13 I am not referring to his delivery in his questioning with the FTC. I would say that was less about how good Phil was and how poor the FTC was with the their questions. What I am referring to is this poor Xbox 3rd place stuff as well as losing console wars and cloud is just a feature. Sony want to squeeze Xbox by buying exclusivity deals to keep games from Xbox. Xbox wants to buy publishers to squeeze Sony. Phil ain’t no white night. He is a wilf in sheep’s clothing. Jim Ryan is just a wolf. I will admit Phil is the more likeable of the two and when he is talking about games in general yes he talks sense but the amount of waffle he talks at a corporate level and how people lap it up is ridiculous. He is purposefully vague in every public forum.

@themightyant 100% agree with this. Not many selfish personalities. I can’t wrap my head around the stance being exclusive or multi platform anyone would opt for the former. I can see some of the arguments on the Xbox side because Sony keep making deals for times exclusivity but I would still never opt for any IP that’s has been multi platform for many years to suddenly only be available on one or two platforms. With cross play it keeps online games up longer! There are benefits to all for multi plat. What makes me laugh for people crying for exclusivity on the Sony side is there’s actually no benefit because it doesn’t sit on Plus day one. We are still paying £70 for it so may as well be multi platform anyway. There is no other benefit other than people coming to sites like this to say haha which is just creating more toxic environments. I would rather come to sites like to debate opinions on games.

It’s like the article on here for Xbox GamePass going up a couple of quid. The first comment on the articles was pretty much “I am happy to pay because I still don’t have to pay £70 day one like a certain other platform”. The very first comment was someone in full defence mode! It’s just sad! Why not just say yes it’s great value I would 100% pay the increase.

That's what they can't or don't want to see. By being the video games market leader, Sony can spend less money to buy exclusion deals that kick Xbox out of the third-party competition, something illegal in some markets and countries.

Sony use their market dominance to damage the competition: using less money than what the other competitor would need to do the same, damaging a competitor that is already behind you and using content that is not theirs to damage the other competitor. That's literally cheating.

The other thing that they don't seem to understand is that Microsoft acquired Zenimax after Sony paid Zenimax for keeping games out of Xbox.

@Ep_13 That's the narrative of the pseudo-neutrals, no matter what, they always put Phil at the same level as Jim when facts define very well how each of them is. They are usually more obvious on other sites that are prone to attack Microsoft such as PS and EG.

@themightyant EG is run badly admin and the regulars are horrendous at times. I post one positive comment and I get jumped on. I've had people tell me on here that they witnessed it and are glad I'm here. It's a bad place to support Xbox. Ridiculous at times over there. I've had 2 or 3 people say I took a crap ton of abuse for no reason. You've seen it many times. As for push square. Don't care about them as I don't have a PS console for now.

@themightyant In response to your comment #65, from how I understand it; Phil didn’t just randomly come out with this statement regarding Sony spending the revenue to block games from coming to Xbox. He was asked how he felt about selling Xbox games on Playstation… and in that way I would say his response was pretty fair. I mean he was definitely stating the obvious. But it was just an answer to a question…

And after knowing what we know about Sony paying repeatedly to keep games off Xbox from Zenimax (in this case); what would you have suggested Xbox do in response?

@Banjo- it's hilarious. You've got people over at EG and Twitter saying the FTC did a good job. I mean what? They were embarrassing. I thought Phil and Sarah and most of the team did a fantastic job.

The US legal system needs it's head wobbled for sure.

I still don't get how certain people are painting MS and Xbox as the bad guys here. Seems crazy. The negative stuff coming out is all related to Sony.

@Alpha_Pulse console wars should have died with Nintendo vs Sega in the 90s sadly the rise in social media has brought out the rhetoric and the inciting language again.

Imagine the collaborations that could be possible if Playstation weren’t such a ***** company.

Xbox plays well with Nintendo and we get Banjo in smash, achievements in Minecraft and Ori on Switch, and 2 versions of Goldeneye on modern systems. I hope that continues; and it’s looking like it will. Another way Playstation will miss out; and unfortunately so do we all.

@Ep_13 It's also hilarious when they cut sentences that were Phil's replies at the trial to make it look like Phil was attacking Sony. Even though Phil is saying the same as what the reality says and that he swore under oath, there are people that say that he lied. It's a miracle that they haven't said that Jim was brilliant even though he wasn't there. There is only one thing that is true, facts, so all that they can do is try to manipulate facts and take sentences out of context.

Facts: Jim lied to the regulators and to the media (as revealed by his private email). Jim didn't go to the trial's hearing after starting a worldwide legal action. FTC's witness said the opposite of what FTC claimed.

@Jaxx420 I know honestly I feel like such a hippy about the whole thing but seriously “why can’t we all just get along” 😂.

From the beginning of this situation, one thing has stuck out for me. Umpteen games releasing on, of all things, PS4/PS5 and Switch, with PC often following up, or games ONLY appearing on PS4/PS5 and PC.

Now, There's a saying, "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action..."
It's reworded on another more common phrase, but it's relevant. Far too many games that aren't pushing the envelope on technology levels, including some direct ports of PS1 and PS2 era games, aren't coming to XBOX because...
Far too often, the companies clam up or refuse to even mention the thought of an XBOX port, and with some games, like Final Fantasy XIV, they claim 'They're working on it' when, right now, they've quite literally finished the main story(!), meaning they're clearly lying to hide Sony's exclusion deals.

Microsoft wouldn’t let Square release FFXIV on Xbox.

20% of XV sales were on Xbox.

Sony’s FF exclusivity stems from not burning bridges.

@ValentineMeikin As you can see, they also say that there is no Xbox version because of the development costs and that Square Enix don't want to release games for Xbox because their games don't sell on Xbox. Both things are lies because most of the times there is a Windows version that, surprise surprise, is released 6 or 12 months after the PS version and because Square Enix confirmed recently that they approach platform holders for "deals", not to mention Phil confirming at the trial that Sony paid for keeping Zenimax and Square Enix games off Xbox. Also, when Sony don't pay for an Xbox exclusion deal, Xbox get even the smallest Square Enix games such as Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai. These are facts, the rest are lies that they are spreading hoping that someone believes them.

Hell, Naoki Yoshida said in an interview that Microsoft need to remove two regulations, blocking 'cross-platform' voice chat and guilds...

When I know that Fortnite, Phantasy Star Online 2, Minecraft, Smite... The list goes on and on... all support voice chat and friend lists without checking a 'white list' of approved account types, and it was SONY who was telling the companies that they can't let other companies onto Playstation's white list.

@ValentineMeikin True. I remember that. Final Fantasy XIV is a special case because it's an online game that is also old and has a list of check marks. Both Microsoft and Square Enix said that they wanted to bring that game to Xbox but it wasn't as easy as it seems or so they said. Why not an in-game chat like in Fortnite?

This argument goes both ways though considering Destiny is still on Xbox even though Sony owns Bungie and the same goes for MLB The Show but okay.

Just like how Microsoft have used money from Destiny 2 and MLB the Show for purchases, or does that not fit the narrative....

@Traman500 buying Zenimax was a sensible forward looking move. It prevents Sony from trying the same trick again with another game released by the firm further down the line - preventing a game of whack-a-mole.
Both Sony and Microsoft are doing what corporations always do. No difference between when it comes to corporate shenanigans - regardless of their PR, marketing spiel and public rhetoric.

@Banjo- Yes, but that's the whole point. Yoshida-san was saying Microsoft's terms and conditions block that and guild features.

When Monster Hunter, Fortnite, Smite and several other games all show that either Microsoft relaxed those terms, but Square didn't bite, or that he was doing similar to what the FTC are doing here, and using Sony's own practices as a litmus test for Microsoft's practices.

@Traman500 because buying an entire publisher is a long term investment and financially the more sensible thing to do… Jesus wept 🤦🏻‍♂️

@themightyant

"And how many more AAA games do you think will end up taken away from PlayStation now Xbox owns Zenimax and surely ABK soon. I guarantee it will be far more than FF7R, FFXVI, etc.etc."

https://i.imgur.com/Sz6qFBg.png

k. Poor babby Playstation, won't somebody think of little Jimmy Ryan.

"Most crucially not enough critical thinking."

How much critical thinking is requires to see that "team green" requires more exclusives to compete?

@themightyant I've got to say mate, I spot you commenting on a few of these sites and I always find myself nodding along; it's good to have some sane voices among the rabble now and then.

The fact of the matter is, these 2 are businesses. Jim and Phil will both do what is best for their businesses, which would naturally include diminishing their competitors. You could just as easily argue "MS used revenue from games Sony shipped to buy publishers like Zenimax to keep games off PlayStation!!"... well, duh, of course they do, and visa versa. These corporations aren't your friends; they're businesses, and if you like the products they put out the great - continue to support them. But don't delude yourself into thinking one is more ruthless than the other.

@ValentineMeikin I'm not sure I'm understanding what you are saying and I would like to because it's interesting. What do you mean?

Money from PS Sales Also helps keep xbox afloat

@Banjo- Most online games have voice chat, friend lists and guild functionality. According to an article on Gamerant:

According to Final Fantasy 14 game director Naoki Yoshida, a Final Fantasy 14 Xbox One port hasn't happened yet due to Microsoft's own rules about cross-play. Apparently Microsoft has a rule about players being able to chat with those on other platforms, as well as a rule against making a community with players on another platform, like a Guild, for instance.

Now, note that. Effectively, Yoshida-san in 2019 declared that Microsoft has rules about players interacting in a meaningful way with those on 'other platforms'. The Better Together update for Minecraft and Microsoft's support for SMITE and various other online games, with many of them being cross-play compatible out of the box, effectively renders that statement a flat lie.

Meanwhile, one of the reasons Microsoft gave for Minecraft delays on Playstation, and a known bug bear of Epic Games over Fortnite crossplay, was that Sony was blocking crossplay... since they didn't want to let XBOX Live or Nintendo Network into their walled garden.
So, literally, Yoshida-san's complaint... was the exact thing Sony got blasted by several companies for.

@ValentineMeikin Thanks. So that means that Yoshida (Square Enix) lied about why Final Fantasy XIV is not on Xbox and the problem was not with Microsoft but with Sony, that didn't allow cross-gaming. Basically, they put the blame on Microsoft when it was Sony the culprit. Pathetic.

I remember the Fortine news. If you logged in on Playstation after having played on another platform, you would lose all your DLC and your account would be reset. Sony would make your Fortnite account theirs and you would lose what you had on your account, including things bought with real money.

@Ep_13

why are you on the site if you're bashing Phil when MS and Xbox are the ones getting shat on

Bashing Phil?? It was a tongue in cheek comment hombre, surely you can accept that not even Phil should be above the occasional scrutiny. Oh and I'm on this site because Xbox is my primary gaming platform and I'm invested in their ecosystem. Hope that clears up your confusion...

@Banjo- Yup.
It's why I believe everything Phil's said to the FTC. Because it fits, that Sony would use every dirty trick possible to get rid of XBOX because they don't care about Nintendo at the moment.

Sony's ideal market would be them running, literally, the high end console market, while Nintendo runs handhelds, while, say, Apple are the only option for mobiles.

The problem with their idea of a market is that it's stagnant. Nintendo got to where they are by having the best product on the market. Sony know they don't have the best product on the market, so use deals like this to make their catalogue the best on the market.

ABK fails, Sony gives them a golden parachute for Call Of Duty six-month exclusivity ad infinitum, and, in 2030, the only things ABK will be developing will be Call Of Duty for Sony, Call Of Duty Mobile and Overwatch. Everything else will be swallowed up.

They all talk a load of *****. I don’t think Sony’s aim is to hurt Xbox, to beat them sure but not hurt them. It’s not as tho Sony are worried, it’s hardly a close race. Was Microsoft trying to hurt Playstation in the 360 day wen they had timed exclusives? Was phil trying to hurt Playstation wen he lied an said it wasn’t his aim to remove Bethesda title from other platforms, then he makes Redfall, Starfield an Indiana, intended 3rd party games, exclusive? If Phil could get timed exclusives he would! If Phil could do something that hurt Playstation an boosted Xbox he would! Fact!!

@Sol4ris ah ok. I thought it was a pee take, but was a joke. Cheers dude. Apologies.

@iplaygamesnstuff new games on every device possible??? Is that why Phil said our aim isn’t to take Bethesda games from other platforms, then he makes 3 intended third party games, Redfall, Starfield an Indiana, Xbox exclusive!!
You do know Xbox 360 had numerous timed exclusives? So that was ok but because Xbox can no longer do it it shouldn’t be allowed by anyone?

Yeah but Sega has blast processing !

Do people realize the 360 has been dead for 10 years ? The what-about-ism is just amazing lol

@Lastatopiny Timed exclusives isn't the big problem. Sony have outright white lied to the consumer. A good example is how Final Fantasy 7 Remake was 'First On Playstation', not 'Playstation Exclusive'... but where's the XBOX version?

Square-Enix has made plenty of excuses, like that the XBOX Series version is 'being developed', but they're 'working on [something else]', but far too many companies are failing to commit to an XBOX version.
If a title is a flagship title for any company, far too many times, Sony has bought Exclusion deals instead of Exclusivity deals.

The fact that you could replace FTC with 'Sony' and nothing would be different is why the ABK case is so polarising.

@ValentineMeikin You are absolutely right.

@old-dad All they can do to justify Sony's anti-competitive practices is use examples from 15 years ago. They complain about Xbox keeping first-party games away from PS when Sony buys Xbox exclusion deals to keep third-party games off Xbox. They don't complain about that, why not? They don't complain about Sony keeping first-party games away from Xbox, why not?

It's hilarious that they use a contradictory example, Bethesda, that was acquired by Microsoft because Sony was keeping their games away from Xbox. Their hypocrisy is infinite.

@themightyant That's why it's a white lie. They seem to love pretending that XBOX isn't a format, and that Playstation First still meant that XBOX doesn't get it... is where it's dirty pool.

@themightyant It's like if a film company announced a film releasing to 'Streaming First', and then you see it come out on Blu-Ray but not on DVD. DVD is still a formet, some people still use it.

By saying 'Play It First On Playstation 4', people's eyes immediately went to XBOX, since it's the other high end platform. Six months passed, no announcement, 12 months passed, no announcement, then they announce the PC version.

Compare that to, say, Street Fighter 5. That, from Day 1, was announced as 'Exclusively on PS4 and PC'. There was never any doubt that it was only going to come to Playstation and PC.

That's the thing. Show me any point where Sony advertised FF7 Remake as 'Exclusively for Playstation and PC' in it's early marketing.

It's business at the end of the day.

Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are not our friends. At the end of the day, they all want to get our money.

@Banjo- They are just tone deaf. Sony kept poking the bear and Im sure Sony thought it was just fine because reasons lol. Now they are shocked,stunned and amazed that a trillion dollar company had enough of their s**t.

@themightyant Sorry you are my #65 but it’s because I was unfortunately blocked by an ultimate otaku.

No doubt Xbox screwed up from 2013ish to at least 2016ish with the closure of Lionhead (okay longer than that; as they started reacquiring in 2018). But even in an alternate universe where they were pumping out games non-stop; no way they should sit there and let Sony keep paying for these games to skip Xbox. I just can’t understand anyone defending Sony’s behaviour; at least to the extent where they think Xbox shouldn’t respond. And there was no other logical reaction to the Zenimax saga than to just acquire them outright and put a stop to Sony’s BS.

@Alpha_Pulse
Totally agree, it's what all companies do in western capitalism; alternate between pretending they are akin to "a poor widdle company just trying to do a widdle business" to the government in one situation while trying crush other companies who use the "just a poor widdle company" defense themselves.

I can't believe the amount of people who try and frame Microsoft/Nintendo/Sony as cuddly good guys, and the others as the fist of Satan when they are all as bad as each other.

Let people choose what they like I've played all systems for years but chose XBOX that's my preference.. I truly believe in cross-platform on all games .. Gaming is a relaxer for me having PTSD from my time in the military even if I'm only a mediocre player to these young gamers of today ...

@RPE83 I know it’s frustrating. Then it will be Sony responding in kind and the Microsoft responding back and so forth. I guess it will eventually play into both of their hands because you will have to buy both consoles in order to ensure you have access to a large chunk of the games available.

And I suppose buying multi-billion dollar companies to keep games off PlayStation and changing contracts to block PlayStation version of games despite saying “we will honour all existing contracts” isn’t aggressive at all is it? Microsoft are a disgusting organisation.

@47AlphaTango Look at it from Microsoft's perspective. A considerable amount of companies are dragging their feet over XBOX versions of games, to the point there's zero commitment after 3-4 years of talks.

Now, the judge was right to tell the FTC to shut up and stop badgering them to commit to Elder Scrolls 6, putting Call Of Duty on Playstation Now etc.

To say that Microsoft is innocent, yes, that's pushing it, but looking at the games I play, there's an annoying amount of times where, to play the games I want to play, I need to get a Playstation, and not because it's the better version, but because it's the ONLY version.

Tales Of Vesperia was a game that started out XBOX 360 exclusive. Namco Bandai made it multi-platform and gave us more than just a remaster.
When P3, P4 and P5 were announced for XBOX, within days, they announced them for all current systems.

Then I look at Sony's exclusives... and they ARE exclusives, with many of the biggest games of the 2020's all being Playstation exclusive, with token releases on Switch and/or PC.

Before you say that Microsoft keeping Starfield and Indiana Jones is anti-competitive, ask yourself this...

How many of the AAA titles released, third-party, have been Playstation console timed or absolute exclusives and/or released only on Playstation and Switch?

Playstation so far have had two AAA third party exclusives and one of those is apparently still coming to xbox.

1, Final Fantasy 7 Remake
2, Forspoken

Both Square Enix games, so Sony aren't doing this with everyone as some people would make you believe. Timed exclusives they have more of and some indies as well but that's just the same with Microsoft with The Medium, Ark 2 and Stalker 2 and indies like High on Life and Scorn. People soon forget those though 😏, and last gen the one who had the biggest third party exclusive was actually Microsoft with Tomb Raider and even one of the biggest online games (at that time) in PUBG. But no let's all continue to single out sony with its timed exclusives of Japanese games.

You clearly have a different idea on what AAA titles are. I can list several games, and not from Japanese development teams, which aren't on XBOX, and got announced by Sony.

But no, the entire industry revolves around Call Of Duty and Final Fantasy.

The reality is Microsoft has some underwhelming IPs. They release 2 or 3 good games a year on Xbox. Sony releases 2 or 3 great games on PS5. There is a difference! Microsoft has not given us Scalebound or Lost Odyssey 2. PlatinumGames and Mystwalker due some interesting stuff.

@ValentineMeikin I'm curious, name me some third party AAA games that aren't Japanese that are on playstation but aren't on xbox.

@ValentineMeikin Also you're forgetting games like

Ryse son of Rome
Titanfall 1
Tomb Raider 2
Alan Wake 1
Quantum Break
Dead Rising 3

All AAA Third Party games Microsoft paid for, some took many years to come to playstation and some still haven't come to playstation.

@UltimateOtaku91 And this is the kind of questioning which is why the FTC were told to shut up. You're saying that it's all about Sony and them buying up exclusivity within Japanese studios...

Well, I'll give you one game, straight away, that's got rave reviews but is still Playstation exclusive, and is also a non-Japanese publisher... Stray.

But you're likely to say that's an indie game, and not a AAA title. The big reason why the Zenimax and ABK deals are massive were the studios that weren't on the ticket. And Sony has quite a few studios that you need to look really hard to realise they own them.

Changing the subject for a moment, Marvel's Avengers and Spiderman's exclusivity. Why can Spiderman appear in Fortnite, but you have a AAA title with him in, and gee, Sony start asking for him to be exclusive, and it WAS NOT a timed exclusive.

With so many games supporting cross platform gaming, I feel exclusivity is very archaic. But I understand why 1st party ip's are exclusive but not 3rd party. Many games nowadays are released buggy, broken, or just not finished. So I can see the appeal of a developer taking money for exclusivity because it is an instant cash grab. I think it's short sighted. Where as if you release games multiplatform, you share in the revenues but also are open to a larger audience. I am not a fanboy of Microsoft or Playstation. I would mention Nintendo but literally none of their 1st party ip's are on other platforms. I give Microsoft credit because if they release something on Xbox it's usually also on PC. Sony will keep a game exclusive to their platform for a year or longer before releasing on PC and that is if there is a PC port. And some games in general are console only skipping PC altogether. Which is amazing considering that there is probably more PC gamers than all the console gamers combined. My opinion of course but a valid point. All these companies are out to make money however they can. But I would rather give my money to Xbox for a game pass because I can use it on my Xbox and PC. PlayStation plus only allows you to use it on their consoles and a far more inferior service than game pass. Won't include Nintendo here because Nintendo online just sucks in general. People get all hyped up and fanboy over their favorite consoles and I get that. But with digital distribution, cloud gaming, and games as a service, consoles won't always be the way to make money. Eventually there will be no need for consoles if cloud services become better when broadband has reached a majority of the population. So i feel Microsoft is putting itself in that position now to service PC and console gamers and cloud streaming in the future. I don't agree with all of it but that is how things are going. Microsoft is aggressively going after Nintendo, Nvidia, and other services to guarantee popular games will be widely available. You can't say the same thing about Sony. So I do believe Sony does use money it earns off of Xbox to stifle games on the Xbox due to exclusivity agreements.

@UltimateOtaku91

Quantum Break is a 2016 action-adventure third-person shooter video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios for Windows and Xbox One.

Dead Rising 3 is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Capcom Vancouver and published by Microsoft Studios.

Do you want me to keep checking, because they were published by Microsoft themselves, same as Street Fighter V. I'm asking about third party games, where they weren't literally paid for and published by Sony or Microsoft. A 'third party' game, as I understand it, means that they were not involved.

Wonder when Nioh is coming out on Xbox ?

@ValentineMeikin You're the one who said theres plenty of AAA games on playstation that are not on xbox and are not Japanese developed so I asked you to name them, and you're right Stray is not AAA and no one has ever called it one, and it's meant to be coming to xbox very soon.

And the Publisher are the ones who deal with distributing the game, they didn't have any involvement in making the game and still paid the developer a lot of money to keep it off other systems.

Microsoft have paid western developers for AAA exclusives and timed exclusives, whilst Sony have done the same with Japanese developers. Both have done it in equal measure and both still do it today.

@ValentineMeikin PlayStation gets more games because it outsells the Xbox 7:1. It’s obviously going to get more content because that’s where the money is.

@UltimateOtaku91 Now we know when you see published by they have a financial stake in that game. More than likely provided the funding like bloodborne or SFV

@old-dad Yes hence why if Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft publish a third party game it's mainly exclusive to them. But they still have to pay the developer for exclusivity due to lost sales from other systems,its basically the same as paying to keep the game off other platforms for a few years or indefinitely. These are some big devs who usually publish their own games so there's no way they went to Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo begging them to be publisher for them, they were the ones being approached.

@47AlphaTango So Sony has tons more exclusives than Xbox because it sells tons more consoles than Xbox, but Xbox is a scumbag company for buying a publisher and making some games exclusive to Xbox?

Average playstation fan logic, folks.

@UltimateOtaku91 But that is not what happened. Sony paid to make it exclusive, for how long nobody knows ? Those other games you listed MS own or owned at one point those IP.

@47AlphaTango Tbf the majority of games on playstation that aren't on xbox are Japanese developed games, especially a load of niches titles during the Ps3/Ps4 gen and some AA ones like trails of cold steel, Ys, Senran Kagura, Disgaea and Neptunia games. There's no way sony pays for those to skip xbox, those developers chose themselves not to ship on xbox consoles.

@old-dad Which IP's do Microsoft own? Tomb Raider, Titanfall, Dead Rising and Alan Wake I know for sure they don't own due to other games from those IP's being on playstation.

This is what it says about Ryse - RYSE is licensed, not sold. RYSE and all copyrights, trademarks, and all other intellectual property rights related thereto are owned by CRYTEK.

After searching I do see that Quantum Break is the only one I mentioned that is owned by Microsoft.

@old-dad Also the Bloodbourne and Demon Souls IP is owned by Sony, Not Nioh though as Sony are listed as the Publishers but don't own the IP.

@UltimateOtaku91 Ryse, Titanfall and Dead Rising 3 all launch window titles for Xone. Im sure Xbox funded those games. Tomb Raider sequel was just plan money hatted but it did release on PS4.

We can nit pick this to death but Sony has based their business model on blocking games from coming to Xbox either by completely blocking the game or with less features.

It would be funny if in the background of all this bickering, Nintendo were developing their next console as a fully featured powerhouse. They have the 3rd parties back in their favour, combine that with their own IP's... if done right could devestate both companies. But it's Nintendo & they won't, or have to. But I'd love to see it, just to see Sony & MS crap themselves haha

Yes, Microsoft is practically dancing for nickels thanks to Sony.

@Traman500 You're right — the market leader is trying to stomp out competition by paying 3rd party developers to forego releases on the lesser competitor's platform it is highly anti-competitive and should be investigated. The approach is far cheaper and more agile than buying studios (or publishers), and apparently is free from regulatory scrutiny.

Sony is way ahead in sales and still feels the need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to prevent games from launching on Xbox and often PC. Why? The games would be multi-platform if they did not intervene. A new console entrant would have no chance in this environment.

MS buying Bethesda is a recent advent and a causal factor of Sony's behavior. When you buy a studio or publisher, there is risk, debt, tricky organization integration, and in this case, a several billion-dollar price tag. You are also getting talent and many studios up & running, which the new owner can continue to invest and grow. Sony doesn't have the capital, doesn't want to spend it they did, and doesn't have to. They simply want to scrape the cream of the crop each year and hold it for their own.

@UltimateOtaku91

"Microsoft have paid western developers for AAA exclusives and timed exclusives, whilst Sony have done the same with Japanese developers. Both have done it in equal measure and both still do it today."

No. There is no equal measure about it. People try to dismiss and normalize the situation and it is not equal. Sony has a way doing things — everything is console-focused. It is the one avenue to their software and what s/w they block from others to make it appear as their software. They use their market share and national/cultural connections to manipulate 3rd party releases. Yet, they also butt in on two American companies seeking a merger?

Honestly, Sony can f*** right off. They interfere with PC and Xbox releases, and I can't abide by that. The intent is to strongarm people into buying their console instead of or in addition to other platforms. Maybe it works, I don't know. Maybe they just want to place a boot on neck of the competition. All it has done is turned me off from buying a PS5 and probably whatever comes next.

@Traman500 they did because they can. Of all the publishers Bethesda has one of the best IP lineups especially for gamepass. It made sense. Other than them and maybe take two there's probably not a better publisher for quality single player stuff. Sony tried to do Xbox dirty, is MS not allowed to play the same game? Sony shouldn't have poked the bear, that's on them and they're still doing it.

The funny part about Sony is they pretend to be so high and mighty above Xbox yet they're so concerned with everything they do and they constantly copy Xbox's entire business direction and copy all their features and rarely do anything new on their own. Most of the new PS5 features were on Xbox last gen. Nevermind all the other stuff they stole in the past like achievements which the entire industry copied. PlayStation is a much better console than it otherwise would be if not for Xbox existing. You can thank Xbox for backwards compatibility which Sony had no interest in doing before Xbox did it, for trophies, for a better psn (remember when PSN was trash compared to xbl), for ps+, for more powerful hardware than ps5 would have otherwise har, ps games on pc etc....Sony is lazy as f and likes to ride the coattails of their developers and of their previous success and don't want to be bothered with doing anything new. Xbox may be last in sales but theyre 1st in innovating and pushing the industy forward

@UltimateOtaku91

Just a cursory list, with plenty I could not recall:

Final Fantasy (Remake, ReMake 2, XVI)
Forspoken
Nioh1
Nioh2
Rise of Ronin
Kena
Stray (but who cares, really? j/k)
Sifu
Deathloop
GW Tokyo
Stellar Blade
Nier: Automata
SFV
CoD and Destiny weapons/maps/strikes/modes

We don't know what happened with Bloodborne, however, MS mentioned it earlier this year among a list of blocked third-party games.

I mean....he's probably not wrong

Most of you are arguing about the morality of both companies. Sorry but you are completely missing the point. You can nitpick as much as you can, but both companies have tried to strengthen their position by either exclusivity deals, buyout or else. In a VACUUM they are similar.
The difference is in the legality of such action. Strengthen your position when you are in a dire situation is about survival, strengthen your position when you are the market leader by a HUGE margin is about killing the competition which is illegal. Now the last time, IMHO, Sony had such a big market advantage was in the PS2 era, you can argue about the PS4 era but the switch came out early and was a quick hit...

@Jenkinss It’s Xbox’s own fault the PlayStation outsells them so much. They have a £470 console with no exclusive games. No wonder nobody buys them.

So to spend $77 billion on two publishers just to hurt Sony is pathetic and reeks of desperation.

Ummmmm. So accepting MLB The Show on Xbox (that isnt an Xbox developer but a PlayStation first-party studio), that is funded by PlayStation and Xbox pays nothing, and then Xbox takes that and gives it away for free on Game Pass, what would you call that? Xbox didn't pay anything for it. Ergh.... Pick your battles Phillip

I'd like to go ahead and add that: Just because you're in a court room and someone tells you to put your hand on a Bible and you swear to tell the truth under oath, doesn't mean you're going to tell the truth, especially if you don't believe in a God and your company is pressuring you to deliver. You're going to lie to butt off because you value your job, you like your private jet, and you're saved or if your Catholic, you can just lie and then go to confession and be absolved of the wrong doing. An oath doesn't mean anything today, especially in an ever growing secular society that doesn't believe in God because to those who don't, what's your incentive to do the right thing if you don't believe there's a punishment after this life. Phil has no reason to tell the truth, especially if he has no integrity or honor. After all, it's not really a lie, right? It's just business. Or, a lie doesn't matter when the opposition is in the wrong, and telling a white lie "liberates people from a dictator or someone with far too much power." My favorite is "well, they lied so I had to lie to counter their lie."

@neoxmahi Xbox didn't pay anything for MLB ? What world do you live in ? They paid to put it on gamepass

@47AlphaTango What are you talking about? "Just to hurt Sony?" They would own those companies and make that $77 billion (presumably Bethesda +ABK) back (and then some) in well under a decade. Stop being emotional about it and think rationally. These are businesses they would own, run, and profit from.

The reason Xbox "didn't have exclusives" was marketing position and a refusal to buy studios...which may have not been so simple due to market position. MS has to open the piggybank for Xbox and they seemed reluctant until Spencer took over. Remedy, Bioware, Pandemic, Bethesda, and maybe even Respawn should have been under Xbox a long time ago.

@neoxmahi @47AlphaTango Right, Microsoft is evil, Phil Spencer is Satan's right hand, yadda yadda yadda.

Would we be in the same situation if Sony bought Zenimax and ABK? Yes and No.

Sony would pretty much, outright, be able to foreclose on the market. They have no need for more exclusives, for more studios, except to ensure Microsoft can't rely on them.
They have Japan accepting anything they do, giving them exclusivity without question. Microsoft has to fight to get a foothold there.

By 2040, Microsoft will have shuttered their console division, and Sony would be poised to make a takeover or merger deal with Nintendo, with it's market dominance unstoppable.

Microsoft have gone on record as saying that, if they keep losing games to Playstation like this, they'll have to shut down their console division, and Phil has gone on oath as saying they're losing badly in the console market.
Sony doesn't need it's six month exclusives. Sony doesn't need to celebrate that it's got Final Fantasy XVI. MLB The Show was a cheap trinket compared to something like Ratchet And Clank Rift Apart.
And we know for a fact they'll never share Rift Apart.

@47AlphaTango Imagine throwing this kind of hissy fit just because the competition is... competing. Pathetic really.

@Banjo- the argument that Sony pay devs to skip Xbox is so funny. Did MS pay devs to take Bio Sock an Ninja Gaiden 2 from Playstation? Was it ok back then but not now? If Microsoft could get timed exclusive deals they would like they did in the past. How is getting timed exclusivity for 1 year worse than buying a whole studio an making almost finished 3rd party games exclusive? Something Sony has never done, Sony buy a dev, invest and make new games that are PS exclusive. I want the deal to go thro btw, i play team death match, my kids love it too so if it comes to Game Pass that’s a win for me.

@Kaloudz Yes, poor small 2$ trillion company is getting "bullied" by Sony, Jesus H. Christ, do you even hear yourselves, Sony has developed some very fruitful business relationships with several companies, invested heavily on its first party studios early on, created and still create original IPs, something Xbox and MS absolutely, POSITIVELY didnt give a ***** about, right until now, were they're desperately trying to buy the competition and "cannibalizing" the market, I dont understand, why not just buy Sony and end it all then?

Do not fool yourselves, Microsoft didnt opt out of all the things Sony does to "elevate" the PS brand because they "care about the player" or because of their "goodwill", they simply didnt care, for Sony, PS is probably their most profitable brand and their absolute focus, ask yourselves this question, is Xbox a focus for Microsoft? I dont know, might be now that they're trying to buy half the gaming industry, but it certainly wasnt so far. And for the love of god, quit it with Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy games sell like hot cookies on Sony's consoles and like absolute dogshit on Microsoft's consoles, lets quit this crap.

@TropicalCarnage I mean, the only part of your post worth replying to is

And for the love of god, quit it with Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy games sell like hot cookies on Sony's consoles and like absolute dogshit on Microsoft's consoles, lets quit this crap.

Because the rest of your post is absolutely nonsensical and doesn't carry a single bit of weight. As for the above snippet...

No. Let's not quit with Final Fantasy. Sure, the IP may not sell as good on Xbox as it does on PS, but if Sony weren't at all worried about Xbox sales, why block Xbox at all?

@Kaloudz You know... I got every single bit of... everything I needed to know from your reply, nope, purexbox.com aint it I guess.

Yes, we actually are quitting with Final Fantasy.

Oh, wow. There ain't nothin good happening in this comment section.

@themightyant And without Nintendo going with the wrong deal a couple of decades ago, we wouldn't have the Playstation we have now.

@TropicalCarnage Oh right, Microsoft pretty much don't care about the market, they should just quit and stop harassing Sony about what they do. Sony having exclusivity in Japan, yeah, that makes sense.
But Sony's attitude towards the West is abysmal in one way. It might not be as widespread as Phil Spencer makes out, but, from the viewpoint of someone who has owned every type of console on the market, the big thing about this generation is that 90% of third party titles are on Sony, and every time I read about someone in the industry kicking up a fuss about implementing some kind of cross-platform synergy, it's Sony.

Microsoft bought Minecraft and explicitly called out that the delay in the fourth pillar of Better Together was a lack of Sony dev kits, with Sony going on record only a few days ago as denying Activision Blizzard dev kits if the deal goes through.

To the comment of 'Stop bringing up Final Fantasy', it is the Japanese equivalent of something like Elder Scrolls or Warcraft, yes, I do know what you're likely about to say on it. Now, tell me when we're going to see FFXIV, FF7R or FFXVI, and not as something like Dragon Quest XI S, which was very much a Switch port.

@SplooshDmg gone to the dogs. The toxicity is on both sites now sadly.

@TropicalCarnage I really didn't understand what you were getting at in that last reply. Anyway...I think enough has been said on Px over the last few days that echoes my feelings on what you say, so I'll leave that right there.

I really don't like Phil Spencer but at least he believes in his own brand even if it's doomed. unlike Jim Ryan who clearly has no faith in Sony and the good first party studios and games they have. Jims really thinking "don't let Microsoft buy Activision because without COD and a average crash game every few years Sony will be finished and I'll be out of a job" Sony needs to ask itself is that the kinda guy they want leading them? A guy who knows that even without COD playstation wouldn't even notice it gone. A guy that seems to ignore what his brand can and used to offer which is great first party games wether Xbox owns Activision or not.