$500M week for GTA IV. HALO 3 did $300M . XBOX 360 version outsells PS3 version.

lol...kids...

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J$D

I think exclusive games is a highly desirable and effective way to bolster hardware sales, so no, I don't think they regret it. Prior to the 360 I purchased two of my three previous consoles (Xbox, PS2, PS1) for single exclusive games (Halo and Gran Turismo 2). I think many people buy hardware for exclusive games, and they will eventually buy more software for the platform they choose.

I think MS would rather rely on exclusive games to drive hardware sales and attach rate of new software to drive revenue rather than simply using massive sales of multi-platform games to drive revenue.

CynEater and Midnight share my thoughts I see.

I agree with Midnight, Exclusive 360 games like Halo 3, Gears of War, Mass Effect Etc, Are the reason the 360 has been giving the ps3 a (more or less) 2 to 1 shit-kicking in hardware sales. Although I won't deny that someday the sales may even out. If nothing else, MGS4 with give big boost it needs.

"And is Microsoft regretting not expanding the HALO universe to other platforms?"

Unlikely, for reasons Midnight and I already stated.

"Perhaps the development costs of making a version of HALO 3 for the PS3 wasn't feasible. Okay."

Or maybe, since MS has actual business sense(something I've noticed Sony seems to lack occasionally), they didn't
want one of their biggest franchises to be on their RIVALS platforms. Durr.

"But what about say Halo 2 on the PS2?" This statement is so idiotic I think it honestly gave me brain damage. Halo 2 isn't going to be on PS2 anymore than god of war is going to be on game-cube, or Mario is going to be on xbox. I have the same reaction to Xbox fanboys saying MGS4 should be on the 360. It ain't gonna happen, period. Deal. If you want it so bad, go buy a PS3 and shut up.

I know I sound like some raving Halo fanboy, but I'm not. I quit playing H3 months ago, in favor of COD4, a game ALSO on the ps3. I just couldn't believe the utter lack of common sense rapture used here. It's business sense and politics that dictate exclusive console games not technology. If tech was the case then Ps3 would have everything, since it has the most horse power. Instead, the only game it has that has people excited is MGS4. Yeesh.

I apologize for the rant but I've been keeping stuff like this pent up for weeks, had to let it out. And I will admit Ps3 isn't horrible, and 360 isn't perfect.

Okay yes, apologies, to rapture, I came on a little strong. It's nearly lunch here and I'm tired and hungry. Sorry.

I think as times have changed so have price points and attitudes toward the increasing cost of software and hardware.

I'm unsure if someone who would spend $200 or $300 on a console a few years ago just to play one game is willing to spend $400-$600 on a console just to play one game today.

I don't think an exclusive title drives sales like it once did because the consoles are $400-$600 now, not $200-$300.

I get that Halo 1 and Halo 2 helped sell original XBOXs. But, did it do any good? The PS2 has sold over 50 million units. The original XBOX has sold just 17 millions units.

The PS3 is selling faster than the XBOX 360. It could be another case of the last gen where SONY ends up outselling MICROSOFT in the console wars race. Also, the Wii is outselling the XBOX 360 2:1 right now.

So, the XBOX 360 is the poorest selling next-gen console.

I still wonder, how many copies of Halo would MICROSOFT had sold if it were available for PS2. Would it have had sale figures near that of GTA IV?

I think Halo and Halo 2 would have sold more copies had they been available for PS2, but I think MS's total software sales would have been lower.

When you say the xbox 360 is the poorest selling console you mean right now. Xbox 360 seems to be the true gamers choice of console, but wii had huge sales because everyone literally including their mommas wanted one. Then Remember it came out a full year ahead of the others so obviously with that much of an advantage sales will eventually slow.

Having exclusive games is a big way to help spur console sales a few times a year. I'm sure some people bought an xbox or ps3 just to get gta...as did they buy an xbox just for halo 3 and gears. Xbox 360 is still the top selling console of this generation and with a strong lineup I bet things will crank back up come this summer and fall. Xbox live is also a huge boost to the 360 sales...xbl got me hooked on the first xbox and there is still nothing quite like it out there.

Anyways, I think having console specific titles and content helps stimulate sales and are brought out at precise moments to help sell consoles when you know there will be a slow period. Just use our stimulus package from the government as an example.

Does Microsoft regret it? I doubt it.

GTA IV's Xbox 360 sales alone are slightly higher than Halo 3's. And GTA IV's Xbox 360 sales are slightly higher than its PS3 sales.

However, as a first party publisher for the platform, Microsoft makes more on games for the 360 than they would on a PS3 game. I'm not even sure Sony would want MS publishing a PS3 game, so that might have meant moving the whole thing to 3rd party.

In addition, no expense was paid to port any of the Halo games to another architecture.

Lastly, it could've had a chilling effect. With the 360 experiencing technical difficulties, and Halo 3 on the horizon, had it been known that the game would be available on PS3, might more people not have passed on the 360?

I'm a Bungie fan-- not a Microsoft fan, at the end of the day. If, as a Mac-using Bungie fan, I was willing to buy Microsoft consoles to play Halo, why would I care if I had to switch to buying Sony consoles?

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Rampant for over seven years.