Microsoft Cross Platform…Hinder/Help?
Author: S.A.
Without a doubt, we as gamers know that Microsoft is a heavily invested company not only in the Console wars, but the PC development world. They are fierce contenders on both front’s, and have been quite the gaming power house in recent years in their own right. However as of late it seems that to push their business model further in the PC realm, they are hindering their own gaming company.
The company has officially decided to allow certain games cross platform buys, in an effort to promote Windows 10. That means if you buy it for the Xbox one, you can play certain games on your PC with very little difficulty and even share your save file. Which would allow you to pick up seamlessly from where you left off on your console.
Microsoft even hopes that this will become a selling ‘platform feature’.
It’s an easy adjustment for Microsoft considering they own both platforms, and really didn’t involve that much hoop jumping. However I can’t help but wonder why they feel this will help them in their fight against their biggest competitor Sony.
While admittedly making games more available for the PC would garner more individuals to purchase one, especially considering that more games are usually developed for PC platforms. That said, many gamers have a stellar PC and one console to go along with it due to exclusivity deals that stop them from gaining said game on their computer. If Microsoft allows games to be bought for their PC software, won’t the PS4 be the only system on the market with any form of exclusivity under its belt?
Won’t that make the decision for which console to pick that much easier?
In truth I don’t know much about marketing and sales tactics, so this may be a brilliant move on Microsoft’s part. However, I just don’t see gamers taking well to the change. As one myself I can say we are a passionate beast that when upset make rather ‘foolish’ decisions. A perfect case in point can be seen by the host of a YouTube channel called ‘CrapGamer Reviews’ wherein which he announced cancelling his Quantum Break pre-order. All because the game lost it’s exclusivity clause with Xbox One and now will be ported over to PC as well at launch. Now admittedly this is one gamer, and even Xbox Head Phil Spencer tweeted his confusion at the decision, saying: @The_CrapGamer ‘You cancelled a pre order for a game you want to play because someone else get’s to play the game on Windows?’. Yet it’s important to note that a lot of gamers are like this. These are individuals who will sit down and fight about which system is better, and go to war for the company they have put their money behind.
And when they feel slighted….it’s never a pretty scene.
While others might argue that Xbox is pulling out a win by putting its console games on another system I can’t help but wonder if that’s true. I think the company will suffer more than a bit from the decision but only time will tell and in truth it worries me little.
I’m only here to play games after all.
Follow us on Twitter to keep up with the latest posts, or to recommend a game for the team to review: @TheSaveSpot1
