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Indulge with me a bit will you? We often hear too much talk about this the seventh generation of consoles in a negative light and I decided maybe it’s time we take a look at the positive and fantasize a bit on what it would be like in this industry if Sony and Microsoft were to join forces. Should be interesting.
The gaming industry has seen many companies come and go, let’s take Atari, the company is now leveled down to developer/publisher status and a small one at that. Sega was also once a household name in the industry and they probably still are but not in the hardware department anymore. As you may already know, Sega brought us the Sega Genesis and Sega s*****, two great systems until the latter went bust. They both were powerful players and yet they both failed; the same could happen to Sony or Microsoft, but not if they joined forces.
Although there are negatives, in this instance the positives outweigh the bad and there are many reasons to believe this:
- No More Exclusives – Everybody Wins
Please don’t send me hate mail, I know many of you think exclusives are what defines a console and you’re right, but keep in mind we’re examining what it would be like if the two companies were in bed together. Think about it, PS3 owners get to enjoy Xbox 360’s biggest exclusives like the Halo franchise, Gears of War, Alan Wake, Mass Effect etc. Likewise Xbox 360 owners would have the time of their lives playing big PS3 hits like the Uncharted franchise, God of War franchise, Gran Turismo and Killzone amongst others. What a beautiful thing it would be.
- Fanboyism Would Go Down The Toilet
That is unless you are a Nintendo fanboy, a group I haven’t heard of this gen at all. No more bickering about who’s console has the best graphics, more power, who’s own can last longer and outsell the competition; none of that, Just gamers enjoying their favorite pass-time with friends near and far. Wouldn’t it be a great sight to see gamers finally getting along? IMO yes it would.
The Medium On A Whole Would Become More Mature
And by that I mean since there would be no more flame-wars, websites with said agenda would have to rethink their strategy and start creating good content (not just fanboy bait) if they want to keep there doors open. Gaming journalism would grow substantially because journalists would be forced to report news, do investigative reports and the likes in order to build a strong community.
- Publishers And Developers Would Win Big Time
This would benefit publishers and developers the most, why? Let’s look at Killzone 2, the game sold just over 2 millions copies (lifetime sales) and yet it’s hailed as the best FPS on the PS3. Keep in mind selling just over 2 million copies would be great for an ordinary game but Killzone 2 cost Sony 40 million euros to develop; that’s no small price tag so in order for them to make a decent profit at least 4 million copies needed to be sold, well it hasn’t arrived there yet, it might but not yet.
Now imagine Killzone 2 was on both the PS3 and Xbox 360, just the fact that Xbox 360 owners love shooters would send combined PS3/360 sales past 6 million copies, not only that but Sony would not have to foot the bill by themselves since Microsoft would be a partner hence driving down costs for all the parties involved. Does this make sense to you? It sure does to me and since everyone is making more money the publishers would do better. EA would keep pandemic open, Microsoft would not have to lay off workers, Activision would be able to fire Kotick (it’s a joke) and smaller companies would now be able to expand.
- Substantial Year-Over-Year Growth And New Innovations
It’s a no-brainer, if Developers are doing better, they will have the funds to invest in the right tools to get the most of the consoles and peripherals. Not only that but greater risks would be taken knowing that if they don’t succeed in whatever the risk might be, their prior success would have guaranteed them a safe cushion to fall back on. Publishers would be able to cut better deals with retail chains like GameSpot and GameSpot would in turn pass on much needed savings to the consumers, in the end Sony and Microsoft would be able to launch state-of-the-art consoles that would put even the best Alienware beasts to shame. Everybody wins.
It’s now time to wake up from our little fantasy; because there’s no way these two companies will tag-team even if it’s for their own good and for the good of their customers, but it was a good trip down fantasy lane : ). What about you, do you think it would be a good idea? Share your thoughts.
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