@Jez Corden The problem with many influencers and some commentators is that they think
too binary, it's all or nothing!
Please someone Explain one thing to me,
why does Xbox sign exclusivity contracts with third partiy studios like stalker 2, ark 2, dungeons of hinterberg, palworld, warhammer darktide, etc... ?
That's simple, It’s because exclusivities simply matter! This is true for third party games and it is true for first party games. Xbox has quite simply a hybrid strategy, they send some games to other platforms because they can, they have so many studios and licenses that they can afford to seek profitability on other platforms with a handful of games. They have only sent 4 games so far, 2 small games and 2 service games which are 5 and 8 years old. We can't say it's massive.
For Indiana Jones, At no time do you talk about Disney, which is behind the Indiana Jones license, have you ever thought that it was Disney who put pressure on Xbox? Of course Xbox takes responsibility, they are not going to say that Disney is behind this decision.
And even if that were the case, have you even counted the number of Xbox exclusive games compared to the few multi-platform games?
When Xbox releases a game on another platform, 5 others are exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem.
The reality is that today
Xbox has more first party games and more exclusive games than PlayStation! Just look at the current line-up of Xbox games compared to the poverty of the PlayStation line-up.
Xbox is the only manufacturer to have announced the next generation of consoles. They know very well that
keeping a good balance of exclusive games is important, that's why many first and third party games are exclusive and some are multiplatform.
The world is made of nuances, of balance, it is not binary,
it is not all or nothing. Phil Spencer always said that it was
case by case, you don't talk about it in your article. He also said that he would learn from the 4 games sent to other platforms (pentiment, grounded, etc.), he saw that it was profitable, and so he sent another one, but
at no time did he say that it would be systematic, he even said the opposite remember! He told at Xbox Business Update, i quote "don't think that the arrival of these 4 games is a sign that everything is going to happen,
it's not the case."
This is not the case and it will not be the case for the reasons that I have mentioned and lots of other reasons that I will not explain in this already too long comment.
Case by case, balance, that's all there is to understand.
Unfortunately the media reality is binary, it is simpler, faster, more effective (more clicks).
But this world comes into contradiction with the real world just as with the business world which is made of balance and nuances, it's not all or nothing!
The basic problem is there, some are so formatted by the world of media that they cannot understand the obvious.
Case by case, balance, that's all there is to understand.