Dude, even if it's not a big deal it's still unfair. Xbox is getting stiffed for no apparent reason, and with even less explanation. Will 4 days of beta matter once the game is released? Not at all. But they're also establishing a new franchise, and setting a precedent for future games. What's worse is that it's all so unnecessary. I can't help but feel that a game as good as Destiny would have garnered the same attention without the gimmicks. The game is excellent, even in Alpha.

It's happening because console gaming is sadly built on "exclusives." Without exclusives, there's little reason to pick one console over another, and the companies that push these consoles seek out deals with or bring under their wing developers they feel can help them make the most money on sales. Nowadays exclusivity in the form of a whole game is dying because development costs continue to skyrocket as technology progresses and the ceiling of graphical fidelity continues to rise. Money needs to be made and that can only happen with the widest possible audience. So we get these weird "incentives" like this increased beta time for certain platforms and timed exclusivity on some minor content because the big console companies still want exclusivity but can't get it in the form of a whole game. The truth of the matter is that this is just business - nothing personal. You shouldn't be hurt some company with big pockets worked with Bungie for some form of exclusivity because ten years ago the same thing happened with a certain other franchise Bungie worked on. People need to get over this.

Wow, great post. I agree with you whole-heartedly that exclusives (while I understand their use and function) are a sad practice, and that people get way too worked up about fairly minor differences. However, people will always be upset about unfair treatment, minor as it may be. Chalk that up to human nature. Whether the amount of anger people are currently heaving is justified is another discussion, but I think we can both agree that this is not the way to open a new franchise.

Yeah, you never want to make your fans upset, especially coming out of the gate. I don't think anyone will argue that it's good business sense to piss people off, but at the same time it's good business sense to get in bed with the big money. It's a complicated issue because a game of this scale probably couldn't have been made without what has gone down. It's unfortunate that this is the nature of the industry. Personally, I always thought they were smart coming out of the gate, what, like 2 years ago saying the PS platform builds would be incentivized because knowing that early could possibly quell the unrest bound to come to a degree. I've seen the reality now, though - that this old news has become "real" in the sense of actual data points and people are finally letting it sink in. The process isn't pretty. I'm a realist and a cynic when it comes to the game industry so I try not to get too worked up over things. I know a lot of people put a lot of time and money in and have strong emotions about previous Bungie titles and their experiences with them. But you can't feel attacked by Bungie for what they've had to do. They're just trying to get off the ground here in a big way. It's a shame not everyone can go on the big ship at once, but they'll be able to catch the second flight, you know?

I don't think anyone expected the exclusivity to go to this extent, no. And I agree that the reality is sinking in, and judging by the number of replies here, blowing up. They've certainly taken a gamble; gamers in general have been far less forgiving in the last few years. Let's hope it does in fact pay off. Right now I'd argue that they've shot themselves in the foot, trading one hardcore fanbase for another, rather than gaining one to make two. I don't know. Let's hope it pays off, no?

The thing is, that sense of entitlement is because Bungie was an exclusive Xbox developer. Until that split from Microsoft, Bungie and the Xbox community had a solid relationship. But now, as much as we really don't mind their inclusion of Playstation and Sony, we have the right to feel "cheated on", as we are being completely side stepped when we were here from the start.

[quote]Until that split from Microsoft, Bungie and the Xbox community had a solid relationship. [/quote] Lol it was anything but solid.