THE BIG MS BETRAYAL
You may remember Microsoft’s “Games with Gold” program to reward the Gold subscribers with free games. This is their attempt to balance the scales between XBL Gold and Sony’s PSN+ — a service that has encouraged significant switchover during the dying end of this generation.
Aside from missing the many other advantages of a PSN+ account — including the lower price — the core “Games with Gold” mechanic is still inferior to Sony’s offering. Recent news has revealed that in lieu of three or four free AAA titles, we are promised a pair of titles each month, including arcade titles. So far, only Fable 3 and the 2009 XBLA title Defense Grid have been released. To put this into perspective, Defense Grid is available on steam for under $1. Meanwhile, PSN+ is dropping AAA titles every month, with BF3 the featured game for July. There is also a frustrating lack of clarity in their release schedule.
All we have are assurances that Halo 3 and Assassin’s Creed II will be released “sometime.”
There was also an uproar by Xbox loyalists when this month’s first title turned out to be Defense Grid instead of Halo 3 as announced at E3 a few weeks ago. Fans all over the world were left feeling cheated and betrayed; even after being offered old (albeit great) games, they were tossed some arcade poppycock.
This announcement seems to reinforce negative trends in Microsoft’s business model. The first is their complete disregard for users of old consoles. At every level MS seems determined to rob the Xbox 360 of value as soon as November comes.
The second is a growing lack of value in their products — with more and more money needed to purchase less valuable products. It is no surprise that CEO Don Mattrick left for Greener (not really) pastures at Zynga.