Trusting Microsoft

Like many of the people who frequent GB and other gaming sites, I don't think I'm alone in choosing to preorder a PS4 over the new Xbox. Price, forced use of the Kinect and just a monumental failure in initially communicating their vision pushed me away from the One early on, but there was another reason which made me question the notion of buying the new Xbox: could I trust MS to support the console with exclusives throughout its lifecycle, a continued support of new IPs several years down the line? I wasn't sure, and click went the Amazon preorder button for the PS4.

Now the thing is, recalling my favourite and most fondly remembered games of this generation, most of the console exclusives on my list were actually on the 360, not the PS3. In the early years of the 360's life, games such as Mass Effect, PGR, Fable 2, Forza, Gears of War, Halo 3, Banjo-Kazooie, Lost Planet, Dead Rising, Lost Odyssee, Rockstar's Table tennis and Crackdown provided a big variety of games that I have great memories of. I remember my excitement for and enjoyment of those games as many were experiences that I'd never had before.

But from roughly 2009 onwards, the games just got less interesting, more sequels, and there were fewer exclusives each year. I understand why this happened, for several different reasons of course, though I'd mostly attribute it to the 360 becoming synonymous with CoD, which may have caused MS to realise they could gain more sales through strengthening their ties to that one series as opposed to providing new experiences for various niche markets. Thinking back to the early days of the 360 and then the drought later on, I'm honestly unsure on whether I could trust my investment in a One to pay off in terms of exclusives. My dilemma was, and still is, go with MS who provided an initial burst of fondly-remembered exclusives, or go with Sony who, going on the evidence of this generation, will continue to provide new experiences, albeit perhaps not as aligned to my own tastes (with the exception of 3-4 great titles I loved on the PS3)? Would be interested to know what you guys think