14 DAY TRIAL // The Destiny beta is currently entering its planned maintenance period, after being available on the PS3 and PS4 platforms and ahead of its debut for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles.
This short period of exclusivity generated a big controversy online in the last few weeks, as many Xbox fans are considering that Bungie, Destiny's developer, is turning its back to the loyal audience that devoured all of its Halo games over the years.
Bungie did try to make things right and emphasize that it loves all gamers no matter on what platform they are but it only ended up making things worse as Xbox 360 and Xbox One users are demanding exclusive things for their own platforms, just like the studio is offering to PS3 and PS4 owners.
However, this whole exclusivity debate needs to be perceived by regular gamers for what it really is: business.
Sony wants great things for its consumers and it's willing to pay Activision and Bungie quite lot in order to ensure that exclusive content arrives on PS4 and PS3, early access into the beta, as well as all official trailers be made on the PS4 and displayed prominently.
It used the same tactic with Watch Dogs from Ubisoft earlier this year and it ended up causing a huge amount of units to be sold for the PS4. Did it also cause great PS4 sales? Possibly, the console is still going strong and, thanks to that strategy, it became clear to less casual gamers that Watch Dogs was going to play better and work flawlessly on the PS4.
As such, you can bet that Sony will continue to pay Activision and Bungie in order to ensure that more exclusive things are coming to the PS4 and PS3.
Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners shouldn't be disappointed, however, as Microsoft is no stranger to such strategies, as it even pioneered it with one month of exclusivity for all Call of Duty content, but also with special Battlefield 4 DLC and other such things.
Simply put, Microsoft and Sony can't battle just in terms of exclusive games made by first-party studios or independent third-party developers. They need to ensure that multi-platform games, like Watch Dogs, Destiny, or Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare have an advantage on their platforms.
While performance features have certainly drawn some people towards the PS4, as games have a higher resolution or framerate on that platform than on the Xbox One, not a lot of people care about that.
Most customers, however, care about content they can't get anywhere else. That's why retailer-exclusive pre-order bonuses are so popular. "Want an extra gun in Assassin's Creed? Then make sure you pre-order at retailer X."
Sony and Microsoft are applying this to their platforms and won't stop because the other side is jealous.
Bungie has pledged to offer the same experience on the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Some extra gear, missions, or guns will be available first on PS3 and PS4 but that's one of the not-so-great aspects of a business.