I had a number of topics to write about, this having been a crazy week for news. For some reason, an extended discussion of the 360’s "Zephyr" variant took root in my mind. Together with a mysterious "Spring Update," the features of which have been only dimly illuminated, these items represent Microsoft’s newest campaign in the Console War.
The rest of it will get its due on Friday, but Devil May Cry (and Air Combat) jumping over to the 360 seemed worth mentioning.
Before the first blows of this conflict had been struck, I expected this generation to dismantle the large preponderance of title exclusivity. It was a bad bet last generation to spurn valid platforms, and as a policy it’s only grown more deranged. I’ve been surprised, actually, at how much has remained, and when the titles mentioned above went multiplatform (verifying the long-whispered heresies) the universe became a more reasonable place. I don’t know if Dante still represents A-List talent, but he’ll certainly be welcome: the soul-deep hunger of the Xbox owner for Japanese content has no limit, and even Capcom might have been startled by the response to their experimentation with the platform.
First and second party exclusivity is always going to be with us, but it’s nice to see publishers outside the walled compounds starting to understand that no-one, at any echelon of the console ecosystem, is especially well served by it.
(CW)TB
