Trouble for Microsoft? "Dead Rising 3" Jumps Ship

Steve Anderson : End Game
Steve Anderson
The Video Store Guy
| The video game industry has gone from a mole hill to a mountain in no time flat, Chris DiMarco is your Sherpa as you endeavor to scale Mount “Everquest”

Trouble for Microsoft? "Dead Rising 3" Jumps Ship

A bad sign for Microsoft, though not a particularly big sign of trouble, emerged today as word that “Dead Rising 3” would no longer be an Xbox One exclusive made the rounds. While the news isn't as bad for Microsoft as it might have been, the fact that Microsoft is essentially losing one of its biggest exclusive titles is news few likely saw coming.

The good news here is just what platform it is Microsoft is losing exclusivity of “Dead Rising 3” to. The zombie-squashing mayhem will reportedly be making its way to the PC, which will likely have some breathing a sigh of relief. After all, the PC is largely a Microsoft platform anyway, what with the sheer numbers of Windows PCs out there. Sure, there are those that run Linux and the like, but nine times out of ten, if it's a PC, it's packing some breed of Windows. It's already been spotted in the Steam Database, and gamers in Europe will have access to a retail version. Meanwhile, the PC version will also benefit from texture upgrades and both Steam Achievements and Trading Cards. Both controller play and keyboard and mouse play will get support on this one, so regardless of style, there should be something to satisfy all concerned here.

But as I said before, this isn't the best sign as far as Microsoft is concerned. Granted, it's not like it's losing “Dead Rising 3” to the PlayStation 4, but this still isn't the best of news, especially in light of the fact that the Xbox One has been underselling against the PlayStation 4 pretty much since the whole thing started. This isn't good news, as it's really advancing the concept that Microsoft can't hold onto exclusives. It's still a console exclusive, sure, but will that last? Will developers be willing to develop exclusives for Microsoft with its install base lagging that of Sony? Reports suggest that PS4 has been outselling the Xbox One for the last four months at least, from January through to April, and May doesn't necessarily look much better for the system.

Bad news? Absolutely. Not as bad as it could be, but still not great news. Microsoft desperately needs to start putting up some wins. Microsoft needs to move more consoles in order to draw the attention of the game makers and make it worthwhile to hand over the keys to big installments of franchise titles and say, you know what? This, this big game right here, it's coming here. And it's staying here. Only here. When that happens, Microsoft has a chance at the top slot again. Until then, Microsoft is just chasing Sony, and though this likely won't mean the end for Microsoft, it will likely mean a bad position for them for the next few years...kind of like the one Sony was in from about 2005 until now.

Still, with E3 inches away, this is the time to make some inroads, Microsoft. This is the time to bring out some big games and some major names and remind the whole world why you pretty much ran the last generation. You've got a lot to lose, Microsoft...so get busy winning...or get busy losing.

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