Xbox multiplatform strategy will have a far bigger impact on the industry that what many think
Xbox is becoming a multiplatform publisher. All of his IP's will come to all platforms, including Halo, Forza, Gears ecc.
What i dont think many realize is how big the scope of this operation really is. It might seem, at first, just Microsoft going to PlayStation with his head down in sign of defeat. And while this is in part true, by looking from a console maker standpoint, the reality is that MS is going to be not one, but the publisher on almost all platforms, wich in tandem night create some limitations for other publishers and yes, even Sony itself.
Let me explain myself: we have to analize what franchises and genres Microsoft now have under his umbrella.
Just looking at their shooters, not only they have Cod, but Halo and Gears as well. Meaning that now, if someone wants to make an "Halo equivalent" or a "Gears equivalent" they will now have Halo AND Gears there as well. Games like The Crew will loose all their sense because there's Forza. Fantasy RPGs? There's Fable. RTS? Age of Series. Simulators? FS 2024. And so on.
What i mean is that MS sort of has a Monopoly in genres. Sony might try to do an FPS, but how much success will it have in a console that has already all these MS shooters covering all types?
The point here is that right now we might see at the MS multiplatform strategy and think "ahahah le lol, Forza on Playstation" but in the long term this is making MS the central point of almost all consoles. The game provider with everything else orbiting around.
IMPORTANT EDIT!!!
I have used the term "monopoly" in the wrong way. Of course titles in the same genres as the MS ones will still exist and probably have success. What i mean is that we will have 1 big ass publisher making a big peice of the biggest games each and every year IF they can keep the quality, of course. They will be, most likely, the biggest publishers on the planet.