[quote]Yes a Zealot of the Microshaft flavour. I say Zealot because as you have demonstrated in your reply, you are clearly critical of Bungie but think Microshaft can do no wrong[/quote] Hahaha! Oh, you. You love your pigeonholes don't you. It's hard for you to believe that I'm not on anyone's 'side' isn't it? You interpret my doubting of your original claim as me being some kind of fanboy? Lol. I'm no less critical of Microsoft. All I'm saying is that if you think Microsoft's relationship with Bungie was then shafting Bungie and crapping all over them then you're pretty biased in your opinion. Care to provide any proof of MS's dump all over Bungie? Or are you simply an anti 'M$' zealot?

I am not more against MS than any other company, I consider myself to be quite objective actually and it is from the point of view as someone who has no particular allegiance to Bungie or MS that I feel that Bungie probably got a raw deal from them. I get incredibly irritated when i see people make irrational statements without basis about one company over another just because that's their preference. Something that is quite prevalent when normal discussions degenerate into immature console war style comments. A prime example being this thread in which the OP (as someone else who can't see past Microshaft) directed his anger at Bungie for giving Sony exclusives like they were somehow being traitorous to MS when there was no making a preference of one over another, Sony simply bought something that MS didn't. It's a bit like you and I walking into a bar, you buy yourself a beer and I don't yet I get upset that I don't have a beer even though that was my choice.

[quote]I feel that Bungie probably got a raw deal from them.[/quote] Now that's muuuuuch better. That's your [i]opinion[/i] on what probably what happened instead of blind anti-MS sentiments like "Microshaft took a dump on Bungie". My theory of what went down between Bungie and Microsoft is pretty much what happens between most artists and the people who fund them. Bungie rose to prominence as a developer and became the jewel in the Microsoft Game Studios crown. According to other developers in Microsoft Game Studios, Bungie were the rockstars. They had the keys to the kingdom and were allowed to do pretty much whatever they wanted and were elevated far above the other developers. They were the golden child, and rightfully so because they put Xbox on the map. When this kind of success happens, a few common things usually occur (that are far less scandalous than people assume) from both parties. Let's start with the artists ... Bungie naturally starts to want their independence. Their franchise is storming the video game industry, the Master Chief is approaching Mario levels of synonymity with video games. But ultimately they're feathering someone else's nest. They don't own Halo (which Microsoft gained ownership when they purchased Bungie) and it's doing more to further Microsoft than it is Bungie. My get get generous royalties from Halo sales but MS rakes in the lion's share. And at the same time they've got enough cash in their pocket to become independent again after Halo 3 busts so many sales records. They negotiate their independence from MS, start working on their own franchise (Destiny) from which they'll fully benefit, and simultaneously fulfil their contractual obligation to make 2 more Halos (ODST and Reach). It's hardly scandalous, and a dev who's been shat all over by their publisher prooooobably isn't sticking around to make their last few games for them (think Infinity Ward/Activision split). And let's be honest, Bungie is now as big as many other triple A studios and it doesn't make sense for them to remain a subsidiary of Microsoft anymore. I know people wanna interpret Bungie's leaving Microsoft as nasty, but not only is there little evidence of Bungie/MS beef, their split is very typical in the video games business. Now, from the investor's perspective. Microsoft roll the dice on buying a struggling (nearly bankrupt) dev and it pays off more than they can imagine. Naturally, they go George Lucas on their newest franchise, books, cartoons, toys, and of course more games, games, games! They own the franchise so they can do what they want with it, so they get another one of their studios, Age of Empires dev Ensemble Studios, to give Halo the RTS treatment (not stopping to think how Bungie might feel, even though they don't own the franchise anymore). They keep throwing money at Bungie and telling them to lay golden eggs) and write them blank checks and upgrade their studio and hire them more staff and "whatever you need guys, you're our development stars!". All the while the Xbox devision of Microsoft gets to laugh at their overlords for being pushed aside and not taken seriously because suddenly the Xbox is worth lots of bananas, the 360 is now killing it at retail and the bottom line is that shareholders are stoked. Naturally Bungie outgrows Microsoft and departs. Microsoft doesn't miss a beat and forms 343 (well 343 was around before Bungie left) and thinks "we'll make them a world class developer like we did with Bungie ... with money!" So Microsoft follows their proven [dev + money = hit] equation with 343 and you end up with the Master Chief Collection (ugh). That's my take on the situation (I'm an avid and very informed follower of video games business). There's little evidence of bad blood and why should there be? In partnership, both companies achieved more success than they could on their own. They both have a lot to thank each other for. In artistic endeavours, there's always going to be the standoff between the artists and the investors cause their motivations differ. The artists want to create and the suits need to profit from their creativity, and that's always, in concept, a situation of bitter necessity. And usually in these situations people are inclined to see the publishers as the bad guys because art makes a great hero and money makes a great villain. *** [quote]A prime example being this thread in which the OP (as someone else who can't see past Microshaft) directed his anger at Bungie for giving Sony exclusives like they were somehow being traitorous to MS[/quote] Well the problem is that people don't understand how the video game business works, in particular between developer/publisher/platform holders. People who blame Bungie for the Sony exclusivity deal are thick headed. I highly doubt it was even a case of a bidding war that Sony won when you weigh up the facts. Right now, Microsoft is more cashed up than Sony (who isn't financially in the best position) and if given the chance would most likely throw the right amount of cash at the next big FPS by the CoD publisher and Halo developer (it's definitely in Microsoft's wheelhouse of games they purchase exclusivity for). I think what likely happened is Activision chose to do their exclusivity deal with Sony for tactical reasons instead of "Sony outbid Microsoft". I think the main motivator is that Xbox fans are almost by default Bungie and Halo fans, most of them are going to be getting Destiny no matter what. Sony has never had a Bungie game on their platform so Activision realise they have some pretty strong outreaching to do to a completely fresh fan base. So, an exclusivity deal, especially one that makes Sony fans feel like Destiny is [i]their[/i] game makes so much sense. If I was Activision, that's what I'd do. It's just business. People who suggest stuff like "Bungie went with Sony cause Microsoft burned them during Halo" are just dense. Do you really think Activision, the publisher, cares about Bungie's possibly hurt feelings? (Considering Bungie is now headed by a former Microsoft employee and most of the veteran staff have now left). I highly doubt it.