Sony: Microsoft Writes Checks for Games Due to Insecurity

214w ago - CEA hardware marketing boss John Koller has told VG247 that Microsoft's apparent need to pay for exclusivity on certain products - such as the Lost and Damned - is borne from a self-perceived lack of strength in its first-party line-up.

To quote: "Microsoft has had a much more lenient policy to writing checks than we do," he said.

"We don't feel the need to write checks necessarily with every publisher, like they did with the Lost and Damned and some other titles, because we feel very strongly in our first-party line-up.

"I think it's safe to say that we'd put our first-party line-up against anyone's, and Microsoft and other manufacturers probably lead a little bit when they're writing checks about how they feel about their own internal line-up."

Microsoft reportedly loaned Rockstar $50 million for two episodes of GTA IV DLC, although the figure's never been confirmed.

The first episiode, The Lost and Damned, is rumoured to have sold in the region of 1 million units. Koller was speaking at GDC last month.