Angelblaze said:
I know its not going to suddenly implode, but its going to take a hit - think of the companies that are developing for X1 right now. Even if they are multi-platforming its gonna cost them money. Not all of them can handle a complete bombshell like what Microsoft's doing.
Companies didn't suddenly go under when the PS3 didn't sell nearly as much as the PS2 did. Moreover, the hardware being used by the PS3, XBone, and PC's is literally so similar now that porting will be a relative breeze. In fact, I'm tempted to say it might even be easier to port from the XBone to other platforms since the XBone is going to have less RAM available to games and the RAM is slower.
Seriously, this is going to have no real impact. The majority of companies who can't handle the risk of developing exclusively for it before it's a proven success won't be. Moreover, there will be so few consoles from all manufacturers out in the wild for all companies that it will be a year or two before we see even AAA development fully ramp up for the big players.
Seriously, there's nothing to actually worry about here. Any company that is willing to develop exclusively for the XBone (especially now) but can't survive financially if it isn't a big hit is going to go under anyway because they're already being poorly managed and will screw themselves over eventually anyway without Microsoft's help.
But honestly, if you really need some proof that the industry will survive one console being a disappointment just fine, the industry continued to grow when the N64 lost to the Playstation, when the PS2 beat the Gamecube and Xbox and drove Sega out of the console business, and when the PS3 wound up splitting the lead it had in the PS2 era with the 360 and Wii. Plenty of consoles have resulted in sales disappointment in the past and the industry kept growing and chugging along just fine.
