Kutaragi responsible for losing GTA exclusivity

Apparently, Sony Computer Entertainment - and Ken Kutaragi in person - is to blame for losing exclusivity of both ´GTA IV´ and ´Assassin´s Creed´, respected industry journalist N'Gai Croal reports.

The next installment of Ubisoft's Splinter Cell. Downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV. All locked up by Microsoft corporate vice president Peter Moore, his indefatigable team, and Uncle Bill's bottomless wallet.

Moore's job, however, was made easier by the fact that for the greater part of this year, PlayStation chief Ken Kutaragi hadn't finalized the business terms for independent publishers on the PS3. And without that, he was reluctant to greenlight any expenditures on Western third-party exclusives. In previous generations, Kutaragi's slowness hadn't been much of a problem because the first two PlayStations launched in Japan 8-12 months ahead of North America, leaving plenty of time to nail things down with Western publishers. But with the PS3 launching in North America just a week after Japan--and a year after a fiercely competitive Microsoft--Kutaragi's tardiness became a major issue. (...)

While Kutaragi dragged his feet, Microsoft's top brass called these third-parties almost daily, asking each of them, "What would it take for you to publish these games on 360?" Finally, the executives could wait no longer, and both Take-Two/Rockstar and Ubisoft cut deals to make their games available on Xbox 360 as well as PS3.

I seriously cannot believe how Sony appears to be doing everything wrong with the PS3. These two third-parties were willing to give their console exclusivity and Sony failed in merely finalizing those deals. Sony execs appear to be deliberately seeking to damage the console, the brand and the company. Ken Kutaragi needs to resign.

Source: HuGeo,
Thanks to: , PSX Extreme