Game Theory: Platform Politics (k3nshi)

I'm going to just set out explicitly the fact that each console vendor has a strong interest in tilting the overall direction of gameplay (and what games are seen to be) to further their own cause (sales of their platform). A quick explanation of these biases could be:

Microsoft wants gaming to be about multiplayer, online stuff because they have LIVE and this is clearly the strongest differentiatior in their gaming portfolio. They also have the kind of resources and expertise to do this kind of thing really, really well.

Nintendo want gaming to be about different control mechanisms so they dont have to engage in a hardware battle and can churn out games more quickly and cheaply.

Sony just need to maintain the power and ubiquity of their Playstation brand. More of the same but butter, along with growing the market with things like SingStar, EyeToy and Buzz. They are the least interested party in disrupting the status quo because of course, they rule over the current state of play.