The console wars refuse to simply go away. Despite the majority of gamers simply wanting to play video games, publishers and suits are desperate to eke every last cent from your hand as they prove that one console is somehow vastly superior to other consoles based almost entirely on boiler-room deals.
The blowback against Square Enix for Spider-Man being exclusive (a massive name in the realm of superheroes) has fallen on deaf ears, as they excitedly announce an additional slew of PlayStation exclusives for the fighting game. Granted, you can argue about IP rights and the generally boring realm of silver-spoon lawyers arguing about who owns what, but the point stands.
First, all PlayStation owners will have a ’30-day exclusive access’ to legendary outfits and emotes, along with ‘Epic Takedowns’ and nameplates for each superhero as they’re released, to include the six heroes being added at launch.
PlayStation users will experience that sweet console-purchase justification as they lord it over the plebs in the fighting game that seems ready to attract PlayStation owners, while everyone else will get the short straw.
Players that have the PlayStation Plus subscription (which is how console-owners purchase multiplayer for games they own) will receive a free bundle of loot which includes a ‘rare outfit, nameplate, and 100 credits…’ along with Ms. Marvel being thrown into the bunch.
Those sweet microtransactions sure will taste delicious.
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man comes to Marvel's Avengers, exclusively on PlayStation. Crystal Dynamics offers early details on its own, unique take on the post-launch Hero: https://t.co/GA3t6Y40KI pic.twitter.com/TEho59XfIc
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) August 3, 2020
On top of everything mentioned, PlayStation users are also the first to get into the beta that Square Enix is pushing out; if you have Marvel’s Avengers pre-ordered, you can join the beta that runs from August 7 until August 9, with preloading available on August 6.
The beta aspect is pretty mediocre unless you’re seriously chomping at the proverbial bit to play yet another superhero game, but timed exclusiveness for unique flairs and skins along with various other pieces of customization is a bit difficult to choke down if you haven’t purchased a PlayStation 4.
Throw on top of it that players will lose access to an entire hero, and it becomes borderline hilarious that other players will need to pay full price to receive less content than users playing on a PlayStation 4.
To precisely what end Square Enix is going for (aside from pocketing some Sony cash) is mind-boggling; surely there isn’t going to be an influx of users that are suddenly running to the stores to purchase a PlayStation 4 so they don’t get shafted come release on September 4. So everyone else has the option to either skip the release entirely or purchase a full-price game and get treated as an inferior. Brilliant.
Almost seems like a punishment to play. Still, people who have purchased a PlayStation 4 will defend these tactics and the title will sell, if for nothing else because they’ve attached a bunch of superhero names to it along with millions of dollars of advertising.
