I don't see what the uproar is over all of this. If someone wants to spend real money on a virtual product that already exists as a physical product and much cheaper to boot, so be it. Like the upcoming paid content for Avatars, I won't be apart of any of it; however, obviously someone out there wants these services. I'm not the target so I'm not going to complain. Now, if we get to a point where a game, say, Elder Scrolls V "is" download-only, well... . But until then, Microsoft and all the kids who want this service can knock themselves out.

The funny thing is I was just playing the original Saturn version of Tomb Raider on a 50" HDTV last week via s-video. Looked the same as when I last played it on a 32" CRT SDTV via s-video about five years ago [shrug]

PlayStation and PlayStation2 games coming to the Virtual Console - Confirmed!

Flame on indeed:

"[...]instead buy / hold back them from the competition -- and from gamers (it's their right and money, of course)."

This whole "moneyhat" "M$" stuff is not only childish, it's rubbish. You do realize these are PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES, right? If Microsoft "paid-off" game developers/publishers these HAVE to be reported in yearly earnings. To date, I have yet to see a single one come to light. Now, arguably, the last fiscal year won't be over for many public traded companies until 1st quarter 2009 but you just let me know how many have "Microsoft incentives" attached to 'em.

Just like back in the HD DVD/Blu-ray format war, we did eventually learn that Toshiba truly did offer Paramount "incentives" of around $150,000,000. It took until the report to make this crystal clear. Please let me know when and if any of these "incentives" appear attached to Microsoft or all of these companies it supposedly pays off. I’ve been playing videogames for more than three decades now and it’s the same damn thing every generation since I was in middle school. Nintendo pays off this. SEGA pays off that. Sony pays off them. Microsoft buys this soul. It’s garbage. I remember when Sony was supposedly paying off Japanese/American/EUR developers to code only for the original PlayStation at the cost of SEGA Saturn and/or Nintendo 64. It paid off Eidos for the Tomb Raider franchise and so on and so forth. Never happened the same as with all these Microsoft “moneyhats.”

Again, the proof is in the reports. I’ll be waiting for any kind of proof.

I think it's funny the entire reason why I decided to buy a 360 November 2007 over a PS3 was due to Microsoft securing Mistwalker. See, I do play and enjoy JPN RPGs and tRPGs and, guess what, the 360 is the only console so far this gen that houses most of the latest and greatest. I didn't want to have to go to Microsoft but I was left with no other choice and, believe it or not, I've been enjoying my stay on the console despite my reservations about "that shooter console." I own BioShock, Halo 3 and Lost Planet. Those are the only "shooters" I own on the console. The other 35 games I own so far for the system are completely different types of games. For your perusal:

Amped 3
Assassin’s Creed
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Beautiful Katamari
BioShock
Blue Dragon
Bully: Scholarship Edition
Call of Juarez
Culdcept SAGA
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
Dead Rising
Devil May Cry 4
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition
Eternal Sonata
Fable II
Fallout 3
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero World Tour
Halo 3
Infinite Undiscovery
Just Cause
The Last Remnant
Lost Odyssey
Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions - Colonies Edition
Namco Museum Virtual Arcade
Operation Darkness
The Orange Box
Rumble Roses Double X
SEGA Superstars Tennis
Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution
Spectral Force 3
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Too Human
Virtua Fighter 5 Online
Viva Pinata
Xbox Live Arcade Collection
Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Volume 1
Zoids Assault