Monday, September 9, 2013

Forza 5 replaces FIFA 14 as Xbox One Day One Edition free game

xbox_one_fifa14_free
It looks like Microsoft’s previous promise that FIFA 14 would ship with all Day One Edition versions of the Xbox One was based on a set number of downloads, and after that number is crossed the bundle will switch to Forza 5.
The funny thing about digital downloads is that the only way there can be a limited number of them is if there’s something physical like download capacity to get in the way. Anything else is an arbitrary limitation put in place to either create demand or meet a financial obligation.
For the Xbox One Day One Edition, the free game included for Europe meant that Microsoft had to purchase licences from EA Games for each copy that was sold in the bundle. These were purchased from EA at a bulk rate for sure, but there was a limit to how many the company was willing to “give away” at that rate. It looks like the pre-orders for the FIFA 14 bundle have nearly been filled, and instead of working out a new deal with EA GamesMicrosoft has decided to start giving away Forza 5 instead.
Microsoft spun up the usual “while supplies last” line in response to criticism over the swap, but the reality is this is a business deal that Microsoft wasn’t willing to try and renegotiate in order to meet the demands of their consumers.
While “unprecedented demand” is a good problem to have, it’s hard to walk away from the statement made on stage that all pre-orders will include FIFA 14Forza, being a Microsoft owned title, is something they can give away in the million without really losing much. It’s an unfortunate move on the part of Microsoft, and just another in a line of disappointing missteps leading up to the launch of their new console.

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