PS3 Owners Get Screwed Again, Destiny from Bungie Will Be Xbox 360 Timed Exclusive

As you may have read today, Bungie has finally taken off the wraps from their highly-anticipated new franchise entitled Destiny. The company, famously known for creating the mega popular Halo series for Xbox, parted ways with Microsoft nearly 3 years ago and signed a 10-year deal with Activision. Destiny, which takes place in a brand new world that’s always connected, required a constant internet connection in order to play the FPS. This is in part due to the game’s fluid nature which places heavy emphasis on player actions with outcomes that the developers might not see, thus the always-on requirement. Fret not though as Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg says:

absolutely no plans to charge a subscription fee.

That’s where the good news begins to dim a bit if you’re a PlayStation 3 owner. Bungie has revealed that they want to get as many players into this game as possible. Currently, the game is set to arrive on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2014. This date also happens to be after what will probably be the release of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 which likely means that there is a chance that the game will also come on next gen consoles. To further drive the always-on concept, there even appears to be an iOS companion app which allows you to further interact with the world while away from your console. That and the trailer can be seen, after the jump. So yes Bungie wants everyone to play their game, just not all at the same time, according to their revealed contract.

Activision, who is no stranger to timed exclusives, opting to release DLC for the Call of Duty franchise for the Xbox 360 before the PS3 release, has once again struck a similar deal for Destiny. According Joystiq who got their hands on the 10-year Activision-Bungie contract, the first game released under this new contract (which will be Destiny) will be a timed exclusive for Microsoft platforms. This can either mean the Xbox 360 since we know the game is currently in development for current gen consoles or the 360 and its successor. Either way, it’s a bit of a shame that PS3 owners will potentially have to sit on the sidelines for some time before being able to get their hands on what seems like an exciting world to play in.

The only good angle on this can be that this contract was signed nearly 3 years ago and the PlayStation 3’s performance and sales have changed dramatically in that time. It is possible that, during this time, a new contract has been drawn up between the two companies. However, let’s also never underestimate Microsoft’s deep pockets which have screwed PlayStation 3 owners over and over again this generation.