I know you don't believe th,at and neither do I.
I don't think they can buy whatever exclusive they want, the investors have a say in the matter and would oppose something ridiculous like GTA or Elder Scrolls. But even though TR is not a Behemoth, it's not exactly dirt cheap... And since I don't believe they have infinite money, I believe they should be more selective on how they wish to spend it. They could either spend 20 million on GTA DLC exclusivity or fund an Uncharted, for example. I might be mistaken but MS payed a shit ton of money for those DLCs. Sony probably saw that as a waste (and it was) and instead applied them somewhere else. Could have perfectly used it to fund an Uncharted, or Heavy Rain. That's why so many people dislike MS. They would rather see that you don't get something than invest and make something of their own. Sometimes it's a gamble, sometimes you hit (Heavy Rain) sometimes you miss (tearaway) but those were fresh experiences and only benefit us, the consumers.
If they hadn't splurged this money on pointless exclusivities (because I can't see a ps4 only owner buying an X1 just for that game, the franchise doesn't have that sort of pull anymore, but I might be wrong) they could have injected some of that cash into the creation of yet another cool exclusive, like Sunset Overdrive. Xbox owners would ALWAYS get access to TR. They've gained nothing from this deal, except fanboy wars ammo. If this was Sony's deal, I would be equally and royally pissed. It's a waste of money, money that could be spent elsewhere. I don't give a rat's ass who gets to play a certain game, the more the merrier. I only care about getting more and more new IPs, and to see the money we give the platform holders every month getting spent wisely to expand the portfolio.
I'm not trying to be an asshole about this, or trying to pick a fight with anyone. I just think this is a douchey move, no matter if it's MS's, Sony's or Nintendo's. No one gave them shit for bringing back Bayonetta when it was dead (at least anyone with half a functioning brain), no one should be givving Sony shit about Bloodbourne, that game is being co developed by them and pusblished as well. No one should give MS shit for Sunset Overdrive: sony wouldn't let them keep ownership of the IP, MS did, were smart. It's Sony's (and mine too, as a ps4 gamer) loss. But that was perfectly ok in my book.
This, on the other hand, just feels wrong. SE is really clueless.