I think you're twice wrong here. For one, these foggy rumors get repeated so often that they take on the weight of truth. By tomorrow, people will be altering that PS3 has no game comic and posting it across reddit. Take the Orth debacle. If the narrative hadn't been constructed already, one idiot opening his big mouth on the internet wouldn't have been taken as 'OMG CONFIRMED'. So much that we started seeing controlled leaks via Verge and Polygon since then that help quell some of the more toxic rumors.
For another, you underestimate how loud and obnoxious the very passionate fans are, and the strength of a good meme. 2-3 weeks after the Orth thing I had colleagues come up to me and give their own very twisted take on always-online Xbox and Orth. They're not gaffers, they don't read Kotaku, but they got the news anyway. Not only that, but they were disseminating their (incorrect) version of facts to THEIR even less-hardcore (but console-buying) gamer friends.
Microsoft has done a pretty bad job of controlling the message via back channels. Until recently, most 'news' was bad, or at least taken in the worst possible light. On the other hand, the tone changed considerably once the Verge/Polygon started leaking out info, particularly regarding always online (it's still very confusing, since no one can agree on what the term means, but it's better than it was).*
*Hell, good spin can completely alter how reality is perceived. Sony did a great job selling the PS3/CELL's technology, to the point that to this day you have enthusiasts insisting that the PS3 is more powerful.
I disagree, but I can't really counter your personal experiences with anything but my own. 99% of my friends didn't know about the new Xbox until they either saw the dashboard ad (those are really paying off for MS right now by the way in free publicity alone) or me telling them about. I know one or two people who knew about it beforehand, but they're people who check out sites like ign, but not super-niche stuff like a video game forum.
Most people are going to have no expectations except for "okay, so it's a 360 that looks better" which is probably mostly true. They're not going to learn about any of the features until that live-stream, the next wave of ads on the 360's dashboard, or when they actually bring the console home in November.
I think everyone's jumping the gun because people like negativity, and because a lot of people prefer Sony or Nintendo to Microsoft. There's nothing wrong with that, but a lot of the general public doesn't feel that way. Maybe there's loyalty to Nintendo stuff, but most people just want the console that their friends are on, and has interesting games and features.
I just think it's funny because this will all be a distant memory come May 22nd. There will still be negativity, but actual founded negativity instead of this floaty, nebulous stuff we have to hear from the blogging sites every other day, which usually sounds like 1 part fact (well, as fact as rumors go) and 2 parts conjecture based on the blogger's own personal biases or interests
It's not about the studio, its about the publisher. This deal isn't between an exclusive publisher and a little upstart studio in desperate need of a publisher and financial support. Its a deal between two behemoth companies: MS and EA. Any profit-driven company, and especially EA would never cut themselves out of half (or more) of the potential sales of a title unless they were very, very well compensated for it monetarily.
That's simply not true. There are more things in business than short-term revenue gains, one being establishing relationships with other power players in the field. MS and EA don't really compete all that much. Sure, Halo might but heads up against a Battlefield or something, but it benefits EA to garner a strong relationship with Microsoft. I'm sure there were some sort of deals made; maybe free advertising, maybe just cash. The difference here is that Microsoft is taking a gamble as well on the IP, just as they took a gamble on Gears of War.
I'm not saying Microsoft isn't paying EA, I'm just saying it's not as simple as them cutting a check and being off on their merry way.
