Microsoft may be trying to secure some form of exclusivity for the XBox on Doom III. When the news first surfaced it still was uncomfortably close to April 1st for anyone to take notice but as time went by the rumours remained and finally the story has been printed in the May issue of Wired magazine.
It all started with a bold rumour claiming that Microsoft were working hard on getting Doom III exclusively on the XBox, that means no PC version. That form of the story however, held no credibility since no one would expect id to be willing to give up the highly lucrative and almost traditional format for the game, at least not for any logical amount of money. In any case such a move would almost certainly alienate the overwhelming majority of Doom fans, putting the success of the new installment at risk.
So where is the truth behind this rumour? It is a well known fact that console manufacturers chase after the exclusive, it is also well know that Microsoft are going after the well established games rather than waiting to create their own XBox-only titles. Doom III would seem a perfect choice for a target but the widespread success of the title makes it highly unlikely that id would dare such a move. According to Wired then, Microsoft are not trying to get the game as an XBox-only title but rather are working on getting a PC - XBox release first, leaving PS2 to wait a while.
According to the magazine, Microsoft have one very strong argument on their side since it appears that only the PC and XBox are able to fully support the full (intended) capabilities of the game. It seems that any GC or PS2 version of the game will not carry all of the features of the PC - XBox one.
It therefore seems that the ball is in id's court, do they risk losing the PS2 market or will they be confident that PS2 users, driven by the Doom III urge will still go after the other versions?
It is also pretty certain that MS will throw quite a bit of money id's way in order to help them make up their minds.