: The point was to ask, in the case of a bad decision that was made by
: a person (or a company) where they stated they would carry out that
: decision, whether it would be better to stick to their word and do the bad
: thing or to break their word and not do the bad thing (to put it in
: general terms).

But you've begged the question. You're here assuming that exclusives are an obviously bad thing, in the category of stabbing someone, that ought not to be continued. You have not proven this to be true.

: You know, that wasn't one of my problems with this, but for some people it is
: and I think it probably should be addressed-- what are they getting
: rewarded for?

For having red hair and blue socks. Who cares? Their game, their terms. Deal with it. If it's bad enough, my product should fail, and you're proven correct (by the popularity of Legendary Editions and the like, evidenced by their initial sell-out and second-run productions, I'm guessing the invisible finger disagrees with you).

: I can accept it, I just don't like it.

But that's just, like, your opinion, man.

: That's not how I feel about it...

I respect the consistency between how you view the situation and how you act. Like, a lot.

: What? It's not about whether I think it's a cash grab, it's whether it is
: a (cynical, pandering, over-hyped) cash grab. It's also not about whether
: I like it or not or whether I personally have it or can have it (and
: again, it's not a demand).

I'm still not quite sure what it's about, honestly. Egalitarianism?

: Well that answers that question at least (which means that point is at least
: settled-- we see it differently and don't seem prone to changing our
: viewpoints, so it can be dropped).

: As far as how it's used, it pretty much does. I'm tempted to make a
: disclaimer here, but I think I was clear enough, I don't stand by
: everything that that thought or philosophy entails. Copyright and patent
: law in most of the world (AFAIK) backs me up on this: the point of it is
: (or was) to restrict the sale of given information or products for a
: certain, relatively small amount of time so that the person or people who
: produced it can get just compensation.

Copyright law is badly broken, largely because of advances in categories like digital entertainment. Appealing to it (and it's use of outdated categories and definitions for products and ownership) is ill-advised.