Is it Time to Say Goodbye to Exclusives?

"As time goes on, exclusives are becoming less and less of a console-defining feature and more and more of a way for companies to monopolize on games and their fans." | Explosion.com

[LX-General-Kaos]

Exclusives will never die

Some Brands like Nintendo for example run off of exclusive content. Exclusives "becoming less and less of a console defining feature" may be true for some, but false for the Nintendo product line. Seeing that from Nintendo home consoles down to handhelds are completely defined by AAA quality Nintendo exclusive content. So much in fact that 3rd party often has a hard time selling to expectations on Nintendo platforms.

Disagree

Rated E For Everyone

[TheSpoiler]

It's funny, because without Nintendo, this game wouldn't exist.

[LX-General-Kaos]

That is very true

[Dark11]

Really? , where did Nintendo/SEGA/PG say that?

[RivetCityGhoul]

@Dark11 for the last time SEGA has nothing to do with bayonetta 2. Nintendo is publishing it NOT SEGA.

[BattleAxe]

I think that when it comes to Sony, the exclusives will never die because they've invested alot of money into their AAA game studios.

With Nintendo, they will always be the king of exclusives for little kids, no doubt about that.

[knowyourstuff]

Exclusives will always exist, just fewer and fewer these days as publishers capitalize on the extra revenue streams of multiplatform releases. They all do eventually if they aren't first party.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

People still bitching over Bayonetta on WiiU?

[AWBrawler]

@Battleaxe
do you mean those same little kids who were crying over Bayonetta 2? ;-)

its funny how you people keep telling yourselves nintendo is for little kids. i don't know a kid that can breeze through donkey kong country returns, conduit 1 or 2, no more heroes, monster hunter tri, or even mario galaxy 2. Nintendo has exclusives that appeal to more than just kids.

[ShoryukenII]

@BattleAxe

Nintendo games are like Pixar movies (and LittleBigPlanet). They aren't for kids, they are for everyone.

[DragonKnight]

@AWBrawler: Then you don't know any kids. My nephew is 6 and can breeze through any game he tries to play faster than any adult I've ever seen. Most kids grasp games a lot easier than adults and become a lot better than adults over time. That's just a proven fact especially as technology advances.

[SilentNegotiator]

That and if SEGA weren't as jumpy as EA, afraid of any new IP that doesn't sell a billion copies.

2 probably would have sold a million on each system if they hadn't stuck their head in the sand like a bunch of ostriches in a hurricane.

And it really shouldn't be a question of "should there be". It should be a question about being totally blind-sided, like multiplat games going exclusive to the ONE system family the first game wasn't on.

[scruffy_bear]

@RivetCityGhoul, Sega are the franchise owners and are serving as its advisor.

Also the Sega logo is shown at the end of the trailer, why would it be used on a trailer for a game they didn't have anything to do with them

[saoco]

someone else would have eventually picked it up.

[_-EDMIX-_]

??? This article is quite vague. The title needs to be "time to say goodbye to 3RD PARTY exclusives"

Exclusives will always exist for clear and obvious reasons.

3rd party exclusives will clearly exists for obvious reasons. I see this happening every gen.

But at the same time they happen, one needs to remember in most cases its NEVER FOREVER, its timed and ends up getting ported in a years time. This helps both parties in most cases. The team gets the game and funding, publisher gets sales for its system and developer makes some profit on a port later on cause there cheap to make.....thats it.

Bayonetta 2 isn't any different. It will get ported to PS3/360 or even PS4/720 if they feel just about a year later after the Wii U version.

Again my slow friends, exclusive means its never going on another publishers platform UNLESS they some how buy the IP, ie Halo, ie God Of War, ie Mario Generic shovelware etc.

But thsts not to be said for ips like Gears Of War, Ninja Gaiden, or yes Bayonetta. They are clearly made by 3rd party developers, there IP's are owned by said developers, but they are published else where. They are exclusive by the claims of the publisher/developer at that time, but clearly whos to state that will stay that way? I mean for God Of War, Halo, and Mario clearly the publisher owns the IP and its clearly not going to just end up on any ol'e platform, but those other IPs are not owned by those publishers thus run the risk of being bought up, put on other platforms what have you.

Happen to Mass Effect's IP, happen to Rare's Perfect Dark, Conker etc IP's. We can call, Mass Effect, and Perfect Dark (exclusive games) but that actually means NOTHING if the IP is not owned by said publisher.

Nintendo published Conker's Bad Fur day and Perfect Dark, they didn't own the IP, those IP's where owned by RARE! MS bought Rare, they didn't buy them from Nintendo. Thus when Rare was bought, so where those IPs.....Exclusive?

When Microsoft Published Mass Effect 1,...they didn't own the IP, Those IP's where owned by BIOWARE! EA didn't but Bioware from MS, MS never owned them. Thus when Bioware was bought, so where those IPs.....exclusive?

I think we need to sit down and really evaluate what a actual real "exclusive" is. Heres a great example. Insomniac is working with EA on a title, clearly Resistance and Ratchet will be neither of them, because Sony OWNS THE IP! Published and IP owned is what real exclusive is.

No More Heros wasn't, Ninja Gaiden 1 nore 2 wasn't, Mass Effect wasn't etc. The list goes on, neither fit what games like God Of War, Halo or Mario have. Publishing rights and IP rights are what make it a real exclusive. Publishing doesn't = owning.

In the words of Beyonce, "if you loved it, the you should have put a ring on it" ie if its a real exclusive....BUY THE IP!! They won't because it isn't. When Sony bought Big Big and Evolution, The Motorstorm IP was from the jump a Sony IP, even before they where bought. If you make a game on a Sony system and Sony's publishing....they are owning that IP.

[MidnytRain]

I'm not disagreeing with anything you just said, but I'm surprised you still have five bubbles.

[camel_toad]

The best thing about exclusives is that the game is made in mind exclusively with one systems limitations and strengths thereby getting optimal results in a technical sense.

The first bayonetta is a perfect example of what can wrong with a multiplatform game. They made it based off of the 360 hardware and the ps3 version was like an afterthought and suffered because of it.

I'm definitely not saying they're shouldn't be multiplatform games (obviously more sales for the publisher) but when it's an exclusive the entire dev team can devote all of their efforts into one console instead of having to limit the final product to meet each systems drawbacks.

[LX-General-Kaos]

well said man

[thorstein]

You are right of course. How can Mario be on anything but a Nintendo?

And why would SONY make Xbox games?

Why would MS make SONY or Nintendo games.

[guitarded77]

All it takes is one failed console to wipe any company out... then thy're making software for all systems. Look at SEGA. Look at SNK.

This gen has proven that the big three can make money and flourish, but it just takes one bad decision... one bad generation to wipe them out of the hardware market.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for exclusives. It breeds competition and it ultimately breeds innovation. Having exclusives go away, would be detrimental to the video game business, and be horrible for us gamers.

[PopRocks359]

@guitarded77

What? Sega had a string of failures. All of the crap add-ons for the Genesis and the failure of the Sega Saturn and the Dreamcast. Sega's a company riddled with consistent bad ideas; that's why they fell out of the hardware race.

And Nintendo already had its "one big bad" decision. It's called the Virtual Boy.

[guitarded77]

@ PopRocks359

Okay... whatever makes you feel like you won an argument that doesn't exist... look at Atari... Look at NEC/Hudson Soft. The point is the same... Mario, Halo and Uncharted could end up as third party software if one of the big three F-up enough. It's highly unlikely, but there are examples (which I've given), where it has happened in the past. There are plenty of people on this site and others that would argue that Dreamcast was a great console, with poor marketing and a poor launch. I'm not saying it was just one bad thing that SEGA did... I'm saying it just takes one big mistake to go from hardware development to third party software publisher.

[TotalHitman]

@Guitarded77

A failed console could wipe Nintendo out. Although I doubt it as the DS still goes strong. Nintendo don't have any other back up cash streams.

Sony would be taking a huge hit if the PS4 failed, but I doubt they would be liquidated. They would still make money from other sectors.

The Xbox is just a trifle of Microsoft's revenue. They'll barely take a hit if the next Xbox fails.

[StraightPath]

Bayonetta was huge bombshell! One of Best hack n slash this generation! Basically destroyed devil may cry ninja gaiden n much more advanced fighting mechanics then gow3. Hope it sells well gets new auidencie n comes to consoles. If not wiii u only way :D

[dalibor]

Well that's your opinion about Bayonetta being better than the rest and I can respect that but know that not everyone will agree with your thought. I for one like them all, they are all different somehow and cannot possibly be regarded as the same thing. I still have yet to try out Bayonetta. But I have a feeling that I would enjoy it non the less. And as far as exclusives go I as a gamer would not want them to disappear, it's what separates the consoles from one another. If there were no exclusives from consoles than I would just invest in a pc in my opinion. I want to see some games take raw advantage from a console. It produces great games and mixes it up. And no I did not disagree with you StraightPath.

[smashcrashbash]

Yeah that is BS. Bayonetta being better then GOW is arguable. But better then DMC or Ninja Gaiden? You are deluded beyond reason.Bayonetta may have had some nice moves but everything else stunk. the story, the dialogue,the setting, even many of the moves.

Let me give you an example. Bayonetta had a move where she shot up in the air like an upper cut and came back down. You know what that did? It landed me right back into a sea of enemies waiting for me. Pointless and useless. She had a ton of moves and half of them were worthless. At least in GOW, DMC and NG every weapon and move was useful in some way. In Bayonetta you could finish the whole game without buying half the moves and/or weapons.

And added to this is that Sony and Nintendo own their games. No one can go and make multiplats for anyone else. So as long as they own them multiplat as here to stay. No one is going to give up the easiest way to define their console so they have to work harder to make their systems attractive. If every game is on every system then that is more money I am going to have to pay to make my system better. Nintendo would have been dead a long time ago with out exclusives to hold them up.

[Tontus]

The God of War franchise dominates the hack n' slash genre more than any franchise dominates any other genre.

What's the highest rated & best selling hack n' slash on last gen consoles? God of War, this gen consoles? God of War III, last gen handhelds? God of War: Chains of Olympus.

Nothing else will ever compare to God of War. God of War killed Devil May Cry & Ninja Gaiden and everything in the genre since God of War released except for the awful Bayonetta has been a complete rip-off but not coming anywhere near the God of War games.

[cyclonus007]

Another is that Nintendo has for years been content to live off their ancient franchises but now wants a piece of that part of industry which has thrived without them. After all CoD makes millions for Sony & Microsoft; Nintendo not so much.

Nintendo neglected 3rd party publishers by not making a system that was up to current gen standards. The WiiU is their mea culpa.

[OmegaSlayer]

Third party exclusives should not exist.
Because they hurt the developers first.

Said that, Bayonetta2 will never reach the 2 millions copies that Bayonetta sold on PS3 and 36o combined.
So, for those who said that with Nintendo the game wouldn't exist, I tell you, it will only be a longer agony, since the game won't even reach 1,5 million copies sold.
Remember that even MadWorld was a great game and many PS3/360 users bought a Wii for that game
You can bookmark this, Bayonetta 2 won't sell more than 1,5 millions

2 millions copies are too much to jump ship.
First dumbness is on Sega that didn't paid for part 2, then Sony and Microsoft, then the devs for selling out to Nintendo in anyway lacking respect for the existing fanbase.
No one won here.

[smashman98]

The only "dumbness" is on the unappreciative asshole fans who cant understand that a bayonetta 2 coming out is a miracle period.

Viewtiful Joe 3 never happened
okami 2 never happened
Vanquish 2 never happened all great games that I would follow anywhere even if they came to IOS or something

buuut when an unlikely sequel finally happens the immature gamers come out and threaten platinum for really wanting to get this games in the hands of gamers even if that means having to have another publisher do it

Thank you platinum

not only will I be buying the WII U but I will be buying your game on day one

[Lf_sIcKmAn]

I was not gonna buy Bayonetta 2 for the Wii U, But after reading your comment I'm encouraged to do so.

I hope Bayonetta 2 does great on Wii U and shuts up all the haters that have made everyone sick with stupid arguments like TEH NINTENDOH STOLEZ IT… Even if bayonetta does not sell over 1.5 million, since nintendo is publishing it, then platinum games isn't investing too much money and can gain more… Im seeing it more likely everyday that nintendo might buy platinum games out and have them as a first party publisher.

[Servbot41]

Damn, how am I going to enjoy the game if it doesn't sell 2 million copies? Oh wait...

[showtimefolks]

No because 1st party games will always be exclusives.

And don't be surprised if both any and ms follow Nintendo and revive some older IP's which are owned by 3rd party by funding and publishing the product.

Exclusivs are very important to a systems unless you are MS than exclusive DLC that will they will pay millions for. But in the long run both and Nintendo are in better positions because they own more studios. Sooner or alters people will get tired of halo,gears and forza

[fr0sty]

"As time goes on, exclusives are becoming less and less of a way for a platform to define itself and more of a reason for fanboys to cry a river via a million n4g articles, hateful Facebook posts, and petitions.

[kikizoo]

"Exclusives "becoming less and less of a console defining feature" may be true for some, but false for the Nintendo product line."

yeah..and most of all, sony product line (more and better exlcusives this gen than competition, and same can be said for ps2/psx gen)

"It's funny how this wasn't even a topic of discussion... until Nintendo bagged themselves a good solid exclusive...
^__^"

no, this ridiculous statement started with xbox fanboyz in 2008/2009 until now, whith ps3 having way more and better exclusives each years..

[Gamer1982]

They wont die as unless ninty stop making consoles you wont see mario elsewhere same with sony and there IP's however MS games you could see elsewhere as most of there exclusives are from differnt devs and paid for. Like Gears for example.

[BitbyDeath]

Each platform all have great exclusives.
The only people wishing them death are bitter because 'x' exclusive is not on their console of choice.

[WeskerChildReborned]

Yep, Can't wait for Last of Us, ZombiU, and all the other exclusives.

[Gamer1982]

ZombieU will be coming to other consoles they have already said that. So thats not an exclusive well. Its a timed exclusive thats all. So all you get with WiiU is Mario and Zelda as usual.

[WeskerChildReborned]

@Gamer, it could but it's not confirmed yet.

[cyclonus007]

They have a right to be angry because this Bayonetta 2 deal is the worst kind of exclusive. It would be one thing for Nintendo to buy a new IP from a third party publisher (like Gears of War for MS) or get exclusive content from a third party game (Sony's exclusive Joker maps for Arkham Asylum). I would say this is unprecedented but I remember Nintendo doing the exact same thing when they snatched RE4 for Gamecube.

This deal is a slap in the face to anyone who played the first game and wanted a sequel. It's a plus for anyone who was buying a Wii U anyway, but are people really going to buy a new system because of Bayonetta 2? Ripping a popular game from its fanbase doesn't seem to make much sense.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Nintendo saw a good developer with a good IP and decided to publish their game since apparently no one else would. I don't see how that could be a slap in the face to fans.

[Gamer1982]

Bayonetta will come to other consoles purely because sales of game from launch consoles are always terribly poor. As you are selling to a portion of a couple of million. Why limit your audience to 2-3 million at launch when theres already an audience of 70 million (knocked 30 million off for dead consoles and gamers who no longer play etc..) out there? Thats a LOT of profit to lose. Its why heavenly sword dev went multiplatform remember?

[cyclonus007]

@ElectricKaibutsu It goes deeper than that. Nintendo is adopting a "me too" strategy to get the hardcore audience back to their brand. I don't care about Bayonetta (I haven't even played the game tbh) but if a franchise I liked went exclusive to a system I had no intention of buying then I'm done with that franchise. I've been playing Metal Gear Solid since the PS1 days but if MGS4 had been a Xbox exclusive, I definitely wasn't going to buy a 360 for it. If Nintendo liked Platinum so much they should get them to make a new IP for them. How is Bayonetta 2 going to be successful as an exclusive when the WiiU audience is unknown and the first game was only a mild success on current consoles?

@Gamer1982 Even if the game eventually comes to other consoles, the damage is done. But you proved my point with Heavenly Sword. Ninja Theory are multiplatform developers but the Heavenly Sword IP remains with Sony. A sequel to a game that was never on your console is risky. Yes, the money is in multiplats and that is why this deal makes no sense. Maybe you're right & it is just a timed exclusive deal (because we just NEED more of those again...).

I assume Platinum Games owns the Bayonetta IP, so that's why they could shop it around but unless Nintendo bought the IP, it all seems pointless.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

"If Nintendo liked Platinum so much they should get them to make a new IP for them."

They did: The Wonderful 101.

Platinum already said they had been planning out the sequel to Bayonetta 2. They did the art and had the story all banged out. They wanted to make this game, they just needed someone to support them. I hope it turns out well for Platinum since they really are a great developer and I think the should be rewarded for how much effort and skill they put into their games.

I agree with you that it probably won't be a system seller on its own, and that someone who decided not to get a Wii U won't suddenly change their mind because they liked Bayonetta, but I think it could swing people who are on the fence.

[Belking]

Next gen, exclusives will matter even less. Gamers should prepare to see less games because of increased development cost. One publisher (Ubisoft) has already come out and said they will be publishing/developing less games because of it.

[Hicken]

Exclusives will ALWAYS matter. Ubisoft, who does primarily multiplats, is a poor barometer for the state of affairs next gen.

The fact of the matter is: the more parity there is between all the systems, the more important exclusives will become. And since it's speculated that there won't be nearly as large a performance schism next time around, that means there'll be an even larger focus on the minute differences. Things like, I don't know, LIBRARIES.

[Belking]

"Exclusives will ALWAYS matter. Ubisoft, who does primarily multiplats, is a poor barometer for the state of affairs next gen."

Don't try to make it sound like I said exclusives don't matter. I said MATTER LESS.

Apparently you don't know that Ubisoft is one of the top publishers and developers in the industry. You also don't realize that multi-plats are the backbone of the industry. Sony nor MS could survive with out them. There will be less games next gen simply because some studios won't be able to withstand the losses if a game doesn't sell. Publisher will take less chances.

A large publisher like Ubisoft saying it should tell you something. There will be less games. Sony and MS are already shifting/combining studios and getting ready for it. You do know games aren't made for free, don't you? There will be more timed exclusives for sure.

[BitbyDeath]

@Belking, wouldn't less multiplats = more exclusives? If the smaller publishers like Ubi aren't willing to hand over their cash to make games then wouldn't you think Sony, Ninty and MS would take their place and do the publishing for them?

[BrutallyBlunt]

Hicken writes - "And since it's speculated that there won't be nearly as large a performance schism next time around, that means there'll be an even larger focus on the minute differences."

Oh goodie! Another gneration of fanboys clamoring how that one extra pixel makes all the differences in the world.

Companies like Nintendo will always have exclusives to try and sell the hardware. That's how they keep themselves within their own bubble. The fact is Belking is right about some things, costs have risen dramatically to create games so something has to give. Whether that be even less focus on trying new things, more online codes to help alleviate losses within the used market, more digital distribution, more DLC, episodic content and so forth. Single player focused games will suffer even more. EA has already gone on record stating their love affir with having online integrated games, i expect more to follow.

In a world where we had the PS2 it made sense to have a lot of exclusives. The system had total influence even with 3rd party publishers. That deteriorated thanks in large part to stiffer competition. It's about to become even more competitive with the influx of smartphones and tablets and digital services like Steam growing.

@BitbyDeath

There might be more partnerships like we seen with Epic and Microsoft and now Platinum and Nintendo. But you also have to factor in costs and how limited now your userbase has become by essentially blocking off most of your potential customers.

[colonel179]

I think there won't be any more third-party-published exclusives because they won't take the risk anymore. So I think that Sony, MS and Nintendo will publish those titles to make them exclusive to their console. Just like Nintendo has done with Bayoneta 2.

[dalibor]

Yes I agree but there could be exceptions though. Never say never bub *snkit*

But will there be exclusive downloadable content when the new systems arrive? It has been done this generation. Is it a good thing? Well I have my own opinion about it.

[rainslacker]

I'm sure there will be some...whether they're AAA titles or not though is a different matter. Also it seems most western 3rd party developers won't go exclusive. You can always look to localized titles from Japan though, but the big titles will likely still go multi-plat...at least for world-wide release.

[Sticky__Rice]

This guy clearly doesnt realize Mario, Uncharted & Halo are flagship titles that are will never be mulitplat. Those are just some of the many few. Everyone has a reason they pick up a certain platform. Exclusives usually seal the deal for a consumer.

[ravinash]

While I get your point and games like halo, Mario and Uncharted might never see another platform (except PC for halo maybe)....I can't help but notice Sonic the hedgehog runing round on other platforms after Sega no longer had a platform.

If the devs/publishers still see money in creating these IPs even when the platform they are exclusive to is gone.... then there is always a chance this will happen.

Sony invests a lot into their software studios, so it's not to much of a stretch if they pulled out of the hardware that they would continue with the software studios like they do with their movie departments.

[prototypeknuckles]

exclusives will always be around i men yeah some games like tekken, final fantasy, or DMC go multiplatform but others will always sty exclusive

[ronin4life]

It's funny how this wasn't even a topic of discussion... until Nintendo bagged themselves a good solid exclusive...
^__^

[NBT91]

I thought so too, its ironic too that the exclusive to start this pointless crap was an exclusive that "nobody cared about" when it clearly is a big deal as its all anyone online has talked about for about three days straight.

[KonaBro]

Exclusives are what separates consoles from each other and entices people to buy them. Sadly, Nintendo have been pulling from their same stable of exclusives for numerous years and the well has ran dry from disappointing sales of big marquee titles like Wind Waker, Metroid Other M, etc. Nintendo has to step it up for this next generation because trotting out up-rezzed ports of PS3/360 games won't get them anywhere fast.

[AWBrawler]

4.60 million is bad now? guess God of war 3 sells are abysmal then, because it never outsold Wind Waker nor has any God of War game.

Wind waker is the 6th highest selling zelda and has also outsold:
Resistance
Uncharted 1 and 3
every Fallout game
every ninja gaiden
Ps3 version of skyrim
and a hell of a lot more

and this was done on the Cube which only sold roughly 22 million

[KonaBro]

I meant to say Skyward Sword but I love how you got super defensive and didn't even mention Gran Turismo. Also your list is severely wrong. Allow me to correct you:

God of War
http://www.siliconera.com/2...

Uncharted
http://www.playstationlifes...

Gran Turismo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

I could keep going but to add some salt, WW and SS were both outsold and these games just 3 off the top of my head. Try harder.

[AWBrawler]

I'm not talking about GT, I'm proving that Wind Waker did not have bad sells, and you seem to ignore the fact that Gamecube had UNDER 22MILLION at the time it released. To get those numbers is quite a feat, and it actually makes GOW just barely beating it look worse, because at the time it was released, there were way more than 22 million PS3s in homes.I'm sure those who agreed with me get what i'm saying.

[Tontus]

You are such a fool. God of War III released when there was only about 30 million PS3 consoles sold and to date God of War III has passed 5.2 million back in May 2012 and is now around 5.35 million and is tracking towards 6.5 million+ lifetime. God of War is now a more popular franchise than Zelda which is just declining in relevance. By the way, only a fool would trust Vgchartz numbers.

[AO1JMM]

NO!

/Thread

[R_aVe_N]

Only an idiot would think exclusives are going to die off at any point.

[NBT91]

>Exclusive gets announced and is all anyone has talked about for days.
>Is it time to say goodbye to exclusives?

Dat logic!

I mean it answered itself straight away "exclusives are becoming less and less of a console-defining feature and more and more of a way for companies to monopolize on games and their fans." - that is kind of the whole point! Hence why exclusive DLC and games are important to a company and they are not going away.

[ThePsychoGamer]

So long a first party developer remains, exclusives will remain so long as first party developers do.

Of course I doubt we will see the end of third party exclusives any time soon. Franchises like say, Yakuza, will likely stay exclusive to the playstation brand for a long time to come. There are only four situations I could see for the series to go multi plat, and all seem very unlikely to happen any time soon.

[remanutd55]

nop i dont think its time to say good bye to exclusive games, i will be getting a Nintendo WiiU to play ZombiU and a ps4 to play sony exclusives so in my eyes no i dont think they need to say good bye.

[DivineAssault]

If PS exists, so will exclusives.. Nintendo too.. Microsoft is the only company lacking in that department.. Sure they have some but nowhere near as many.. Most supposed 360 exclusives can be bought on PC

[NYC_Gamer]

I doubt we'll see much of third party soft being exclusive next gen.That's why it's important for console brands to have a strong first party line up.

[bayonetta]

the question is :
is it time 2 say goodbye 2 those articles ??

[gamerben]

No, the videogame industry crashed in the 80s because there weren't any exclusives.

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

only reason MS lacks in exclusives is they have not been in the gaming industry nearly aslong as Nintendo and sony have.

[InTheLab]

They don't lack exclusives. The problem is that most of them are for Kinect...

They also bought out studios that have been around for years so that's no excuse. A decade in the business is long enough to build a solid library but that has never been MS's goal. A few huge titles and a bunch of timed DLC is what they have to tempt you into paying for Live every year...which is all they really want.

[InTheLab]

The authors main issue seems to be with timed DLC which really is a big issue and should go away. It should be obvious that fans of PC/PS3/and probably WiiU won't be jumping ship to Xbox just to play CoD maps a month early, so all timed DLC does is piss off gamers that don't own or want anything to do with Xbox...

That, I can agree with...but...

This idea that actual exclusives need to go away is foolish. Take away exclusive content and the only thing that separates the consoles will be what flavor of the month gimmick each platform is pimping this gen. Motion controls, smart glass, built in touch screens, etc. All of the extraneous s*** that adds very little to gaming...

Exclusives are the backbone of every console.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

An exclusive game from a third party developer hasn't been done since 2010 and the last third party exclusive game was Splinter Cell Conviction on the Xbox 360.

I see this trend continuing because lets face it, games aren't getting any cheaper. Devs/pubs can use all the revenue they can get.

Now next gen that trend seems to be coming back if the rumors are true. Activision making Modern warfare 4 exclusive to 720 as well as Bungies brand new game being a 720 exclusive (Or timed). That is if PS4 gets released next year simultaneously as the 360.

[ThePsychoGamer]

No, there have been a lot of other third party exclusives in 2011 and 2012. Yakuza Dead Souls was released by Sega earlier this year, exclusive to the PS3. I could name a lot of other third party exclusives that have released in 2011 and 2012, but I made my point.

[goldwyncq]

No. I believe that exclusives are the bread and butter of the gaming industry and that there won't be a conscious desire for the developers to improve without exclusivity

[ceballos77mx]

Weren't people bashing exclusives a couple a months ago, saying they didn't matter.

[DigitalAnalog]

What happens when there are no exclusives? HOW and WHAT will be the differentiating factor to choose between xbox360 or PS3? This is the same kind of situation what brought the original crash in the 80's. Even the Non-Atari games could play the Atari games thanks to port cartridges and the like.

Without exclusives consoles would have to battle it out trying to focus giving NON-gaming related services in order to stand out from the other competition. Because both could play ALL games, only 1 company could thrive. The industry would simply choose which one is the more popular one and an industry that is dictated with 1 console manufacturer is already on it's way to crash if they are unable to innovate.

[ATi_Elite]

Great move by Nintendo!

If fanboys are Butt hurt by the move then you only have Sony and MS to blame cause Sony and MS were not interested in Bayonetta 2.

Bayonetta 2 lives only because Nintendo showed interest in a game that was a Modern Warfare FPS.

Glad to see Nintendo pick up Bayonetta. The game was a nice entry in the action shoot'em up genre!

[IHateYouFanboys]

as long as there is more than 1 console on the market there will be exclusives.

i do find it funny though that some people carry on about how mario/uncharted/halo will NEVER be on another console - people said the same about sonic the hedgehog for 10+ years, now sonics on every console/phone/tablet thats available. remember, sega werent always just a software maker. the same can happen to sony, microsoft or nintendo.

in fact, it would probably make a whole lot of sense for sony to drop their hardware side of gaming and focus entirely on software. the PS3 hardware lost them $6b+, and theyd most likely be in a much better financial position now if they only had to worry about software.

[HalfNerdHalfAmazing]

If they ever stop making exclusives is all thanks to the whiners

[Run_bare]

I want my Fatal Frame Nintendo, where is it?

[dcortz2027]

LOL yeah, if you own an Xbox console that is!

[GrahamGolden]

lol u guyz think bayonetta 2 is a huge deal or something ?

bayonetta 1 sold only 1mil on ps3 xbox COMBINE

this game will simply fail

u guyz stick with marios and zeldas thats all u can do

[360ICE]

Also, it's a game about Sarah Palin making clothes out of her own hair (much like the real Sarah Palin)...

So, yeah. Not buying Wii U for this one. Call me when you have the massive 3D free roam Pokémon game everyone has been asking for since the dawn of time.

[360ICE]

You do enjoy a lot of commotiom surrounding your game when it's exclusive. I think the smaller games, that might not make it without a little media support can benefit from exclusivity. But I never think we'll be seeing an exclusive main series GTA or CoD without some series money put into it from hardware publishers. And I don't think that's a beneficial strategy, as the article suggests.

[Primal Rex]

Arnt Exclusives what Diffine a console !!!

[KillerPwned]

Wasn't this a big discussion when this current gen was first starting up?

[_LarZen_]

Most intellectual people know that exclusives wil never say goodbye and that is a good thing.

[ziggurcat]

"Is it Time to Say Goodbye to Exclusives?"

uh... no.

[BIGBOSS08]

not for nintendo or sony it isnt. microsoft said goodbye to exclusives years ago.

[carlocgc]

dont understand why everyone is crying about bayonetta 2 people should be happy about monster hunter 3 ultimate Yeaaaa Boyyyy

[gamer7804]

Exclusives won't die, but they should definitely die if they are mid-story exclusives. Cough bayonetta.....

[Donnywho]

Is Bayonetta really going to stay exclusive though? Honestly, almost every exclusive has eventually gone multi-plat except for the obvious few. No one out there thinks this might go to ps3 and 360 after about 4-5 months?

[cyberninja]

Whoever says that exclusives don't matter is a fucking moron, it's that easy.

[Max-Zorin]

3rd Party wise it's pretty much dead. We do need 1st Party exclusives though. A lack of them would be stupid.

[Kratoscar2008]

Third party exclusives yes but first party no.