'Nobody gains from console exclusivity,' says Sony's dev relations boss

Sony Computer Entertainment America's Adam Boyes.

In a candid keynote address at IndieCade's professional conference today, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) VP of publisher and developer relations Adam Boyes acknowledged that though console exclusivity might drive console sales, it wasn't fundamentally productive to either console makers or developers.

"Right now exclusives are just a way for [console makers] to brag louder," said Boyes. "Nobody gains from exclusivity in perpetuity."

[-Foxtrot]

Except for you guys as a company...I mean having exclusives for your platform are great because it will make potential buyers want your system. If your a die hard Halo fan then you'll might get an Xbox One when Halo finally comes out and if you like Uncharted or anything ND related then you'll want a PS4.

To be honest exclusives for me is what sets the consoles apart.

[Ezz2013]

he's talking about indie games though
not retail exclusives from 1st/2nd party studios

also i'm getting ps4 because all sony's 1st/2nd party studios not just ND

that's how awesome sony really is

[kevnb]

every platform has great exclusives, well except xbox. Nothing exclusive to xbox is very exciting now that halo and gears are played out.

[HammadTheBeast]

Well that's not too fair. Halo's still Halo, and it looks like they're taking a few risks with XBO.

[GameNameFame]

Halo Isnt Halo anymore.

Bungie used to make it.

now 343 makes it. The ratings took tumbles on metascore from mid 90s to mid 80s.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

@kevnb

I'm a PS guy too, but even if MS games are not my cup of tea this days, that doesn't mean MS exclusives always sucks, not at all, I had the original Xbox along with my PS2 and it was awesome!

The way I see it, it's been the second half of this generation that mostly harmed MS's image and get eveyrone saying MS have no exclusives worthwhile. And rightfully so, Kinect crap and dull repetition was their downfall.

But if we look at the original Xbox and Xbox 360 first 2 years they had many good exclusives (or "console exclusives") that made it worth having a MS console. Kameo, Project Dark, Fable, Halo, Forza, PGR, Jade Empire, KOTOR, Ninja Gaiden, Lost Odyssey, etc.

Now some were first party, some not and went multiplat, some became successful franchises, others simply disappeared... Maybe they weren't plenty, maybe MS didn't invested enough on keeping some of those relevant, but sure it's not like MS never had exciting exclusives...

Probably this is deciding moment for MS: can they go back to make/secure awesome exclusives and keep doing that or will they go and chase some crap beyond gaming cummunity again and left everyone hanging...

Right now, I'm not betting on MS either, those last years and the whole take on Xbox One launch had leave me even less interested, but I really hope they can go back to their best days and give Sony a nice competition, because when they do so they can be awesome and I would have no problems having an Xbox One sitting right beside my PS4. The more great games the better I say.

[Death]

Of all Sony's exclusives, which are not "played out"? Killzone has been around for years and has been average at best. The PS4 outing looks to be the most appealing to date. If franchise like Gears or Halo can have the same upgrades as Killzone, why would they not be welcomed with gamers?

As for the article, Adam feels indies should not be exclusive to either console. Makes sense since indies will not push consoles sales. At the same time I don't see any indie games that Sony or Microsoft invest in going to the competitions consoles either. A true "indie" that is self published shouldn't be exclusive. What would the point be in limiting your potential customer base?

[Hitman0769]

@GameNameFame "now 343 makes it. The ratings took tumbles on metascore from mid 90s to mid 80s."

Hahaaha

Somebody get this guy a calculator. "tumbles". Cute ;)

My most anticipated next-gen: Indies, Knack, Killzone, The Order, Dead Rising 3. Reserving judgement but cautiously building hope slowly for Destiny and Titanfall.... just no point in getting hopes sky high. rather be over-satisifed and under-hyped than vice versa.

[trouble_bubble]

@Death
Which Sony exclusives aren't played out? U serious? Where ya been all year?

NiNoKuni, The Last of Us, Dragons Crown, Puppeteer, Beyond: Two Souls etc are all new IPs on Playstation this year. First new Sly Cooper game in 8 years. How much fresher can ya get on the eve of a new gen'?!

You bring up Killzone, but there were only TWO PS3 Killzone games this gen --one with a 91% meta avg to counter your "average at best" diss-- vs SIX xbox Halo games, FOUR Gears of War games and FIVE Fable games counting the upcoming Fable Anniversary.

[Goku781]

I agree graphics aren't everything for me, but knowing the brand I bought will be able to deliver on all fronts with a dependable product.

[Eonjay]

For you this may be the case but it should be noted that he is a absolutely correct. For example, as far as preorders go for the Xbox One, the multiplatform titles such as COD and Battlefield 4 are selling way more units than Forza, Ryse, or DR3. Same goes for PS4. Besides Killzone, all of the top preordered games are multiplatform titles.

Multiplatform titles like GTA and COD ship more consoles than any exclusive title can. Maybe its just the culture of the industry, but most people play the same games.

[christocolus]

@foxtrot
dude im totally with you on this ..but he may be talking about third party exclusives with more emphasis on the smaller third party devs cos these are the guys who dont usually have the resources to develop their games for multiple consoles and they usually end up needing the help of the big publishers with funding or outsourcing development work on a second port of the game to another dev but even at that going exclusive is still up to the game developer..i.e if a console dev proposes a deal that doesnt seem good enough,the game dev has the right to opt out and go look for other partners but with both consoles this time around being almost similar hardware and feature wise it will definitly come down to inhouse content and who can get better exclusive deals from third party devs and maybe extra hardware features and services.....

[Kuse]

Hey Highspeed, there's many great titles coming out for Xbox One other than Halo...all of our Launch titles are looking great and many more down the pipe in the next coming year.

[starchild]

I agree with him. I have been saying this for years. Developers, gamers, publishers...nobody wins with exclusivity.

The only people who care about exclusivity are fanboys and the console makers. Fanboys care because they need exclusives as ammo in their imaginary "war" and the console makers care about exclusives because they need to force people to buy their console and not some other gaming device.

Real gamers should only care whether they get to play a game, they shouldn't be happy if someone else CAN'T play it.

[Ezz2013]

if consoles don't have it own exclusives that define it
what the point of buying any of them then ...why not just stay with pc and be done with it

you think that every one should play every game
that's cool and all
but for MS and Sony and nintendo that would never work
ask any one why he's buying X console or Y console
he's answer will always be about the exclusives that each console have

[Death]

PC's have exclusives too. Exclusives are what define a console. They are also a way for console manufacturers to recoup some of their costs. Sony and Microsoft make much more on first party developed and published games. Without them they would have to count on royalties from third parties to make their profit. That would take much longer and be much harder. I believe you would lose much innovation too.

[3-4-5]

I've never been concerned with exclusives until recently when I realize just how many RPG's I'd missed out on over the years by Never owning a Playstation of any kind.

Had a Genesis, missed out on certain SNES games ( even though I played one a lot)

Had a N64, missed out on like 70 RPG's

Had a Gamecube & Xbox, Missed out on PS2 RPG's and other games.

Have a 360, now realizing I've missed out on a lot of really good PS3 games.

I love the 360 controller, but I'm probably getting a PS4 this time.

I can't miss out on where all the RPG's will potentially be again.

Although I do own a 3DS & psp just incase.

[Tultras]

And if Halo was on both platforms?

[Sitdown]

Imagine if The Last of Us was not console exclusive.....now tell me again that nobody gains from it.

[abc1233]

Didn't realise TLOU was an indie title.

[Minato-Namikaze]

Read more than the title please.

[ILive]

Yeah, he is talking about indie games, not triple A titles. It would not make sense if he were to be talking about triple A titles because why would Sony launch their new console with couple exclusives then? Even Microsoft for that fact?

[spicelicka]

First of all this is mostly about indie games.

Second of all, TLOU is just one game, of course its not gonna make a difference. But it being added to NDs lineup of other games like uncharted gives sony fans something brag about and increases loyalty in the long run. And no matter if we're fanboys or not, we all have a certain amount of pride in the products we buy, and that's the best thing for the companies.

I'm not saying i agree with it, but imagine if all games always came out on both systems. We would find another reason to buy one console over the other, features or price etc. If there are no differences, then there would be no point in competition among the companies, and that's actually not healthy for the industry. It's not like Coke and pepsi where you can't do much to differentiate them with taste.

[majiebeast]

I think he means indie games.

What he is doing is pretty smart. He is talking to indie developers who really dont like to go exclusive for one platform and saying yeah with us you dont have to sign any of those deals. We just want your game on our systems and help you become succesful.

Its all messaging ofcourse they care about exclusives thats what sells hardware thats why they still make games like Tlou and Beyond.

[ZBlacktt]

Inb4 fired, lol....srs.

[gaelic_laoch]

The is no Good without Evil!

The M$ restores balance to the universe! YING & YANG......PS4 & xboNe

[CEOSteveBallmer]

LOL I guess i know who the evil or yin is on your comment. XD

[MasterCornholio]

Wasn't the balance restored with Darth Vader's death?

Nexus 7 2013

[miyamoto]

Every game maker specially indies, wants their game to be played by as many people as possible at most immediate time.

Sony has designed and positioned the PS4 as the perfect high profile platform to catapult small aspiring developers to stardom and recognition with their new ideas.

They started with indie game maker thatgamecompany's Flower in 2007.

Now that is industry leadership not even Nintendo nor Microsoft can ever envision in their DNA.

[Blaze929]

"Now that is industry leadership not even Nintendo nor Microsoft can ever envision in their DNA."

what, exactly are you sipping on?

[Hicken]

Whatever it is, it's given his comment more content than yours typically average.

[Moncole]

Microsoft made indie games on console big

[Blaze929]

people seem to forget lol. i swear. Let's all pretend like XBLA and the XNA developer program wasn't as big as it was. Even the yearly competitions they would hold, which is how The Dishwasher came to fruition.

[GTgamer]

Microsoft didn't make shit big its not like they made the games all they did was give the devs a chance to put their games on xbla and we just found out how shitty of a process it was for indie devs so don't give me that BS.

[Yep]

Meanwhile, there are countless new Indie titles being developed for Wii U.

[miyamoto]

yup. free sdk to anything that moves,coz of poor 3rd party development initiative for wii u,right?

thatkneejerk reaction to the ps4's high profile love and elevation of indie games last feb

[Lykon]

you know that bloke in the picture ... he looks like he hasn't played a video game since 1984

[Feocart]

I remember Adam Boyes when he was on the Giantbombcast. He's very down to earth and he has this weird tendency to smile a lot when he's on stage or interviewed.

He's an odd one...

[Lykon]

anyway . i'm naughty judging on looks but i was tired... anyway .. personally i don't mind if games are multiplat ..but it would be nice if every version of the game made the most out of whatever console it is on. It seems more likely that exclusives will do that better.

[Gardenia]

Exclusive games are the selling point of the console, if it's a good game that is

[coolasj]

He's saying one thing and meaning another. He's speaking at an indie developer conference and saying "Hey guys, look, you can sign with us, and we won't lock you down". Knowing full well most indie developers just want to make a good game and/or don't have the resources to develop for more than a couple of platforms at the same time.

[Hicken]

I don't entirely agree. Console makers definitely gain, as exclusives moves consoles. And if the console maker helps the developer create the game through funds and resources, then the developer can benefit, as well, as it's the sort of thing they wouldn't be likely to get through a multiplatform release.

But there's also the larger audience that can be reached by going multiplat, meaning the possibility for far larger profits. Of course, the risk is also higher, too.

[RytGear]

Actually, we gain from exclusives, we get games that are tailored to that system and therefore can get every last bit of juice out it meaning better games.

[SuperBlur]

which indie game might you have in mind ?

[GrandpaSnake]

exclusives are cool, timed exclusives are lame. im looking at you titanfall!

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Wrong.

[tulholdren]

Exclusives are the reason for me having the consoles that I do..

[D-riders]

nintendo has exclusives that destroy MS and sony, although he has a point with those two companies, he's wrong.

[Bolts]

From the dev stand point exclusives are fail so yeah. Duh. Why wouldn't you want to publish your games on as many plats as possible?

[thepatientgamer]

Hah. Lies!

Exclusives can and do add weight for choosing a certain console. Although it may not benefit the developer, SHADOW OF THE CLOSSUS, I know, helped to sell a few extra PS2s.

[DanielGearSolid]

It depends... First party exclusives obviously make sense.

3rd party not so much, especially in the next gen where the architecture of all the consoles are so similar

[SSJBen]

Sure.

Make the next God of War and Uncharted on the Xbone and the PC too. Let's see what happens.

>_>'

[TheOneEyedHound]

This guy gots to go.........,,

[DarkAzureIIIX]

I disagree, 1st party studios push the boxes and if they didn't 3rd party would slack off talking about "we maxed out the consoles" when in fact they just maxed out their crappy engine.

[JunioRS101]

He's speaking in generalities.

In PRINCIPLE what he's saying is true. If there are 2 identical systems that can both run a game at the exact same caliber in the exact same way, then yes, it's silly to be exclusive to one over the other.

However, in PRACTICE what he's saying is not true. If there are 2 different consoles that both have different architectures and different capabilities, then it is NOT ideal to develop for both consoles because, logically, you have to divide the overall amount of resources equally over both consoles.

Also, there is a third option. If there is a game that will NOT push the boundaries and limits of either system, such as many indie titles, and the game can run equally, in the same fashion, on both consoles, then it would be best for the developer and the gamer to release on both consoles ONLY IF the development process does not have to sacrifice resources to do so. (Which in my opinion is probably unlikely in most situations.)

[breakpad]

i didnt expect that bullst from a Sony VP ..better Sony reconsider his opinions and dont let him speak again ...exclusives are the blood of console without them there s no reason to choose a specific console (like Sony PS4 :p) and also exclusivity brings much better games ..davelopers dont wast time to port but exploiting to the maximum the capabilities of a console