Has the Xbox 360 proved that exclusives don’t matter?

SchollA from Console ControllUs write:
So I’m looking at the year Xbox 360 had and just their overall journey from launch until now and I had to ask this question.

[GribbleGrunger]

nope, it's proved that Americans buy their own products. Japan is much the same. the only way you can really judge is in the neutral regions.

[NYC_Gamer]

to be fair the 360 isn't even made in the united states....

[GribbleGrunger]

i know that but that's not the perception

[piroh]

that's why i bought PS3

there are some good exclusives for 360 and Wii but i haven't time for this, there are so many great exclusives for my PS3 that i'd need to be here 100 years

[darthv72]

You could say that this company has more exclusives than that company but in the end they both get their most effective support from multiplatform 3rd party games.

PS1 was a 3rd party primary platform and achieved great success. So much that sony felt the need to buy up studios they thought were worth the $$$. So when the ps2 came out they had their stable of exclusive developers.

That was then. This is now and the game has changed. Exclusives matter but they just do not have the weight they once did.

[teething]

Exclusives matter more in the early days of a console when game content is slim. It helps build a reason to buy the console, and thus gain loyal customers.

Later in a console lifecycle, there are so many AAA titles that are multiplatform, that exclusives become less important. There is more choice.

[KMCROC54]

But it's core company behind the concept is located in Redmond Washington USA.

[Jobesy]

@ Gribble, if Americans only buy American products then why does the Wii and DS do so well in America? Why does Apple do so well in Japan? Did I throw a wrench in your conspiracy theory?

[-Alpha]

Exclusives matter, the Xbox 360 launch compared to the PS3 launch was based around exclusives (sometimes ignoring the PC as console gamers do)

The 360 was hailed as a console that had the games, PS3 was the console that "had no games"

Exclusives have always mattered and will always matter, though I agree that today, it's a part of other factors, including price, online service, etc.

That said, exclusives aren't necessarily better or superior to multiplatform games, which has been an elitist attitude developed this gen. I think it's also important to remember that Sony's best exclusives, GT being the exception, were made by third party. Titles like Final Fantasy, GTA, and Metal Gear are all developed by third party and a large part of that fanbase wont be loyal to a console brand, but to the software product.

[darthv72]

I did say exclusives matter. I just summed it up with they dont have their weight like before.

And yes the 360 was the system with the games because that is what it was designed for. Playing games so that is an obvious statement. Just like it was with the PS3 having not many (i didnt say none) games.

Even sony admitted they werent sure how to promote the ps3 at launch. It was a bluray player that also played games is sort of how they put it.

You cant ignore that for the first several months up until practically the first year the ps3 had an identity crisis. They didnt have the games....they had the movies.

When people bought a ps3 at launch it was a guess between movies or games. To sony it was still a sale so it didnt matter.

When people bought a 360 at launch it was for.....the games.

Fast forward to today and neither of that matters as they are both selling extremely well. Exclusive/non exclusive....doesnt matter as much anymore.

[kreate]

lets be real here, both consoles had no games in its first year.

ps3 until uncharted
xbox until gears of war came out

the difference is, xbox had many games come out on its second year which at the same time frame ps3 was in its first year.

so at that time it seem like ps3 had no games.

EDIT: xbox might prove exclusives dont matter but nintendo proves exclusives do matter. ps3 is just kind of in the middle

[Dee_91]

i bought a 360 this year for forza so uhh no.

[miyamoto]

The author of the article made up a very wrong question?

Very flawed. If many 360 gamers will contest that Halo and Gears and Kinect , exclusives in every sense of the word, contributed to 360 success!

It should be "Did the Xbox 360s performance against the Wii & PS3 prove that exclusives matter?" because it really did not dominate the industry as MS hoped it to be because of the lack of exclusives.
Nintendo dominated. PlayStation dominated when they first stepped into the market. All because of exclusives even until now.

And they are still here because of Mario and Gran Turismo.

[gaffyh]

Exclusives ALWAYS matter. The 360 is continuing to sell well because MS is advertising Kinect very well, which is exclusive to 360. That of course leaves hardcore gamers thinking wtf?, but casuals will be snapping that sh*t up.

[ApplEaglElephant]

For every 2 AAA multiplat games, there is one AAA exclusives.

so yea. huge amount of games are infact exclusives.

Also, there is a reason why MS went Kinect. It is their exclusives games equivalent.

Kinect offers something exclusives.

[Perjoss]

Exclusives are not as important as people think, just look how unreliable the 360 was for the first few years with its RRoD problem (RRoD fixed on newer models) add to that the fact of PS3 having better exclusives but the 360 has still done really, really well. Exclusives are a nice bonus, but that's all.

@ ApplEaglElephant
A game being AAA is a matter of opinion I suppose, but the ratio of multi vs exclusive AAA games is nowhere near 2 to 1, 3 or 4 maybe.

[LogicalGamer]

But PS3 has something very close to 2 to 1 ratio for 60 bucks multiplats vs 60 bucks exclusives for games that has very high metascores(100 to 90 range).

He prob means AAA = 100-90 on metascore.

[kikizoo]

"Exclusive/non exclusive....doesnt matter as much anymore."

yeah sure, that's the funny opinion of xfans who claim that since (more than 3,4 year now) ps3 is killing xbox with way more, and better exclusives (and the best are clearly superior than multiplatform games, wich is pure logic).

"360 sells best in the US because it has better online (XBLive) and most of the Multiplts run better on it."

lol, poor bigdaddy misinformed u.s fanboy, if your ridiculous statements was real, not only u.s would buy more 360 than ps3, but the world ! it's only biased medias (saying better online, better multiplatform..for example, than ps3 is doomed, etc) and marketing (biased medias are a part of marketing) who are the reasons why xbox sell better than ps3 in us territory (only !), with free online (and sometime better with dedicated server, etc), better exclusives, graphics, bluray, etc only brainwashed people want more xbox than ps3 (you can have both if you don't want to miss some games, but there is no point choosing xbox over ps3 if you are a gamer)

EDIT : "frankfur" : new multiaccount dumb xboytrolliar spotted 18 comment, november sign in : "PS3's exclusives sell a lot less than Halo and Gears because they just aren't good enough. Sony fans brag about exclusives, but they don't buy them. Killzone, Infamous, Resistance all sell less than XBLA titles" LOL@the donkey living in opposite world.

[NukaCola]

Only thing that is important is marketing. Americans buy whatever TV tells them. 16 years of Sony gaming and this gen, America completely forgot about them.

[ArmrdChaos]

No...America didn't forget about Sony, Sony forgot how to sell in America. How much was the PS1 or PS2 when they came out? Sony lost America when they made the decision to slap a $600 price tag on their console and carried the arrogant stance "people will buy it anyway". But then again their only concern was winning the format war so they decided to sacrifice their gaming market share to do so.

[Dante112]

Yeah, wasn't the reason to buy the 360 back then because of Halo, Gears of War and the infamous "PS3 don't got no games"? As well as being cheaper than?

[ZombieAssassin]

Was just about to say that, I think they matter more in the start of a generation to get people to buy them...later on though it's just icing on the cake and my ps3 is all icing.

I do think it's funny though how the sides shifted, 3-4 years ago it was Xbox fanboys saying exclusives are what really matters and now they don't care and the opposite for ps3 fanboys.

@below

Yea I remember all the names they called the Ps3 sadly, but basically they were saying they didn't care they didn't have them (even though their were some excellent ones out)...and I'm not talking about ps3 owners I'm talking about the fanboys.

[insomnium2]

Ummmm.. PS3 people never said exclusives don't matter. They said we need to give PS3 some time and the games will be there. The x360 people called PS3 the waitstation for that remember?

[GribbleGrunger]

it was a somewhat cynical 'nope' in my first post

it doesn't seem to come into the calculations though. when PS3 was released a year later it released at a high price, much higher than the 360. at that time it was clear to me (and it frustrated me a lot) that Sony had to promote Blu-ray first in order to cement it's success.

since then the PS3 has been making up the ground steadily with the help of price reduction, new builds and incredible 1st party games.

but, when you look at the sales in all regions, it's clear that Americans like America and Japanese like Japan. nothing too incredible about that. however, if you look at Europe, where the PS3 released 16 months later and now has nearly a 4 million lead, it clearly shows that exclusives do matter because Europe has no invested interest... with the exception of the UK which for one reason or another seems to want so desperately to follow American trends

[darthv72]

"Europe has no invested interest... with the exception of the UK which for one reason or another seems to want so desperately to follow American trends"

That part is funny.

Do you really think it is american trends and not buying it for games they may actually want to play?

I get it. You dislike the 360 but you could very well enjoy the PS3 without the negativity towards it. I mean it isnt like the 360 killed you cat.......or did it?

[Persistantthug]

and millions of people wouldn't have bought GEARS 3.

Excuse my observations, but it seems that exclusives don't matter only when the system of ones choice doesn't have any.

[Captain Qwark 9]

millions of people would have still bought gears if it was not exclusive lol in fact prob more people, halo and forza and uncharted and metal gears and ratchet and clanks and fables and etc could all very much exist as multiplats lol and if anything the franchises would be much more successful....

the only thing exclusives really do is sell a system to those only willing to buy 1 console......

they also let a dev maximize the systems resources and potentially create better games but i havent seen anything on the ps3 that the 360 cant do, perhaps to some degree games like heavy rain, ratchet, and god of war might not look as good but they could easily be done on 360

[Rainstorm81]

If they "dont look as good" then it cant be done.... You are essentially taking away from what the game is now

[MariaHelFutura]

If you ever wonder how much exclusives matter... Just take a look at Nintendo. They have been riding their exclusives since the late 80s, early 90s.

[Bigpappy]

GribbleGrunger wrote:"it's proved that Americans buy their own products. Japan is much the same."

Now that makes ZERO sense. The #1 selling console in America is Wii. Last time I checked, that console was made by Nintendo which at the time was a Japanese company. PS2's largest market was America and I don't think that was an American console either.

America is the biggest importer of foreign products in the world. They are more PS3 sold in the US than in Japan.

360 sells best in the US because it has better online (XBLive) and most of the Multiplts run better on it. Have a look at the online shooter market and the percentage of those sales that go to the Americas and to the 360. That is a much better indicator that your rush to claim territorial bias.

@Persistantthug: You really believe Gears sold well because it was exclusive to 360? That make no sense either.

GribbleGrunger, why are you slamming UK gamers saying "desperately to follow American trends" and praist the rest of Europe for buying Japanese over American. Do you see that as being fair. You seem to have a personal gripe against anything American. You also choose to ignore, that PS brand was established in all these areas and that M$ is tasked with having to switch them over. Loyal gamers are not easy convert.

I do believe exclusives are important for distiguising consoles, but in the grand scheme of things, performance, features, friends and price are way more important.

[BitbyDeath]

"You really believe Gears sold well because it was exclusive to 360? That make no sense either."

Indirectly yes.
Microsoft would have not put those massive marketing dollars behind it if it weren't exclusive and therefore helping it sell.

So yes, being exclusive did help it sell.

[gamingdroid]

One could say exclusives at one point was important, but now a days other exclusive features mattered more.

Multi-platform games are released by the hundreds annually (well at least a lot), while exclusives are two handfuls at best. Of course, exclusives aren't going to matter that much. As it is, they get far more attention for being a few games already....

[RememberThe357]

I don't think it's even that. I proves that Americans love social interaction. Everyone I know has a 360 because it's easier to link up and play with your friends. Period.

[pain777pas]

Hate all you want but Gribble is RIGHT ON THE MONEY. The question is only... How do you feel about that? As long as there is unbiased reviewing of products and games I could careless... but that will never be the case. EU has no need to back either company. UK is pro America because they view the country or NA in general as their greatest colony. Take those last notes for what they are worth.

[gamingdroid]

There is no widespread nationalism in UK... heck even the US has a weak nationalism now a days. It used to be that when you said "Made in USA" it was a selling point, now it amounts to overpriced.

Countries like Japan and China has strong nationalism, and that is why it matters there. There is almost no foreign brands that can compete with local brands if there is an alternative. If there are, they are an exception rather than the norm.

That said, I doubt UK people go in and buy Xbox 360 thinking it is because it is US designed. It is more likely because the UK has more similar taste to the US if anything.

Bottom line, exceptions don't make it the norm!

[pain777pas]

Droid, you are right. However, the perception is that buying US company owned products will help the US economy one way or another. This has always been the case. This generation became service based because of subscriptions to make more revenue streams.....

[otherZinc]

Halo, Gears, & Fable are better & sell more than all PS3 exclusives other than GT.

And GT doesnt have the features of Forza 3, period.

All exclusive that are any good other than GT are on the 360. You can tell if a 360 player wants them, PS3 people dont buy their own exclusives

So people STFU with these stupid articles.

[MariaHelFutura]

I not sure the last 2 Fable game sold very well. I could be wrong though, if I am I imagine some statisition will correct me.

Also, judging by your outlook towards everything on PS asides from GT. You care waaaaaay to much about sales and could possibly have some mental issues.

:)

[Sayai jin]

I agree it does not prove anything, but Americans do not have the same brand/national loyalty as the Japanese. The Japanese show the utmost respect and loyalty to their home grown products. Even though they have become "westernized" they still love their own products. You do have exceptions like the iPod... The main reason they show this loyalty is that their economy is ranked in the top 5 because their electronics and auto industries. On the other hand, America has become a society that buys a large portion of foreign made products especially from Asia.

[gamingdroid]

It's sad we can't grow that brand/nationality loyalty in the US as we desperately need it. However, that would be "unfree" market and not capitalistic in spirit.

In the long run, we might suffer as "nationalism" and "brand loyalty" takes precedence over innovation.

There is a reason why the US by far leads in developing widely used technologies worldwide. It's the excruciating competition and the "outrageous" rewards we reap afterwards that motivates people.

[xtremeimport]

It proves that they dont matter to casual gamers. and this generation has been dominated by the "casual" gamer as video games are trying to break the mold of being "nerdy" and find their way into more homes. Solid exclusives are still very important to those who dont play games just for Multi-player.

[TBM]

i dont buy consoles for 3rd party games, i buy them for exclusives. 3rd party games to me are bonuses.

[joab777]

I would say that they do matter...alot. what would Xbox be without halo or gears? There are many factors that explain the Xbox including the head start with their console, achievements, and online offerings. The price point helped alot too. Ps3 may have enjoyed more success this year from their exclusives had not so many AAA multiplatform titles released and we all know th. It has also become the console of the 14-18 year Oldsmobile, which is a big deal. I am sure that the devestation in Japan didn't help (look at me, I'm blaming the worlds problems on earthquakes just like r president). But, seriously, with cod and skyrim releasing this fall withbetterversions on Xbox...Also, ps3 may have had the slight advantage of being the more powerful console w a blue ray. But many hardcore gamers have made the switch to PC's.

[StifflerK]

Of course they matter - the games / services / features that can only be experienced with a particular console are what makes it stand out from the competition.

[Majin-vegeta]

^^^^^^^^This.

[pijinio212]

Hell yess all day son......

[Pillville]

It's simple. XBox LIVE is the reason. Not because it's better (don't even start that debate), but because it was first.

So, a couple of friends get xbox when it was the only system out and get an online game.

Later you have a choice of systems. You can either buy the same one as them or play alone.

It's not a matter of "better" it's a matter of "everyone needs the same system" since online has become so popular.

[insomnium2]

Too bad people are stupid enough to actually pay to play online. MS capitalized on this big time and they even got them hooked on it. 50 dollars a year and how many years has it been already? My god that X360 sure is expensive to game on.

@ intentions below

You have all 3 but do you pay XBLG?

[Intentions]

Nah not really. I only purchase 1 or 2 games a year, so it ain't that expensive.

Total that is like ~$150 - ~$200? (NZ dollars btw)

EDIT: Ps3 - Majority of my played games are either borrowed or that game sharing thingy.
Only games that I actually brought are Uncharted 2 & 3 and MW3.

Yes I have XBLG.

[darthv72]

For the umteenth time.....they dont pay to play online they pay to be part of the live community. Sure they could be freeloaders but choose to pay to get out of it everything that is offered.

Now World of Warcraft has a huge following of paid members for a single game franchise. They must be pretty stupid as well huh?

[InTheLab]

@Darthv72

I'm only commenting because I just logged off WoW and you happened to mention it so...

There is a difference between monthy charges for access to a single game and paying annual charges for online access to ALL your games.

If I don't won't to pay for WoW anymore, I cancel and can't play that one game anymore. If I cancel Live, I'm screwed out of ALL online for EVERY game that has it. What's really awful about MS's subs for Live is the fact that you already pay a one time fee of $60 to access online content for that $60 game. You're also cut off services you already pay for or features that were meant to be free, like Netflix and Facebook.

Lastly, very few games offer perks like dedicated servers which limits cheaters and solves that nasty problem of lag and host advantage, so all you're really paying for permission to use your own bandwidth which you're already paying your ISP and matchmaking, which is normally provided by the game's developers.

The two real reasons to paying for Live and one is probably the reason why the majority of Xbox owners even own an Xbox in the first place, which is because their friends are doing it or they've convinced themselves that XBL is magic.

And then there's the people that have a Steam account and own a PS3, but still pay for Live. Those people make me scratch my head because they know they're being ripped for $60 and don't care.

[Rainstorm81]

Really Darth? So thy are freeloaders because they some people choose not to pay 50-60$ yearly for XGC and a few other communication features.....Because thats what MS has you paying for essentially, everything else should be free or is a payed sub through another company.

+bubs Inthelab you hit the nail on the head

[Biggest]

"they dont pay to play online they pay to be part of the live community."

So you CAN play Xbox 360 games online without Xbox Live Gold? That's news to me. Maybe Microsoft isn't so bad after all! Except. . .

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/L...

[gamingdroid]

I actually prefer that Xbox Live stays paid, because annually I get new features that MS invested heavily into. It seems like almost every year we get a new dashboard with a host of features.

On top of my head, so far we received the following exclusive features that I use all the time now:

- ESPN, and first with Netflix
- cross game chat
- party chat
- beacons

- for online play, MS also have a dedicated team to catching and dealing with cheaters, scammers and even investigate child related issues.

Also did you know each and every application even if it exist on other platforms, get special treatment from MS.

MS often times tweak the UI, and improves performance.

For instance, not only does Netflix have a party system for movie watching, but it employs their own re-buffering algorithm. MS did something similar for Hulu Plus as well. The UI is completely different and in my opinion much much better.

Anyhow read more about Netflix application here and why it is different than other platforms:

http://forums.xbox.com/xbox...

That said, I also like that there is a free alternative with PSN for those that want that. I frequently recommend the PS3 when people want to enjoy Netflix that doesn't game online or really play games, because it doesn't require an additional fee on top of Netflix.

[dartmyth]

You nailed it on the head.

[Intentions]

Sometimes I wish journalism never existed...

Anyways.. Does it really matter? Imo it doesn't, prob cause I has teh ps3, x360 and PC.

But then again, it is the gamers' choice, their own opinion of what they do.

End minority comment.

[Drabent]

Nope only proves that if u release a cheaper system ppl with buy it, better quality doesn't matter.

[PS3and4_HAS_GAMES]

No cause the ps3 proves that it does

[WildStyles]

People bought the PS3 to play Gran Turismo, Uncharted, etc

People bought the 360 to play Halo, Gears, etc

People bought the Wii to play Wii Sports, Brawl, etc

Only fanboys will tell you Exclusives don't matter. I mean, who doesn't want more exclusives. More exclusives = more games and as a gamer, I want to play more games. It's in my nature. Sue me.

[Game3s]

"Only fanboys will tell you Exclusives don't matter" realy?

I thought it was the other way around since fanboys always say their system is better because of the exlusives o.o.

No exclusives means more games on all systems, mean more games for all of us no matter what system.

[aquamala]

As someone tt has all 3 consoles and a gaming pc, I don't want more exclusives, I want most games to be multi platform My top 5 games this year are not exclusives.

[SKUD]

The HALO effect is the sole reason the xbox brand is still alive today and still drives sales. Had MS not secured exclusive rights to the franchise and continue to use it IMO the brand would not be in the position it is today. How did he miss that?

[Khordchange]

Wouldn't the Wii disprove that theory? They made more money than microsoft this gen, and the only reason it would well was because of it's exclusivity and New idea.

[admiralthrawn87]

i love games

[smashcrashbash]

Think of it like this. Next gen the three system will basically be on equal ground.With most developers going third party and Nintendo making an HD console, having third party games won't be enough. Why should I buy a next gen Microsoft console if it has the same games that are on the Wii U or the PS4?

In business you have to define yourself as opposed to the competition. Sony and Nintendo have several games that define them. Microsoft doesn't have that many and several of their games belong to third parties. What will they do if Gears 4 for example is on the Wii U or PS4? If you keep losing exclusives soon you will be at the mercy of third parties who can easily refuse or decide not to give you a game or keep it on your system or give you exclusive DLC.

Now Microsoft will have to work even harder to make their hardware appealing.If Gears 4 for example ends up on all the systems the fans might bend towards the PS4 because its online might be free or the the Wii U because they are Zelda fans too.In other words Sony might end up with the Gears fans AND the UC fans or Nintendo will get the Gears fans AND the Zelda fans. What does that leave Microsoft with? The one game that belongs to them that makes them the most money?

Remember it was Nintendo's exclusives that helped them weather the storm until the Wii came out. Without them Nintendo would have died out a long time ago. They lost the support of so many developers that without Mario and company they would be out of business or third party developers by now

[Rainstorm81]

Well Said

[kemiru]

Yes... for Americans. In other parts of the world, exclusives still has important for the gamers.

[Soldierone]

I find it funny. Turn the calendar back several years to PS3's release. Look at what 360 fans are talking about. Now come back to todays date and look at what 360 fans say "doesn't matter." Its not just exclusive games, its every single thing the PS3 has ever gotten.

Didn't see that with PS3 fans and MGS, to this day PS3 fans still fight to keep that exclusive even though it went to 360.

My point is stop being fanboys. Do exclusives matter? Yes. They push things further. Facing facts a LOT of third parties are lackluster rip offs year in and year out. They are there for profit from major branded names. If first parties were not pushing boundries, where would we go? Why would MS WANT to make better games if Sony wasn't doing it too? Why would you buy one console over the other if they both offered the same thing? Exclusives help the entire industry, not just the console they appear on. At the same time Exclusives SAVE consoles, and the consoles return the favor by making exclusives popular. Half of the exclusives released on both platforms would of easily flown under the radar if they didn't have the "exclusive hype train" behind them.

Not having exclusives is like having a bunch of fanboys run the industry. Useless, stupid, and constantly favoring the company paying them.

[cstyle]

Exclusives do matter. That's one of the reasons why the xbox continues to sell.

[Sheep4life]

Lets not kid ourselves here. Microsoft has a great marketing department. For example, lets look at the holidays. Sony is cheaper than the 360 by 50 dollars, but Microsoft still manages to blow Sony out of the water in the US with 900k plus sales for the week of Thanksgiving. Why? It's simple, because they know people in the US make purchases around holidays and that it is the time of year to create the deals or bundles to get people buying their system. I believe the deal Microsoft created for Black Friday was (correct me if I am wrong)4gb 360 kinect 2 or 3 games and a pass for 3 months xbox live for free for 200 dollars. Sony's deal was 2 games and 160gb ps3 for 200 dollars. I dont own a 360, but I can see why that sale caused people to riot. Sony got their butts handed to them. In fact, I would fire their marketing directors, and pay whoever is working at Microsoft top dollar.

One more thing; Microsoft has all forms of media in their back pocket this generation. Ths very scenario reminded me of the late 90's with the Sony and N64 showdown. Nintendo had the better hardware, but piracy and the cheaper medium won over.

The same with retail outlets in the US. Look at any add from Walmart, Bestbuy, and Target, and you will see buy an xbox in bright colors with PS3 on the second or back page with the Wii. The Kinect is trash, but the media would have you believe it was the second coming of Jesus Christ.

As a gamer, Microsoft sucks, but as a business model; people better pay attention this is how you market your console. Microsoft is holding a clinic and people better pay attention if they want to be relevant in the next console generation.

[kma2k]

IMO Exclusives & Price sell systems at & around launch, then the main deciding factor is "what do my friends have" the 360 came out a year ahead of the ps3 & for a cheaper price. A lot of 360's were sold at that time, they had the price, the excllusives (around launch) so they were set. How many people do you know have said "i got a 360 cause tahts what my friends have"

Truth be told exclusives are a small amount of the total games played. I have gamefly & am anal about money spent & saved & have a list & 75% of the games i play are multi plat, exclusives make up aout 1/4 of the games people want to play!

This is comming from a proud owner of both systems im not a fanboy!

[Simco876]

Proves that Americans are sheep.

[unicron7]

Behold. The power of marketing.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

What it proved is that exclusive content is just as valuable as exclusive games if done right.

[Intentions]

Launch of a new console exclusives matter to make it sell, then after launch not so much.

[TronEOL]

Oh yeah, lets stop working on exclusives and just spend massive amounts of money on buying out third party developers for tiny bits of exclusive in-game content./sarcasm Microsoft is doing very well because they display certain third party developers as Xbox360 exclusives in the US.

I believe it worked this way with Final Fantasy XIII, Call of Duty and GTA (among others).

You know how many times people have their minds blown when I bring up that certain games are also on PS3?

So basically, it's not because exclusives don't matter. It all revolves around how well they're advertised to the casual masses. Microsoft does an ace job at advertising.

They push tons of games with star power as an Xbox360 exclusive even if it's multiplatform. It's a very dirty tactic that I believe we don't need in the gaming industry.

[Gam3rSinceBiRTH]

Why do people always say the 360 has no exclusives? Am I missing something? Or is this just another fanboy thing.

[Sheep4life]

It's a fact. The 360 does not have but a few exclusives to the console (games that are for 360 and windows are not exclusives). In fact, I am still playing many of Sony's exclusives, and I have not had time to play many of the multiplats released this year.

[Gam3rSinceBiRTH]

Okay so judging from your comment than it IS a fanboy thing. Okay thank you for clearing that up.

[aquamala]

Funny thing is if you look at the sales figures people are playing skyrim arkham city bf3 mw3, only single console- owning fanboys care so much about exclusives, the rest of us care about good games.

[FrigidDARKNESS]

Yes and no. Exclusives are needed early in a consoles life Spanish when the corporations are promoting the new system. ....Exclusives aren't needed in the later life Spa of a console because the system or hardware has established itself in the market and triplle A third party are good enough to sell the console.

[P_Bomb]

@FrigidDARKNESS
I respectfully disagree that exclusives don't matter near the end of a console's cycle.

God of War 2 was one of the PS2's better sellers and better rated exclusives, yet it came out well after the PS3/360 had already launched. Series continued with GOW3 which in turn became one of the PS3's better sellers and better rated games.

Exclusive IPs don't have to die with the console they dropped on, they just move on to the next. As such it's never too late to launch a new exclusive imo. Halo, GodofWar, MetalGearSolid, Forza, Killzone, GranTurismo, SlyCooper, Yakuza, Twisted Metal etc have all been multi-gen' exclusives launching at various points in their consoles' life cycles.

[NoobJobz]

IMO, exclusives really don't matter to me. Out of all the exclusives that came out this year (both ps3&xbox) I've probably only played a few. Uncharted 3, gears 3, and Killzone 3 are the only ones I've played this entire year. And I only bought one of them. I do enjoy multiplat games much more.

I didn't buy my xbox or ps3 for their exclusives.

[P_Bomb]

Conversely, I bought my 360 this past August just FOR the exclusives. Amazing bundle with Alan Wake, Gears2, Fable3, Halo3, Halo Wars. Have since been playing L4D2, SC:C, Mass Effect as well since I don't want to play them on PC. Bonus. Been playing some exclusive DLCs too like the Dead Rising 2 ones.

Same reason I bought my GameCube, exclusives. Resident Evil Zero, Resident Evil Remake, MGS:Twin Snakes, Zelda, Metroid etc.

I'm not the type to buy multiplats multiple times across platforms. I'll buy a multiplat once for one platform, then the rest of the time its the exclusives that decide which way I swing.

[NoobJobz]

Neither do I. Buying multiplats on mutiple systems doesn't even make sense. I wouldn't ever do that.

[Pyscho_Mantis]

Anyone who has the slightest sense in economics will know that as price decreases deman increases....especially in substitues.

[death2smoochie]

Exclusive games matter MOST to hard core gamers. The average consumer could case less hence why multi platform games sell more than most exclusive games with the exception of the halos, the Gt games and Gears. Overall consumers will buy more multi platform games for one console than they do exclusives. Just look at the numbers. Only on sites like this do people think otherwise.

[P_Bomb]

To be fair, it's not strictly the top couple exclusives like Halo/GT that outsell multiplats. Multiplats bomb and/or underperform all the time too.

Duke Nukem, Wolfenstein, Bulletstorm, Child of Eden, Brink, Shadows of the Damned, Ace Combat, Fear, Driver, Bionic Commando, Tomb Raider, Okami, Mirror's Edge, Brutal Legend, Fracture, Mindjack, Quantum Theory, Red Faction, Prince of Persia, Silent Hill, Sonic, 007, movie games/superhero games in general. All have tasted NPD scorn at one time or another too, bested by the Alan Wakes and MAGs out there.

[SDF Repellent]

I don't get the concept of exclusives bragging. 99% of the games, even core games, are on both consoles. When I buy a game like Skyrim or Red Dead Redemption, not once in my mind have I thought about hmm, "this game is also on another console, let me get an exclusive instead"

It is not like Microsoft doesn't release any exclusives at all. They continue to release their 3-4 core exclusives each year and have the majority of their core gamers supported by all third party publishers, which is more than enough even for a hard core gamer like myself. I bought 16 core games for my X360 in 2011 and that is way more than an avg owner buy in a year.

[Rainstorm81]

"It is not like Microsoft doesn't release any exclusives at all. They continue to release their 3-4 core exclusives each year"

Exactly why exclusives matter....Gears3 out performed majority of the multiplats on 360 this year.....In short Exclusives matter, without them the platform will die.

On the flip side of that its also the reason MS fought nail and tooth to make sure MGS, FF, and GTA are no longer exclusive

So the answer to the question is the 360 has proven that exclusives matter, probably mo sore than any other current gen console.

[JonnyBigBoss]

No, but it proved that some consumers Don't research before purchase. The PS3 library is ridiculously good.

[unicron7]

Exactly. The majority of Americans buy whatever is advertised heavily. Case in point Halo and CoD. It's marketing power. One company has it, the other doesn't. Regardless of which one actually has better hardware and content. It's irrelevant. I mean h*ll, look at MS Windows for goodness sakes. One of the crappiest OS's of all time and it has 90% of the OS marketshare. Heaven help us if MS ever gets a foothold like that in the game hardware department. It will be a plethora of mediocre content without proper competition to fight them.

[Frankfurt]

PS3's exclusives sell a lot less than Halo and Gears because they just aren't good enough. Sony fans brag about exclusives, but they don't buy them. Killzone, Infamous, Resistance all sell less than XBLA titles.

[refocusedman]

Do you have a Ps3? Because if you did I can guarantee that you wouldnt say that infamous, resistance, and killzone arent good games. Infamous was and is one of the best games of this current generation. Resistance is a quality franchise thats great fun. Killzone is also a great franchise and IMO is one of the better FPS out there. As for you comment abt XBLA titles selling more...... First of all name one XBLA title that sold close to 3 million because thats what KZ 2 sold and secondly how do you compare a 10 game to a 60 game in terms of sales. That like people comparing the money CoD makes to the money that movie franchises make. ( a 12 dollar ticket or a 65 dollar game)

[Stealth2k]

of course they do. Its the reason why the 360 is only the 5th best selling system this gen behind the ds,wii,psp, ps3

More exclusives

[Kaos_Vll]

I don't understand those that downplay exclusives. Why would u buy a system that forces u to pay to play any game online when there is another system that plays the same games for free? Exclusive games for said system. I only own a 360 for ME and Gears, why would I buy multiplat games that I can play elsewhere?
I understand wanting to game with ur friends, but at some point u have to stop being stupid just because ur friends are.

[Tuxedo_Mask]

That reminds me of that old saying, "if your friends jumped off a bridge would you jump off the bridge too?"

I guess a lot of people jumped off that bridge this gen, and for the people who were banned from Xbox Live or had RROD they jumped off quite a few times. Perhaps the slogan for Xbox360 should have been "Jump Off" instead of "Jump In".

[Rageanitus]

its silly but alot of xbox fanboys focus on the notion of building up their gamerscore. Hence the loyalty comes in.

I tried live and ahem its really NOT that different.

But then again this is market willing to pay cheap at the begining and pay for extras after... just look at all those proprietory accesories. Hell even on the market you see item's that cost REAL money to dress up your avatar.

What they should really do is if you ahieve something in a game you get certain items for free for your avatar.

[PirateThom]

This statement seems to be becoming more and more prevelent this generation and my answer is still the same, multiplatform games may be better in some cases, but what's the point in multiple consoles without exclusives.

As we know, this argument used to be different, it used to be "look at all these exclusives on one particular console", but that slowly changed and, now, they don't matter.

[Ares90]

the only thing that has proved is cheaper = more sales

[sdplisken]

i think theres a huge portion of americans that have absolute shit taste in games

[unicron7]

The only thing it has shown is how stubborn and big headed people can be. All my friends that own a 360 only, even when looking at the PS3 exclusives, still talk smack and refuse to buy one. I honestly don't understand people and their blind following of just one device. PS3 exclusives are sh*t hot and I would argue you up and down some of the best games this generation. People need to stop with the childish schoolyard bullsh*t, grow up, and buy one. To those that look at the exclusives and say "meh", I say you are full of it. I own both and am very glad I do.

[Gam3rSinceBiRTH]

I never seen a post so full of irony as big as yours.

[unicron7]

How is it ironic? I own both and am proud to do so. I don't refuse to buy a console out of blind loyalty. I'll admit when it has good games, and buy them. I'm not a tool like some.

[Richdad]

No, Having good exclusive is always better and Xbox library is not bad but is filled with Multiplatform games most of which are better on the Xbox. Yeah! this is true accept it.
But 360 do lacks in exclusive.

That is the reason for Xbox 360 in equal footing of PS3. I don't think 360 is doing any better than PS3 in sales in fact its a 50:50 situation.

I myself was a PC gamer and I made shift to xbox in early 2006 since the selection of game it had was very similar to PC. Shooters, sports etc.

[xXxSeTTriPxXx]

all xbox proved is, that americans buy marketing.throw enough money and propaganda at something and watch americans eat it up.

[unicron7]

Exactly. I mean c'mon, look at the tea party movement. It's fueled by pure propaganda.

[PixL]

Yes they do. If 360 had more quality games to offer, I'd own it. I'd like to play GeoW3 but not that much as to buy another console. And all the other games I'd like to play are available on other platforms I own. I sold 360 because of three reasons: 1) low quality of hardware which didn't work as advertised and I was afraid it'd break post-warranty, 2) paid online which offered me nothing more than free service elsewhere, 3) lack of upcoming games to justify the possession, after I played all those exclusives I wanted. The third reason was the most important.

[ACEMANWISE]

It proved that, for the most part, that high quality games don't matter much anymore. What matters is how well the game can integrate friends so they can play together. They've started a seperate market of gamers who value different things.

[drsnobby]

Look at what games are played the most on all 3 consoles and that will answer this magic question,does exclusives matter?

[BuT_TeRy]

It's all about heavy marketing. PS3 has more variety and IMO better games, but MS is so good at marketing they can make people believe games like CoD and Skyrim are 360 exclusives.

[00000000000000000001]

IMO the PS3 doesn't have better games, in fact I have only purchased two PS3 games this year that I felt was worth buying.

[Dogswithguns]

X360 has xclusives so yeah it does mattter.

[tiffac008]

I think the article is flawed because Kinect is an exclusive hardware that added a lot of functionality and games only on the Xbox 360.

So yes exclusives does matter and surprise! The Xbox 360 actually just proved it not the other way around.

And by the start of the new generation you bet that the Big 3 will be lining up a lot of exclusives because that will be the ones that will separate them from the competition.

@Tanir

Your friend didn't want to play UC because it will not boost his gamescore but is willing to play a barbie game?! O_O

Wow I got nothing on that one... D:

[Tanir]

Um....no it proves that people dont like to play good games, they see tons of good games coming out on another console and still stick with their console that has the least games, pay for online, costs more, and for a time broke alot more.

its mostly because people dont want change either, they dont wanna lose their achievments, my old friend used to not wanna play his ps3 because if he was going to play uncharted 2 it wouldnt boost his gamerscore like if he played barbie adventure on the 360.

people are absurd -_-

[Rageanitus]

yah that I noticed also.... it is very absurd.

MS has convinced many drones out there that even live is muh better than the PSN... hence the 50 dollar charge is JUSTIFIED.

I actually think in reverse when it comes to achievments/trophies. I don't like to have a game on my profile if it is a game I only played for 2>3 hours.

[king05]

I bought the 360 for Gears and Halo, so I guess it does matter.

[user858621]

Yh to fanboys...

[Wintersun616]

As long as they exist, they matter to me. Exclusives we're the biggest decisive factor when it came to which console to get this generation. (I can only afford 1, I would get more if I could.)

I find it funny how exclusives no longer matter according to some people, now that PS3 is dominating Xbox360 in that area.

[Venjense]

360 became popular because at one time it had the best exclusives, it has ridden that popularity ever since.

It never would have been popular in the first place if it wasn't for all the exclusives it USED to have.

[Rageanitus]

Exclusives DO matter.... only reason why I swayed away just a little from PC gaming. Best combo is PC with PS3.....

If you don't like Halo or Gears there is no reason to get an Xbox..

But there is a nice fact... there are MANY Xbox only players believe that many of the multiplatform games are exclusive to Xbox. And when they find out it is not .... they go ohhhhh I did not know that. MS has put alot of money into advertismnt and you notice alot of the big games end with only the xbox logo.

So guess what MS has proved that lots of money put into advertisement goes a long way.

[caliman87]

Exclusives do matter....Halo, Forza, Gears is why I bought a 360. If those games did not exist on xbox I would drop the xbox brand.

ps3 has good games too .... a reason to have both

[cedaridge]

i do own both xb360 and ps3. but i must say kudos to microsoft for staying in the race, we may not see another xbox LAUNCH until 2015. 10yrs from the xb360 launch and it appears xb360 only getting better. KEY WORD: LAUNCH!

[gamingisnotacrime]

in short, if gaming online on the 360 was free, i would choose the 360 over the PS3. simply put the 360 interface, online connectivity and overall performance is smoother and more online present than the dinosaur the ps3 is is the area of user interface.
the exclusives the 360 has are more than enough to buy one, because they are few but they r some of the best games around.
having both console is the best scenario. having to pick i pick the PS3 because of free online gaming. otherwise the 360 is my top gun

[gdguide]

It's not just as simple as that. XBL IMO is a big reason why the 360 has done so well this gen. Add to it the early launch with the bigger install base in the US right from the start, and Sony had their hands full. Especially in the US and the UK. Everywhere else is not as strong.

[miDnIghtEr20C_SfF]

I think the PS3 proves that exclusives don't matter. Not the 360. PS3 is supposed to be the one with all the exclusives, and it seems not to matter this generation. Proving that nobody cares as much about exclusives anymore.

It's about online play.

[StevenVlzqz3]

All my friends who used to play Xbox 360 all the time, and always stood beside it stop playing it. They say they never have time, and don't like playing anymore. I've had so many of those friends start talking about getting a ps3... It's pretty funny. Exclusives are definitely important. I think Sony doesn't sell multiplatforms as well as Microsoft because of there Marketing, but mostly because Us PS3 players have more of a variety of games. I haven't herd one exclusive out of the mouth of my Xbox buddies. All I here is Skyrim, Assasins creed, Mw3, and Dead island.

[refocusedman]

Unfortunately I think we as gamers have really screwed ourselves over. We seemingly complain abt the lack of variety in the market but, when a game comes out that tries to buck the trend we either complain or dont buy it. ( example being the difference in aiming with kz2 and CoD MW or resistance 3). Exclusives/games in general are supposed to drive companies to innovate so that they can ultimately earn our money. Not make the same rehashed product we can give them our money (im looking at all the CoD and madden products). So many people say that exclusives dont matter, its a thing of the past; if thats the case then their shouldnt be different consoles, their should only be one affordable console that plays all games. If we want the gaming industry to continue to innovate we should support the quality exclusive of or respective consoles. Its a shame that great games like infamous 2, alan wake, resistance 3, or the recent forza are not selling 2-4 million copies.

[cedaridge]

i dont know who disagree with me but with the new xbox update that coming, why cant xb360 exist for at least 9 to 10yrs? dont forget GTA 5 is coming. microsoft prove u dont have to have 3 to 4 exclusives a year to compete. just stay current with the mutiplat titles. some ppl thought BF3 would flop on xb360 and it didnt and MW3 is killin on xb360. LOOk im NO fanboy and i love my ps3 But GAMER NATION be 4 real about your agrees and disagree!

[CrimsonEngage]

Exclusives don't matter to me. Especially if it's like the PS3. It has a lot of exclusives, but only a handful are actually good. I think i'v spent more time with MGS/Killzone/Little Big Planet than any other PS3 game.

And for 360 it's been Halo, Forza Alan Wake (which is amazing imo :3 )

More exclusives doesn't mean better console. The better console is the one that can run all multiplatform titles the best. In that case, it's the 360. Most multiplat games run better on 360 hardware.

[refocusedman]

Have you played god of war 3, infamous, valkeria chronicles, heavenly sword, demon souls, ratchet and clank, heavy rain, gran turismo. All of those games have gotten great reviews and are great games. (I dont go by reviews I have each one). The difference in multi platform games are pretty neglible now except for bayonetta which was just pathetic. Ive been noticing alot of people saying skyrim runs better on the 360 but, last time I checked skyrim doesnt run well on anything even high end cpu's.

[strickers]

360 proves that many people are idiots but that's nothing new.

[Scuzzlebutt]

Opposite of the topic title, is has shown exclusives matter. As soon as the exclusives dried up over a year ago leaving the 360 with Fable/Forza/Halo/Gears I traded in my 360.I only enjoyed Gears and that wasn't enough for me to keep it around. Sorry MS, my PC/PS3 can play 95% of your library.

[Tsar4ever01]

Short answer, NOT IN THIS GENERATION!!, Because in the last gen, the ps2 owned most of the exclusive monopoly. Yet it was the weakest console in terms of graphic capability. And plus it had a very successful 5th gen opening, the psOne. The biggest reason xbox took all that away is because the xbox1 got it's footprint in the industry buy giving gamers XBOXLIVE, stronger graphics and sub HD graphic capability.

But it's manly due to XBOXLIVE. People really responded favorably and thought ps2's online was a joke, and it was in comparison. Then the 360 got out a year earlier THIS GEN with FULL HD games just when the HDTV era was starting so gamers 1st hand was exposed to playing games on PC-TV like monitors and was astounded, yeah, I know you all remembered all the V chinned samsung HDTV's kiosk at all the game stores. Then the bad-ass titles COD2, Gears of War, Forza M, and all the sports titles, with THAT multi-player ethic now even stronger than last gen with the X360's XBOXlive.

Then the ps3 launched with that ridiculous $600 price tag, a weak game launch line up, and multi-plat games that looked and performed ugly compared to a xbox console that launched a year before & $200 cheaper.

I still believe exclusive matter, BUT JUST NOT THIS GENERATION, because the 360 has taking some of those exclusives from sony(*due to it's near alien hardware tech, THE CELL) It has it's own exclusives. It still has the better multi-plats, and finally, it still OWNS the monopoly on online multi-player with xboxlive.

Sony still has the strongest & more diverse exclusive library. But that not gonna mean that much if the competition has it's OWN exclusives, Better looking multi-plat games and a better online multiplyer system design.

[mamotte]

It's a stupid question... and it's the wrong example. Just look at the Wii.

[ZeroChaos]

They actually proved exclusives do matter as it wouldn't be anywhere without them.

[ForROME]

It Doesnt - and here is what many people still fail to understand - who has a few million units lead doesnt matter (by region at most\Globally NO;

1. Business wise its the profit at which you are operating at and MS is beating SONY.

2. MS was a new comer; not taken seriously; shouldn't have stood a chance. MS did to SONY, what SONY did to Nin\Sega came in took a piece of the pie when no one thought they could.

3. MS said they had a 3 step approach;

1 enter the market build a brand
2 approach the mass audience and extend on the brand
3 be purely in profit and be on top

MS\Xbox has demonstrated - Hardware is no longer primary its software - UI\Services in combination with Games

SONY took a page from Nin and Did it better, Now I think you are seeing MS take a page from SONY and doing it better next will likely be Apple or Google

The Cycle Continues

[Raoh]

Is that why Microsoft paid so much to steal exclusives from Sony? Because they don't matter?

Interesting view

[Raoh]

Are people still arguing about the PS3 price?

Get over it. I dare someone to find a Sony product that was ever released and considered affordable.

People shouted doom and gloom over the ps1 being over priced compared to the other consoles, the ps2 got doom and gloom articles over being more expensive over the other consoles. And... surprise... the ps3 was more expensive than the other consoles.. shocker..

Sony tvs are expensive, sony receivers are expensive, sony is a high end company, if you cant afford a sony product at launch, you do like everyone else, wait for a price drop or get a better job.

That's the way it works.

Get over it people, its how its always been, to complain about it and complain about it still says a lot about either the salary or age of the people complaining.

[Foxhound922]

Its called marketing people. If Sony used the same amount/quality of advertising the ps3 would probably be 10 million units ahead. The bottomline is that many gamers, especially in the us have no idea about video games, the only things they do know is what the media tells them. Ive worked for multiple retail stores that sell video games and its the cold hard truth. Most people that play games on the 360 dont even know that you can play it on ps3 as well. I cant even cound how many times I have overheard customers say things like "yeah well the ps3 sucks, it aint got no games, im a gamer and i love call of duty and assassins creed". Its kind of sad to tell say the least, sony has such poor marketing that most people cant even discover that the ps3 has a game like call of duty. I see 25 360 commericials to one ps3 ad. People are sheep, tell them that they need it and they will buy it, Microsoft knows exactly how to do that, now if only they could get a decent exclusive in 2012....