There's a debate that often arises amongst gamers as to whether or not console exclusive games are such a good idea anymore, seeing as how many who purchase only one console will inevitably miss out on the exclusive games only available on another. It's also reasonable to argue that (in theory) many developers may be receiving only a fraction of the profits they might have earned had their game been a multiplat title, then again, without console exclusivity what purpose do multiple platforms like the PS4, Xbox One or Wii U hold other than being three consoles that perform slightly differently? The whole point of having a console exclusive game or franchise in the first place was to entice consumers by offering content that isn't available elsewhere, so if one console were capable of playing each and every game available then what function would the existence of multiple consoles serve?
There are certainly pros to having only one console, for one thing it would put an end to this ridiculous "console war" and may even bring gamers as a community closer together. Then again if console exclusivity were to become a thing of the past, and each and every console were capable of playing any game regardless of the publisher or developer, then consoles would become less about "content" and more about "features". In fact this is already happening to an extent, due to multiplat AAA titles being the "driving force" of the industry right now, now more than ever we're seeing console developers attempting to differentiate their platform from the competitions by offering unique features, such as content sharing, access to social/media networks, the implementation of Skype and TV functionality. Eventually though one console would become the dominant force, most likely through becoming a "all-in-one entertainment system" if that were to happen then there would be very little reason for other consoles to exist since they'd effectively be inferior products, thus the dominant console developer would gain complete and total monopoly over the distribution of any and all videogames released on console. But is that really healthy for the industry? Remember when Microsoft tried to implement draconian DRM, attempting to block the sales of used games and dictate when and how we play our games? Well if a console company were to have complete control over what content is available and how we access it then what stops such disastrous policies from actually being forced upon us? I'm in no way trying to demonize Microsoft, it's just that most gamers know about the Xbox One policy debacle so that helps better illustrate my point.
The quality of multiplat titles is also something that needs to taken into consideration because they are often held back from being quite as good as they could have been in order to perform well on each console. We know that certain exclusives like Uncharted or The Last Of Us wouldn't have been possible on a console with architecture inferior to that of the PS3, if these games were developed as multplat titles it's reasonable to assume they wouldn't have looked quite so good or played quite so well. It's the games that are developed with a single consoles architecture in mind that often perform better than those created to be multiplat titles.
When Sega first set about challenging Nintendo it was through their exclusive Sonic franchise that they were able to compete, but had Nintendo also had access to Sonic there would have been little reason if any for consumers to purchase a Sega genesis console. Games like The Last Of Us, Halo and Mario exist as proof that exclusive games are still viable in the current industry and can be incredibly successful if done well, but are these so called "system sellers" as necessary as they once were? for games like Mario or The Legend of Zelda is it even possible for them to remain unchanged if they were to appear on a non Nintendo system? Given the current industries obsession with mass appeal it's very likely that these franchises and many like them would undergo a drastic overhauls in order to make them more "appealing" and "accessible" this would probably be enough to bring a few newcomers to the franchise, but it would inevitably alienate many long time fans.
With the announcement of Valve's Steam Machine, and it's ability to play any and all games available on the Steam service through (SOS) aka the "Steam Operating System" many believe it has the potential to change the videogame console landscape, whether or not the Steam Machine will make a significant splash in the mainstream is debatable but in my opinion, due to it's PC like nature and digital content focus it's certainly worth taking notice of.
To paraphrase a comment made by Ben (Yahtzee) Croshaw, of Zero Punctuation fame "having a game exist to support a console is akin to having the words on a page exist solely to support the pages they were printed on"
I agree with the statement above, and I'm pretty sure that if you really take the time to think about it mostly everyone would come to agree. But it is worth remembering why exclusive games became a thing in the first place. You see books and videogames do have some similarities, printed words much like games on a disc require a platform which they can be experienced through before they can be enjoyed, the pages in a book are as much a platform as a console. Although the key difference being that books are capable of displaying any text and any story, where as games require a console with compatible architecture before they can be played, the main difference being is there's no need for separate companies to develop multiple versions of books as a platform because printed text is compatible with every kind of book, where as certain games can't be played on certain consoles due to incompatibility architecture.
Personally I'm not completely apposed to having a single console that can play any game, there really isn't so much need for exclusionary exclusivity anymore, but is the industry really ready for that yet? I mean if there was such a console would there be any need for competitors to release their own seeing as how their console would perform practically the same with the only real differences being the features they offer? Also if there was to be only one console then who would the developer be? Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Valve? Heck it could even be from a completely new developer. But then who's to stop the company that develops the only console required to play games from implementing restrictive policies due to there being no direct competition?
So after all that being said, I'm honestly no closer to deciding whether not console exclusivity is so necessary any more. But what do you think? do we still need multiple consoles with exclusive content? or is it time now to do away with all that and just have one console capable of playing all games regardless of the publisher or developer?
As always thanks for reading my blog.
Shuhei Yoshida offers his take on the recent industry implosion and ponders whether there's light at the end of the tunnel.
Randy writes: "A) Not my call. B) If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen. My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen."
Real fan? What the actual f*** man
Does he actually read back what he writes before he posts
I was the biggest BL fan. I played the original solo for so many times. I pre ordered BL2 that loot chest edition and loved it. I bought BL3 on sale and never even touched it's DlC and have very little interest in 4th. For a series that started so strong it's just amazing how much nonsense this series has become with idiot choices
herez a little magic trick Randy boy i wont buy it if its 80 dollars.
cause that means its gonna be more expensive for euro land.
i am a fan, but i like my money more. ha
SEGA and Lizardcube reveal stunning Neo City gameplay footage for their upcoming action platformer, SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance, launching August 29 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and Switch.
Sadly, there will be exclusives in gaming industry, and if it will ever die then it is still WAY too early for the console exclusivity to die off.
Also, there is something that I would to address about certain... games that had "problems" related to exclusivity. Wasn't Bioshock 1 exclusive to Xbox 360 then it ported to PS3 later? Why was it an exclusive in the first place? Also, Bayonetta 2 incident when it was announced that it was announced for Wii U only. That was kind of a stab to the back to loyal fans who owned Sony and Microsoft's consoles. Nintendo did finance when Sega didn't so it is understandable but still, Bayonetta wasn't on Nintendo's consoles at all.
This should be added in "exclusive games" discussion. Not all games are perfect when they become exclusives.
There is a solution for this dilemma and even mentioning this word can get me HUGE NEGATIVE BUBBLES but here goes:
It's called *whispers* Omnigaming... and its awesome.
It's really simple and cost effective if you do it right:
At the beginning of any given console generation you just choose the console that seems most appealing to you and buy that. Last gen, I chose the PS2 over the Dreamcast, Xbox and GameCube.
Then after 2 years, the prices on all the others will dramatically decline. In 2002 the Dreamcast was the cheapest as it had been discontinued by then. So I bought one for $40 and a bunch of the best games for fractions of the price they launched at.
Then a year later I got an Xbox and played a bunch of Halo and KotOR. Again, for much cheaper than they launched at. Finally I got a GameCube in 2004 and played through Zelda Wind Waker, Super Smash Bros, Rogue Squadron II and many others.
Patience is the key and soon you will have a huge backlog of awesome titles to play that you payed less than half price to buy.
As far as PC gaming goes, I build a new PC every 4 years for about $1,000 and I buy all the multiplatform games on steam sales for dirt cheap.
Omnigaming. It's the only way to play.
consoles exclusives are important and need to exist. The best imho come from sony first party there simply arent games like heavy rain and god of war because pc devs etc wont take a chance on them.
In my opinion, exclusivity distinguishes one console over another. If exclusivity dies, that means that there are no differences anymore. So, what's the point of, for instance, choosing PlayStation 4 over Xbox One--if they are the same in terms of games?
Well, I guess that's all I can say about exclusivity.
I think if exclusives were to be a thing of the past then it might indirectly hurt the industry. It would probably bring gamers closer together but of course there would be those that would talk about who has the better version of whatever game. I remember when Street Fighter 2 came out for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo all I would hear is how their version was arcade perfect or how certain characters said their special moves. So getting rid of console exclusivity is probably not the right thing to do.