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[In Cold Blood]

I thought it would be interesting to see where people fall on the exclusive front.
We went from having consoles like the PlayStation 1 and Sega Saturn where there was a very high percentage of exclusive games on each console. There was a specific flavour you had with the Saturn, and a different flavour with the PS1. One had Daytona, the other had Ridge Racer. One had Virtua Fighter, the other had Tekken. Sega had their own RPGs, Sony had Square.

Then we headed to a place where the vast majority of games were on both consoles and maybe 2-4 exclusive games (not counting timed exclusives) a year difference between the two.

Now with both Microsoft and Sony buying more and more studios, we are going down another track of more exclusive gaming content between the two again.

Which do you prefer? Are you wanting to have a console with a greater difference in games and the type of games between the two consoles?
Or do you think that everyone should be able to play the vast majority of games without having to choose between having to buy another expensive console or miss out?

 

[kyliethicc]

 

[ReBurn]

Exclusive content is one reason I buy all of the consoles, but not the only reason. I also like the ability to play the best version of the games I want to play so multiple options makes that possible. As great as PC is it is not always the best place to play.

 

[Danjin44]

I personally dont mind each system have their own first party exclusives but I still prefer studios like Capcom, FromSoftware, Vanillaware, Platinum and Square Enix to make games for all systems instead of being exclusive for one console.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Now with both Microsoft and Sony buying more and more studios, we are going down another track of more exclusive gaming content between the two again.

You mean Microsoft buying studios and Sony getting those games anyway.

 

[roosnam1980]

exclusives for each consoles are important , moronic to think otherwise in my opinion

 

[lh032]

exclusive = more fundings = better games.

 

[Belthazar]

Exclusive content is usually of better quality due to the objective of the product being more than making money by itself. It usually has a broader objective of being of high quality to entice people to the ecosystem, so it's a necessary evil IMO.

 

[rofif]

Exclusives and consoles fighting is good for the medium

 

[bitbydeath]

PC was once king when it had exclusive games. Exclusives are important because they receive a certain funding and quality that most if not all 3rd parties do not.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

I believe exclusives drive competition thus quality of content. Also, I still remember when each console had a unique character based almost entirely off of the many exclusives available on the system. And I like that for purely aesthetical reasons alone.

 

[cormack12]

I like exclusives, but also ai wouldn't be adverse to 1st parties releasing on other platforms, say three years later or something.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Honestly? I don't prefer exclusives. I'd rather play on the platform of my choice for simply that it's my choice. That said, I don't hate that exclusives have to exist, but again, if it was up to me, I wish I could at a minimum play every game on PC. And more or less, and with the eventuality of time, I'll have my way, but I wish we all could just play on whatever hardware we have, to the best capability that we can. Let's take the mega-corp out of the equation and be able to come together as a community of people that just want to appreciate and play cool games and have fun experiences.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Exclusive games get to target specific exclusive hardware features.

I want games built around the PS5's Dual Sense advanced haptic functionality, 3D audio, supercharged SSD and I/O, as well as exclusive PSVR2 games.

Being built for a single platform also lets the devs polish the heck outta their games, which is most evident among Sony and Nintendo's first-party games; and why their games tend to be held in universally higher regard.

 

[Muddy]

In a perfect world all games should be on all platforms.

Everyone gets to play the games and save money too.

But console makers have to shift consoles/make money and only exclusive games do that.

 

[Wohc]

Not that important in my opinion if we only talk about Microsoft and Sony. They would sell their consoles anyways and i bet if Microsoft was allowed to, they would instantly release Game Pass on PlayStation. What would change if both would release all of their games on each others consoles? Not much. Microsoft giving up exclusivity and releasing everything on pc and via stream neither harmed console sales. They are selling more Series than 360.

Some people say the quality of the games would suffer. I don't think so. They sell more games, they don't have to spend enormous sums on marketing, they don't have to bundle games. There is a reason why Microsoft and now Sony are going for pc.

 

[Bartski]

Exclusives are the key driver of competition between platforms and are often high stakes well funded and polished projects.

So yes I'm always happy seeing acquisitions and industry consolidations as they give all the big industry players more reasons just to make better games fighting for the market.

But then I'm lucky enough to afford buying any platform I see games I'm interested in, so I never miss out on anything, I understand why others may not like it.

 

[Pelta88]

Exclusive content distinguishes one platform from the next. I remember signing up for Netflix because the Daredevil series trailer dropped and I was like

"I Need To Watch This!!!"

Same with Apple TV for "The Servant" and "See" two underrated gems by the way. I just signed up for Disney a day ago because of the "Obi Wan" Exclusive content Compelling, immersive, and visceral exclusive content works the same way in gaming. It not only drives people to your platform but it keeps them there. It's why I own a PS5 and before that a PS4, PS3, and bugged my older brother consistently about playing his PS2.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Console exclusivity is where games go to die. Oh, how I would like to replay Drive Club on PC with modern resolution and proper framerate.

Or this: I can't imagine a game like Watch_Dogs being exclusive to a last generation console. I'm playing the game on PC now and having a blast with mods to restore that E3 look. Game feels fresh in 2022 more so than it did when it was first released.

 

[Sticks]

Console exclusivity is where games go to die. Oh, how I would like to replay Drive Club on PC with modern resolution and proper framerate.

Or this: I can't imagine a game like Watch_Dogs being exclusive to a last generation console. I'm playing the game on PC now and having a blast with mods to restore that E3 look. Game feels fresh in 2022 more so than it did when it was first released.

Talk about exclusives and bring up Ubisoft lol.

 

[kingfey]

Don't care, don't give a shit. Waste of my money buying those games and the consoles.

All I know, is that I am wasting $2300 buying all 4 systems for that gen, just to play those games.

But considering they are coming to PC, I might have to stop buying the 2 consoles and stick to switch and PC in the future, in order to save my money.

Those exclusives were worth in the past. But with PC getting all those games now, all I am doing is draining my money.

 

[Wildebeest]

If the exclusive is showcasing some unique feature of the hardware, then it makes sense, but otherwise it is just some self-defeating nonsense. Publishers should be giving players some reason to care about their game, not reasons to not care about their game.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

My enjoyment of a videogame is not dependent on the knowledge that others cannot experience it.

 

[Orbital2060]

I dont mind one bit.

The problem lies in brand management, so you cant have certain titles appear like Halo on PS or Last of Us on Xbox.

But there are games where you can do this and still maintain brand integrity and have a win-win situation with more players for some games especially if they have multiplayer components. Like Sea of Thieves, for example. Sony are making gaas games apparently, maybe some of those can appear on Xbox.

 

[nominedomine]

I like it, many (if not most) of my favorite games last gen were exclusives:
Bloodborne, BoTW, God of War, Uncharted, Spider-man, Persona 5, The Last of Us, FFVIIR, etc, top tier stuff.

Most third party publishers stink these days and can hardly put out proper games without help while Sony and Nintendo are some of the best publishers in the business.

I also like that exclusives give me a good reason to buy a console instead of keeping just a gaming PC. If Xbox had some banger exclusives even I would probably end up buying one.

 

[Fess]

As said elsewhere, back in the days I only had PS1, not Saturn. So I literally missed that whole diverse catalogue of games Saturn had. And I never had Megadrive either, only SNES.

That's why I don't want exclusives. I have all platforms now but it would be nice to not have to spend $1500 for console hardware every 7 years + another $1000 for midgen refreshes in the middle of a generation. Console gaming is almost as expensive as PC gaming now if you want to have access to all games.
And all my friends only have one console, so I see the downsides of exclusives all the time there.

 

[Banjo64]

A while ago I believed in a utopia where every game was cross platform. Now I don't give a fuck tbh. As long as Sony and Nintendo keep making good games I'll buy the hardware. £200-400 per console is nothing for 7 years of entertainment.

 

[Topher]

I don't have a problem at all with exclusive content from first party developers. These are games the platform holder made themselves so if they want to make it multiplat or entirely exclusive......it is up to them. It is the third party exclusives that I find questionable.

 

[NahaNago]

PC was once king when it had exclusive games. Exclusives are important because they receive a certain funding and quality that most if not all 3rd parties do not.

PC still is the king of exclusives when it comes to the number of games that comes to that platform. I'm sure there are hundreds of games that don't come to console each year.

 

[Vognerful]

Yeah, I don't like buying a new console or switching the tv input from machine to another to play my games. I play mostly on PC these days.

In fact I will go one step further and wish that your game license would work on all machines instead of buying the same game more than once.

 

[Wohc]

I dont mind one bit.

The problem lies in brand management, so you cant have certain titles appear like Halo on PS or Last of Us on Xbox.

But there are games where you can do this and still maintain brand integrity and have a win-win situation with more players for some games especially if they have multiplayer components. Like Sea of Thieves, for example. Sony are making gaas games apparently, maybe some of those can appear on Xbox.

They same thing could be said about pc ports or Mario games on smartphone and yet here we are. I think brand identity is not that important anymore, because times change. If you ask old players what's the one iconic mascot from each brand, most will answer Mario, Master Chief, Sonic and not sure, but maybe Crash Bandicoot.

If you ask young players i bet it's mostly some Fortnite, GTA, COD or Minecraft character.

 

[ZywyPL]

Exclusives are for kids and their silly imaginated wars.

 

[Nico_D]

Some exclusives sure (like Microsoft's, Sony's and Nintendo's own) but this current progress isn't great, imo. Gaming helps relief stress and more there is to play, the better.

 

[mxbison]

Don't care about the exclusivity but in the past exclusives have often been some of the best games since so much effort gets put into them.

I have all platforms so I'm all for it.

 

[bitbydeath]

PC still is the king of exclusives when it comes to the number of games that comes to that platform. I'm sure there are hundreds of games that don't come to console each year.

Mobile is technically king if you want to go all in on trashware.

 

[Robb]

I don't mind exclusives. Imo it's nice to know that there'll be at least a handful of games each gen that'll try to utilize theses systems to their fullest both in terms of hardware power and features, even if it may end up being gimmicky additions like motion controls etc. etc. at times.

 

[Hoppa]

I'm pro exclusive. In another world where there was only one console company from the beginning that would be ideal but at this point all 3 companies are decades deep and I really enjoy seeing them evolve over the years and what they do with their IPs

 

[Whitecrow]

This is business, no charity.

They make strategic moves, I choose whatever benefits me more.

 

[Aion002]

Exclusive games are what make each console unique and remarkable for me.

 

[RPSleon]

I feel like some of the best games ive played have mostly been exclusives.

Theres something about the focus on a single platform that works in their favour.

 

[OLED_Gamer]

I like it. Gives you a reason to buy a certain box as well as the games are designed around that box, so they are generally better looking and playing games.

I don't get why people think exclusive content is bad for gaming, but its ok for Netflix/Amazon/Disney, Audi/BMW/Merc, Apple/Android etc. Exclusive content is what brings customers in through your door.

 

[Putonahappyface]

Exclusivity is king.

 

[Kokoloko85]

Sega, Nintendo, Playstation, PC and Xbox, all had exclusives.
Its part of the industry. Has been for 30+ years. And why they have been so successful. Could you imagine Nintendo without exclusives?

All a sudden exclusives and selling games doesnt matter anymore or not needed. If your one of those people, please go hit yourself in your genitals

 

[Roberts]

Out of curiosity I looked at my top10 lists from the last decade and every Nr. 1 is a multi-platform game. That said, I totally understand people who get all wet from the sight of an exclusive game.

 

[brian0057]

Exclusive games as a whole are O.K. in my book.
Exclusive content for multiplatform games is BS and fuck you if your game if it has it.

 

[Decontamination Silo]

It becomes less important as the hardware is more homogenized. In the PS2,XB,GC gen it was a lot more important to make something to the strengths of each console. Now both the consoles are exactly the same box with different trim color.

 

[Astral Dog]

like it or not, exclusives will always be key to move an audience to a particular ecosystem. Thats how the system has always worked and will continue for many years.

Even when strategies are changing rapidly(because of higher dev costs + more risk) and more 'multiplatform' first party games are released, don't kid yourself, you are still NOT gonna see God of War on Xbox GamePass or (the old ones)Nintendo Switch anytime soon. and it would sell quite well on those consoles.

Thats because the majority of support will still be on Sony own PlayStation system, same as Nintendo, the only player i see more willing to change is Microsoft, but even then that will be some cases only. Exclusives and consoles won't go away, and thats fine because higher quality games are created to sell those boxes.

 

[Fahdis]

According to this thread's poll: People still love console wars.

 

[SSfox]

A console without great exclusives, is not a console, that's all

 

[Graciaus]

Nothing wrong with 1st party exclusives. What's annoying is when it's 3rd party either fully or timed. Timed dlc is also a terrible practice but I wasn't going to buy it anyway.