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[Liopleurodon]

I am glad that so many games are available on PC nowadays, where we have more options, especially when it comes to performance.

Yet, at the same time it feels like exclusivity itself, and not being available anywhere else, gives game more value, and make it more worthwhile to play.

Someone recently made a thread whether we would like for Sega to make a new hardware - while on one hand I don't think that would be a good idea, I still voted yes, because I think it would make the gaming scene in general more interesting, especially if Sega decided not to put their future titles anywhere else.

 

[MikeM]

As someone with both console and PC- I just feel like the soul of gaming is dying.

Yeah, games on PC are objectively better if they are ported right and you have the modern hardware, but there was something awesome about Halo/Gears/Forza being on Xbox, while God of War/Horizon/Ratchet and Clank/Final Fantasy being on PS.

Now I look at consoles like "meh." There used to be an identity associated with them, but with this multi-platform strategy, it just doesn't feel the same anymore.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Switch 2

 

[pqueue]

it feels like exclusivity itself, and not being available anywhere else, gives game more value, and make it more worthwhile to play.

What complete and utter crock. The game play and quality gives it value. not the platform it is on. That is just your fanboyism shouting to the world.

 

[Ceadeus]

In times like these, I really appreciate diving into the retro and indie scene it's a never-ending stream of great stuff you probably missed. You can also add a new peripheral, like an arcade stick, and it really freshens up the experience. The VR scene is also fun to explore; there's a ton of stuff you've likely never tried.

Playing only exclusives? That'll eventually suck.

 

[//DEVIL//]

I agree with the first 2 posts. I like exclusivity too. gave me a reason to buy a console. Now? fuck it all on PC sooner or later if not day one. So why bother?

I get it that companies don't care since I am buying their games. But even then, people tend to buy games from third-party sites that are much cheaper than the official store, which makes me question the profit they are making if they decided to sell it on their platform only, like Nintendo is doing.

I think what MS is doing is right, because at the end of the day, PC is basically Windows, which is MS. And they do want to keep that number high, because I am sure MS had its eyes on Steam deck sales, and that's why they acted as fast as possible with the portable Windows gaming device. Not in their best interest for MS to see Linux rising.

With that being said, what the fuck is Sony doing? Aside from maybe the first 2 games they released, all their other games almost sold like shit on PC, so why the fuck waste the time, lose the identity of the PlayStation console name just for a short-term profit while damaging the name you built for 30 years ?

What complete and utter crock. The game play and quality gives it value. not the platform it is on. That is just your fanboyism shouting to the world.

Not true. Exclusivity holds its value. Personally I decided I wanted to buy a PS5 to play Final Fantasy 16 and rebirth ( that was a mistake since performance was dog shit for 16 ) but it still stands,

if Mario was on PC, I will be lolling the fuck out buying it there and not even looking at the Switch hardware itself.

 

[poppabk]

Yeah thats why I was so excited when companies started pulling their shows and movies from Netflix and adding them to their own streaming services.
I just enjoy a movie so much more knowing its exclusive to Paramount+. And having to pay more for the same content is just icing on the cake.

 

[Plies]

I prefer to have as many options as possible.

 

[rm082e]

I've been playing on PC as my primary platform since 2011. Not one time have I ever been playing a game and thought "You know, I would enjoy this even more if those PlayStation and Xbox players weren't able to play this on their consoles."

Exclusives as a very naked form of manipulation can work if they're great and you build a brand around them. Just look at Nintendo. But that doesn't mean the games are more valuable or prestigious. It just means you had to buy the specialty hardware to play them.

 

[RoboCain]

I disagree completely, make games available everywhere.

Title exclusivity in gaming was born as a commercial tactic and that's it. Imagine paying for a USD500 bluray player for Tarantino movies or a music player that has Taylor Swift albums because rights holders decide to take them off of all digital platforms since they know those artists have a massive following. It something outlandish to think outside of gaming.

It only works in gaming because hardware requirements are still too high and because of legacy business model, that's all. But since gaming development costs have skyrocketed, development times has increased and diversity in offering in AAA titles is going down, AA games and Indie games are slowly growing in mainstream popularity. You don't need expensive hardware to play these titles. This is affecting the value proposition of high-end devices. (Take the example of the Series S, PS4s, PC Handhelds, or Switch 1 and 2 against something like the PS5 Pro).

Developers will target these devices and suddenly there will be less benefits in owning the latest and greatest proprietary hardware that eventually will have to go up in price to justify its existence.

So, I'd say make more gaming PCs in different form factors and give us the ability to play all games there. Nintendo and Playstation will likely still be there trying to take all your money for nostalgia reasons.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I can say lots of stuff about Phone Books. But in the end it's still obsolete.
Concepts come and go. Exclusive games are on the downhill side heading for the gone pile of ancient stuff no one uses anymore.

 

[Roni]

Locking bytes from running in some computers is stupid and never works. Every title will ultimately be emulatable.

This is the kind of argument only a profit driven mind would come up with.

 

[POKEYCLYDE]

I don't think exclusivity gives a game any more value than a non-exclusive game. It only gives value to the platform that the exclusive title is on.

However, exclusive/first party titles have (in the past) been given higher budgets and were held to a higher standard of quality BECAUSE they added value to the platform.

So you may perceive that there is more value in exclusives, but exclusivity isn't what gives that value to the game. The budget/resources afforded to the game's development is what adds the value (typically).

GTA is not exclusive and it's value is insane.
Concord was an exclusive and it's exclusivity did not do anything for it.

 

[Self_Destructive]

As someone with both console and PC- I just feel like the soul of gaming is dying.

Yeah, games on PC are objectively better if they are ported right and you have the modern hardware, but there was something awesome about Halo/Gears/Forza being on Xbox, while God of War/Horizon/Ratchet and Clank/Final Fantasy being on PS.

Now I look at consoles like "meh." There used to be an identity associated with them, but with this multi-platform strategy, it just doesn't feel the same anymore.

You're not wrong in a way... however the thing is there's entire generations of gamers who did not grow up during the 90s and early 00s who don't have any real strong allegiance to any of these companies, and their primary entertainment is their phones and they're used to everything being everywhere.

Sony is smartly recognizing that these groups will eventually be the power consumers and they have to meet them where they are and in the style of consumption that they are used to.

I can understand a small window of exclusivity... maybe 3-6 months max... because I think it will be better for these companies to better utilize the game's marketing and hype cycles. Not only that but late ports often come with DLC included in GOTY editions or collections when they launch on PC.. It would be better for Sony to have the games released before any major DLCs so that they can better monetize that content on PC as well. And you know how people say that it's understandable that GaaS and MP games would release multiplat day 1 because they need large player-bases, but somehow think the same isn't true for Single Player games... that's just wrong, and cope. Larger player bases are better for all games. More positive word of mouth and so on. Sony need to maximize their potential across all of gaming.

I agree it doesn't feel the same anymore... but the main thing should be wanting these companies to be as successful as they possibly can be, given the changing times and demographics. I'm a fan of Playstation. I want them to be successful everywhere and make as much money as they can. There's a large part of the gaming market out there that they're not reaching adequately. These consoles are already basically just PCs these days anyway. They can differentiate their hardware through other means, such as controller innovation and design, and features.

 

[Danjin44]

Vanillaware to PC gamers:

 

[nemiroff]

Fuck exclusives. Useless and anti-consumer. Only good for fanboy bots.

 

[Hoddi]

Middle-class housewives feel the same way about Louis Vuitton bags. If poor women could have them then they would no longer want them.

It's dumb but that's just how it works. It's also why exclusives are almost always overrated.

 

[neocycle]

PC loser race.
Console>PC

 

[SILKYSMOOTH30FPS]

Why create exclusives for pc when consoles are just cheap off the shelf pc's? I could see an rts being exclusive, but the genre died. There's simply no reason why you'd make pc exclusives when you can cover consoles by setting all the settings on Medium-Low, offer a crispy 540-900p resolution and call it a day.

But would i want to see games that pushers the boundaries like Crysis in 07? Oh yeaaa. And seeing how fast pc gaming is growing, in four to five years, i could see this happening.

 

[twilo99]

Does playing an "exclusive" game make you feel extra special?

 

[BlackTron]

It's not so much that being exclusive makes it more worthwhile to play. It's more that they're motivated to make exclusive games exceptional to keep attracting/retaining people to the platform, so you know to pay attention to them.

 

[Topher]

I don't know exactly why it is, but seems to me that the quality of first party has decreased since Sony and Microsoft started going multiplat. Has nothing to do with it being special because the games used to be on one platform. Just that the games are not as good. I attributed it to lack of focus previously but that may not be it. Not sure.....but it is something I've noticed in retrospect.

 

[Hoddi]

I don't know exactly why it is, but seems to me that the quality of first party has decreased since Sony and Microsoft started going multiplat. Has nothing to do with it being special because the games used to be on one platform. Just that the games are not as good. I attributed it to lack of focus previously but that may not be it. Not sure.....but it is something I've noticed in retrospect.

I think it's something that happens purely in your head. Once it stops being exclusive then the blinders fall off.

Googling 'psychology of exclusivity' brings up a ton results like

The idea of exclusivity has long been used to jack up prices on luxury cars, liquors, and fashion, but exactly how much do people value exclusive goods? Enough to pay a premium of 50 percent or more, according to Chicago Booth's Alex Imas and London School of Economics' Kristóf Madarász. The reason reflects a deep-seated aspect of human nature: we put greater value on things that other people want but can't have, just because they can't have them.

 

[{insert code here}]

Imho it used to make sense when consoles had exotic hardware that required unique approaches to utilize like Xbox 360 I believe had shaders (or something, idr) a couple years before PC. Or the PS2's VU's and EE or PS3 having Blu Ray drives. There were use cases where making a game exclusive to one piece of hardware absolutely made sense to me but it is totally different now. Modern consoles are basically just low range PC's and there are no unique hardware components to take advantage of anymore.

The whole point of having exotic hardware was to give users a mid-high range PC experience for a fraction of the cost and the 360/PS3 were the last consoles to really use that approach (and take the associated risks and losses). But damn man they all got lazy and greedy and just started slopping low-end PC components into a box and slapped PS_ and Xbox_ on them and called it a day.

 

[UltimaKilo]

I am glad that so many games are available on PC nowadays, where we have more options, especially when it comes to performance.

Yet, at the same time it feels like exclusivity itself, and not being available anywhere else, gives game more value, and make it more worthwhile to play.

Someone recently made a thread whether we would like for Sega to make a new hardware - while on one hand I don't think that would be a good idea, I still voted yes, because I think it would make the gaming scene in general more interesting, especially if Sega decided not to put their future titles anywhere else.

Should certain movies only be released at certain theaters? Would that make the movie better?

 

[existensmaximum]

Yeah, you're absolutely right. And for the best exclusives, you can often tell they put in a lot more love, care, optimization and resources into making the game special - so that people would choose that platform for gaming. That's what's getting lost now more and more often.

Yeah, these games do feel more special more often than not. Your made an investment. You wouldn't buy a whole console if it wasn't for these special, exclusive games.

 

[existensmaximum]

Should certain movies only be released at certain theaters? Would that make the movie better?

Is a restaurant better if it serves food from every cuisine in the world? More items on the menu?

 

[neocycle]

consoles are just cheap off the shelf pc's

They are not. They are the development target. They are a standard. Everything is optimised for them.
Cheap, looks great, controls well, no hassles.

 

[Cakeboxer]

Look, I don't mean to be offensive, but the "exclusive experience" argument just doesn't hold up. The game itself doesn't magically change depending on what platform it's on. The story, gameplay, and mechanics are identical. What exclusivity really does is give people a false sense of status, like those wealthy folks paying $1,500 for a gold-covered steak at Salt Bae's place, not because it tastes better, but because it makes them feel elite. Herectic recently became available on platforms outside of PC. Am I upset? Not at all. Actually, I think it's fantastic. More people discovering these classics is a win for gaming as a whole.

If you think about it from the developers' side, they pour years of effort into crafting these worlds. They want their art to reach as many players as possible, to be remembered, talked about, and loved. No creator is genuinely happy when their potential audience is artificially cut down. Exclusives are the opposite of what games should stand for. They don't make the product better, they just lock it away behind a paywall of hardware. It's manufactured scarcity, good for marketing hype, bad for players, bad for art, and ultimately bad for gaming culture.

 

[Mhmmm 2077]

Vanillaware to PC gamers:

Do I have to kiss before or after emulating all their games?

 

[UltimaKilo]

Is a restaurant better if it serves food from every cuisine in the world? More items on the menu?

That's not a good analogy. It would be better (but still imperfect when discussing cuisine) if it was something like: would coca-cola taste better if it was exclusive to only one restaurant chain in the world?

 

[Gaiff]

It's not so much that being exclusive makes it more worthwhile to play. It's more that they're motivated to make exclusive games exceptional to keep attracting/retaining people to the platform, so you know to pay attention to them.

Is it still the case? PlayStation had a good run from the late PS3 days to the PS4, but their exclusives have been incredibly lackluster as of late and certainly not any better than other good to great third-party games.

 

[Fahdis]

I used to be one of these exclusives idiot back in the Sega Megadrive to PS3 era. Say it for what it is; rampant fanboyism disguised in some sort of imaginary pride of having a piece of steel and plastic for 5-7 years. I'm so glad everything is multiplatform now. It gives you choice, doesn't have you confined to paywalled services who don't have regional sales or have you pay for "live" services on top of your internet, can mod, can play the way you want. What's there to miss?

 

[Arsic]

I am glad that so many games are available on PC nowadays, where we have more options, especially when it comes to performance.

Yet, at the same time it feels like exclusivity itself, and not being available anywhere else, gives game more value, and make it more worthwhile to play.

Someone recently made a thread whether we would like for Sega to make a new hardware - while on one hand I don't think that would be a good idea, I still voted yes, because I think it would make the gaming scene in general more interesting, especially if Sega decided not to put their future titles anywhere else.

 

[SILKYSMOOTH30FPS]

They are not. They are the development target. They are a standard. Everything is optimised for them.
Cheap, looks great, controls well, no hassles.

In most cases that is true, but lets not pretend that every game is like that. CP2077, KCD2, BG3, etc were all made for pc first and downgraded for consoles.

 

[Arsic]

In most cases that is true, but lets not pretend that every game is like that. CP2077, KCD2, BG3, etc were all made for pc first and downgraded for consoles.

Visually CP2077 yes. The other two? Lol no. You have to be a pixel counting autistic to think KCD2 doesn't look incredible or doesn't play amazing on ps5 pro, or BG3 looks damn fine and controls great on console either.

CP2077 though for sure should be experienced only on PC.

 

[SILKYSMOOTH30FPS]

Visually CP2077 yes. The other two? Lol no. You have to be a pixel counting autistic to think KCD2 doesn't look incredible or doesn't play amazing on ps5 pro, or BG3 looks damn fine and controls great on console either.

CP2077 though for sure should be experienced only on PC.

Not a matter of visuals, but their primary platform the game was developed for. And BG3 with a controller is as bad as it gets. Not just for inventory management, but for combat as well. Holy shit it was bad.

 

[Arsic]

Is a restaurant better if it serves food from every cuisine in the world? More items on the menu?

Food analogy is a good one to use.

If a BigMac was available on Burger King, Culver's, Sonic, etc menu does it stop being a Big Mac? No. Same burger everywhere. Now I can go get a Big Mac and enjoy the curly fries from Carls Jr, and maybe the mello yellow from Culver's.

Or I can just stick to McDonald's and get their focused for their restaurant only menu. But more people enjoying big Mac's all over? Win for everyone.

—-

I'd love it if I could play all Nintendo games on my pc or ps5. I don't want to own all this hardware. It's costly and a pain in the ass to set up.

 

[Fess]

Yet, at the same time it feels like exclusivity itself, and not being available anywhere else, gives game more value, and make it more worthwhile to play.

Nah I couldn't care less, a great game is a great game no matter where it's played and a bad game don't become better because I can only play it on one hardware.

——

That said. Exclusivity is why I have every device and not just one, so for a hardware platform holder exclusives are extremely important. Only reason to buy hardware otherwise is if it's simply the best.

There is also competitiveness giving birth to new ideas and pushing hardware to evolve faster and keeping prices down. Once there is no reason to have multiple devices the hardware side of the industry will go stale fast.

 

[Hudo]

Yet, at the same time it feels like exclusivity itself, and not being available anywhere else, gives game more value, and make it more worthwhile to play.

Just because a game is exclusive doesn't make it better. That's a weird way of looking at things (and also not true, imho). There are exclusive games (or games that were exclusive for quite a while) that were (and still are) garbage.

 

[Robb]

Of course there is. If you want people on your specific platform you have to offer unique content. And you also want content you can produce yourself (or at least own 100%) and don't have to pay a license for.

Netflix isn't bringing Stranger Things, Wednesday, Squid Game, etc. etc. to every other streaming service. They're exclusive shows that drive user growth and that they want to be identified with Netflix specifically.

Maybe Sony/MS can find other ways to offer unique content on their platforms outside of software, we'll see. Otherwise I assume their hardware platforms will die off over time.

 

[Lionel Richie]

It used to make sense in the past. Gaming was very different depending on where you played and I feel that was true up until the PS360 generation. It was also true for PC games, gaming on the PC was VERY different than on consoles. Then consoles became PCs, PC gaming got increasingly streamlined, and exclusives became timed exclusives.

It's a relic of the past, but people who are old enough to remember the Genesis vs SNES era know we lost something special once multiplats took over.

 

[Tobimacoss]

Of course there is. If you want people on your specific platform you have to offer unique content. And you also want content you can produce yourself (or at least own 100%) and don't have to pay a license for.

Netflix isn't bringing Stranger Things, Wednesday, Squid Game, etc. etc. to every other streaming service. They're exclusive shows that drive user growth and that they want to be identified with Netflix specifically.

Maybe Sony/MS can find other ways to offer unique content on their platforms outside of software, we'll see. Otherwise I assume their hardware platforms will die off over time.

Netflix barrier to entry isn't hundreds of dollars worth of hardware.

Exclusivity in content for streaming/subscription services is fine, as they are a $10-$20 month buffet. It's how Gamepass Ultimate being available on any device via streaming fits into that Netflix model. The games can be played everywhere but only exclusive to Gamepass in terms of streaming/subscription services game catalog.

 

[Robb]

Netflix barrier to entry isn't hundreds of dollars worth of hardware.

Even more reason to push for more exclusive content if you want people to invest that kind of money in your platform instead of somewhere else then.

 

[Tobimacoss]

Even more reason to push for more exclusive content if you want people to invest that kind of money in your platform instead of somewhere else then.

Sure, but that hardware will always have a ceiling. The TAM (Total Addressable Market) isn't growing for Consoles. Meanwhile PC, Mobile, Cloud have vastly bigger TAM, in the billions, and unlimited potential. Keeping the content exclusive to hardware will result in Sony losing in every other market long term. They need to build a proper ecosystem with content being on their streaming service, that streaming service being accessible everywhere, and native stores on PC and Mobile.

All interconnected to their hardware which would function as the foundation but not the end all be all.

 

[Robb]

Sure, but that hardware will always have a ceiling. The TAM (Total Addressable Market) isn't growing for Consoles. Meanwhile PC, Mobile, Cloud have vastly bigger TAM, in the billions, and unlimited potential. Keeping the content exclusive to hardware will result in Sony losing in every other market long term. They need to build a proper ecosystem with content being on their streaming service, that streaming service being accessible everywhere, and native stores on PC and Mobile.

All interconnected to their hardware which would function as the foundation but not the end all be all.

I don't disagree with any of that. It all depends on what the strategy for going forward is and we're definitely moving in the direction you mention.

But had the strategy been to just grow the hardware side specifically I think exclusive content has its place. And when/if we get to the 'Netflix model' I assume Sony/MS/Nintendo will keep their IP on their respective service.

 

[Xbox 360 slim]

You're not wrong in a way... however the thing is there's entire generations of gamers who did not grow up during the 90s and early 00s who don't have any real strong allegiance to any of these companies, and their primary entertainment is their phones and they're used to everything being everywhere.

Sony is smartly recognizing that these groups will eventually be the power consumers and they have to meet them where they are and in the style of consumption that they are used to.

I can understand a small window of exclusivity... maybe 3-6 months max... because I think it will be better for these companies to better utilize the game's marketing and hype cycles. Not only that but late ports often come with DLC included in GOTY editions or collections when they launch on PC.. It would be better for Sony to have the games released before any major DLCs so that they can better monetize that content on PC as well. And you know how people say that it's understandable that GaaS and MP games would release multiplat day 1 because they need large player-bases, but somehow think the same isn't true for Single Player games... that's just wrong, and cope. Larger player bases are better for all games. More positive word of mouth and so on. Sony need to maximize their potential across all of gaming.

I agree it doesn't feel the same anymore... but the main thing should be wanting these companies to be as successful as they possibly can be, given the changing times and demographics. I'm a fan of Playstation. I want them to be successful everywhere and make as much money as they can. There's a large part of the gaming market out there that they're not reaching adequately. These consoles are already basically just PCs these days anyway. They can differentiate their hardware through other means, such as controller innovation and design, and features.

Who the hell growing up in the 90s or 2000s has a "strong allegiance" to a video game brand???? Yikes.

 

[Kataploom]

IDK, these days exclusivity is kind of a bummer to me, also PC games being available elsewhere make me secure of them getting proper controller support instead of only m&k

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

I am glad that so many games are available on PC nowadays, where we have more options, especially when it comes to performance.

Yet, at the same time it feels like exclusivity itself, and not being available anywhere else, gives game more value, and make it more worthwhile to play.

Someone recently made a thread whether we would like for Sega to make a new hardware - while on one hand I don't think that would be a good idea, I still voted yes, because I think it would make the gaming scene in general more interesting, especially if Sega decided not to put their future titles anywhere else.

That's old man shit, kids don't care if their games are available on Android and ios. They love that they can play their games with everyone on everything. Exclusives are an arbitrary restriction to force people to buy inferior hardware with hardware level drm.

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

Yeah thats why I was so excited when companies started pulling their shows and movies from Netflix and adding them to their own streaming services.
I just enjoy a movie so much more knowing its exclusive to Paramount+. And having to pay more for the same content is just icing on the cake.

This should be in the running for best comment of the year. God tier reply.