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[TheDraconian]

I play my games on different platforms (Xbox, PS, PC, Wii, etc). But even though I have access to most of the systems, I sometimes wonder how great it would be if I could play some games without bothering about platform.

I sometimes wish I could enjoy stuff like Ghost of Tsushima, TLOU2 and Rift Apart on my PC... Or see how Forza and Halo go on my PS5... Even playing Mario Odyssey or Zelda BotW on Xbox would be nice to experience.

They say exclusives are meant to "give value" to a box and all that..
but I somewhat see it as a 'limitation'.. it's to try to keep you in that specific platform.. doesn't give you the option of playing games anywhere you want to..

Gaming shines when you have choice.
To me, games feel better if you play them where you WANT to play them (not necessarily where you HAVE to play them).

Logically speaking, I see NO DOWNSIDES to making games more accessible... from ANY perspective.

Think about this (if you want to get a bit 'analytical'):

Spoiler: Case Scenario

Let Xyz company = any of MS, Sony, Nintendo, etc..

Xyz company releasing a game as a timed exclusive (for six months, to one..two yrs MAX), means that both:
1. Developers can develop games at first for that particular console in mind, and utilize every inch of the hardware, and 2. The company can maximize sales off that platform (while the game is exclusive)..

If after the timed exclusive period, the company ports the game(s) to diff platforms.. this means that:
3. The company benefits from the broader platform base (greater exposure of their games, and additional $$$ from more sales (to finance future great games))......

.....But most importantly..
The game(s) would GET TO REACH more guys that DON'T HAVE ACCESS to the original platform. In short, wider reach, and gamers benefit from easier access.

Xyz company wins.. But most importantly..

GAMING WINS!

Then I see some people railing against porting YEARS OLD exclusives, with arguments on the tier of:

Spoiler: 'Arguments' lol

"NO! YOU CAN'T PORT MY (x game) OVER TO THE "pLeBs!"

"STOP! TheY aRe HuRTiNg mMMmEeE!!!!!"

"Bb..bbb...bbbut the (insert xyz gaming company) BRAND!, "iT rEDuCeS tHIeR VaLuE!!!!!!"

Some of you folks need to understand that gaming companies don't care about you as a gamer. Whatever action they take is cuz of their own interests (more mUnEH, etc).

Why do you even care about whatever brand anyway? Are you a shareholder? Brand Ambassador?

As for me, I'm just interested in playing games.
I don't think abt brand when gaming..
Why should I care if a game I enjoy gets ported to another platform?

I see the PS5/XSX as great value-for-money, powerful consoles.... I get a lot of fun out of the Switch with all it's great innovations....

You got your x game on your xyz box.. Play it! enjoy it! In peace!
If another guy gets to play that x game on another abc platform, great for them!

So seeing statements that porting exclusives to other plats "was missleading or 'it upsets me'" just baffle me...

Other ppl getting to play games you've played doesn't 'trash', 'lower' or 'impact' your experience in any way..
You don't stand to lose anything..

Some ppl might own a PC but not have access to a PS4, PS5, Xbox One, etc..
Some others have a PS4, but might not be even able to afford a PC or Switch..

That someone can't get your box DOESN'T mean they should be completely excluded from experiencing great games!

The sooner cross-plat porting is seen as beneficial to gaming and accessibility, the better...

Wouldn't YOU want to be able to play games anywhere you want, anytime?

I (for one) am glad Sony are going this multi-plat route.. Now if only MS ports to PS and co, and Nintendo joins in the fray.....

Look..

I just feel games shouldn't stay as permanent exclusives. It isn't pro-consumer in the long run..

I'm all about the games, so if a company wants to make a move that affords gamers more access to games, I'm for it.

All I'm arguing for is choice and ease of accessibility.

Gamers SHOULD be able to play whatever game(s) they want anywhere, irregardless of platform..

Spoiler: Disclaimer?

If my opinion triggers or sets you off... it is not my intention...

Currently expecting various reactions along the lines of...

"BRUHHH!"
"WTF IS THIS?!!!"

"AS IF NO MORE PLATFORM WARS WASN'T ENOUGH FOR THIS GUY!".....

"NOW ITS GAMES FOR EVERYONE??!!!!"

"bLAsPhEMy!!!"

"MODS!"
"STOP HIM!!!"
"GET THIS FOOL!!!"
"HE CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH HIS IDEAS DAMMIT!!!"

I apologize for humour

 

[64bitmodels]

Prepare for the onslaught of laughing emojis from fanboys who are mad at you for simply keeping it real
This is pretty much what us PC guys/SteamPunks have been saying for years.

Edit: that top statement did not age well lol

 

[kanjobazooie]

I agree with you, though.

 

[SEGA_2012]

I prefer exclusives, i miss the 90's.

 

[SportsFan581]

One number erases it all: 30%

Buying XYZ's box ensures that you are buying your games from their store. They hope even the games they don't produce. With cross-platform availability you might buy their games on ABC's store, which isn't that big a deal for just those sales, but now you are probably buying your other games from ABC's store too (and all the MTX and everything that comes with that). What you propose would blowup the subsidized/break even hardware model, no more $500 boxes. Then there are the services too.

On PC, you basically have everything now. If you want a one stop shop that's the way to go, you'll just spend more on hardware.

 

[lovetalkgames]

A lot of games are touching the PC market now. Weird thread.

 

[ViolentP]

PC is the closest you're gonna get.

 

[IDKFA]

It's so you buy their hardware, then you'll buy games from their digital stores and/or sign up to their digital service platforms.

Look at it in the world of TV streaming. I'd love for all the Disney and Amazon stuff to all be on Netflix so then I'd only need to pay for one sub, but that's never going to happen because they want subscribers. To do this, they need exclusive content. Same with games.

 

[wvnative]

Yeah as I get older I just wish I could play the games I want on the platforms I want. Love Sony's games but personal issues are impacting me from enjoying the console, wish I could play them on my xbox,

Sadly, that isn't the world we live in. There is PC but that isn't a fool proof way to get everything.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Would be great if games could be played on any system (or course you got to at least respect budget and hardware and not every high end game or small studio can cover all systems due to specs or manpower), but video game boxes are probably the only thing out there with this exclusivity complex.

You dont see DVD/BR players or music players trying to do exclusive deals with studios so only certain movies or songs can play on their system. I'm sure they are smart enough they can add code to their hardware so Samsung BR players with a partnership deal are the only ones who can run MGM movie discs.

But every other piece of electronics seems open. My Panasonic home theatre system works fine hooked up to a Sony TV. And all discs work. Nobody gives a shit if I switch to a Vizio TV and get a new Yamaha audio and receiver set. Everything works.

Sony also makes AV gear and owns TV/movie studios. If anyone out there can play the game of locking content behind Sony branded gear it's them. It would be a giant brownie point to get people buying gear to buy Sony. But even Sony doesn't lock media behind their own brand. All their content can be freely played on anything from big names like Samsung to shittiest low end gear you can buy from Walmart.

 

[Knightime_X]

It all boils down to money reasons.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

You dont see DVD/BR players or music players trying to do exclusive deals with studios so only certain movies or songs can play on their system. I'm sure they are smart enough they can add code to their hardware so Samsung BR players with a partnership deal are the only ones who can run MGM movie discs.

Did you forget HD DVD and Blu-Ray? That said, in the end only one succeeded and everyone eventually used it, but still.

Besides, the ultimate future is going to replace the hardware exclusivity with service exclusivity anyway. Sure you can watch Netflix on any device, yay no hardware reliance! But you can't watch a Netflix show on Hulu, or a Disney+ show on Netflix. Is that really much better?

 

[Hanzaki]

I prefer exclusives, i miss the 90's.

Agreed.
Mainly because multiplats are always handycapped in some ways because of the least capable hardware.

I understand the economic side of the multiplat developments and things like that but I wish there was much more exclusives on all sides.
I was always multi console (+pc) guy since the beginning and the PS4/XOne era was the firs time when there was very little incentive to buy an Xbox because of the lack of exclusives (but got one in the end). I wanna buy a console for the exclusives not for the usual stuff you can get everywhere. Hopefully there will be lots of exclusives now that MS bought up everyone and my XSX will get way more playtime than now.

 

[01011001]

well that would be great, but just like communism it's a utopian idea that has no real chance to work in the real world

 

[ACESHIGH]

And this is why every game should have a PC port. Emulation is fine and all but I don't want to build a high end rig to poorly emulate PS3 stuff.

 

[K2D]

"Incentive, capital - Utopia"

 

[The_Mike]

The closest you'll come for that is pc/xbox, where you often gets a PC and Xbox copy for the price of one.

But if you remove exclusive games, then it doesn't matter for you if you pick an Xbox or a PlayStation.

It's good for the consumer, but would be crucial to the console manufacturers.

Nintendo would probably without a doubt be the one taking the big hit by this.

 

[Topher]

I play my games on different platforms (Xbox, PS, PC, Wii, etc). But even though I have access to most of the systems, I sometimes wonder how great it would be if I could play some games without bothering about platform.

I sometimes wish I could enjoy stuff like Ghost of Tsushima, TLOU2 and Rift Apart on my PC... Or see how Forza and Halo go on my PS5... Even playing Mario Odyssey or Zelda BotW on Xbox would be nice to experience.

They say exclusives are meant to "give value" to a box and all that..
but I somewhat see it as a 'limitation'.. it's to try to keep you in that specific platform.. doesn't give you the option of playing games anywhere you want to..

Gaming shines when you have choice.
To me, games feel better if you play them where you WANT to play them (not necessarily where you HAVE to play them).

Logically speaking, I see NO DOWNSIDES to making games more accessible... from ANY perspective.

Think about this (if you want to get a bit 'analytical'):

Spoiler: Case Scenario

Let Xyz company = any of MS, Sony, Nintendo, etc..

Xyz company releasing a game as a timed exclusive (for six months, to one..two yrs MAX), means that both:
1. Developers can develop games at first for that particular console in mind, and utilize every inch of the hardware, and 2. The company can maximize sales off that platform (while the game is exclusive)..

If after the timed exclusive period, the company ports the game(s) to diff platforms.. this means that:
3. The company benefits from the broader platform base (greater exposure of their games, and additional $$$ from more sales (to finance future great games))......

.....But most importantly..
The game(s) would GET TO REACH more guys that DON'T HAVE ACCESS to the original platform. In short, wider reach, and gamers benefit from easier access.

Xyz company wins.. But most importantly..

GAMING WINS!

Then I see some people railing against porting YEARS OLD exclusives, with arguments on the tier of:

Spoiler: 'Arguments' lol

"NO! YOU CAN'T PORT MY (x game) OVER TO THE "pLeBs!"

"STOP! TheY aRe HuRTiNg mMMmEeE!!!!!"

"Bb..bbb...bbbut the (insert xyz gaming company) BRAND!, "iT rEDuCeS tHIeR VaLuE!!!!!!"

Some of you folks need to understand that gaming companies don't care about you as a gamer. Whatever action they take is cuz of their own interests (more mUnEH, etc).

Why do you even care about whatever brand anyway? Are you a shareholder? Brand Ambassador?

As for me, I'm just interested in playing games.
I don't think abt brand when gaming..
Why should I care if a game I enjoy gets ported to another platform?

I see the PS5/XSX as great value-for-money, powerful consoles.... I get a lot of fun out of the Switch with all it's great innovations....

You got your x game on your xyz box.. Play it! enjoy it! In peace!
If another guy gets to play that x game on another abc platform, great for them!

So seeing statements that porting exclusives to other plats "was missleading or 'it upsets me'" just baffle me...

Other ppl getting to play games you've played doesn't 'trash', 'lower' or 'impact' your experience in any way..
You don't stand to lose anything..

Some ppl might own a PC but not have access to a PS4, PS5, Xbox One, etc..
Some others have a PS4, but might not be even able to afford a PC or Switch..

That someone can't get your box DOESN'T mean they should be completely excluded from experiencing great games!

The sooner cross-plat porting is seen as beneficial to gaming and accessibility, the better...

Wouldn't YOU want to be able to play games anywhere you want, anytime?

I (for one) am glad Sony are going this multi-plat route.. Now if only MS ports to PS and co, and Nintendo joins in the fray.....

Look..

I just feel games shouldn't stay as permanent exclusives. It isn't pro-consumer in the long run..

I'm all about the games, so if a company wants to make a move that affords gamers more access to games, I'm for it.

All I'm arguing for is choice and ease of accessibility.

Gamers SHOULD be able to play whatever game(s) they want anywhere, irregardless of platform..

Spoiler: Disclaimer?

If my opinion triggers or sets you off... it is not my intention...

Currently expecting various reactions along the lines of...

"BRUHHH!"
"WTF IS THIS?!!!"

"AS IF NO MORE PLATFORM WARS WASN'T ENOUGH FOR THIS GUY!".....

"NOW ITS GAMES FOR EVERYONE??!!!!"

"bLAsPhEMy!!!"

"MODS!"
"STOP HIM!!!"
"GET THIS FOOL!!!"
"HE CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH HIS IDEAS DAMMIT!!!"

I apologize for humour

100%. I'd love to see all games on all platforms day one. We are light years from that, I'm afraid, but at least PC gaming is getting more games that traditionally it would ever see.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Everything on PC. End of all problems.

 

[SportsFan581]

Would be great if games could be played on any system (or course you got to at least respect budget and hardware and not every high end game or small studio can cover all systems due to specs or manpower), but video game boxes are probably the only thing out there with this exclusivity complex.

You dont see DVD/BR players or music players trying to do exclusive deals with studios so only certain movies or songs can play on their system. I'm sure they are smart enough they can add code to their hardware so Samsung BR players with a partnership deal are the only ones who can run MGM movie discs.

But every other piece of electronics seems open. My Panasonic home theatre system works fine hooked up to a Sony TV. And all discs work. Nobody gives a shit if I switch to a Vizio TV and get a new Yamaha audio and receiver set. Everything works.

Sony also makes AV gear and owns TV/movie studios. If anyone out there can play the game of locking content behind Sony branded gear it's them. It would be a giant brownie point to get people buying gear to buy Sony. But even Sony doesn't lock media behind their own brand. All their content can be freely played on anything from big names like Samsung to shittiest low end gear you can buy from Walmart.

Every other type of a gear is sold at a profit, that's the rub. Game consoles have always been a razor and blades scenario, the blades (games and services) is the only reason to give you the razor basically at cost. Same with printers and ink and things like that. Without the blades, they'd sell you the razor at the real market value, probably at or near double the typical prices.

Although there have been situations where movie studio X partnered with a certain type of media and only released on that format (HD-DVD, Beta, etc.)

 

[hououinkyouma00]

I prefer exclusives, i miss the 90's.

I’m half and half.

I do miss when consoles all had different things to offer which for the most part went away with the PS4/XBO but started with the 7th gen. I liked owning all of the consoles and having a reason to own everything including PC.

But as somebody that got into minimalism it would be nice to have everything on one system. Yeah yeah PC and all that but I don’t like emulation and despite owning a modern PC and having played games on PC since the late 90s (besides 6th gen and early 7th) I generally prefer the console experience overall.

 

[SlicedBread3]

You dont see DVD/BR players or music players trying to do exclusive deals with studios so only certain movies or songs can play on their system. I'm sure they are smart enough they can add code to their hardware so Samsung BR players with a partnership deal are the only ones who can run MGM movie discs.

The difference is games are software, not just media files. Movie studios don't have to code versions for each DVD player. A better comparison would be software for PC and Mac.

 

[ParaSeoul]

Literally communism.

 

[Fbh]

PC is slowly getting there.
You've got all major third party releases, all Microsoft games, an increasing number of Playstation games and even Nintendo stuff if you are ok with getting into emulation.

With that said I don't mind exclusives. Competition drives companies towards making more and better games.
Yes if everything released everywhere there would still be competition as everyone would still be fighting for your time and money, but I think the added incentive of getting people into their platform (where they get a higher cut of their own software and a 30% cut from everyone else) pushes companies like Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft even further.

Why does Nintendo release games like Xenoblade 3 and Bayonetta 3 when they sell like crap compared to their core franchises? Because they appeal to a different audience that they want to get on their platform.

You dont see DVD/BR players or music players trying to do exclusive deals with studios so only certain movies or songs can play on their system. I'm sure they are smart enough they can add code to their hardware so Samsung BR players with a partnership deal are the only ones who can run MGM movie discs.

No one buys DVD/BR anymore so I don't know why they'd gimp their declining market by splitting up the availability of movies and TV shows. Not to mention most DVD/Bluray player manufacturers don't make movies themselves.
Meanwhile the TV/Movie market that actually makes all the money these days, streaming, is absolutely full of exclusives. You won't be watching that Lord of the Rings show on Netflix, or Loki Season 2 on Amazon Prime, or the next Pixar Movie on HBO max.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Backwards compatibility has been a MASSIVE failure in gaming.

 

[Umbasaborne]

I wish everything were on everything. If i could play nintendo games on a powerful console like series x or ps5, no way id keep my switch around

 

[Danjin44]

Some games couldn't exist without being exclusive, after original Bayonetta Sega wasn't willing to support its sequel and Platinum Games went to both Sony and Microsoft but both none them willing support them but Nintendo did, this is why currently Bayonetta 2 & 3 exclusive to Nintendo.

Same thing with Monolith Soft, Sony didn't support Xenogears and Namco wasn't willing support Xenosaga, but once again Nintendo did this why Xenoblade games are Nintendo exclusive.

If I had yo choose between a game being exclusive or not exist at all, I choose exclusive.

 

[Fess]

Look at it in the world of TV streaming. I'd love for all the Disney and Amazon stuff to all be on Netflix so then I'd only need to pay for one sub, but that's never going to happen because they want subscribers. To do this, they need exclusive content. Same with games.

It’s not really that way in gaming though, then you would need a Disney box to see Disney+ content and a Netflix box to watch Netflix content. If gaming was like TV streaming you would be able to subscribe to PS+ on your XSX and subscribe to Xbox Gamepass on your PS5.

OP has a point, it is kinda silly that we have to have at least three boxes under our TV just because we like all games. Soon we’ll have multiple VR headsets as well.

It’s an expensive hobby.

 

[TheDraconian]

I agree with you, though.

Jesus Christ, man. Learn how to organize your thoughts and express them briefly. I’m not reading all that shit.

Well.. I try to compress most of my ideas into something compact and reasonable.

Besides, I don't see how my OP is 'too long' when shit like this exist.

 

[CaptainSlayAHo]

The reason they give a fuck where their games are played is because of the marketplace fees. Sony doesn't want to give Microsoft 30% of their sales and vice versa.

Other reason is that if your console has the better exclusives, more people are likely to buy your console, which isn't nearly as big of a deal as them getting 30 percent of any 3rd title purchases now.

Making money simply listing other people's creations is the dream, and exclusives lead to that.

 

[ZoukGalaxy]

TL;DR everything, sorry BUT:

As a kid, l would agree with you since I could afford only 1 platform.
Nowadays, honestly, I just don't care and love true exclusivity (allowing devs to use at max platform power/specs) because I can afford every platform each gen and I play on PC too some games.

Also, I miss one thing from the 90s: same title but different version for each platform, it was pretty awesome to get 2 completely different games Aladin for SNES and MegDrive/Genesis come into my mind as a great examples).

 

[64bitmodels]

As a kid, l would agree with you since I could afford only 1 platform.
Nowadays, honestly, I just don't care and love exclusivity (allowing devs to use at max platform power/specs) because I can afford every platform each gen and I play on PC too some games.

i'm a teenager and i was able to get my hands on each of the big 3's consoles excluding the PS5 (which frankly wouldn't be that hard for me to get if i applied myself, i simply just don't care)
even then, i still think that Exclusivity is pointless and divides gamers more than anything. I don't want to have to turn on my Switch Lite just to play Smash Ultimate when i don't like using it and perfer my Xbox controller on my PC instead.

 

[recursive]

So looking forward to my empathy emojies but games are accesiable more than ever. F2p games are killing it despite how everyone here may feel about it. If the argument is release "evlusive" games on all platforms i dont agree. Cost of entry is low. If you can't swing $500 for a console than your life priorities should be elsewhere and should not be complaing about it.

 

[Shifty]

Well.. I try to compress most of my ideas into something compact and reasonable.

Besides, I don't see how my OP is 'too long' when shit like this exist.

If posts were meant to be short, Lord EviLore - in his wisdom - would have crafted the text box with a character limit.
- NeoGAF 3:16


And yes, it would be top if content was truly king. Perhaps it might happen in the extreme long term given that we're seeing a gradual creep toward the big players getting their games out to more players via PC, streaming, yada yada.

For now however, corporate beatings to continue until morale improves.

 

[EDMIX]

I hope in the future all of that is standard

 

[Havoc2049]

I enjoy it when each console has their own unique look and vibe.

 

[brian0057]

Literally OP's post:

 

[Sensates]

Would love to see some developers perspective on this, but I assume one system will be much easier to develop than having multiple platforms. For that i support PC all the way.

 

[Trazyn the Infinite]

Competition breeds innovation. To have healthy competition, you need exclusives, high quality ones at that.

 

[TheDraconian]

i'm a teenager and i was able to get my hands on each of the big 3's consoles excluding the PS5 (which frankly wouldn't be that hard for me to get if i applied myself, i simply just don't care)
even then, i still think that Exclusivity is pointless and divides gamers more than anything. I don't want to have to turn on my Switch Lite just to play Smash Ultimate when i don't like using it and perfer my Xbox controller on my PC instead.

This!

It makes for a waaay better experience if you can just open up whatever box u want to use and play games there, instead of worrying abt platform.

Interestingly, I'm also a teenager.
Teens think alike? Lol..

 

[adamsapple]

Logically speaking, like you said OP, there is no reason to oppose your idea.
But unfortunately these corporations think monetarily first, not logically.

 

[Fuz]

Backwards compatibility has been a MASSIVE failure in gaming.

 

[TheDraconian]

Literally communism.

Literally OP's post:

 

[AJUMP23]

Ideally you would be able to play any game on any platform of choice. That is not a reality, now will it ever be. Exclusivity builds value for a brand or product.

 

[Ghost of Caelid]

Soon, as the box becomes less relevant it comes down to ecosystem...within the next 10 years we'll be playing games on both consoles. Like TLOU GaaS makes sense on all consoles.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Backwards compatibility has been a MASSIVE failure in gaming.