Topic: Should Console exclusive games...Stop?

It's a win win situation for Sony as they rinse the games first on PlayStation and then again for those that don't mind waiting on PC.

No. They shouldn't and they won't, and I'm yet to see a convincing (or even well thought-out) arguement for them stopping. Or communism.

I think there are both pros and cons with console exclusives. In the case of Bethesda, PlayStation users won't be able to play any new games made by them. But at the same time, they can focus on creating games on fewer platforms now, which means more resources can be dedicated to these platforms in order to make the games better. Moreover, being owned by another company and creating games for a subscription service means that they won't have to be pressured by investors to release their games as quickly as possible and therefore, they can take their time making quality titles. Finally, it's beneficial for Xbox users to have console exclusives since they'll come out day one on Game Pass.

The primary argument though for console exclusives is that you're giving consumers an incentive to choose your product over the competitors'. Otherwise there wouldn't be a major reason to choose one platform over the other. People choose PlayStation for its blockbuster titles, while Nintendo makes family-friendly titles to attract consumers. Xbox has its exclusives on a subscription service and so on. All of this is necessary for increased competition between the actors and for better and more varied offerings for us consumers.

This thread is older than sliced bread.

@Octane I just realised after reading your post that I've already posted here Welp, that's awkward.

I have never seen the point of 'Exclusives' from a 'Gamers' perspective. That forces us to buy multiple hardware or have to be locked out of playing a variety of games. The whole purpose is to make you 'buy' their Hardware and it doesn't matter to the 'gamer' really if only those people that also bought it, can enjoy it or if every gamer can play it. Would it matter if 'everyone' could play Uncharted or just those who bought a PS? For Sony, it may mean more sales, longer chart runs, more income etc and for gamers, more people that could play and wouldn't have to be locked into 1 platform.

I know why Platform holders do it, its to get people into your 'locked' system and buying 'software' - inc 3rd Party as they get a percentage of all sales on their platform. Its done to keep their 'fanbase' locked in, spending money and constantly feeding their profits. Its not done for the 'gamers' at all...

I can see a time when you could just have a 'single' device and have access to 'all' games. Game Pass now lets me play Xbox on PC or Android/iOS and Sony 'could' allow Game Pass on PS in the future. Not having the 'same' hardware/OS/API as an Xbox may mean that you couldn't play Starfield, Hellblade II or Forza Horizon by downloading and installing to get the 'best' way to play, but could play via streaming from Virtual Series X servers in the cloud. If Sony have something similar with PSNow, Xbox could have Uncharted, God of War, Horizon via 'streaming' from Sony's Cloud.

Its not quite the same as actually porting the game to the others hardware and optimising it and would still mean that the 'best' version is the one that runs locally on the Hardware - God of War for example at 4k/60 on PS5 but on Xbox, the image is super-sampled down to 1080p, compressed and streamed at 60fps - cannot be 'downloaded' and 'installed' locally because its built for PS and running on Virtual PS's in the cloud. But Xbox owners 'could' Subscribe to Sony on their Xbox and still play all Sony's games on Xbox - and Vice Versa.

In a generation or two, you may not 'need' any hardware in the home and could play Xbox/PS/Nintendo etc on ANY compatible device as long as you have a Subscription. The Cloud does away with the limitations of 'hardware'. Can't make an Open World with that much detail, that many unique biomes, assets etc and fit that, with the game code on a Bluray disc or fit on a 'small' SSD - but can fit it on a 'big' server and stream the 'data' specifically for the area you are in. No way could you make the whole Planet Earth at 1:1 scale in as much detail as Flight Sim without using the cloud and using real time weather too. Not only are games getting 'bigger', the assets and the files are bigger. Compression helps a lot but you are still 'limited' by Bluray (to sell games) and SSD Storage space.

MS/Sony/Nintendo etc would still do 'exclusives' because they would want you to Subscribe to those services. MS have already moved to 'Game Pass' as their primary platform. All their games will be on Game Pass - which 'benefits' those who prefer the 'Console' experience as those games are still releasing 'exclusively' on that console. Day1 software sales, hardware sales etc are NOT important because that's not the Primary platform anymore - its an 'option' for those who prefer the 'traditional' Console experience. Sony is still going the Traditional route, why they are not looking to put brand new 1st Party AAA games into a Subscription platform as they want the Software and Hardware sales. For MS, Subscribers and player numbers are a more important figure - not saying one is 'better/worse' but that both are on different strategies - both of which rely on Exclusives to entice you into their ecosystem and try and keep you there - spending money so adding to their profits, especially if they are also the 'retailer' for a lot of your purchases.

Therefore I cannot see a time when Exclusives would 'stop'. There is nothing stopping them from releasing games on Rival hardware - although it benefits the Rivals too as it costs the Publisher to Publish games on Console so if Sony wanted to Publish God of War for example on Xbox, they'd have to 'pay' MS a certain percentage of every GoW game sold on Xbox,use of Xbox logos on marketing and of course, MS would get the 30% 'retailer' profits of any game sold through the MS store - Sony would be no different from EA, Ubisoft etc in that example but of course its the same for Nintendo or MS if they wanted to publish their games on Sony. Making a game and it being 'popular' on their 'Rival' platform doesn't help them as much as it may help their Rival.

They would still 'need' exclusives regardless of what happens with Hardware as they want to get you into their 'ecosystem' and spending money. Whether they make hardware or we end up with a 'streaming' only future, they will want to make their option appealing to get you in. Maybe in he future, you only get 'Sony' games as EA, Activision, Ubisoft etc start their 'own' streaming services and keep their games 'exclusive' to their Subscribers - want to play Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Assassins Creed and Mass Effect, you may not be able to buy a PS console to play all those on but need a Sony, Square Enix, Ubisoft and EA subscription - much like you 'need' a Netflix, HBO+, Disney+ and Amazon Prime subscription to watch all the TV/Movies....

There is more reason to stop Exclusives from a gamer/consumers perspective. It really doesn't matter that complete strangers also can play that game whether they are just those on the same Platform or every gamer regardless of Platform. If you are a PS fanboy, would it matter if you could also play Forza, Halo, Starfield, Fable etc along with Uncharted, God of War, Horizon, Spider-Man etc and would it matter if those were also playable on Xbox? You still get to enjoy those Sony games and wouldn't have to buy another platform to play the games that 'Sony' won't get. The only reason Exclusives exist is to make you want to buy their 'hardware' and suck you in to make 'money' from you - not just on exclusives, but if you are on PS, then you will buy multi-platform games on that platform making Sony money. Even if you only play Fifa, CoD type 3rd Party annual releases on PS, they are making money from you and that's what 'exclusives' are for. They are NOT for the Consumers benefit (although they have to be interesting for Consumers to appeal) but to 'force' you to buy into their ecosystem, keep you there and spending money.

I have owned at least 2 gaming platforms for the vast majority of my gaming life and had to because of exclusives. I am not able to buy a single system that has the 'best' or my 'preferred' specs to play all the games I want - I have to put up with whatever the platform holder puts out to play all the games I want. I can't stand the 'design' of the PS5 for example, It looks 'hideous' on my shelf and the stand is atrocious in horizontal format - but I 'need' it to play R&C and the games coming from their First Party studio's in the future. I don't 'need' a Series X anymore as the 'Xbox' ecosystem isn't as limited as Sony's (as its part of the 'Game Pass' Platform) but I do for the 'Console' experience to play first party games from Xbox Studio's - I 'need' both a Sony and an 'Xbox' platform, just like I'd need to put up with the limitations and 'design' of the Switch if I wanted to play Zelda etc too.

I'd much prefer the option to buy a 'single' platform that could play any game, use my 'preferred' controller scheme etc instead of being forced to buy 'hardware' just for a few 'exclusives'. The Money I spent on my Series X/PS5 could of been used buying more games for just a 'single' platform. The PC is becoming a 'one-platform' for all - although does look like you will have to wait a while for first party Sony releases and I don't know whether Nintendo games will ever officially come to PC (I know emulation exists and Metroid Dread can be played 'legally' that way if you own a Switch and the game) but it seems to me that Exclusives to specific hardware is becoming less important to the Platform Holder - First MS opted to merge their Windows PC and Console gamers into one (therefore no 'Console' only Exclusives) so no need to buy MS built hardware and then with Game Pass too, expanded that to include any compatible Android/iOS devices too. Sony too are releasing 1st Party on to PC so Horizon:Zero Dawn, God of War and soon 'Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy' will no longer be 'Exclusives' for Sony either. If PC gamers only have to wait 6mths-1yr to play, that's like a timed exclusive and maybe not worth buying a PS for - Buy a PC, play all the same multi-platform releases on Day 1, all the 1st/3rd party Xbox exclusives (never or timed releases on PS) on Day 1 and the 'best' Sony games when they come...

Exclusives will remain 'important' though to the Platform holders as they are what will bring consumers into 'their' ecosystem. With Game Pass, you get those 'free' as part of the Subscription but for 'traditionalists', those games are what may make you want to buy an Xbox but whether its make you want to Subscribe or make you want to buy hardware, their purpose is to get you in to their ecosystem, spending money to increase their 'income' from you. Just like Sony's Exclusives are important to Sony to get you to buy their hardware and 'spend money' in their ecosystem, just like Nintendo's. Each 'could' publish to other platforms if they wanted BUT they won't because it doesn't bring those gamers into their ecosystem and some of the 'profit' from sales will go to their Rival too.

I would much prefer the 'differences' in Hardware to make a 'difference' in which platform I buy a game for. For example, buying Horizon Forbidden West because the Haptic Feedback and/or other specific PS5 features (those cards for example) is more appealing than buying it on Xbox without those. Even if Xbox had an 'edge' graphically (a slightly higher resolution or less DRS drops for example), at least you would have a 'choice' like I have a Choice over which platform to play FarCry or Guardians of the Galaxy on. Even if the game runs 'identically' on both, little things (like DS5 vs XB controller preference, how they handle upgrades (XB1/PS4 to XSX/PS5), cost (Game Pass Subscription vs full price on PS5/XSX)etc. As I said Game Pass is a 'platform' so playing the game 'free' on Game Pass maybe a consideration and as both Sony & MS have their own 'sales', you often see games cheaper on one platform than another so cost could be a factor - no way would I buy MLB21, Outriders, B4B etc on XSX or PS5 regardless of whether I prefer the DS5 and want Haptic Feedback or prefer my Elite controller with all that customisation options.

But as I said, Exclusives will continue beyond the era of Hardware because their sole purpose is to entice you into their ecosystem and then once there, keep you there so you keep spending money and keep contributing to their profits. Beyond the Hardware, it will be Exclusives for Subscription services anything to get you to sign up to their ecosystem and start contributing to their profits - and not their 'rivals'.

@LtSarge At least it is under your old forum name, so we can't compare what you said then and now! 😂

@JohnnyShoulder I mean, I probably would've said almost the same thing. But could you imagine a thread being revived every year and you're just writing the same post over and over without realising it?

yeah they should . all it does is forces people to buy a system that they don't want , and spending $300-$500 just to play one or two games ; its a big rip-off , and idc how good the game is & it shuts off a portion of the games player-base if its an online game , limiting the amount of potential players it could have if its was multi-plat. factor in online-subscriptions as well that doubles what you could pay for just the price of one & that just makes it worse . its an outdated practice that should of ended like yestergen (get it ? ) .

nintendo is the biggest offender of this crap , imo. their consoles and online is hot garbage & i rather play their games on something else. its only 2 games to get a nintendo for - smash bros and mario kart - for the price of , what , $300 plus a paid subscription for the most obsolete online .

thats my perspective .

The only reason to not want all games to be multi-plat is because , of the presumption that games made exclusive for a specific system would play and look at its best.

that's a weak reason because , PC negates like 90% of games for being preferred on a console. and fun matters most imo so , if the game runs good then , its good enough for me and , a lot of people clearly , going by console sales and all .

BUT that doesn't mean people don't have standards . 4k/60fps should be the standard by now ; im not gonna be ok with playing a 30fps game on PS5 , or blurry textures and pop-ins .