When exclusive games aren't exclusive anymore

[nightrnr]

Hmm, I think I like it half and half.
Every system needs their killer apps, and games that define them (I think we even have articles for that notion). But some series need to be experienced by everyone (Street Fighter series).

I do like it when each version has exclusive features; like Soul Calibur having different guest characters on each system.

But I also agree that when the new consoles are all just PC's with similar specs, what's the point? In that case, there's not much to define the system in the 1st place. But then maybe that makes exclusives even more important?

So yeah, I'm conflicted. I think exclusives are fun and make owning a system unique. But I also like learning about the subtle differences between ports, and for that, there needs to be multiplatform releases WITH exclusive features.
Both ways can exist and be interesting/special.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Like, imagine if you could only watch a certain movie ONLY if you had a Samsung DVD player because Samsung paid more money for it. That's bullshit.

I love this analogy.

And then to use it for what I was talking about, imagine that's only for a year, and then Sony DVD players get the movie too, except this time there's extra scenes added in.

That would imply that there's content that's already been made, ready to go, that was purposefully withheld from the consumer just to make them buy it again (on a later DVD) for full price. I'm not sure DLC is the most applicable thing to the DVD analogy Xp

I still don't like timed exclusives, because unless the hardware manufacterer is REALLY paying out, not having your game open to be purchased by more than half the market for a year can really hurt your sales. By the time it's out in a year, no one could care anymore because all the hype was expended at the initial launch, and there've been a bunch more cool games released since then.

Also, I cannot take credit for that analogy. I forget if it's Totalbiscuit or Jim Sterling or some other analytical internet guy, but I certainly didn't come up with it.

[Jmustang1968]

I like exclusives mainly because focusing on a single version can lead to a team maximizing the potential of their game. Sometimes being spread to thin across multiple consoles really hurts the game as does assigning various ports to multiple studios.

This really isn't the case anymore. Many devs also have "porting" teams (there is a proper term for it, I just forgot it) that make sure each game is able to pass the certifications or whatever for each platform.

[Fragems]

Maybe it shouldn't be an issue but we still get at minimum 3-4 AAA shitshows on PC each year . Eventually things get sorted out usually but it's half the reason I do most of my gaming on consoles.

[Xeogred]

Maybe it shouldn't be an issue but we still get at minimum 3-4 AAA shitshows on PC each year . Eventually things get sorted out usually but it's half the reason I do most of my gaming on consoles.

Dishonored 2 still sounds pretty broken.

+1 for exclusives.