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Exclusives – are they a thing of the past? Only in the last few weeks we have heard the news that Grand Theft Auto 3 is making the short trip over to Xbox territory, along with State of Emergency, (and if the rumours are to be believed) Metal Gear Solid 2. If that wasn’t enough to shock you we had the recent revelation that after years of ill feeling Square are to develop Final Fantasy games for Nintendo again. But what has instigated this unusual trend? Why are developers no longer willing to make that commitment, to settle down and try for best sellers? (God I’m starting to sound like a relationship counsellor now). There are many reasons for this, starting with…
Uncertainty. It has got to be creeping into the mind of developers and producers, especially third party ones, that if they pledge their allegiance to one console and it ends up being used as a floor mop then they are going to lose out, big time. No one wants their rivals to wipe the floor with them (hence the mop analogy). And with two next gen consoles out, one waiting in the wings and no-one honestly sure who is going to emerge victorious, developers seem to be hedging their bets a little. Plus pressure is probably being applied by producers who don’t want to sign a deal to a console that might go the way of the Dreamc…dodo.
There is also the distinct (in fact, almost definite) possibility of pressure being applied by producers to make a quick buck by porting the same game over. With Microsoft entering the industry money is being splashed about nonchalantly and the fat cats are seeing dollar signs in their eyes. Why commit yourself to one console and make £2m when you can move to another, double your target audience and make £4m? It’s an argument that is hard to argue against, especially for those of you with a mind for business.
Which leads me nicely onto my next point. Some developers may be scared of losing out and when we are at a stage (as we are now) where choice is becoming larger and someone is going to have to lose out, developers may feel that the only way to ensure success is to appear on every platform. Ok, maybe I am being cynical; maybe developers just want the widest audience possible to enjoy their games? That may be so, but you’ve got admit that it is food for thought.
So what about the consoles that can boast exclusives? Well Tomb Raider and Playstation were exclusive – until Lara appeared on Dreamcast, the first sign that no franchise ever stays in one place, no matter how successful. Shinji Mikami and the Resident Evil boys recently made the unusual step of committing themselves to one console, in this case Nintendo. Why? I’m not entirely sure. But if the Gamecube isn’t as successful as PS2 or Xbox, which I’m afraid to say early sales figures seem to indicate) then don’t be surprised to see them jumping ship, and even as I write this rumours are filtering out of Japan that Resi 4 may still be heading to PS2. Abe’s Odyssey is another example of an exclusive, but I think that that had more to do with PS2 not having the power to run the game than being bitten by the Xbox bug. And the most obvious example – Rare. But even if you examine the situation there closely it doesn’t really seem like an ‘exclusive’. Rare are a second party developer part owned by Nintendo, and if they’re mischievous Christmas card is to be believed, then they too may go multi format.
Looking at the evidence I would say that, in the future, it is unlikely we will see the word ‘exclusive’ adorning a certain title. At the moment the only true exclusives are Nintendo, and what’s to say they might go multi format in a few years if Gamecube doesn’t work out? Before you put your doubters hats on and start criticising, think what you might have thought of Sega going multi format say, five years ago? Exactly. No one would have predicted it but look at them now! They have gone from struggling console developers to one of the most powerful and influential software developers in one feel swoop. Who’s to say it might look an attractive prospect for Nintendo in few years? Certainly not you or I (sorry to disappoint any budding visionaries amongst you). With developers scared of losing out and a desire to be noticed as the console ‘war’ hots up, it is starting to look that exclusives may certainly be a thing of the past.
Thanks for reading
RM18
Uncertainty. It has got to be creeping into the mind of developers and producers, especially third party ones, that if they pledge their allegiance to one console and it ends up being used as a floor mop then they are going to lose out, big time. No one wants their rivals to wipe the floor with them (hence the mop analogy). And with two next gen consoles out, one waiting in the wings and no-one honestly sure who is going to emerge victorious, developers seem to be hedging their bets a little. Plus pressure is probably being applied by producers who don’t want to sign a deal to a console that might go the way of the Dreamc…dodo.
There is also the distinct (in fact, almost definite) possibility of pressure being applied by producers to make a quick buck by porting the same game over. With Microsoft entering the industry money is being splashed about nonchalantly and the fat cats are seeing dollar signs in their eyes. Why commit yourself to one console and make £2m when you can move to another, double your target audience and make £4m? It’s an argument that is hard to argue against, especially for those of you with a mind for business.
Which leads me nicely onto my next point. Some developers may be scared of losing out and when we are at a stage (as we are now) where choice is becoming larger and someone is going to have to lose out, developers may feel that the only way to ensure success is to appear on every platform. Ok, maybe I am being cynical; maybe developers just want the widest audience possible to enjoy their games? That may be so, but you’ve got admit that it is food for thought.
So what about the consoles that can boast exclusives? Well Tomb Raider and Playstation were exclusive – until Lara appeared on Dreamcast, the first sign that no franchise ever stays in one place, no matter how successful. Shinji Mikami and the Resident Evil boys recently made the unusual step of committing themselves to one console, in this case Nintendo. Why? I’m not entirely sure. But if the Gamecube isn’t as successful as PS2 or Xbox, which I’m afraid to say early sales figures seem to indicate) then don’t be surprised to see them jumping ship, and even as I write this rumours are filtering out of Japan that Resi 4 may still be heading to PS2. Abe’s Odyssey is another example of an exclusive, but I think that that had more to do with PS2 not having the power to run the game than being bitten by the Xbox bug. And the most obvious example – Rare. But even if you examine the situation there closely it doesn’t really seem like an ‘exclusive’. Rare are a second party developer part owned by Nintendo, and if they’re mischievous Christmas card is to be believed, then they too may go multi format.
Looking at the evidence I would say that, in the future, it is unlikely we will see the word ‘exclusive’ adorning a certain title. At the moment the only true exclusives are Nintendo, and what’s to say they might go multi format in a few years if Gamecube doesn’t work out? Before you put your doubters hats on and start criticising, think what you might have thought of Sega going multi format say, five years ago? Exactly. No one would have predicted it but look at them now! They have gone from struggling console developers to one of the most powerful and influential software developers in one feel swoop. Who’s to say it might look an attractive prospect for Nintendo in few years? Certainly not you or I (sorry to disappoint any budding visionaries amongst you). With developers scared of losing out and a desire to be noticed as the console ‘war’ hots up, it is starting to look that exclusives may certainly be a thing of the past.
Thanks for reading
RM18
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Yeah I noticed that as well...
Long may it continue!
Long may it continue!
Well done Russ!
Interesting fact: if you call up the forum GAD winners list, our wins are two days apart. Go back a few weeks and our wins are...two days apart. Strange: like women who live together, we appear to be on the same cycle! ;~)
Interesting fact: if you call up the forum GAD winners list, our wins are two days apart. Go back a few weeks and our wins are...two days apart. Strange: like women who live together, we appear to be on the same cycle! ;~)
cheers Hercules!
Well done RM18
Thanks everyone!
This really came out the blue - I can't believe I won 4 in 60 days
Thanks Special Reserve!!!
This really came out the blue - I can't believe I won 4 in 60 days
Thanks Special Reserve!!!
Weldone RM18 Youve won 2 GADS This and Another.
Well done on the win, RM18.
Deserved win for you.
Deserved win for you.
Congrats on the win - just a shame more people didn't add to the discussion.
I dont really care about wether certain games are exclusives or not - it doesnt make them any better or worse.
If games are licensed to more than one console then it can only be good for us - the gameplayers. How many of us would be buying X Boxes and Gamecubes if all the games we wanted to play where also available on our trusty PS2's ?. More than likely none of us so we would be at the advantage of being able to play what we like without shelling out for new hardware.
There lies the problem with non-exclusivity.. without it Console manufacturers would not be able to sell enough units of new hardware. So while the games publishers want to increase their revenues by selling on all formats possible the hardware suppliers will fail, hence why Microsoft are so willing to pay large sums to make franchises like Oddworld X Box exclusive - without these kind of deals then new consoles would have to fail.
Exclusives are here to stay....
If games are licensed to more than one console then it can only be good for us - the gameplayers. How many of us would be buying X Boxes and Gamecubes if all the games we wanted to play where also available on our trusty PS2's ?. More than likely none of us so we would be at the advantage of being able to play what we like without shelling out for new hardware.
There lies the problem with non-exclusivity.. without it Console manufacturers would not be able to sell enough units of new hardware. So while the games publishers want to increase their revenues by selling on all formats possible the hardware suppliers will fail, hence why Microsoft are so willing to pay large sums to make franchises like Oddworld X Box exclusive - without these kind of deals then new consoles would have to fail.
Exclusives are here to stay....
no it doesnt play PC games but loads of games will be ported over
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