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Well you will see Sony and MS fighting for games like this for a while to come :)
> And YH - I didn't hear you calling it stupid when companies were
> announcing Xbox exclusives! :-) If you're going to tie yourself to
> one machine, it surely makes sense to go for the one with the user
> base... ;-p
Ooooh, handbags! :-D
Seriously though, I can understand the reasons behind exclusives, and that's fair enough.
But to tie yourself to one console, and then turn round and say "Yeah, we did this so the maximum number of people can play our game" seems real stupid, as obviously the maximum number of people can't play your game as they don't own the console.
At first I thought it was brilliant, but by the time I'd finished it I came to the conclusion that it was all a bit of a mindless game - much more limited than many think.
It annoying on all fronts, but it's no different to Nintendo signing Resident Evil or MS signing Abe's Oddysee - both of which had already sold millions of copies of previous games in the series on PSone.
And YH - I didn't hear you calling it stupid when companies were announcing Xbox exclusives! :-) If you're going to tie yourself to one machine, it surely makes sense to go for the one with the user base... ;-p
> "We want our best-selling franchise to reach the greatest number
> of consumers."
>
>
> So surely that would mean releasing the game across all platforms, not
> just one.
>
> The combined sales of Xbox and GC is around 7 million units. So
> they're missing out on a (possible) 7 million sales of their
> software.
>
> Seems a bit stupid to me...
Well what they really mean is "Sony have paid us a large sum of money to only develop for the PS2". Sony are willing to pay money to keep exclusive rights for the games. Rock Star are happy to be getting a ton of money which they know they have rather than expecting to get that money from the Xbox and GC game sales.
So surely that would mean releasing the game across all platforms, not just one.
The combined sales of Xbox and GC is around 7 million units. So they're missing out on a (possible) 7 million sales of their software.
Seems a bit stupid to me...
I posted this in the Sony forum last month:
From IGN.com
-----
May 21, 2002 - Grand Theft Auto 3 and all future titles in the GTA franchise will be exclusive to PlayStation 2 until October 2004, SCEA announced today at its E3 press conference. The hugely popular "thug simulator," developed by DMA Design for Rockstar Games, was the best-selling game title across all platforms last year, and earned IGN's PS2 Game of the Year award amid dozens of other accolades. This announcement means it's curtains for the planned Xbox version of GTA3, which was to be released later this year.
"Given the worldwide acceptance of PlayStation 2, it's natural for Take-Two to partner with Sony Computer Entertainment America and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in its respective markets," said Kelly Sumner, CEO of Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar's parent company). "We want our best-selling franchise to reach the greatest number of consumers. The penetration of PlayStation 2 globally, combined with the pervasive nature and power of the PlayStation brand, will help us achieve this objective.
The fact that the PlayStation 2 will be the only home entertainment system on which one can enjoy Grand Theft Auto titles is a great statement for the platform overall."