Quick Jump Daily Digest
Thank you for your interest in the Quick Jump Daily Digest. Get notified of all new content on QJ in our free Daily Digest. To subscribe, enter your email address below and click the subscribe button.
Do You Know Why Exclusive Games Don't Really Matter? |
Listed in: Opinions & Analysis Tags: console apps, dlc, hbo go, hulu, Microsoft, Netflix, Nintendo, Sony
By the time you read this, it will probably be around Valentine's Day which means a lot of your friends are probably talking about being "exclusive" with the one they love. However when it comes to the hottest consoles, exclusive games can be something entirely different. Sure all major systems are going to have their hits only available for their platform to make their system worth owning, but I'm going to tell you the honest truth why all of those release limitations don't matter as much as they used to.
A Larger Install Base Is Smarter For Developers
Back in the day when we were only talking battles between the SNES and Genesis, exclusives were a huge part of the industry. Between your Mario's and Sonics and such, it made a lot of sense because the market was just a little bit less fragmented than it is today. Sure we might only have one major console to add in to the fold, but competition between those three options is a whole lot closer than it was in earlier decades. This can mean a little bit more of an issue for third-party developers who are considering making their games exclusive.
For those who aren't catching my drift just yet, consider market fragments. Why in the world would a developer want to waste time and millions of dollars making a game that will only work for a small portion of the much larger gaming audience. It just doesn't add up. Especially with our economy as bad as it is. That is just one of the reasons why you're starting to see a lot of teams pull back on their exclusive content. Look at Rayman Legends as one of the most obvious examples of this. Developers make more cash when they have more potential customers, so that means they will invest less in exclusives.
Other than the obvious market share there are plenty of other ways consoles can remain unique these days. Let's check out one of those options on the next page!
| 66.7% of voters think this story ROCKS! |
|
|
Comments
Reply
Reply
Also, it's a pretty stupid point someone is trying to make when you omit 1/3 of the industry.
The Kia Rio is the top selling car of all time!!! Omitting anyone who makes a truck and anyone who isn't from Korea.
Reply
Exclusives do matter to Nintendo but I kind of don't consider them a "hardcore" competitor. They're there but they kind of do their own thing. They really don't compete as much with the other two.
Reply
Reply
They generally use the system's hardware better, and often have unique features because of that utilization of the hardware.
It would be nice if there were no console/PC exclusives(one console), but games of late have gotten stale and exclusives are the last bastion(beside indie games) of uniqueness in video games.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
The second reason why most people are saying exclusives are not that important is due to the big influence of xbox and PC on the industry both of which do not have many exclusive although they have very very good ones like Halo and Gears of War. But than again those games are not diversifying like other exclusives which nintendo and playstation have.
It's a pity people are starting to look at exclusives in this manner because studios who work for exclusive material are usually the very best and most innovative and they are the ones who dare to take risks in something new or different and the ones who set standards.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply