chess

In the past few weeks, MS has apparently brought a few formerly Sony exclusives to the 360 (GTA and Devil May Cry), which makes me wonder whether the MS console might actually be viable this generation. I don't believe the first Xbox was due to lack of exclusives, but that's another matter.

Third Party Exclusives:

For the sake of argument, let's just assume that the hardware for the 360 and PS3 will be within a stone's throw of each other...which I believe will ultimately be the case. If that's the case, and they split the user base for traditional consoles 50-50 or 60-40, are major third party exclusives a thing of the past? Will Square, Capcom, Konami, Sega, and Namco be content to have their games on one console or the other with an evenly divided market?

First and Second Party Exclusives:

Currently, Sony has a clear edge here, but MS has brought in some heavy hitters (Rare for instance). Sony has Gran Turismo, God of War, Ratchet and Clank, SoCom, Twisted Metal, Wipeout and several others that honestly seem to be getting a bit long in the tooth. MS has Halo and whatever Rare comes up with, as well as some interesting stuff coming down the pike. But if all the third party games cross consoles, I really don't think first party games will matter nearly as much next generation.

Wii, of course, is another matter entirely. The Wii will thrive or fail based almost exclusively on the strength of thier first party titles...and probably won't get a lot of the third party games from the PS3 and 360.

Bottom line is that I'm actually considering the possibility of owning an Xbox this generation, which I hadn't really considered before. I think I can live without the latest version of Gran Turismo or Warhawk.

Josh H

I'm sick of the Sony series for the most part, as well as their third party exclusives, so I think I can pass on the PS3 without too many regrets.

The 360 looks to get somewhat better support than the X-box (which largely gathered dust for me). Rare always has potential, but they haven't done a game I though was a AAA title since Banjo-Kazooie.

The Wii will have the Nintendo games, which are about all I care about anymore. And will hopefully get some unique third party exclusives as well. So that will probably be the only console I pick up this go round.

Raul3

Like I was saying in another thread, this is more about cost. Developing new games is getting really expensive and companies will try to sell their games in every console available.

With this I'm saying that companies think that they can get more money without being exclusive (how much money does Sony pay them for being exclusive?).

fujishig

I think we'll still see "exclusives" in niche markets if there is still a disparity in sales in Japan... the PS3 should still be the king of Japanese RPGs, for instance, because it will presumably have a huge sales lead in Japan, and although increasing in popularity here, it's still largely a niche market in the US. And Nintendo will always have it's exclusives, if only because of their innovative controller.

It used to be that most multiplatform games, I bought for the Xbox because of the HD and the better graphics, and it will be interesting to see if my mindset shifts in the next gen.

Speaking of "exclusives": are we still going to get three different WWE wrestling games for the three different platforms? This is something I never understood, especially because the Xbox and Gamecube franchises were such crap. Why not just port the Smackdown game over?

PixyJunket

Well, I thought the PS2 WWE games were just as bad as the others (I've played them all at some point) but they are starting this year to have the same game across all three systems (or maybe it's just PS3/Xbox 360 now?). I'm so sick and tired of Yuke's, they are one of the worst developers.

fujishig

Well, compared to the golden era of N64 wrestling games (in the US at least), sure, the Smackdown games aren't great, but they are miles ahead of the other platforms.

Another thought I had. A lot of the games that were supposed to be "exclusive" to the Gamecube ended up coming out on the PS2, but NOT the Xbox. Now that the Wii's controller pretty much demands that the developers not just port stuff to and from the Nintendo system without major retweaking, we might see more exclusives than ever.

PixyJunket

Miles ahead is still absolute shit in my opinion.

Keep in mind that developers do have the option to use the standard controller(s) for Wii games (as illustrated by the Super Smash Bros. Brawl announcement and the hints that Zelda Extreme can use either configuration). The big difference will be whether developers will be hindered by Wii's 480p limitation.. but the reality of THAT is that since games will still probably have to made with SD in mind (for the ~75% of people still using SDTVs) I don't see how this would be a problem.

Grimfarrow

Geez...people really need to check their sources before running wild with inane rumours. Devil May Cry is STILL a Sony exclusive.

msdmoney

I was actually going to bring up a similar thread related to Microsoft exlcusives, which are console exclusives, but also released on PC. Do you think this has an effect on the XBOX as far as exclusives go? I will probably pick up a 360 eventually, but the fact that many exclusive games come out for the PC, and since many of them are FPS's, I am more inclined to wait and buy the games for the PC for now. Examples of games that I was excited about for the 360 but will pick up for the PC: Call of Duty 2, Condemned, Oblivion, Quake 4 (already bought). I will probably pick up most FPS's for the PC because I prefer a mouse and keyboard, and I figure the PC Oblivion will have more mods. Action games like GTA4 I like on the console.

This also happened with many big XBOX exclusive games like Fable, and now Jade Empire is coming to the PC.

Does this weigh into anyone elses decision, it seems more Sony and Nintendo exclusives remain exclusive to consoles

chess

Fair enough, but not the point.

My point was that I think that developers have to make a choice between releasing on all consoles (like EA) or making exclusives (as the Japanese developers tend to do). Since most of the games I care about are from the Japanese developers in my original post, I'm wondering whether the 360 has their attention. I fear that that answer is "no" given the 360's weak showing in Japan.

I want to like the 360. I love the price difference, and I think it's a great looking console with a great controller. I can even live without a new Gran Turismo or Metal Gear...but if the Japanese developers don't get on board with MS in the very near future, I'll probably have to look to the PS3 in a few years. So are there any hints that Capcom, Konami, or Namco are going multi-platform like EA? I haven't really seen anything yet.

As for the Wii, I positively cannot wait for that one...even if it's just for Nintendo games since they are the best ones anyway. The real debate is between the PS3 and 360...and who's going to get the games. I'm hoping that games will go to both consoles in most cases.

PixyJunket

Capcom has a (so far) 360 exclusive in the pipe, Lost Planet or something.

Namco of Japan, I wouldn't count on much support.

Namco Hometek (aka shitty Namco games) will probably support it with Pac-Man World 4, 5 and 6, multiple versions of Namco Museum with the same 10 popular games and no heart in the presentation and whatever properties they can buy up that EA hasn't swiped already.

Konami is still up in the air last I checked.

slop101

Lost Planet looked fucking awesome - one of the few 360 games that looked truly next-gen - but it's not coming out until next year...

mr.snowmizer

"Lost Planet or something"?

After the shock and awe spreading around internet forums from the quality of the demo, it's earned the right for every gamer to be sure of its name.

And it has been bumped up into 2006.

Joe Molotov

The Xbox is always going to be hamstrung by it's inability to penetrate the Japanese market. Japanese 3rd parties aren't going to want to give it many exclusives because of it's limited user base over there.

Apollo

I don't know about that. Why skip a console that big elsewhere, just because it's not big in Japan? That may be true for local Japan flavor games. These guys are out to make money and nothing else.

slop101

That's actually very bad news, because that means they're going to have to cut some corners, either with lack of polish or less levels or something.

chess

This is kind of the point of this thread.

I'd like to see Sega, Capcom, Konami, and Namco release all their big games on both systems...though I fully expect that not to happen.

But if it did, I'd have a reason to buy an X-box.

mr.snowmizer

With Lost Planet's demo already as polished as it is, I don't think it's arrival in six months instead of nine is much cause for concern.

Showing up earlier than expected doesn't automatically equal a rushed job.

Drexl

With the PS3 being so expensive, there's no guarantee it's going to be as dominant as the PS2 was. So, developers are hedging their bets by developing their games for more than the one console.

Giantrobo

A question about "Exclusives": I've always heard that they were better because when they're being developed, the Developer can concentrate on the strengths of the specific system instead of worrying about the "weakest link" in the multiple systems chain. So some things like graphics for instance end up slightly being better.

Is this true or just myth?

chess

As I understand it, games are usually developed for one system (generally the PS2 this generation) and then ported over to the others. Some games are direct ports, and some are polished up a bit to take advantage of the other systems. Either way, the vast majority of them make it completely in tact.

I think that the architecture of the current and next gen systems is so similar that little would be lost in porting games back and forth between the PS3 and the 360.

I think what you describe was much more true in the cartidge era.

BeanDip0001

I don't think it has so much to do with plat formers any longer. Free studios are looking at the developer kits and seeing what they can do with them. In this case Sony is screwed because they don't have a mass amount of kits out like Microsoft did a couple years ago. Nintendo I have no idea about, but I’m sure fun games will come to that system no matter what. Right now it looks like some of the new gen games were made for the 360 first and then ported to the pc and further down the other systems. Let’s not forget one thing Microsoft has is a working console, if Sony can ship in the fall great but I’m not holding my breath.

Chris_D

Even with the 360 dead in Japan, it's inevitable that the big Japanese developers will support it. Like it or not, the 360 will be a big part of next gen gaming in US, Europe etc. and these markets have been growing much faster than Japan for a while now. The difference of course will be that they're more focused on games that will sell big in western territorries, rather than the quirky Japanese games that some of us want.

An example of the benefits of taking games to the xbox, is the DOA series. Arguably an inferior series to tekken, SC, and VF, but still sold bucket loads.

Giantrobo

Oooh ok, cool. Thanks chess

chess

I sincerely hope you're right.

Fixed.