Console exclusives and multiplatform releases

[Vault101]

So I'm not really familar with how this kind of stuff works

But I've wondered what are the benifits of releasing a game as an exclusive as opoased to being released on a number of platfroms?

and are multiplatform releases more common now as oposed to say 1999?

 

[Galbalan]

Well, usually the point of an exclusive is to boost sales of that console. For example, Halo was the big game that pushed Xbox into the limelight even in the face of the PS2.

Most games these days are multiplatform, but Sony fans more than most crow about PS3 exclusives because of the PS3 always lagging behind Nintendo and MS in sales. I'd say exclusives are a bit less common now other than 2 or 3 big names per console, but most of the Wii titles worth playing are only on that system.

 

[JemothSkarii]

I've never really understood myself...but I've heard that companies are willing to pay the developers more if they're released as an exclusive...but that doesn't seem to work.
Look at Activision.
It's a bit of a mystery really.
Bit off topic, but I've always kinda wondered why some PS3 exclusives aren't in 1080p...probably a crudload harder to develop that way.

 

[brumley53]

As an exclusive the developers know what hardware they're working with instead of generalising or taking extra time to port the game to a different system. But if the game is ported well then the game can be the quality of an exclusive on all systems.

 

[fates_puppet13]

multiplatfors are more common now simply because there is more that 2 rivaling consoles and to pc sitting on the sidelines

and single console releaces are annoying
my friend has a ps3 and i have a 360
and we rarely get to talk about the same games which kinda completely sucks

 

[Galbalan]

Esclusives let companies rake in money and give the shareholdes a false sense of security regarding piracy. Apparently, they have no idea how easy it is to pirate shit on the 360.

DVDs, lol

 

[Lullabye]

Exclusives let people troll other gamers about how awesome their console is compared to theirs.
Cross platform releases are just flame wars waiting to happen.

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

Most exclusives are exclusive because either Sony, MS or Nintendo owns the company making the game, or at the very least has a close working relationship with said company, who will make exclusives out of loyalty.

But for the occasional exceptions, it's usually because Sony or MS pays the developer enough cash to offset the lost revenue from having the game on every console. Nowadays, these cases are becoming fewer and fewer, and you really just see it for DLC.

 

[jamesworkshop]

So I'm not really familar with how this kind of stuff works

But I've wondered what are the benifits of releasing a game as an exclusive as opoased to being released on a number of platfroms?

and are multiplatform releases more common now as oposed to say 1999?

Development is easier only one product to concentrate on, more money from the platform holder

multiplatform is more common now, the budgets are higher, closer levels of platform parity, better multiplat middleware (UE3, CE3, IDtech5)

 

[Netrigan]

Well, usually the point of an exclusive is to boost sales of that console. For example, Halo was the big game that pushed Xbox into the limelight even in the face of the PS2.

Most games these days are multiplatform, but Sony fans more than most crow about PS3 exclusives because of the PS3 always lagging behind Nintendo and MS in sales. I'd say exclusives are a bit less common now other than 2 or 3 big names per console, but most of the Wii titles worth playing are only on that system.

I used to look around for PS3/360 debate threads and in the early going, 360 had the far more impressive list of exclusives and boy did 360 owners remind you of it. Once the PS3 gained the advantage, their fans started boasting. Really comes down to who has the advantage. If your system doesn't have the advantage, then it suddenly becomes unimportant. Just fanboys being fanboys.

The 360 still has about twice as many exclusives because a lot of devs don't have the money to put the game on both systems. 360 owners buy more games so it's the platform ofchoice for budget minded developers.

 

[Jkudo]

Most exclusives are exclusive because either Sony, MS or Nintendo owns the company making the game, or at the very least has a close working relationship with said company, who will make exclusives out of loyalty.

But for the occasional exceptions, it's usually because Sony or MS pays the developer enough cash to offset the lost revenue from having the game on every console. Nowadays, these cases are becoming fewer and fewer, and you really just see it for DLC.

Well they were more justified when one competitor had massively outsold another, but now they are pretty equal and some exclusives sell better than multiplatform games. Exclusives get better marketing campaigns so its very easily for them to make a profit on the games simply from the sales of the one console.

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

Most exclusives are exclusive because either Sony, MS or Nintendo owns the company making the game, or at the very least has a close working relationship with said company, who will make exclusives out of loyalty.

But for the occasional exceptions, it's usually because Sony or MS pays the developer enough cash to offset the lost revenue from having the game on every console. Nowadays, these cases are becoming fewer and fewer, and you really just see it for DLC.

Well they were more justified when one competitor had massively outsold another, but now they are pretty equal and some exclusives sell better than multiplatform games. Exclusives get better marketing campaigns so its very easily for them to make a profit on the games simply from the sales of the one console.

Not sure I really buy that at all. Exclusives might get better marketing, but they're still missing out on tons of sales. Halo sells great for MS, but don't you agree it would sell even better as a multiplatform title? It doesn't sell well simply because it's an exclusive. Same with games like Uncharted and God of War. They sell well because they're great games, and would sell even better on multiple consoles.

 

[Serving UpSmiles]

I've never really understood myself...but I've heard that companies are willing to pay the developers more if they're released as an exclusive...but that doesn't seem to work.
Look at Activision.
It's a bit of a mystery really.
Bit off topic, but I've always kinda wondered why some PS3 exclusives aren't in 1080p...probably a crudload harder to develop that way.

Well first party developers can't make third party developers make their games exclusive, but they will advertise the game in a way to focus on the console eg...

Modern Warfare 2 for Xbox 360

 

[Jkudo]

Not sure I really buy that at all. Exclusives might get better marketing, but they're still missing out on tons of sales. Halo sells great for MS, but don't you agree it would sell even better as a multiplatform title? It doesn't sell well simply because it's an exclusive. Same with games like Uncharted and God of War. They sell well because they're great games, and would sell even better on multiple consoles.

Games get a lot of attention simply because they are exclusives, in order for them to sell well they do need to be good games. While multiplatform games will make more money most of the time, an exclusive can make enough at this time to cover development costs and marketing. Halo reach would have sold more as an exclusive, but if CE launched on both the ps2 and xbox, then on the xbox 360 and ps3, it would have gotten much less attention.

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

Not sure I really buy that at all. Exclusives might get better marketing, but they're still missing out on tons of sales. Halo sells great for MS, but don't you agree it would sell even better as a multiplatform title? It doesn't sell well simply because it's an exclusive. Same with games like Uncharted and God of War. They sell well because they're great games, and would sell even better on multiple consoles.

Games get a lot of attention simply because they are exclusives, in order for them to sell well they do need to be good games. While multiplatform games will make more money most of the time, an exclusive can make enough at this time to cover development costs and marketing. Halo reach would have sold more as an exclusive, but if CE launched on both the ps2 and xbox, then on the xbox 360 and ps3, it would have gotten much less attention.

Call of Duty disagrees.

 

[Jkudo]

Call of Duty disagrees.

I knew you'd bring that up, but Cod doesn't disagree. Great games produce a great brand name that leads to great sales. Simple. Applies for exclusives and Multiplatform games. Halo still would have sold, but when looking back on the original xbox, halo would not have been as big a part of it as it is now. Exclusives matter when choosing a console. When deciding between an xbox and ps2 if there was no halo many would have not bought an xbox, so halo got a lot of attention because of that.

 

[Chibz]

Here's the reason why exclusives happen.

Subsidization from the console-producing company.

That is all.

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

Call of Duty disagrees.

I knew you'd bring that up, but Cod doesn't disagree. Great games produce a great brand name that leads to great sales. Simple. Applies for exclusives and Multiplatform games. Halo still would have sold, but when looking back on the original xbox, halo would not have been as big a part of it as it is now. Exclusives matter when choosing a console. When deciding between an xbox and ps2 if there was no halo many would have not bought an xbox, so halo got a lot of attention because of that.

You can't have it both ways. You're trying to argue that Halo got a lot of attention and sales because it was exclusive, and that Call of Duty got a lot of attention and sales because it was great.

Halo would have still done very well even if it weren't exclusive. It was a great FPS at a time when there just weren't too many of those. Halo did more for MS than MS did for Halo. The fact that it was exclusive helped sell a lot of Xboxes. I don't think the fact that it was exclusive helped its own sales at all.