What would the gaming industry look like without exclusives?

[stroopwafel]

Would Bloodborne be considered the highest quality entry in the SoulsBorne series if Bandai Namco headed its development?

Bloodborne wouldn't exist without being an exclusive as the concept was actually Sony's idea. And if Sony made it without From, it probably wouldn't be a Souls game then. Although if there wasn't exclusives then it probably wouldn't have gotten made because Sony probably wouldn't even be a game publisher/developer.

From what I understand Bloodborne originated from Yoshida making it up to Miyazaki. Yoshida considered Demon's Souls garbage and if Atlus didn't secure the publishing rights it would have probably not been released in the first place. Ofcourse, Demon's became a cult hit b/c word of mouth and spawned the highly succesful Dark Souls series. After this I think Yoshida really respected Miyazaki's vision and this allowed the budget for From and Japan Studio to make Bloodborne.

No company likes to gamble with a new IP but Bamco also greenlighted Dark Souls at a time this type of game was still a much riskier endeavour. Elden Ring, From's 'biggest game to date' is also published by Bamco. So, I don't think if Bloodborne wasn't exclusive and the idea was pitched to Bamco they'd reject it altogether. I think it's more likely that the game couldn't be made without the in-house support of Japan Studio, which are really good at technical and engine stuff and had experience working with From. Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3 uses same engine as Demon's and Bloodborne respectively. I mean, before their collaboration with SCEJ From's games weren't exactly the greatest. They really owe their success to Demon's Souls and primarily Miyazaki salvaging that project.

What would distinguish one console from another if not for exclusives? It sells the system. Even if gaming eventually moved to subscription based streaming service there would still be a need for platform exclusive content. I mean, it's pretty much common knowledge Microsoft has done comparitively weaker this gen b/c of a lack of 'must play' exclusives and why Sony is so succesful with the PS4.

 

[CritialGaming]

That would be because the Xbox One has nothing to recommend it over the PS4. It doesn't have unique control methods, it's not more powerful, it doesn't have online functions the PS4 doesn't, it doesn't have anything. Exclusives would just force people to buy a vastly inferior console for no good reason.

Which is why exclusive work. The Playstation is the weaker console between it and the Xbone, so why is it so vastly more popular and successful? The simple answer is exclusives. Because Sony invested in making quality experiences solely for their system, they gained an appeal that the Xbox could not keep up with due to Microsofts decision to have no exclusives whatsoever. The few games that were committed to Xbox all got thrown on PC and anyone who had a choice between playing Halo, Gears, Forza on PC would do so over getting a Xbox that certainly doesn't hold a candle to a PC's power.

I myself am a mostly PC gamer. If the game is on PC, I get it there everytime. But I have a Playstation 4, why? Because Bloodborne is a game, Horizon Zero Dawn, Persona 5, God of War, etc etc etc. Not only did Sony make exclusives, they made GOOD exclusives. Which is something Microsoft seemed unwilling to invest in. Perhaps they desided not to spend the money after the Xbone reveal disaster but i don't think that's why. It just seems like Xbox gave up on this generation entirely for whatever reason.

 

[CaitSeith]

That would be because the Xbox One has nothing to recommend it over the PS4. It doesn't have unique control methods, it's not more powerful, it doesn't have online functions the PS4 doesn't, it doesn't have anything. Exclusives would just force people to buy a vastly inferior console for no good reason.

Which is why exclusive work. The Playstation is the weaker console between it and the Xbone, so why is it so vastly more popular and successful? The simple answer is exclusives. Because Sony invested in making quality experiences solely for their system, they gained an appeal that the Xbox could not keep up with due to Microsofts decision to have no exclusives whatsoever. The few games that were committed to Xbox all got thrown on PC and anyone who had a choice between playing Halo, Gears, Forza on PC would do so over getting a Xbox that certainly doesn't hold a candle to a PC's power.

I myself am a mostly PC gamer. If the game is on PC, I get it there everytime. But I have a Playstation 4, why? Because Bloodborne is a game, Horizon Zero Dawn, Persona 5, God of War, etc etc etc. Not only did Sony make exclusives, they made GOOD exclusives. Which is something Microsoft seemed unwilling to invest in. Perhaps they desided not to spend the money after the Xbone reveal disaster but i don't think that's why. It just seems like Xbox gave up on this generation entirely for whatever reason.

Give credit where credit is due. The developer studios made the games, not Sony.

 

[CritialGaming]

Give credit where credit is due. The developer studios made the games, not Sony.

Well yes, but Sony gave them the money and the time to develop something good. And it doesn't always work out, ie. Order 1886.

Microsoft might also give developers time, but possibly not money, I don't really know how to explain Quantum Break, Recore, Sunset Overdrive, Crackdown3 (which surely had a fuck load of time).

Sunset Overdrive was even done by the same people behind Sony's Spider-Man, so if the developer is the same what did Sony do differently than yielded a far better game?

Same thing for Remedy why was Control so much better than QB? Sure QB tried to do something different, and maybe all the money went into the shitty TV show part of the game, but still, clearly the developer is capable of making awesome stuff so something under Microsoft's direction hurts these studios and the games they produce for them.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Decent video [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLnZYUMfV4s] on why Sony has more exclusives. Also a good article [https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2017/02/21/the-exclusive-gap-between-ps4-and-xbox-one-has-become-a-canyon/] to further reinforce what Sony is doing right with their in house teams. It?s like a nurturing ecosystem where the only prerequisite besides talent and work ethic is having a deep love for the video game medium.

 

[I can't enter my old name]

Just make everything a timed exclusive.

Exclusives drive console sales to some degree, but Xbox has no exclusives worth mentioning, and they generate billions in revenue off of a rentier scam called Xbox Live.

 

[Strelok]

Just make everything a timed exclusive.

I think we'll be seeing a lot more of that now.

Rumors that Horizon: Zero Dawn is the next PS4 exclusive to go to PC.

https://www.gamesradar.com/horizon-zero-dawn-pc-release-hinted-at-by-insider-who-predicted-the-same-thing-for-death-stranding/

https://screenrant.com/horizon-zero-dawn-pc-release-date-rumor-february/

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Just make everything a timed exclusive.

I think we'll be seeing a lot more of that now.

Rumors that Horizon: Zero Dawn is the next PS4 exclusive to go to PC.

https://www.gamesradar.com/horizon-zero-dawn-pc-release-hinted-at-by-insider-who-predicted-the-same-thing-for-death-stranding/

https://screenrant.com/horizon-zero-dawn-pc-release-date-rumor-february/

But on which distribution platform?

 

[Silvanus]

Why are people almost exclusively discussing developer control/ budget? You can have a game developed by a single studio with full control, even an in-house one at a platform holder like Sony or Nintendo, without it being exclusive.

The two are connected, but they're not inextricable.

 

[votemarvel]

Exclusives are disgusting, and if they didn't exist we'd have consoles with very different specifications and capabilities all competing to grab the attention of consumers.

May I offer an alternative but somewhat darker scenario?

If every game was on every console then the consumer would flock to the company that could provide the cheapest hardware.

Say Microsoft released their hardware at $199 when everyone else was releasing their own at $299, who the hell would pay the extra $100 for the hardware from the other companies? Sure gimmicks would pull in some people but for most the opportunity to play the latest generation of games for a $100 less would be a very big pull.

Microsoft are now outselling their rivals by a huge margin, potentially forcing one or more of them out of business. They can now start to apply pressure to the publishers and developers to favour Xbox Live connectivity or perhaps they don't like that piece of content in the game you've submitted for approval, it'd be a shame if you couldn't release it on the best selling system...wouldn't it!

Inside one generation Microsoft now control the console gaming market. Be a shame if anything happened to the PC.

Yes of course that is outlandish but it's just as valid as your own interpretation. Exclusives have a purpose, even if most of us don't like it.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Exclusives are disgusting, and if they didn't exist we'd have consoles with very different specifications and capabilities all competing to grab the attention of consumers.

May I offer an alternative but somewhat darker scenario?

If every game was on every console then the consumer would flock to the company that could provide the cheapest hardware.

Say Microsoft released their hardware at $199 when everyone else was releasing their own at $299, who the hell would pay the extra $100 for the hardware from the other companies? Sure gimmicks would pull in some people but for most the opportunity to play the latest generation of games for a $100 less would be a very big pull.

Microsoft are now outselling their rivals by a huge margin, potentially forcing one or more of them out of business. They can now start to apply pressure to the publishers and developers to favour Xbox Live connectivity or perhaps they don't like that piece of content in the game you've submitted for approval, it'd be a shame if you couldn't release it on the best selling system...wouldn't it!

Inside one generation Microsoft now control the console gaming market. Be a shame if anything happened to the PC.

Yes of course that is outlandish but it's just as valid as your own interpretation. Exclusives have a purpose, even if most of us don't like it.

Just like how there's only 1 brand of crackers or 1 brand of soda or 1 brand of X because it's the cheapest, therefore it ran out all the other ones out of business trying to compete with it and nobody can get a foothold in the market because that 1 brand is already selling it for as little as possible.

No. Cost is not the be all and end all, and if it was then the reaction of the other console makers would be to lower their own prices in order to compete better. People buy things because they prefer them since they are better in some way than the rest or provide something the others don't, cost is rarely if ever the sole reason anyone buys something. If anything you said could be even remotely viable in any scenario free market couldn't even exist. Exclusives have no purpose except to ensure that none of these console makers need to make any real effort to compete with each other on the merits of the console itself, just on whatever exclusive games they've happened to snap up or make themselves.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Exclusives are disgusting, and if they didn't exist we'd have consoles with very different specifications and capabilities all competing to grab the attention of consumers.

May I offer an alternative but somewhat darker scenario?

If every game was on every console then the consumer would flock to the company that could provide the cheapest hardware.

Say Microsoft released their hardware at $199 when everyone else was releasing their own at $299, who the hell would pay the extra $100 for the hardware from the other companies? Sure gimmicks would pull in some people but for most the opportunity to play the latest generation of games for a $100 less would be a very big pull.

Microsoft are now outselling their rivals by a huge margin, potentially forcing one or more of them out of business. They can now start to apply pressure to the publishers and developers to favour Xbox Live connectivity or perhaps they don't like that piece of content in the game you've submitted for approval, it'd be a shame if you couldn't release it on the best selling system...wouldn't it!

Inside one generation Microsoft now control the console gaming market. Be a shame if anything happened to the PC.

Yes of course that is outlandish but it's just as valid as your own interpretation. Exclusives have a purpose, even if most of us don't like it.

So, if I save that $100, what am I not getting in the cheaper console?