Console Exclusives: Significance and Impact *spinoff*

[Silent_Buddha]

Sure, exclusives are a selling point if you are interested in the exclusives.

However, there are a lot of console gamers that don't think of exclusives as a do or die thing.

So for example, people will value one or more of the following examples more or less than others. This is in no particular order, nor is it an exhaustive list.

• Exclusives.
• 3rd party games.
• Controller configuration (which analog stick configuration they prefer).
• Backwards compatibility.
• Rental service (EA Access, Xbox Game Pass)
• Cross buy (MS play anywhere)
• What console are their friends on?

Sure, Exclusives probably rank more highly with more people than Cross Buy or Backwards Compatibility, but those likely matter more than Exclusives to X number of console owners or potential buyers.

I know people that buy PS or Xbox purely because they can't stand playing on the other controller.

I know people that buy consoles X only for exclusives and play all 3rd parties on a different platform. For example I know a few people that have a PS for exclusives but do not buy or play any 3rd party multiplatform games on PS. This is, of course, far more rare than a person that plays most or all of their games on PS.

I know one person in RL that bought an Xbox One purely for EA Access.

The point I'm making is that Exclusives are definitely a selling point, but it isn't the only one and depending on the person it may not rate that highly in their purchase making decisions.

IMO - in terms of importance of exclusives relative to use base.

1. Nintendo by far has the most people that buy their systems due to exclusives. There's no argument that can be made here for any other platform.
2. PlayStation
3. Xbox

PS4 got such a huge lead this generation, not due to exclusives, IMO. But due to a good combination of: it was cheaper and had the better versions of multiplat games. Launch exclusives for both platforms were pretty terrible., although fans will claim otherwise. For instance I saw Killzone panned by many people that were new to PS but praised by people who have owned every single PS ever made. Then throw in MS absolutely bork their marketing of XBO before the start of the generation and Sony was handed this generation of consoles on a platter.

Now that it's later in the generation. Exclusives definitely play a role in keeping interest in the console. This obviously applies to PS4 more than XBO, but still applies to the XBO to a limited degree. But again, it isn't the ONLY thing getting people interested in X console.

Regards,
SB

 

[djskribbles]

PS4 got such a huge lead this generation, not due to exclusives, IMO. But due to a good combination of: it was cheaper and had the better versions of multiplat games. Launch exclusives for both platforms were pretty terrible., although fans will claim otherwise. For instance I saw Killzone panned by many people that were new to PS but praised by people who have owned every single PS ever made. Then throw in MS absolutely bork their marketing of XBO before the start of the generation and Sony was handed this generation of consoles on a platter.

Now that it's later in the generation. Exclusives definitely play a role in keeping interest in the console. This obviously applies to PS4 more than XBO, but still applies to the XBO to a limited degree. But again, it isn't the ONLY thing getting people interested in X console.

Regards,
SB

I disagree with you on the importance of exclusives. Anecdotal experiences are too small of a sample size to judge the overall gaming market.

I feel that a lot of people downplay the importance of exclusives on PS/XB specifically because there are relatively fewer than 3P games, or software sales are dominated by 3P games. But if you look at the big picture, not all gamers have the same tastes, and having more diversity in your library gives gamers more incentive to buy that system over the other.

I know Rangers will disagree with me on this, but IMO the ranking of points to have a successful console are: worldwide brand presence, price and power last.

Sony has 2 of the top 3 best selling consoles ever made, and PS4 is likely to overtake the Wii making them hold the top 3 positions. It's not because they got a huge lead on the competition, or they had the most powerful or cheapest console.

If you look at all console generations, Sony and Nintendo are the only companies (that are still in the console business) that were able to have a strong worldwide brand presence, while XB has always struggled to sell well outside of the US/UK. Why do you think that is?

In my opinion, it's their game libraries. PS systems have always had large and diverse software libraries that appeal to many gamers. PS2 was weaker than XB, X360 had better MP games than PS3, PS4 Pro is weaker than XB1X... yet PS has always sold well across the globe while MS still struggles.

I agree with your ranking of importance of exclusives by platform. People buy Nintendo systems for their exclusives. People buy PS systems for their software library, and it's their exclusives that separate PS from XB.

 

[chris1515]

I disagree with you on the importance of exclusives. Anecdotal experiences are too small of a sample size to judge the overall gaming market.

I feel that a lot of people downplay the importance of exclusives on PS/XB specifically because there are relatively fewer than 3P games, or software sales are dominated by 3P games. But if you look at the big picture, not all gamers have the same tastes, and having more diversity in your library gives gamers more incentive to buy that system over the other.

I know Rangers will disagree with me on this, but IMO the ranking of points to have a successful console are: worldwide brand presence, price and power last.

If you look at all console generations, Sony and Nintendo are the only companies (that are still in the console business) that were able to have a strong worldwide brand presence, while XB has always struggled to sell well outside of the US/UK. Why do you think that is?

In my opinion, it's their game libraries. PS systems have always had large and diverse software libraries that appeal to many gamers. PS2 was weaker than XB, X360 had better MP games than PS3, PS4 Pro is weaker than XB1X... yet PS has always sold well across the globe while MS still struggles.

I agree with your ranking of importance of exclusives by platform. People buy Nintendo systems for their exclusives. People buy PS systems for their software library, and it's their exclusives that separate PS from XB.

I think brand, price are more important than exclusives and power but exclusives are probably more important than power. After it depends of the country, type of gamer but in continental Europe PS4 Pro sold better than Xbox One X... Power is more important to Xbox core gamers than Playstation one in my mind... It comes from the OG Xbox...

https://gamingbolt.com/god-of-war-will-be-more-narrative-focused-according-to-sony

“It’s a franchise that has historically acutely underperformed in Europe,” Ryan said. “Hack and slash games tend to not do so well in Europe, so the narrative this time around will make a big difference. European gamers love narrative games.

God of War underperformed in Europe because it was not narratives enough for example. And in Europe Sony exclusive are very important...

Uncharted sales in US are ok but very good in Europe...

The Xbox brand is good in US probably better than the Playstation brand but Playstation brand probably grow since this study in 2015...

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/no-stranger-to-the-video-game-most-eighth-generation-gamers-have-previously-owned-consoles.html

 

[djskribbles]

I think brand, price are more important than exclusives and power but exclusives are probably more important than power.

My point was that PS has a strong brand presence because of their large and diverse software library; exclusives are tied into that. Their exclusives are what separates them from the competition, and they have always had a strong lineup with the large majority of them selling extremely well.

But yeah, the diversity within their exclusive lineup is also pretty large, which again makes PS systems appealing to all types of gamers.

 

[MrFox]

Gamer A: Favorite games are often first parties, also loves the best multiplatforms.
Gamer B: Favorite games are the same multiplats as gamer A, and never played the first parties he speaks of.

"Oh I haven't played this game, is it any good?" would be a great question from gamer B, if he actually wanted to understand why some games have such critical acclaim. But no. He will just claim the grapes are sour anyway.

Spoiler

I aimed for comedic value, don't take this too seriously

 

[wco81]

What is 3P or 1P game?

 

[BRiT]

I'll take a stab...

1P = First Party
3P = Third Party

 

[MrFox]

It's a universal game rating system to categorize the quality of the game.

1P is first grade games, the best games available.
3P is third grade games, kind of good, but not as good as 1P.

 

[BRiT]

OMFG.

 

[iroboto]

If this was in response to DrJay24's post, asking why anyone would buy an X over a Pro if they owned an XB1, then I understand

I've always found Mrcorbo to be pretty impartial in these types of discussions. So we've all been responding to DrJay24's OP here. I don't think any of us are here to win any debates as to why an XBO person should upgrade to X1X, but we wanted to offer a point of view of why they might. Fairly, everyone has their own reasons for doing so and it's often much more complicated than simply reducing it down. We could get into tons of arguments about disposable income and having to rebuild a library or a friends list, general familiarity etc. I think we could brainstorm a million reasons why XBO players should buy into PS4 for their second console, and the reality is that those upgraders did not - and it's not because they can't put 2+2 together, or that they lack intelligence; they've likely thought it out just as much. But to immediately dart to "brand loyalty" is... like treating xbox players with contempt because they don't agree with a similar point of view.

The exclusives argument currently seems very one-sided, which is why it's being presented as a significant USP in the value proposition. Unlike last gen which was very much six-of-one, half-a-dozen-of-the-other, going forwards we have a clear title advantage for PS4, just as XB1X has a performance advantage.

Well said and I agree with this. There are some caveats though to this statement.

In my opinion, it's their game libraries. PS systems have always had large and diverse software libraries that appeal to many gamers. PS2 was weaker than XB, X360 had better MP games than PS3, PS4 Pro is weaker than XB1X... yet PS has always sold well across the globe while MS still struggles.

So in Xbox's failure to reach international appeal, it's really hamstrung MS in it's diversity library. We're looking at Sony here, and they have developers and players in all 3 markets. MS will never see exclusives from Japan, because Xbox is just not bought there. It's a problem that I don't know if they can rectify, but a problem that they are facing heavily.
Which leads to me to crux of the OP. A lot of DrJay24's commentary is lost on the xbox community, because by default if you wanted to play a lot of Japanese games, you only had 1 console that could do it.

So that really just filtered the xbox population with players who love eSports and MP competitive shooters. The market that MS serves with their 1P titles. We've seen some japanese titles arrive on xbox, none have really done exceptionally well, MHW is probably the best I think. So by default, there is not really demand for them in the xbox player population list, and thus, not really a care that they are missing out on those smaller JPN exclusives.

Looking forward, I think it's why we MS see them moving towards platform development, more power, and more MP. I don't think they'll ever break into the Japanese market. There are few companies that have, like Apple, whose products are quite Japanese like. The xbox platform, the games, and the hardware is nothing like that. it really is a western machine; en light of that, I suspect that mouse and keyboard games onto xbox is easier and more beneficial instead of trying to get more Japanese developers the traditional way.

 

[chris1515]

I've always found Mrcorbo to be pretty impartial in these types of discussions. So we've all been responding to DrJay24's OP here. I don't think any of us are here to win any debates as to why an XBO person should upgrade to X1X, but we wanted to offer a point of view of why they might. Fairly, everyone has their own reasons for doing so and it's often much more complicated than simply reducing it down. We could get into tons of arguments about disposable income and having to rebuild a library or a friends list, general familiarity etc. I think we could brainstorm a million reasons why XBO players should buy into PS4 for their second console, and the reality is that those upgraders did not - and it's not because they can't put 2+2 together, or that they lack intelligence; they've likely thought it out just as much. But to immediately dart to "brand loyalty" is... like treating xbox players with contempt because they don't agree with a similar point of view.

Well said and I agree with this. There are some caveats though to this statement.


So in Xbox's failure to reach international appeal, it's really hamstrung MS in it's diversity library. We're looking at Sony here, and they have developers and players in all 3 markets. MS will never see exclusives from Japan, because Xbox is just not bought there. It's a problem that I don't know if they can rectify, but a problem that they are facing heavily.
Which leads to me to crux of the OP. A lot of DrJay24's commentary is lost on the xbox community, because by default if you wanted to play a lot of Japanese games, you only had 1 console that could do it.

So that really just filtered the xbox population with players who love eSports and MP competitive shooters. The market that MS serves with their 1P titles. We've seen some japanese titles arrive on xbox, none have really done exceptionally well, MHW is probably the best I think. So by default, there is not really demand for them in the xbox player population list, and thus, not really a care that they are missing out on those smaller JPN exclusives.

Looking forward, I think it's why we MS see them moving towards platform development, more power, and more MP. I don't think they'll ever break into the Japanese market. There are few companies that have, like Apple, whose products are quite Japanese like. The xbox platform, the games, and the hardware is nothing like that. it really is a western machine; en light of that, I suspect that mouse and keyboard games onto xbox is easier and more beneficial instead of trying to get more Japanese developers the traditional way.

Japanese exclusive game help to gain marketshare in Japan, France and to a lesser extent Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and probably other European country...

Ni no Kuni 2 was first in France for the week release it is the country where anime culture is the biggest behind Japan...

Narrative oriented game are liked by European from what Jim Ryan told, he was head of European marketing... And it is a type of game where Sony had the best offer...

But the biggest advantage of Sony is the brand without some fucked up idea like the 599 dollars/euros they will always come on top in continental Europe... Xbox is the console some people will buy if Sony do something stupid but even with bad decision like 599 PS3 and a console with less beautiful multiplatform game they sold much more console than Microsoft in Europe and the rest of the world...

In 2011 Microsoft only sold 13,7 millions of 360 in Europe and Africa with 8 millions in UK...

Edit: But at least they will have most or maybe all the Bandai Namco game on Xbox Because Julien Merceron* the technical director hate exclusivity... You will not find on internet it is a guy I know working for a studio doing a game for Sony in Amsterdam told me... Ni no Kuni 2 it is a commercial décision but maybe one day it will arrive on Xbox...

* If it was him doing all decision all game will launch on PS4, Xbox and PC at the same time and if possible with a Switch version...

 

[Shifty Geezer]

If you look at all console generations, Sony and Nintendo are the only companies (that are still in the console business) that were able to have a strong worldwide brand presence, while XB has always struggled to sell well outside of the US/UK. Why do you think that is?

In my opinion, it's their game libraries. PS systems have always had large and diverse software libraries that appeal to many gamers. PS2 was weaker than XB, X360 had better MP games than PS3, PS4 Pro is weaker than XB1X... yet PS has always sold well across the globe while MS still struggles.

These two are self-re-enforcing. Having an international brand means more titles which means a strong brand for game diversity. Failing in Japan probably means a lot less Japanese developer interest on XB, which counts for quite a bit. We saw last gen with LO and BD that Japan can't be 'bought' despite major kudos from MS for trying. It has to be won, and who knows how to do that? Hard to discuss without falling on crazy Japanese stereotypes!

 

[Deleted member 11852]

What he is saying is that 3P games have great competing products and effectively act as good substitutes.

When you can't play a game you want to play, nothing is a good substitute unless you're looking for literally anything to fill the playtime void. When I wanted to play through the Halo games so I need an Xbox to do that. CoD, KIllzone or any other shooter were not good substitutes. The same is true for any exclusive.

 

[chris1515]

When you can't play a game you want to play, nothing is a good substitute unless you're looking for literally anything to fill the playtime void. When I wanted to play through the Halo games so I need an Xbox to do that. CoD, KIllzone or any other shooter were not good substitutes. The same is true for any exclusive.

I agree for MP game but I don't like mp game for example and my console of choice is the PS4 because Sony focus on Single player is the way to go imo. Single player games are more expensive to do than last generation and take longer to make 5 to 6 years for going to a new genre or redefining a franchise like God if War and at least three years for a project like UC 4 or TLOU 2. Out of CD Projekt, Rockstar and Ubi Soft not so much emphasis on single player AAA. CD Projekt and Rockstar will only launch two games per generation.. ND will only launch two games this generation, Sony Santa Monica one because of the cancelled project, Sucker Punch only two, Kojima production only two, Guerrilla Games only two or three(KZ SF, Horizon Zero Dawn and Maybe Horizon 2 as a cross gen game...), Collaboration with From Software maybe one or two or three games(VR armored Core?), ICO team only one game maybe another one?, Sony bend only one game, Quantic Dreams only one game, Insomniac two games (Ratchet and Clank and Spiderman)...

Ubi soft launch more game with Assassin's Creed, Watchdogs and Far Cry but they needed to change to a three years development cycle to have good quality single player open world game(I have AC Origins and it is pretty good).... And Square Enix have Tomb Raider franchise... Id software have Doom and Wolfenstein...

And all the 3rd party Japanese game are on Sony machine...

But PS4 3rd party western single player are not releasing very often and they can't replace Sony single player focus... And out of CD Projekt and Rockstar with very long development cycle, the Ubi soft project are often behind the best Sony single player in metacritic(Bloodborne, Uncharted 4, UC the Lost Legacy, Horizon Zero Dawn, Ratchet and Clank, The Last Guardian, probably God of war hearing rumors from the industry reviewer, maybe Ghost of Tsushima, maybe TLOU 2, maybe Death Stranding...).

Ubi soft have pretty good open world single player game. But they will never have GOTY contender like Sony, Nintendo, CD Projekt, Rockstar... I think it is a question of budget and time of development...

For mp 3rd party game are enough...

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I agree for MP game but I don't like mp game for example and my console of choice is the PS4 because Sony focus on Single player is the way to go imo.

I don't do multiplayer either, I'm only playing single player games.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

These two are self-re-enforcing. Having an international brand means more titles which means a strong brand for game diversity. Failing in Japan probably means a lot less Japanese developer interest on XB, which counts for quite a bit. We saw last gen with LO and BD that Japan can't be 'bought' despite major kudos from MS for trying. It has to be won, and who knows how to do that? Hard to discuss without falling on crazy Japanese stereotypes!

Well there is some veracity in the whole Japanese avoidance of non-Japanese consoles. At least back when the Xbox and X360 launched. Both of which had Japanese exclusives, not all of which were paid for by Microsoft. Team Ninja, for example was Xbox exclusive for a while (DOA 3&4, DOA extreme volleyball 1&2, and Ninja Gaiden). Ninja Gaiden Sigma/Plus was eventually released on PS3/VITA many years after the original Xbox version and after some shuffling with management.

While those titles performed well in other territories, it didn't do so well in Japan due to Japanese reluctance to buy a western console even if it had a game they really wanted. This is despite those IPs being relatively popular in Japan. Both DOA and DOA 2 did quite well. DOA 3 and 4 didn't do well in Japan, again due to the Japanese reluctance to buy a western console at the time. DOAX 3, did significantly better than DOAX 1 and 2 as it was released exclusively for PS4/Vita. IE - there was always a desire in Japan to play DOAX, but only if it wasn't on a western platform.

Of course the few Japanese that did get an Xbox and X360 for the DOA and DOAX series became big fans of the console.

Things of course change, and the release of the iPhone was a big one in getting Japanse to be more accepting of western electronics. The Japanese were extremely reluctant to buy an iPhone when it was first introduced into the market. Even with heavy subsidies the Japanese market wasn't accepting of the iPhone (it was being given away for free for a while in order to get them out of the carrier's hands). After the first year sales and interest started to pick up, and now it is doing quite well there.

It does make me wonder if Microsoft would have launched Xbox in Japan in the current environment there without the tainted past of the Xbox and X360, if it would do significantly better with the exclusives they did have from Japanese developers.

Regards,
SB

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Well there is some veracity in the whole Japanese avoidance of non-Japanese consoles.

There have been very few non-Japanese consoles to test that theory.

It does make me wonder if Microsoft would have launched Xbox in Japan in the current environment there without the tainted past of the Xbox and X360, if it would do significantly better with the exclusives they did have from Japanese developers.

Thing is, they don't need a new console, so it's understandable that they aren't interested in a new contender. Same in Europe on the whole. In the US, there was a market for a clear Americanised console with Americanised IP and Americanised branding, I think, so XB got a foothold.

If MS had produced Switch and populated it with Nintendo like games (quality and gameplay) and supported it with Nintendo-like marketing, it'd probably have faired very well.

 

[djskribbles]

So in Xbox's failure to reach international appeal, it's really hamstrung MS in it's diversity library. We're looking at Sony here, and they have developers and players in all 3 markets. MS will never see exclusives from Japan, because Xbox is just not bought there. It's a problem that I don't know if they can rectify, but a problem that they are facing heavily.
Which leads to me to crux of the OP. A lot of DrJay24's commentary is lost on the xbox community, because by default if you wanted to play a lot of Japanese games, you only had 1 console that could do it.

So that really just filtered the xbox population with players who love eSports and MP competitive shooters. The market that MS serves with their 1P titles. We've seen some japanese titles arrive on xbox, none have really done exceptionally well, MHW is probably the best I think. So by default, there is not really demand for them in the xbox player population list, and thus, not really a care that they are missing out on those smaller JPN exclusives.

Looking forward, I think it's why we MS see them moving towards platform development, more power, and more MP. I don't think they'll ever break into the Japanese market. There are few companies that have, like Apple, whose products are quite Japanese like. The xbox platform, the games, and the hardware is nothing like that. it really is a western machine; en light of that, I suspect that mouse and keyboard games onto xbox is easier and more beneficial instead of trying to get more Japanese developers the traditional way.

Yeah it will be difficult for MS to branch out, but I think the X360 was on the right track. But instead of building on what made X360 work, they shifted their focus to TV/entertainment and their 1P output fell off. The launch price was also too high and the HW was lacking.

Phil seems to have shifted the focus back to gaming. I believe he has also stated that they plan to recommit to 1P again; personally I think it would be a mistake not to.

I don't think they necessarily need to secure more Japanese games, or make games appealing to the Japanese market. They just need to put more money towards their 1P output, have a more steady stream of 1P games, and market the shit out of them like they used to. Give gamers a reason to buy your console over the competition.

They most likely will never be successful in Japan, but they can at least sell better in EUR. I expect XB1 to sell ~55-60M whereas X360 sold ~85M... the large majority of those lost sales were from EUR.

 

[egoless]

In short, Joe Gamer has a choice between XB1X offering 100% game quality in their favourite third party games, or 4Pro offering 80% game quality in their favourite third party games and dozens more unique experiences.

Which was ironically the case of base PS4 (the 100% in your scenario) and base Xbox One (80%) from launch and until PS4 exclusives picked up. So we know that argument doesn't hold, because of reasons*.

*Reasons include power narrative, physical box size, physical disc importance, bandaras gif....

 

[BRiT]

*Reasons include power narrative, physical box size, physical disc importance, bandaras gif....

Ah yes, including of course internal power supply.