PS4 And Xbox One Have An 'Exclusive' Problem
Thoughts?
Given that Sony has given us such exclusive classics in the past like Metal Gear Solid, Shadow of the Colossus, Heavy Rain and God of War, it’s a strange place to be. An if we’re being honest, Infamous is really only “good” in a sea of bad-to-mediocre titles.
Lastly, of course, we have Uncharted 4, the only weapon in Sony’s arsenal that seems like it could have the potential to be the kind of game-changing uber-blockbuster they need. So far, the visuals and gameplay that demos have put on display are impressive, but Uncharted 4 comes with a fair amount of baggage with much of the core team of the series leaving during production, including game director Justin Richmond and series writer Amy Hennig. The game was taken over by The Last of Us duo Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley, certainly a capable team, but a somewhat unsettling departure for the series all the same.
And after that? Microsoft kicked off the Disappointment Party that made up most of 2014 with the release of Titanfall, a game that was hyped by them, fans, and the press right up until the moment of its release. Despite quality shooter mechanics, the game itself was content-sparse, offering only a select few multiplayer modes and an anemic “campaign” that was simply a string of multiplayer matches with radio voiceovers. Though Respawn worked tirelessly to add more to the game in time, it’s hard to think of Titanfall as success at this point and its sales numbers have never been publicly discussed.
All of this leads to 2015, where Microsoft has not yet had their own “The Order” style let-down (though many refer to The Order as Sony’s Ryse). But again, their exclusive line-up for this year seems heavily reliant on one title, and seems to have no “sure things.”
So that leaves Microsoft’s Uncharted-equivalent, Halo 5, which seems to be the only true potential blockbuster in their line-up. Halo 5 has debuted with an impressive beta that seems to show 343 is returning to the roots of what made the series great, and yet the game still can’t reside safely in the “sure thing” category, given how badly the developer has mangled The Master Chief Collection. No matter how great Halo 5 could be, a botched launch that’s even half as bad as MCC’s will be an utter disaster for the game, and in turn, Microsoft.
Nintendo, of course, exists on its own little island where it continues to pump out quality first party releases that are among the best games of the year, every year. But the paradox there still makes many hesitant to buy a Wii U, as you’re trading every single other third party game to have access to Nintendo’s catalog. It’s why the Wii U still exists best as a supplementary system, which is not a great place to be in the market.
Thoughts?