Now that the unthinkable has happened I figured I may as well bring this up, because now that development costs for games are skyrocketing and that no matter what platform you are exclusive on seems like risky business unless you are Rockstar games or something, it seems that "exclusive" will be a long forgotten word by the time the next consoles come out, and in all likelihood chances are, everything is just going to get more expensive.

Although Xbox has been trying hard to nab exclusive DLC so maybe that will be the change, instead of exclusive games, downloadable content will be exclusive to each system, instead of full games, or at least "Timed" exclusives, like UT3, Orange Box, and Mass Effect.

I've always hated the concept of exclusives, restricting people from playing a game on their system of choice, and forcing them to buy the other system to play a game, just never appealed to me - so I can only see this as a good thing. I know some elitists will say "that's selling out to casuals" but that's just something we'll have to get use to because casuals are just a big part of the market and I doubt exclusives will be able to reach "all the casuals".

There will be exclusives as long as the console manufacturers are willing to pay for exclusives.

I hope with all my heart that there will still be exclusive games. That keeps competition going. Exclusive DLC won't be the same as a game that is exclusive to your system, and the only benefit I can think of is a possible drop in games prices (but not a significant amount) and less raging fanboys.

I'm sure, but the number is going to dwindle.

Is it really the exclusives that keep competition going or does it just add to it? I've noticed (but I could be wrong) that it's really just the initial cost of a system that is the heart of what makes people buy a system over another, and hell, the way Microsoft is cornering so much with exclusives and trying to get as much exclusive stuff as possible just doesn't sit well with me, since it's so easy for them to bleed out billions of dollars they could easily pull an "EA" and just try to get so much that it pretty much forces you to buy the system, but would still not be considered a "monopoly" since they don't actually have everything - just like their OS market.

If anything I'd see that less exclusives would make competition even more fiery because they can't boast about having a certain game that the other doesn't have, and it wouldn't put the 3rd party at a disadvantage because they can develop for as many systems as they want.

I agree wholehartedly, exclusives damage the entire industry

You know what's funny? I was just thinking about exclusives, and what do I discover, but that "Final Fantasy XIII" is coming to the XBOX 360 (As you put, but since you didn't directly say it, people will just skim, so I'm reiterating). That's right (people who don't know). It's not exclusive anymore. I don't know about Versus XIII. So, in relation to losing excluisivety, well, here's some proof for ya!

http://www.gametrailers.com/viewnews.php?id=6161

Funny thing is, I hate Final Fantasy, but I've knds been looking forward to this one. Probably wouldn't buy it, but maybe rent it? Or get it when the price goes down. Meh, who cares. Either way, the sony Fanboys/Fangirls are freaking out right now.

Well, if we didn't have exclusives then what would be the point of consoles?

If we didn't have exclusives, we would have one whole console. Which do you think is better, 3 consoles constantly trying to innovate and come out better than it's competition or one consoles and the equivilant of the game crash?

If we didn't have exclusives, then we probably wouldn't have advancements in console technology and better games. That's what i think anyway.

Nintendo will always have Mario and other related games that they will never allow others to use.

There will always be exclusives, but it will be limited to 1st party i.e nintendo will only make games for nintendo.

It just doesn't make any sense for a 3rd party to limit a game to one console unless there's a significant hardware limitation. (I don't think we are going to be seeing FFXIII on the Wii)

I think we will however see more things like console bonuses, stuff like the extra characters in Soul Caliber, or exclusive DLC

I dunno, Exclusives are GOOD for consoles, but BAD for Game Companies, by going multi-platform you offset your development cost with a greater purchasing base.

Jumplion:
Well, if we didn't have exclusives then what would be the point of consoles?

If we didn't have exclusives, we would have one whole console. Which do you think is better, 3 consoles constantly trying to innovate and come out better than it's competition or one consoles and the equivilant of the game crash?

If we didn't have exclusives, then we probably wouldn't have advancements in console technology and better games. That's what i think anyway.

If that's the case, then why do PC games play (minimum requirements in mind) on all PCs? Or going on a slighty different tangent, why don't some DVDs play on Philips DVD players, and some on Samsung ones?

Console exclusives are just such a stupid idea. All they're good for is provoking needless console wars among idiots with not enough brain cells to fill an egg cup. Devs going multi-platform means good things for me. They generate the revenue they need to keep making games, everyone has the chance to play a good game without forking out an extra couple of hundred pounds to do so, and the medium as a whole loses the childish, exclusive attitude that has long kept the average public away from games.

exclusives will be dead as long as the market continues to fragment the user base into 3 seperate console markets.

it's like having 3 different video disc formats.

Hopefully, that way there will be less fanboys, and more happy gamers

Jumplion:
Well, if we didn't have exclusives then what would be the point of consoles?

If we didn't have exclusives, we would have one whole console. Which do you think is better, 3 consoles constantly trying to innovate and come out better than it's competition or one consoles and the equivilant of the game crash?

If we didn't have exclusives, then we probably wouldn't have advancements in console technology and better games. That's what i think anyway.

I'm trying hard to picture that "The loss of exclusives = [what you just said]" but I just can't, maybe I'm dense but first of all I thought the point of consoles was convenience, and then next in line is "not being able to play games on anything else except this system" but now that multiplatform is so common the main difference would have to be the difference in the actual systems and not their game lineup.

Stammer:
Nintendo will always have Mario and other related games that they will never allow others to use.

Well that's just another franchise and another icon, Sonic is getting a game on the 360, and Snake was in super smash bros. - Maybe Nintendo may have to go multiplatform one day, but, I'm only saying that because I'm one of those "hope for the best - prepare for the worst" kind of people.

Well, for me, console exclusives are pretty much the way to judge whether or not to get a console. If that goes, then it's just price. So, the death of exclusives pretty much means I go for the console that'll give me the best value for money.

Frankly, I'm glad that I don't have to fork out $800 for a console and it's nice that I have a bigger selection of games, but this really won't hit me till Square announces Kingdom Hearts 3 for the Xbox 360. Hopefully, with them releasing Final Fantasy XIII on X360, they'll do the same with KH. Hopefully.

stompy:
Well, for me, console exclusives are pretty much the way to judge whether or not to get a console. If that goes, then it's just price. So, the death of exclusives pretty much means I go for the console that'll give me the best value for money.

Frankly, I'm glad that I don't have to fork out $800 for a console and it's nice that I have a bigger selection of games, but this really won't hit me till Square announces Kingdom Hearts 3 for the Xbox 360. Hopefully, with them releasing Final Fantasy XIII on X360, they'll do the same with KH. Hopefully.

Well I'm not sure what it's like in AU except that everything costs too much, but it still seems completely unfair, it just seems like you buy a console and then you get lucky, there's two sides to a story and right now yours is the "Oh thank God I picked the 360, I was afraid I'd have to buy another system" while the other side is thinking "Now my console is a paperweight and if I want to sell it it'll be half the value it use to be" - I know you said "exclusives decide which system I get" but with what it's like in Australia, I'd imagine that the death of exclusives would throw a huge weight off of consumers shoulders in AU - they can buy what they want and not have regrets, or put up a second mortgage.

I just hate exclusives lol, the games industry and journalism seem to be the only things that throw this stuff around. I'm glad the format war ended because even HD-TV and Blu-Ray were having "exclusives".

ZettaSan:
Exclusives are dumb most of the time because it's stupid to limit yourself to one market.

Why do you hate video games so much? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
Anywya, it's called competition. While we as gamers may buy several systems, it doesn't mean the producers are going to make all their games for every system, otherwise there's be less systems.

Anyway. Death of exclusives soon? Not with Fable 2 comming out. If Molyneaux can keep a game console exclusive, why shouldn't anyone else?

I personally think we'll be shifting from "Gotta get more exclusives" to "Gotta get the best features". Both will still be important in the consoles success but I think "exclusives" have started to lose their value.

Bear in mind how they are going to have to cut this thing down to fit on the 360, when it is programmed for the Ps3, and built to fit on Blu-Ray (expect worse graphics and a lot less content for the 360 version). The Wii and the Ps3 have indivdual features that make it difficult for their games to be run on other systems. I do doubt that we'll see the death of exclusives.

Third party exclusives have lost their importantce yes, but not nessecarily first party ones.

Exclusives will remain as long as the power struggle in the console market is dominated by only three powers. It's a rather small number, which means that any one of Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo are well enough off to pay and guarantee a major exclusive title to support their respective consoles.

Nintendo has been doing that as the main marketing point of their consoles are their own recycled franchises, which are exclusive. Their selling power means that if their consoles can play a title, the publishers of said title will be begging Nintendo to include them. Snake and Sonic in Brawl? How much money do you think Nintendo got to do that? They don't even give a shit as they clone their own characters' movesets many times over, and people eat it all up with fervor.

Microsoft's Xbox line has been very successful when it comes to games with high production value, beating out the PS3's line-up by quite a magnitude. While they are not as powerful in the console market as Nintendo are, Microsoft are rich enough from their software business and can always back up the occasional exclusive deal. The popularity of the Xbox 360 alone makes it favorable for publishers to include porting to it on their to-do list.

As for Sony, so far its main console has been out of the competition. I have many friends who have just recently bought a PS3 only because it had MGS4 as an exclusive. Apparently, Sony made a powerful decision to do this, and though they own the only console that comes with a blu-ray player, they will need to beef up their game catalogue to be able to seriously compete with the PS3 in marketshares, let alone Nintendo, who are so far untouchable.

The PS3 is a perfect example of why exclusives will still be around for a long, long time. Business flows in many directions.

Given the amounts of money Mario, Halo, etc. rake in, i think we'll be seeing exclusives for a long time yet.

if there were no exclusives everyone would just buy the cheapest console. Which would make the next console generation just be a contest about who could build a cheaper machine. That doesn't bode well for innovation. If it was like that this generation we would just have 3 wiis on the market and nobody wants that.