Let’s face it. At one point or another you have probably bragged to a friend that your console had this super awesome game that his or her console did not have. Exclusives are bragging rights that make us feel superior to other gamers. It is a nice feeling, but one that is ultimately stabbing us in the back. All exclusives are doing is forcing us to pay more money to own all the consoles in order to play all of the games. If a hardcore Halo fan wants to play a game in the Uncharted series, he better fork over the 300 dollars to get a Playstation 3 just to be able to play the game.
The worst part of this system is that it turns buying consoles into a blind guessing game. I remember first getting a Playstation 3 in 2009, and realizing that it boasted a smaller library of games compared to Xbox 360. Playstation 3 eventually caught up to the Xbox 360, but people who bought the Xbox 360 during the beginning of this console generation probably found themselves with more to play. However, with the release of games such as The Last of Us, many consumers may want to turn to Playstation 3. In reality, we have no idea who will have the best exclusives, but we want to own the console that does.
Sunset Overdrive
Now, this seems to be a wonderful tie-in to the approaching wave of new consoles and exclusives. Which should we choose? I find myself to enjoy Forza and Sunset Overdrive has a very appealing art style. This makes Xbox One seem like a clear fit for me. What if that doesn’t work out? What if Killzone: Shadowfall turns out to be the game of a generation that I missed out on by choosing Xbox One? The developers can brag about the games till kingdom come but until we play them for ourselves we will be unable to judge their quality. Right now, many people feel that Playstation 4 is the clear choice between the next generation consoles. Will this still be true three years from now?
Killzone: Shadow Fall
The sad truth is that exclusives are benefiting the console manufacturers more than they are benefiting us. I am not saying that exclusives need to go away completely. Having a few franchises to market your console isn’t the worst thing ever. However, consumers need to feel confident that they are not about to waste hundreds of dollars. The solution is not to do away with exclusives, but to simply do away with prioritizing exclusives in order to market your console. The point of gaming is to relax, not give yourself a headache deciding whether or not you want Killzone more than Halo.
