The Game Plan 05.11.07: The Death of Exclusives, Part 4
Posted by James McGee on 05.11.2007
We wrap up this series with a look at first-party exclusives...
When I got back into gaming, I chose the Gamecube as my first new console in years. I had always been a Nintendophile, but a lot had changed since the last time I picked up a controller. Sony was the big dog and Microsoft wasn't far behind. So why did I choose that funky little lunchbox that is the Gamecube? Because that was the only place I could play Luigi's Mansion and Resident Evil 0. What that says about my gaming tastes is up for debate, but it proves that exclusives sell consoles.
When I started this whole discussion a few weeks ago, I said that the consumer's decision ultimately came down to which console has the better games. Despite the ability to watch movies, despite any online capabilities, and despite whatever particular gimmick or "x-factor" a company brings to the table, I still believe its all about the games. If the third-party developers are shying away from exclusives, then it's up to the first-parties to pick up the slack. This is one area where there will always be exclusives, because short of Bill Gates gobbling up Sony and Nintendo, there is no way you will ever see Mario bouncing around on the 360, that you'll control Master Chief with the Wiimote, or that Kratos will be saving Princess Peach on the PS3. So which console wins out based on its own batch of original titles? Let's look at the contenders. I am James McGee, and here's The Game Plan.
As I said in an earlier column, the unique nature of the Wii has led to several exclusives already. But after all the cooking simulators and party games are finished, it all comes down to Nintendo's signature characters. With arguably the longest, richest history in video games, they're no slouch in this area. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was the must-have game during the Wii launch—not a big surprise, as the franchise has consistently been one of the greatest to ever grace the small screen. Metroid Prime 3 will bring buxom-bounty hunter Samus back into action, and considering the last two games in the series were some of the best and most beautiful the Gamecube had to offer, many fans are frothing at the opportunity to aim Samus's signature arm-cannon with the Wiimote. But if you're talking about Nintendo (heck, let's be honest; if you're talking about video games) the first and last name that comes to mind is Mario. Super Paper Mario marked his first appearance on the Wii, and by all accounts, it was a success. However, everyone's been waiting on the tentatively titled Super Mario Galaxy since the Wii was first announced. The little red plumber's last major title on the ‘Cube, Super Mario Sunshine didn't have as big an impact as past games in the series, but everything I've seen of Galaxy so far points to the kind of innovation that made the original Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 64 so influential in their day. All of these characters can sell systems on their own, so having them all under one roof is a major shot in the arm for Nintendo.
While the history of its characters isn't as deep, Sony has its fair share of properties that, when they make their inevitable return/debut on the PS3, will give gamers who haven't taken the powerful-but-pricey-plunge a reason to rethink things. Resistance: Fall of Man was the only PS3 launch title to receive consistently excellent ratings, and so I would be very surprised if we don't see another entry in this burgeoning franchise within the next couple of years. In the meantime, Resistance developer Insomniac Games* will be bringing their signature platformer franchise to Sony's new console later this year with Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. God of War II recently served as a fitting end to the PS2 era, and considering the high production values the series managed on that aging console, the prospect of seeing protagonist Kratos cutting a bloody swath onto the next generation system is enough to have many fans squealing in delight. Then there's LittleBigPlanet—a strange little game that no one seems to really know how to describe or categorize, other than to say it will feature cute little sock puppets and center around player-created environments. Along with "Home," LBP has helped Sony garner some positive press for a change, but it's a little too early and sparse of details for me to put much stock in it. The game I'm most interested in is Lair. For one, it has dragons, which always gets on my good side, but it promises to be the first game to really show off the capabilities of the Sixaxis controller. It will probably give us a good indication of whether the PS3 can hang with the Wii in the motion-control battle-royal. In terms of sheer number, Sony seems to have the lock on first-party games.
Being the new kid on the block, Xbox doesn't have that many home-grown franchises, but what it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality. Gears of War and the Halo series are, without a doubt, two of the biggest franchises in the recent history of video games (Yeah, I know Gears isn't technically a franchise yet, but given the money its made, the sequel may as well be called GoW 2: The Forgone Conclusion). And what more can you say about Halo except that it pretty much defined the last generation of games? I have talked to more than one actual, living, breathing gamer that has said they bought a 360 at launch just in anticipation for Halo 3 —that's the power of a successful brand, and when the game is released later this year, expect sales of the console itself to spike accordingly. These two properties are proof that you don't need an army of signature characters—your characters just have to be able to whoop all the others in their way.
So, which company has the advantage in terms of their first-party, exclusive titles? I can't answer that question, as it ultimately all comes down to individual gamer preference. Nintendo has the most recognizable characters, Sony probably has the biggest number, and Microsoft does the most with the few it has. It just depends on what gamers want. My guess is there are enough different tastes out there for the Big Three to share the wealth.
Looking at all of these different factors—media support, online capabilities, the "x-factors," and the first-party titles—there doesn't appear to be a clear-cut winner. The PS3 is all about its future potential, and my gut still tells me that it will come to offer the biggest variety and, therefore, appeal to the most people. But if that potential just sets there with no one tapping into it, it's pretty useless. Also, both Nintendo and Microsoft have shown how innovative and adaptable they could be in the past, so who knows what their next big announcement will be, and how it could completely change the landscape of the console wars?
While the first-party companies have every right to be concerned about the death of exclusives, we consumers are going to come out the big winners in the end. Regardless of which systems we own, we're going to be able to play some of the best games around. With third-party developers crossing the system boundaries more and more often, the burden falls to the system makers to keep themselves afloat, which means they will be working overtime to give us a reason to choose their console. Competition is always good for business, because it forces everyone to raise their game to the next level. My one wish as a gamer (and my one piece of advice) is to never forget that gaming is at the heart of everything—if you make a great game (or a great gaming experience), we will come…and we will buy.
*I know that, technically, Insomniac Games is an independent developer (as the company's CEO is quick to remind you in this article, where he sings Sony's praises). However, browsing through the titles Insomniac has released over the years reveals that they haven't created one, single game that hasn't appeared exclusively on a Sony console (Spyro the Dragon has gone on to appear on other systems, but only in games not developed by Insomniac). That's close enough to a first-party developer for government work, in my book.
