Sony's Exclusives Coming Up Short?

[The Teej]

One thing I'm a little confused with is that people are saying these games aren't system sellers, yet a good portion of their sales come from hardware bundles - so wouldn't this mean that <x game> is selling systems if they got that game with their system? Sure, the numbers don't seem as impressive when it comes to sales data, but it's looking quite clear that these games are more making people buy new systems then they are making people who already own the system to buy one.

[Belazor]

One thing I'm a little confused with is that people are saying these games aren't system sellers, yet a good portion of their sales come from hardware bundles - so wouldn't this mean that <x game> is selling systems if they got that game with their system? Sure, the numbers don't seem as impressive when it comes to sales data, but it's looking quite clear that these games are more making people buy new systems then they are making people who already own the system to buy one.

Not necessarily; If you could get a bundled PS3 for the same price as an unbundled one, you would obviously take the bundled one even if the game held no interest whatsoever, simply because it's essentially free.

Regardless of sales rates (which are only really meaningful to the execs that determine if a game should get a sequel, or to the fanboys on internet discussion boards), I'm glad that there's a wider array of exclusives available for a console.

It's a well known fact that the moment a game goes multi-platform, assuming the developer doesn't want nerdrage they will not take advantage of each console's full potential because the game needs to feel identical. S-E with FF13 might very well become the exception, but we've yet to see that for certain.

For instance, inFamous might not have had so much physics and so many explosions without a noticeable drop in framerate if it hadn't been for the Cell and the RSX' calculation capabilities. Though it might have had smoother textures and better shadowing (which is what I recall seeing Xbox-superior multiplat games having had in the past, minor points though they are) due to ATi supporting both AA and HDR.

Or, to get more technical: fl0w and Flower would not have been possible on the 360 in the incarnation they are in at this point in time, due to the lack of SIXAXIS.

Potential factual errors aside, the point is that console exclusives have the option to exploit each console's strengths, be they technical or computational, and that's why exclusives are still a good thing.

[HilariousNinja]

The majority of PS3 Exclusive games such as Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 1 & 2, Motorstorm 1 & 2 and MGS4 have been an utter disappointment. They are just not great games at all, just average. I look to Killzone 2, MGS4 and LBP as the biggest disappointments for the PS3 this generation without question. Massively overhyped and overrated (Just like the PS3 itself was) but the final product falls way short.

I'm sorry but I have to entirely disagree with you there. If you were talking of sales, you'd probably be right in describing the disaappointment because they have sold relatively little compared to the hype and huge scores in practically all the reviews. Killzone 2, MGS4, and LBP are astonishingly good games and anyone that claims against this is bonkers. MGS4 is probably one of my favourite games of all time in fact. I doubt you've actually played all three?(if any?)

Edited June 29, 2009 by RPatel

[Genius]

MGS4 average game? Wow o.o

[M_Lyons10]

Wow, I thought a few of those had sold better... I really didn't have high hopes for the PS3 gaining ground this generation once I heard the pricepoints to be honest. That was a big deterrent, especially for parents who's child asked for a console for Christmas and would see the XBox cheaper (And if they looked at a display unit or something, they'd probably consider it comparable). In addition, the cost of development has increased tremendously over the last few years, so I don't think there will be as many exclusives going forward, as it just isn't feasible. I mean, this had a lot to do with Eidos' financial issues. Also, I think that developers are now looking at exclusivity as losing visibility. If they publish a number of games exclusive to a particular console, then decide to release a game multi-platform, many players on the new console won't know who they are, or if the franchise is worth investing the time and money in. With all the choice out there the studios really need as many people to know who they are and what they do as they can.

Does anyone have any idea why the attach rate for the PS3 is so low? I haven't been able to figure this out, but compared to the Wii and the XBox 360 it's REAL low... Or at least it was the last time I saw.

On another note, (And I know the OP didn't write the article), but what is with the trend of giving figures that you can't compare? The figures for the PS3 are since the release of the game, the figures for the XBox 360 (Gears, Gears 2) are first month... That's not helpful... LMAO That really means nothing (Though I can surmise that the PS3 got trounced, it would make sense to list the YTD sales as well).

[sn00pie]

Yeah, the majority of PS3 exclusives upto this point have been extremely disappointing for me. Killzone 2 was impressive, but extremely short, and I prefer the multiplayer in COD. With the exception of MGS4 there really hasn't been a steller game on the console yet.

Of course when GT5 comes around, that will change. It will probably be the best selling game on the PS3, and will help sell alot of PS3 units.

[Black Flash]

I'm sorry but I have to entirely disagree with you there. If you were talking of sales, you'd probably be right in describing the disaappointment because they have sold relatively little compared to the hype and huge scores in practically all the reviews. Killzone 2, MGS4, and LBP are astonishingly good games and anyone that claims against this is bonkers. MGS4 is probably one of my favourite games of all time in fact. I doubt you've actually played all three?(if any?)

+1 The reviews were great and I enjoyed the games, don't really understand why they didn't sell well though.

[soniqstylz]

I think Sony looks at numbers with a more global reach before defining them as "coming up short". Did they sell 8 million copies? No, but there's been about 7 or 8 non-Nintendo games to do that, and four of them are GTA. If the quote I posted is true, and Motorstorm sold 3.31 million copies worldwide, how is that in any way coming up short (assuming that doesn't count bundled copies either)?

In the same vein, I don't think Microsoft looks at Halo 3 or Gears sales in Japan to judge whether or not they "came up short".

God of War 3 won't be much of a system-seller on its own; the first two games didn't sell 2 million copies each, I don't think.

edit: GoW games sold ballpark 2 million each, so I take that back. However, outsold by such games as The Getaway (cancelled franchise), Eye Toy: Play, Lord of The Rings: Two Towers, Spiderman, and WWE v. Raw! 2006.

Edited June 29, 2009 by soniqstylz

[DPyro]

I don't know what they're complaining about. Going by VGchartz, Ratchet & Clank for PS2 has sold 2.93m. Ratchet & Clank for PS3 has sold 1.48m. Metal Gear Solid 2/3 for PS2 has sold 5.58m, and 4.02m. Metal Gear Solid 4 for PS3 has sold 4.06m.

What's so surprising?

[Boz]

God of War 3 won't be much of a system-seller on its own; the first two games didn't sell 2 million copies each, I don't think.

Well there might be several reasons for that. Game is rated M and very bloody so that limits the audience even further. So GoW 3 will be mostly bought by hardcore fans of the series and most likely already existing owners of PS3s. I would say that new Ratchet and Clank might have more chance of moving PS3s than GoW 3.

I do expect GT5 to sell well and I expect it to be an amazing game but in this generation even there now they have a solid competition from Forza 3 that might just stop people going after PS3 exclusively for fun racing simulator (which is also targeted to hardcore specific audience mind you).

I don't think there was ever any competition to GT series and now people who would really want to get the game now can see Xbox 360, they don't have GT5 but they do have Forza 3 which will undoubtedly be a great game lowering the impact of GT5 moving PS3s.

It is increasingly obvious that that's it for Sony as far as this generation goes. As soon as Xbox 360 goes into $150 range this fall/holidays you the difference will continue to be quite noticable in price and Sony will be faced with the same issue as before the price drop. It seems highly unlikely they can catch up.

At least, my 2 cents.

[PiracyX]

I'm sorry but I have to entirely disagree with you there. If you were talking of sales, you'd probably be right in describing the disaappointment because they have sold relatively little compared to the hype and huge scores in practically all the reviews. Killzone 2, MGS4, and LBP are astonishingly good games and anyone that claims against this is bonkers. MGS4 is probably one of my favourite games of all time in fact. I doubt you've actually played all three?(if any?)

I respect that you disagre but based on sales alone it tells the true story that these 'big exclusives' are just not system sellers at all.

Killzone 2 was massively overrated and in the end it was a weak generic shooter with an average story and horrible controls.

LBP was ok but it got extremely boring very quickly.

If you call MGS4 a game? :rolleyes: .....then fine. Sitting watching endless boring cutscenes with about 10% gameplay is not considered a game but a movie and a boring movie at that.

MGS4 average movie? Wow o.o

Fixed for you.

[strotee]

That's it, I'm selling my PS3.

[soniqstylz]

Well there might be several reasons for that. Game is rated M and very bloody so that limits the audience even further. So GoW 3 will be mostly bought by hardcore fans of the series and most likely already existing owners of PS3s. I would say that new Ratchet and Clank might have more chance of moving PS3s than GoW 3.

I do expect GT5 to sell well and I expect it to be an amazing game but in this generation even there now they have a solid competition from Forza 3 that might just stop people going after PS3 exclusively for fun racing simulator (which is also targeted to hardcore specific audience mind you).

I don't think there was ever any competition to GT series and now people who would really want to get the game now can see Xbox 360, they don't have GT5 but they do have Forza 3 which will undoubtedly be a great game lowering the impact of GT5 moving PS3s.

It is increasingly obvious that that's it for Sony as far as this generation goes. As soon as Xbox 360 goes into $150 range this fall/holidays you the difference will continue to be quite noticable in price and Sony will be faced with the same issue as before the price drop. It seems highly unlikely they can catch up.

At least, my 2 cents.

I get your point about Forza, but lots of M-rated games have great sales (GTA, for one). Even The Getaway, not really a flagship franchise anymore, sold over 3 million.

Don't get me wrong, tho, GoW is one of my favorite franchises, and will be a day-one purchase for me (if that wasn't obvious).

And console sales haven't been as bad as many want to make it out to be. Sony never was going to dominate this gen like last gen, no matter what fanboys wanted to say before launch. But as expensive as it is, it has outsold the 360 over the same console lifespan (ie. first 30 months after launch).

Edited June 29, 2009 by soniqstylz

[DPyro]

That's it, I'm selling my PS3.

I'm surprised it's not PiracyX or Boz that said this :rofl:

[Boz]

And console sales haven't been as bad as many want to make it out to be. Sony never was going to dominate this gen like last gen, no matter what fanboys wanted to say before launch. But as expensive as it is, it has outsold the 360 over the same console lifespan (ie. first 30 months after launch).

True..I'm surprised that Sony managed to sell as many PS3s as they did with poor software support and laggy 3rd party support for quite a few games, but obviously a lot of people actually indeed bought it for Blu-ray player plus the fanbase is still strong from the PS2 days. People have attachemnt to a brand which is a bit unfortunate because it sometimes rewards companies when they should be criticized.

I think Microsoft did their job well this time around and from every aspect (except early hardware issues) Xbox 360 experience has been much much smoother and better for me from the very start and I got my consoles as soon as they came out. I paid $600 for my 60gb PS3 and $500 for Xbox 360 and I wasn't really biased at all. I loved PS2 but I had fun with Xbox too and since I was obviously neutral (maybe even leaning Sony a bit due to GoW 1 and 2), I bit into Xbox 360 first, regardless, when it was released and loved it.

I don't think Sony has reasons to fear a lot as they will be selling PS3s still, but I think it's clear that this round is pretty much over as far Xbox vs PS battle. If they do not hit the next gen Playstation sooner than or at least at the same time as Microsoft will, we can then seriously discuss Sony losing console wars completely as Xbox 360 will be much much bigger brand next time around.

[Belazor]

Oh please, not more of this "Xbox has won the console war this gen" bullcrap.

Well-informed people know that the PS3 has way more exclusives coming out (not to mention a bigger range of genres of exclusives) and that the core system is more powerful than the 360. The list of 1st and 2nd party developers (and/or I.P.s) that belong to Sony outnumber MS' and Nintendo's put together.

It doesn't matter how you dress up your argument with fancy "Oh I'm not a fanboy, I swear" clothes - if it's wrong, it's still dung.

[Boz]

Oh please, not more of this "Xbox has won the console war this gen" bullcrap.

Well-informed people know that the PS3 has way more exclusives coming out (not to mention a bigger range of genres of exclusives) and that the core system is more powerful than the 360. The list of 1st and 2nd party developers (and/or I.P.s) that belong to Sony outnumber MS' and Nintendo's put together.

It doesn't matter how you dress up your argument with fancy "Oh I'm not a fanboy, I swear" clothes - if it's wrong, it's still dung.

Not sure how Sony outnumbers anyone. Simple facts:

Xbox 360 introduced at E3:

Alan Wake, Splinter Cell Conviction, Halo ODST, Halo Reach, Crackdown 2, Forza 3, 1 vs 100, Champions Online MMO (PC and X360 working together), Mass Effect 2, Joy Ride, Left 4 Dead 2, Shadow Complex plus GTA4 and MW2 DLC exclusives.

In contrast Sony has GT5, Drake Uncharted 2, Heavy Rain, God of War 3, The Last Guardian, MAG, (Agent - still uncertain when is going to be released or whether or not it will be 100% PS3 exclusive). I don't think there's anything else I can remember.

So I'd say Microsoft has equally good or for some even better line up of exclusives and certainly more and more diverse. I personally am looking forward to PS3 exclusives but Microsoft has done their homework. All Xbox 360 games look fantastic too. It's just that the excitement about PS3 exclusives has been hyped up since these games have been in development for years and years.

As for hardware.. they are a wash.. PS3 is simply not more powerful. I guess if you say it so many times you'll start to believe it but it is well known that Xbox 360 GPU is more powerful but not to get into this whole technical discussion. I guess you are entitled to believe what makes you feel more comfortable.

[DPyro]

Final Fantasy vs. XIII, Final Fantasy XIV, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Last Rebellion to name a few (not to mention all the upcoming PSN titles).

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

All that matters.

But I guess we shouldn't forget ModNation Racers either.

[TDQuiksilver]

Zzzzzzzzzzzz....

[Boz]

Final Fantasy vs. XIII, Final Fantasy XIV, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Last Rebellion to name a few (not to mention all the upcoming PSN titles).

Let's try not to include titles that won't be out until 2011 shall we? :)

Ratchet and Clank yeah, forgot about that.. but even with those 2 .. it's still pretty equal.. Xbox 360 has A LOT of great exclusives and DLCs nailed plus also a bunch of Live Arcade games but let's not go there cause PSN can't even come close to Live Arcade. To say Sony beats it is quite a bit of stretch. Sure there are good games (finally) coming for PS3 but to say they are better than what Microsoft showed is, as I said, a bit of a stretch.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Let's try not to include titles that won't be out until 2011 shall we? :)

Because we'll all be dead at the end of 2010? :o

[M_Lyons10]

Not sure how Sony outnumbers anyone. Simple facts:

Xbox 360 introduced at E3:

Alan Wake, Splinter Cell Conviction, Halo ODST, Halo Reach, Crackdown 2, Forza 3, 1 vs 100, Champions Online MMO (PC and X360 working together), Mass Effect 2, Joy Ride, Left 4 Dead 2, Shadow Complex plus GTA4 and MW2 DLC exclusives.

In contrast Sony has GT5, Drake Uncharted 2, Heavy Rain, God of War 3, The Last Guardian, MAG, (Agent - still uncertain when is going to be released or whether or not it will be 100% PS3 exclusive). I don't think there's anything else I can remember.

So I'd say Microsoft has equally good or for some even better line up of exclusives and certainly more and more diverse. I personally am looking forward to PS3 exclusives but Microsoft has done their homework. All Xbox 360 games look fantastic too. It's just that the excitement about PS3 exclusives has been hyped up since these games have been in development for years and years.

As for hardware.. they are a wash.. PS3 is simply not more powerful. I guess if you say it so many times you'll start to believe it but it is well known that Xbox 360 GPU is more powerful but not to get into this whole technical discussion. I guess you are entitled to believe what makes you feel more comfortable.

I think given the PS3's architecture, it's more about getting the power out of the machine than anything. The consoles are pretty much comparable as far as power is concerned, they're even both based off of the cell processor... As for the games, there are exclusives on both sides, but I would say Microsoft has more at this point. Ultimately though I just don't think that exclusives are going to be big going forward. It's just becoming too costly to develop games...

[Pupik]

Because we'll all be dead at the end of 2010? :o

Who knows; may be ;)

[DDStriker]

If you call MGS4 a game? :rolleyes: .....then fine. Sitting watching endless boring cutscenes with about 10% gameplay is not considered a game but a movie and a boring movie at that.

What? have you actually played the game? :s

i'd expect that kind of comment for someone who has never played the game and just partially watched someone else play

also hint hint you can skip the cutscenes if you don't appreciate the story but most of us after playing mgs 1/2/3 want to hear the rest of the story :D

the cutscenes were brilliant again if you havn't played mgs 1/2/3 and don't appreciate the storyline then you can just skip them in mgs 4 (infact you could skip them in all and there was still a large proportion of gameplay)

don't troll a game you havn't played :laugh: