The Price of Exclusivity
The Price of Exclusivity
Sony has been a powerhouse in the video game industry for years. Initially entering the market with the PlayStation and then following it up with the immensely popular Playstation 2. (I love you PS2). What Sony had to offer on these consoles was a variety of exclusive experiences that you could not find anywhere else. Many series that started on the original PlayStation were continued on the PlayStation 2. 3rd Party developers took advantage of the PS architecture and now we have the highest selling console of all time. How did Sony convince these companies to support its platforms? A large user base, amazing technology, and the freedom to bring your masterpiece to the masses.
Of course you all know that competition causes companies to make the necessary moves to be competitive. Microsoft has come into the market and paid for what was once freely given to the PlayStation brand, exclusives. Do I frown on this practice? I cannot say that I do or that I do not. A company has to do what it must to make its product valuable to the consumer. Even if that requires paying a reported 50 million for exclusive downloadable contact for GTA4. Many asked how Sony could sit idly by and allow this to happen. Some said that Sony was a fool to not adopt the same practice. Others said that Sony should continue to win exclusives on the merits of the system and what it has to offer.
So where are we now?
Kaz has recently stated that Sony is willing to reconsider its views on paying for exclusives. I believe this is a good idea. First, a company should always look at its practices to ensure that it is implementing the processes that would make it most profitable and successful. Second, because times and markets change, a company must make changes to ensure that it is not left to go the way of the dinosaur. Does this mean that tomorrow we’ll hear about Sony paying millions for some amazing exclusive? Maybe, but there is also the chance that we may not hear that at all. The decision may have been made to adopt this new practice or to reject it, but we will not know for a while if at all.
A position that some gamers have taken is that Sony should give the money that it would give for exclusives to its own developers. I can understand this position. 1st party development is an important factor to the success of a console. However, without a good percentage of 3rd party support, you’re doomed to seeing a thousand different games from the same franchises over and over again. (No, that is not a dig at Nintendo. Once upon a time I loved Nintendo. The N64 ruined it for me). 3rd party developers help bring new IPs and other advancement in the ways that a technology is used. The lack of this could severely cripple the advancement of how a console’s content offerings are advanced. Could you imagine what the gaming world would be like without titles like Metal Gear Solid or Resident Evil? A sad world indeed.
If Sony does not at least consider paying for the exclusivity of certain titles, it will risk the issue of only having the exclusive rights to 1st and 2nd party titles. I do not have a problem saying that I love knowing that I can only find MGS4 on the PS3. Not because I hate other consoles, but because this means that the developer can focus its efforts on making the greatest title possible using the PS3 architecture and not have to worry about ensuring that the title runs as well on a completely different console. Am I excited for the upcoming Final Fantasy titles? Of course. Can you imagine what Square Enix will be able to create on the PS3? I would gladly smile if Sony passed a few coins their way to keep it exclusive. While they are at it, pay them to remake FFVII too.
The increasing development costs of this generation have gone a long way to influencing companies to go multi-platform. There will always be instances where this will not occur and it will not be because of money issues. Some developers just enjoy working on particular platforms. If a developer does prefer one console over another for genuine reasons, I cannot find fault with them. I do find fault with developers that are accepting money for exclusivity, but merely make it appear as if they have a preference for one architecture or another. Be honest, the consumer deserves that.
Side note:
Many of you would recall the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD slug fest. Remember when Paramount left and it was because of the millions the company received? What was the major gripe of Blu-Ray fans? Why did you leave and say it was because HD-DVD was superior when it was clear that you only left for money?
Back on topic
Clearly consumers want honesty. If Sony was to change its approach to purchasing exclusives, I would have no problem with that. I would actually prefer that they would offer funding assistance instead of outright payment. You will say that that is the same thing and it pretty much is. The major difference is the connotation and the idea behind it. Companies that are already more interested in making the title exclusively for the PS3 could be rewarded with Sony helping the developer by absorbing some of the production costs. Putting a copy of a game in a bundle does not hurt either. Lol. (Yes, I’m saying that could be viewed a myriad of ways by people. I have no problem with MGS4 bundle. I find it to be a wise business move and both consumers and businesses do not view it as negatively, if at all negatively, as a payoff.)
So this is what we have to look forward to in the coming months and years. Thanks for shedding some light on what is likely to be a shift in the approach Sony has had in the video game market. As I have said several times, this is not necessarily a bad thing. I know I will not be complaining on June 12th and I have MGS4 on my PS3. Will you?
What do you think Sony should do? Remain consistent, change its approach slightly, or come right out and start bidding wars for the services of 3rd party developers?
May 31, 2008 at 1:12 pm
They’ve been paying for exclusivity all along, I know for a fact they paid for MGS4. And probably FF13, but that’s just a guess. Still, I guess this means they’ll be doing it more often.
May 31, 2008 at 1:14 pm
That’s pretty much what I was saying at the end of the article. I don’t blame them for taking this approach. The video game industry has gotten that much more intense. You’re going to have to bring the big titles to maintain/gain market share.
May 31, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Great read,personally,I think Sony should deal with 3rd party exclusivity only on recognized franchises and sequels at this point,and by recognized I’m referring to franchises such as Resident Evil,Kingdom Hearts,Street Fighter,etc.They can still bring over a large number of Ps2 only gamers if they can confirm that the popular and best of the Playstation brand are only going to be available on the Ps3.
But with that said ^,I also think Sony should invest more into their internal studios,with production costs having soared high this gen,I believe their best chance of having the next ‘big’ game in the video game industry,is to invest into some of the lesser known and more ambitious 1st party projects.There’s sure to be a Gem somewhere in there-and they won’t have to bother with Exclusivity contracts here.
It’s clear Sony are betting on a specific genre to sway gamers over to their console this gen,with the right push,they could very well have the next big one exclusive to their console.
May 31, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I’m fine with them paying for exclusives so long as the titles are permanent exclusives, not timed exclusives. Timed exclusives are just cross-platform games masquerading as true exclusives, and have all the limitations that cross-platform games normally have.
Oh, and the title has to be *good*. I hope they didn’t fork over any money on Haze.
Not bashing the game, it’s just not up to the level of quality I’m used to in a PS3 exclusive. *points at Resistance*
May 31, 2008 at 3:43 pm
i think sony should focus on first party games while keeping some AAA titles exclusives, like GTA5,FF series,MGS series, and some other heavy hitter games, and it wont hurt them much if they can secure multiplatform games for time exclusive, like this they wont have to pay so much for these times and these devs will try to do their best to make their game flawless on the ps3,with the exception of haze, i knows it doesnt deserve a 8/10 but but 7/10 is fair and it is an average game!
sony, focus on 1st and 2nd party games while keeping ur eyes on the critical 3rd party games, bioshock should have came on ps3 the same time as 360, and assassin’s creed should have been an exclusive, or time exclusive, i hope the sequels will be time exclusives or at least to have the same release date with 360 but it should be the superior version, so i think sony need to help 3rd party devs regardless of which dev is making the games and like that u will at least guarantee that all game on ps3 utilize the cell and blue ray and ps3 capabilities!
May 31, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I believe that Sony should invest in its internal companies, continue to subsidize the 2nd parties and should secure big name exclusives. Especially anything that Square Enix touches. That is gold in Japan and gold in the hearts of most RPG fans worldwide. Certain games can be timed exclusives imo. Those would mostly be shooters that you don’t expect to evolve much over time.
May 31, 2008 at 4:04 pm
TheGodofWar….lol…you know for a fact that sony paid for mgs exclusivity? …….got proof?…Or did you use that good old sixth senth of yours?…
Anyway…Unforuntatly Xbox being the big company that it is forgets virtue and pride and just does the good old american thing and buys what ever they need.
Ofcourse the big joke that microsoft are, cant even make a gaming machine that works and in the process…Harm the game industry with allocating a DVD player in their xbox, and buying out games effectively
constricting the games I play.
I agree with the writers views which are unfortunately true.
May 31, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I think it would be in Sony’s best interest to not pay a dime for a developer to publish a game on the ps3 that they didn’t want to develop in the first place. When a developer is forced to learn an architecture of a console that he doesn’t want to learn about and/or has no passion for, it shows in the final product. Lookin at u, Orange Box. The ps3 has much more potential than the xbox 360 and if the “ps3mote” rumor is true, the wii also. You can’t argue that the ps3 is the most power-packed console out there. Its manufacturing costs show that, mostly because of the blu-ray drive which holds more space for devs to do their thing while 360 and wii are still stuck on 10 gig dvds. I believe mgs4 will show what the ps3 is capable of and 3rd party devs will WANT to make their games on it. As the ps3 architecture gest figured out, amazing games will come out of the ps3 from both 1st party and 3rd party devs. I dont believe mgs4 is the limit however. If those terabyte blu-ray discs are the real deal, the ps3 should definitely hit its 10 year lifespan if not more.
May 31, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I agree, if the developer doesn’t want to release it for the PS3, then it isn’t in the best interest of the company to pay for a shoddy title for the sake of having it. I merely think that offering incentives to companies that are Playstation mainstays is not a bad idea. As I said, this could be through means such as the PSP Battlefront bundle or the MGS4 Bundle.
Half-life was never intended to see the PS3, you can tell by the issues and the lack of support from the developer. I don’t care that Valve wants to place it all on EA, Valve knew what it was doing.
May 31, 2008 at 7:02 pm
i have 1 question, why did haze went sooooo wrong? it had to potential to be an AAA game, maybe not like halo but something close enough, and they took long time to make it!
May 31, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Great read. In order for Sony to win this generation, they can’t just rely on brand power. Paying for exclusives is something that they’ll have to get use to. Like Chris said before, it would only make sense to pay for a title or franchise that could grow along side the console.
July 17, 2008 at 11:43 am
If you are going to mention Paramount and the HD-DVD bribe, please mention that the reason Sony is more hesitant to pay for exclusives is that they supposedly bribed Warners and Fox to go BD exclusive. When you look at that 500 million opposed to the M$ 50 million for GTA 4, it kinda lets you know where Sony is about this console. I also keep reading about the localization issues. This is also one of the reasons BD won the format war (Disney would have left if HD-DVD had been region locked), and this also shows why Sony will continue to region lock in the future.