Console Exclusive Content: Our Inevitable Demise

[RaychelSnr]

Matthew DiStaulo has written an article discussing all that is wrong with console specific content. Be sure to check it out and give your own thoughts!

Quote:

"There is precedence for console exclusive content. Namco had an additional character in every version of Soul Calibur II and is continuing on in that fashion with one of its iterations (Soul Calibur IV). Fight Night Round 3 was given ‘Get In the Ring’ mode for the PS3 as incentive for people who owned the game previously on 360 and now perhaps wanted to repurchase it for the new system. There is also word that Grand Theft Auto IV will have additional episodic content exclusive to the Xbox 360 (content that should arrive this Fall)."

[ajwines64]

It seems to of really started with EA buying the nfl license. It sucks for all of us.

[vgsportsBert]

Quote: Originally Posted by ajwines64

It seems to of really started with EA buying the nfl license. It sucks for all of us.

Not to be an EA apologist or anything, but the NFL is the one that decided they wanted to only work with one game company. It wasn't the evil EA monopoly trying to push everybody out of the market. I'm sure EA had to pay through the nose for the license, probably much more than before it became exclusive.

The NFL and NFLPA didn't want to have to work with multiple companies. By going to one developer, they could handle all the data flow, face caps, etc. all at one time.

[CMH]

Lets not turn this into another NFL/EA thing. It doesn't have everything to do with this article.

I'm a tennis fan. Only casual but I enjoy watching it when I make the time. I'm interested in purchasing Top Spin 3. I'm getting it for the PS3. When I found out that Nadal was only available on that version it was a no-brainer for me. Luckily, for me, the 360 doesn't have exclusive rights to Federer. That would be the worst situation for a gamer.

It's still pretty bad, however, when you are forced into purchasing either a console or a version of a game because it's the only one with additional content.

I doubt this will end anytime soon, though. It'll just get worse until gamers are forced between choosing one or the other. Imagine the next role-playing game that excludes a certain city from the 360 but offers exclusive rights to special magika? That's terrible.

[mercalnd]

Quote: Originally Posted by YankeePride

Lets not turn this into another NFL/EA thing. It doesn't have everything to do with this article.

Yep. Console exclusive content existed before the NFL deal and in fact the NFL deal is not even an example of console exclusive content. I was surprised ot see this brought up here.

[aukevin]

The Soul Calibur exclusives don't bother me because both systems are getting a unique character, both of which are cool. The problem will be when one system gets content that the other system doesn't have a comparable equal of.

[CMH]

Quote: Originally Posted by mercalnd

Yep. Console exclusive content existed before the NFL deal and in fact the NFL deal is not even an example of console exclusive content. I was surprised ot see this brought up here.

Exactly. The deal is not console exclusive. I should have said it has nothing to do with this article. But I said "doesn't have everything to do..." because I can understand some of the arguments that it's a small branch of excluding gamer options.

Though, I guess I could argue that what exclusive content is really doing is giving the gamer too many options. We'd like options in our games but we don't want the option of choosing between consoles because one offers more than the other.

Quote: Originally Posted by aukevin

The Soul Calibur exclusives don't bother me because both systems are getting a unique character, both of which are cool. The problem will be when one system gets content that the other system doesn't have a comparable equal of.

That's fair. But it's still unfortunate that you won't get the chance to play with the other character the competing console has exclusive rights to.

The Top Spin 3 issue is exactly the problem like you mentioned. Not having Nadal available in the 360 is a huge issue. We're talking about arguably the second best tennis player in the world.