It’s funny how we never count the thousands of games you can only play on PC as exclusives. If we throw in emulators and backwards compatibility, there’s just absolutely no contest.
Not to say that there aren’t great exclusives for the consoles, just that the PC ones seem to always get ignored.
I think a lot of the conversation around exclusives comes from the standpoint of what keeps a console player from switching from one console to another (whether that’s a PC, a PS5, an Xbox, etc.), so PC exclusives don’t really factor into it because PC players are almost always a PC gamer plus a console player rather than somebody who is switching from a PC to a console.
That said, I think a lot of people in the industry (and console gamers) really underestimate the vastness of PC exclusives that exist thanks to the indie scene. Most people will think of PC exclusive genres like RTS games, but few people think of Bloodborne Nightmare Kart or all the tiny indie RPG/horror/etc. projects that come out all the time as a reason to switch from a console.
what console exclusives for the PS5? it has 7. that’s it. only 7 that you can ONLY play on the PS5. (used to be 8 but Death Stranding 2 just came out on PC). and of those 7 maybe ONE of which is a console seller, maybe, and that’s Astro Bot and while it’s a good game I say that as a massive stretch that it’s worth a $650 point of entry.
the ps5 doesn’t have any exclusives that drive sales. none.
Mat Piscatella of Circana makes a good argument that they haven’t proven that. A lot of Xbox titles became all-time PS5 best-sellers immediately after getting ported. People who wanted to play those games could have bought an Xbox at any point to play them before the multiplatform strategy was announced, but they didn’t. He would argue that people have already settled into their platform of choice and just wait for the games they want to come there. Something like a third of all console players (at least Xbox/PS) are only playing multiplatform live service games on those consoles, not any of the marquis exclusives.
And to be honest, that makes sense. In the grand scheme of things, there aren’t even that many exclusives anymore, compared to the deluge that there might have been in the 5th/6th gens.
And I don’t have data for this, because I’m not an analyst, and Piscatella shares what he shares, so all I’ve got are anecdotal observations.
Some Nintendo properties have extremely strong moats, as Warren Buffet might call them. Pokemon, Mario, and Zelda especially. Even if a new property like Splatoon does well, it doesn’t mean it’s a system seller the way old exclusives used to be. The lower bound for this moat is clearly what the Wii U did in sales.
Switch 1 was very popular with children, as the machine is cheaper and more durable than handheld PC equivalents. It was very easy to end up with multiple Switch 1s per household. The industry outside of mobile and Nintendo has done, from what I can tell, a horrendous job of catering to children compared to how it used to.
Speaking for myself, even if I wasn’t pissed off at how Nintendo operates as a company and decided not to be a customer of theirs anymore, they’re still running into the same problems that caused me to lose interest in PlayStation. They can’t put out enough exclusives to justify a $500 machine to play them, since I’m going to be playing everything else, at better settings, for the same or lower price, on PC.
Also I feel like Nintendo is losing its stranglehold on really good games in their own niche of wimsical platformers that are accessible and fun, but still provide some challenge if you seek it out.
See Astrobot. Hoping for more games in this same vein because its a winner.
I find it hard to argue with that as I also don’t have data one way or another.
I’ve personally decided that I’m not going to be purchasing any games on console that are available for PC. I was always a console gamer, from the (really dating myself here) Mattel Electronics IntelliVision to the PS5. But more and more they don’t feel worth it to me, and I’ve absolutely loved gaming on my Steam Deck.
Of course, Nintendo is almost certainly never going to bring their games to PC. I am a sucker for Zelda or Metroid, so I usually have a Nintendo console of some sort.
Of course, Nintendo is almost certainly never going to bring their games to PC. I am a sucker for Zelda or Metroid, so I usually have a Nintendo console of some sort.
People who wanted to play those games could have bought an Xbox at any point to play them before the multiplatform strategy was announced,
But then they would have had to use an Xbox. 😋
Something like a third of all console players (at least Xbox/PS) are only playing multiplatform live service games on those consoles, not any of the marquis exclusives.
PC totally makes sense for them, if they can afford the min. requirements.
I mean, when it comes to console exclusives, some can’t be beat. Nintendo and Sony have proven that console exclusives still drive sales.
It’s funny how we never count the thousands of games you can only play on PC as exclusives. If we throw in emulators and backwards compatibility, there’s just absolutely no contest.
Not to say that there aren’t great exclusives for the consoles, just that the PC ones seem to always get ignored.
I think a lot of the conversation around exclusives comes from the standpoint of what keeps a console player from switching from one console to another (whether that’s a PC, a PS5, an Xbox, etc.), so PC exclusives don’t really factor into it because PC players are almost always a PC gamer plus a console player rather than somebody who is switching from a PC to a console.
That said, I think a lot of people in the industry (and console gamers) really underestimate the vastness of PC exclusives that exist thanks to the indie scene. Most people will think of PC exclusive genres like RTS games, but few people think of
BloodborneNightmare Kart or all the tiny indie RPG/horror/etc. projects that come out all the time as a reason to switch from a console.what console exclusives for the PS5? it has 7. that’s it. only 7 that you can ONLY play on the PS5. (used to be 8 but Death Stranding 2 just came out on PC). and of those 7 maybe ONE of which is a console seller, maybe, and that’s Astro Bot and while it’s a good game I say that as a massive stretch that it’s worth a $650 point of entry.
the ps5 doesn’t have any exclusives that drive sales. none.
Gran Turismo sells incredibly well, as such I’ve given up on it coming to PC lol
Mat Piscatella of Circana makes a good argument that they haven’t proven that. A lot of Xbox titles became all-time PS5 best-sellers immediately after getting ported. People who wanted to play those games could have bought an Xbox at any point to play them before the multiplatform strategy was announced, but they didn’t. He would argue that people have already settled into their platform of choice and just wait for the games they want to come there. Something like a third of all console players (at least Xbox/PS) are only playing multiplatform live service games on those consoles, not any of the marquis exclusives.
And to be honest, that makes sense. In the grand scheme of things, there aren’t even that many exclusives anymore, compared to the deluge that there might have been in the 5th/6th gens.
This is a good point, but leaves Nintendo out of the consideration
And I don’t have data for this, because I’m not an analyst, and Piscatella shares what he shares, so all I’ve got are anecdotal observations.
Speaking for myself, even if I wasn’t pissed off at how Nintendo operates as a company and decided not to be a customer of theirs anymore, they’re still running into the same problems that caused me to lose interest in PlayStation. They can’t put out enough exclusives to justify a $500 machine to play them, since I’m going to be playing everything else, at better settings, for the same or lower price, on PC.
Also I feel like Nintendo is losing its stranglehold on really good games in their own niche of wimsical platformers that are accessible and fun, but still provide some challenge if you seek it out.
See Astrobot. Hoping for more games in this same vein because its a winner.
One of the best platformers ever made. Absolutely blew me away.
Don’t worry, if they just add an empty soulless open world to every franchise (Metroid?) that’ll surely make their games great again.
pokemon is pretty much slop now, because masuda was “burn out” from making the game for decades
Yup see palworld!
I find it hard to argue with that as I also don’t have data one way or another.
I’ve personally decided that I’m not going to be purchasing any games on console that are available for PC. I was always a console gamer, from the (really dating myself here) Mattel Electronics IntelliVision to the PS5. But more and more they don’t feel worth it to me, and I’ve absolutely loved gaming on my Steam Deck.
Of course, Nintendo is almost certainly never going to bring their games to PC. I am a sucker for Zelda or Metroid, so I usually have a Nintendo console of some sort.
There’s always emulators
Absolutely. Been there since Nesticle.
There are always a few games that I don’t want to wait for emulation to get right, and the majority of those are Nintendo’s
But then they would have had to use an Xbox. 😋
PC totally makes sense for them, if they can afford the min. requirements.