I agree that some 3rd party multiplatform games (GTA, COD and Destiny, ) are bigger system sellers today than many exclusives. But if the majority of the games in OP had remained exclusive to the Xbox consoles, I think that would've done a huge difference.

When the high profile exclusives start releasing (Uncharted 4, Gran Turismo 7, Gears of War 4, Halo 6, The Last of Us 2, God of War 4 and Horizon) they will still sell quite a lot of hardware.

You don't think XB1's sales will dive at all if all of its exclusives release on PC day 1?

Imagine the historie of box without halo, forza or gears that should answer your question.

Well If PS4 had no exclusives and X1 had all of them then what would be the point in going to the PS4, I know Id certainly jump ship.

I remember back before I cared about which console I owned trying to decide weather to get a ps3 or xbox 360 the only thing that made me buy a ps3 was the fact that at the time Final Fantasy 13 was announced as an exclusive for the PS3, being a big Final Fantasy fan I couldn't miss out (If only I knew the game was going to suck lol) I think if you take any game and make it exclusive as long as the fans want it enough they'll buy the console. I could have nearly been a xbox fanboy lol I was soo close.

Huh? Of course exclusvies matter but they are only a part of the equation, not the only factor. Whether such a difference would be huge or not, we will never know. I tend to believe "not so big".

Exclusives are what differences one console from another one, so I think it's very important. It always affects my decision to buy a console, and if I'm going to purchase a PS4/One, I'm sure Sony will receive my money.

Okay, I know everyone is trying to justify Xbox not having exclusives titles anymore, but can you imagine if Microsoft said that back in 2013? Before the Xbox One even launched? Sales would have been even worse! No one would have been onboard, knowing that all the AAA games they want would also be available on PC.

Yes they do, there is no dancing around it. Most gamers buy consoles for the multiplats yes (reason WiiU is doing as bad as it is), but it is the exclusives that make a person choose one platform over the other OR what urges some to be multiplatform gamers. Without exclusives the console will have no identity and eventually drop off altogether. I mean look at the X1, it had huge momentum from holiday 2014, but it was killed to a crawl with a barren first 3/4 of 2015 with nothing in the retail exclusive lineup other than screamride.

Even Halo 5 couldn't put it back above the PS4 for even a month due to this loss of momentum because fact of the matter is that the PS4 had just as many retail console exclusives as the X1 for the holidays (even though they were not megatons like Halo) and delivered several exclusives throughout the year in 2015.

And no, the PS4 does not sell on hype anymore. We are far beyond that. Hype on exclusives down the road sure (Uncharted 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, No Mans Sky, Persona 5, etc.) but that in of itself further strengthens my point. Exclusives sell consoles because that is what makes it better than the competition.

I mean seriously, are people still blind to this fact?

This is what I fear as well that the sales of Xbox One and Xbox "Two" will suffer now that everyone with a capable PC can play its exclusives.

Of course Xbox consoles will still sell (not all people have capable PCs) but I think it pays off sometimes to be as strict as Sony and hardly ever allow an exclusive to go multiplat.

And imo this is the downside of buying timed 3rd party exclusives instead of building up 1st party studios and permanent exclusives. If these games end up on other platforms they won’t contribute to the identity of the brand.

As you said, XB1 had huge momentum from holiday 2014 where it received great permanent exclusives (Forza Horizon 2, Sunset Overdrive and Halo MCC). Nearly all of its exclusives since then have been timed (Titanfall, Ori and the Blind Forest, Gears of War Ultimate and Rise of the Tomb Raider). And it seems that future XB1 exclusives will release on PC simultaneously (Quantum Break, Forza 6 Apex, Halo Wars 2, ReCore, Gears of War 4 and Scalebound).

Imagine if Microsoft generally had spent their money on developing more games themselves with 1st party studios. Imagine if franchises like Dead Rising, Ninja Gaiden, The Elder Scrolls (Oblivion), Bioshock, Mass Effect, Star Ocean, PvZ Garden Warfare, Titanfall, Quantum Break, ReCore, Scalebound etc. were all franchises and experiences only available on Xbox consoles. That would seriously contribute to a strong identity and brand. Xbox would most likely be my go-to console.