Statistical Tie: Can Halo 4 Outsell All 2012 PS3 Exclusives Combined?

[Dodece]

It is equal parts a testament to the power of the Halo franchise, and Sony's piss poor management of its stable of exclusive titles. I know some will try to wrangle out some kind of technical victory, but that totally ignores the fact that any such victory would be entirely self defeating by its very nature. It shouldn't take thirty exclusives. Some of which are above average to take down one exclusive on the other side of the equation. No matter how good that title may or may not be.

Back in 2008 it only took Microsoft ten exclusive titles to be within striking distance of Mario Kart Wii, and we all know what a monster that title turned out to be. It sold over thirteen million units that year. I just picked a random top ten exclusives list from that year and plugged in the numbers, and Microsoft swung eleven million units. If I had the inclination I could probably dig up five or six more titles, and balance the ledger. Think about it for a moment. We had Microsoft doing back then what some of you have Sony doing right now. With half as many titles, and trying to match a game that basically dwarfs Halo 4.

It isn't just that Sony doesn't have any real good titles, or that their best sales are coming from tie ins with franchises that are outside of gaming. Both of those are real problems mind you. Some real good games would have helped, and some solid franchise development could go a long way. Sony just isn't pushing its exclusives like it needs to be. Back then the competition was stiffer, and Microsoft had some fairly mediocre titles, but they managed to sell them better then Sony is doing right now.

How much better was Microsoft doing way back then in the heyday of the Wii, and in a block buster year. Let me put it to you this way. Infinite Undiscovery outsold all, but three of the titles on this years list, and that title had a meta score of sixty eight. Oh it is even worse then that the install bases were proportionally smaller. Sony needs to do a far better job of selling its exclusives. It is the very definition of a shameful performance. Sony should feel ashamed, and embarrassed by this performance, and there isn't any hyperbole in that.

Halo 4 is a game that is selling well, but it isn't selling at anything close to insane levels. There just isn't anything close to a real excuse, and any that are offered up can't possibly be good ones. Sony needs to seriously reevaluate how it is marketing its exclusives.