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AG80 on 26 July 2015
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MikeRox said:
AG80 said:

None of that fits in with what you said initially. As you said Tomb Raider wasn't a timed exclusive and neither was it an answer to another successful franchise. 


Tomb Raider exclusivity was purchased from Eidos to stop Tomb Raider 64 happening. However the original Tomb Raider was multiplatform launching day and date on Saturn and PC too (N64 wasn't actually out). Sony's deal started after the first Tomb Raider.

Psygnosis is a perfect example of a 3rd party developer they bought to lock down franchises from. WipeOut anyone?

Sony's exclusivity deals were more easy to pull off though. The Saturn was already on it's way out. The N64 media was not suitable for a lot of the games.

Sony got the likes of Ridge Racer through offering unparamount distribution support that neither SEGA nor Nintendo had previously offered 3rd parties. That was why Namco were so successful on the PlayStation. Ridge Racer would have had to compete with SEGA's arcade IPs on Saturn. Tekken would have gone head to head against Virtua Fighter on Saturn etc. PlayStation offered them a landscape where they could shine as top dogs.

Sony also lured Square away from the Saturn for Final Fantasy through offering to publish and distribute their software in Europe. This is why Final Fantasy 7 was the first mainline release to get a European release. Originally Final Fantasy 7 was in development for the Sega Saturn (Again, Nintendos choice of medium meant the N64 wasn't suitable).

But yeah, the original PS1 was built on 3rd party titles and exclusivity deals.

Its certainly more understandable when a manufacturer makes such deals to push their first console. However once Sony got SCE WWS going they nearly with these deals. MS with their third console and so many studios is still making these deals. Its not nearly the same situation. Besides offering a competition-free landscape has nothing to do with moneyhatting. It was Sega's and Nintendo's lack of will to take risks which is why PlayStation is such a strong brand in Europe and so many other countries. You can't blame them for missed oppurtunities by the others.