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Machiavellian on 05 June 2017
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ChaosReich said:
Machiavellian said:

Exclusives do not win you install base.  Having a bunch of high quality games in different genres does.  Exclusives are only as good as their performance and this year happens to be a damn good one for Sony because a lot of the Japanese exclusives they have gotten just because they are a Japanese console.  This has always been a strength for Sony and probably will be for the foreseeable future.  The thing for MS to do is first gain back either the hardware edge or just make sure they do not  make the same mistake with the X1.  Second is to make sure their top franchises are polished solid top notch games to keep their base and probably gain back some defectors.  The next is to secure to make their system the easiest system to code for so that the many PC games that are release also make it to their system.  Last is to build their catalog of quality software.  MS does not have to beat Nintendo or Sony to be successful but they do have to make their ecosystem compelling enough for development and customer support. 

 

E3 has never been a make or break for any of these console OEMs. 

This is a very confusing post and also pretty incorrect i believe. You say exclusives do not win install base so why should polishing their existing ips bring back defectors. Also, if exclusives dont win install base then why would you assume them to keep one. Lastly, exclusives are a very large portion of why gamers choose a console. You say that having a bunch of high quality games in different genres wins an install base yet if the other console has those same games (since no exclusivity) then what would cause a consumer to choose one over the other, most likely it will be exclusives. Halo was an absolute system seller back in the day and even though it tied in console sales with ps3 it gave people a reason to decide to pick up and stay with a relatively new console. 360 was chosen largely in part due to games like Forza, Gears and Halo, thats exclusivity right there. Also, a lot of people who buy the Nintendo consoles (not including wii cause new motion controls helped it sell like hotcakes) do so cause of exclusives, hell its very very likely the major factor. It certainly cant be because of raw power cause they usually are not leading in that regard. 

So what is selling the switch.  What sold the PS4 over the X1 on release, was it really all the exclusives at the time or was it that the PS4 played all games better than the X1.  Even now with the switch its selling like crazy but is it the number of exclusives it has at launch or is it the hardware.  

If you looked at the 360 during its early years, it fared nice in the US but suffered overseas even though it had tons of exclusives, played 3rd party games better and was cheaper than the PS3.  Exclusives are better once the consoles have matured within the market place but usually by then whoever is running at the top continues to run at the top unless they make a huge mistake.  Having A lot of exclusives is only a good thing if those exclusives are high quality and in demand by gamers and usually all the major console OEMs have a few of those 1st party and 2nd party games.  Basically having the system that plays the games people want the best is what sells the best and this is why the PS4 has flourished.  Now that it has a nice library and games that cannot be played on the other consoles will continue to make sure it keeps its momentum. 

Mainly what I am saying is that its not the number or exclusives its the quality.  Huge numbers of exclusives or even new IP only means something if they are high quality and in demand games.  All the systems have these types of games.  For Sony they have received some 3rd party exclusives that turned out to be stellar because they are a Japanese console OEM which has worked out pretty good.  Either way, this is not a sprint but a marathon that never ends.  As have happen in the past each one can miss their target and they could be playing catchup for years.