Are you really sure "exclusives" are so important, like many say?
I DO NOT.
I'm convinced: if MS payed a lot of cash (and they could) to japanese developers to have its triple A games, for 1 year, exclusive to its Xbox consoles... that will not change the results they are getting in Japan too much. And it will barely change in Europe.
Maybe it will change something in US. Maybe.
Take the PS5 situation in Europe: Now, after 5 years, they are selling machines very good. Why? Many reasons, but NOT its EXCLUSIVE games (fuck, no XD). People, there, basically just use PS5 to play online with EA FC, and CoD. And a lot of young people play FREE games as Fornite. Or the "centennial" GTAV/Online (old AF) by 2024 (yeah yeah, I also love GTA Online, but it's very old. So old, is now very very cheap to get, so it helps to sell in huge numbers). That is the crude reality. Young people want PS5 for social interactions, to play with its real live friends. Aaaand free games, like Fornite.
One of the most obvious criminal facts about the reality of the AAA games situation,is Final Fantasy VII Trilogy remake.
I recently was panned in a news commentary with lots of negative votes (so, I must certainly put the finger in the sore spot) for telling what I will defend here: PS5 exclusivity has heavily damaged FFVII brand.
Some even wanting a free crossover between Fornite and FFVII Remake XD
All those AAA games wanting to sell good... They don't. They just crash in the real world, after being expensively developed and hyped in the media.
(and btw, that FFVII remake has to be EPISODIC, don't even try to tell me the most expected triple AAA REMAKE in the whole history had to be 1 single game: Ona game? it would have been a crap: extra-short, or another DQ3 Remake ultra cheap-style release).
When PS5 have the exclusive for one year of the FFVII remake episodes and they don't sell that well... it means not even "A GOD" in PS history, sells well if you pretend people to pay for it. So, PS5 users, at least in Europe, only want to pay 60 or 70 bucks for the same expensive "SHIT" of FIFA, and the yearly CoD release, year after year after year. Why? to play with friends. They are trapped, and they are disgusted by that, but they feel they have to do it.
And that is the problem Xbox have against PS (at least, I repeat, in the european market): Playstation has been rooting in the media, to be "the console", the only one, almost for 30 years. I remember very aggressive and dumb Sony Fanboys saying clearly that PS2 had to be the ONLY console in the market, "the standard", insulting everyone who buyed other domestic consoles. It was the GTA era. And they got 3 GTAs.
That is why now, the same kind of people are expecting so hard the GTA VI launch: they believe they NEED that game to save Sony and PS5. And for sure it will boost PS5 sells... but PS5 will not be saved for one GTA, and much less in Japan, where that game will be... a good seller curiosity, nothing else. Although, in Japan this march PS5 will get the new Monster Hunter Wilds, and for sure it will sell EXTREMELY GOOD and it will boost the PS5 sells for, at least, 1 month.
So, Xbox is always playing against a long history of heavy branding propaganda in the media that caused a full generation to be PS fans during the PS1 and PS2 (btw, 2 machines very affected by huge piracy numbers, and carefully hidden in the written press of that era. I only saw ONE editorial against piracy all those 10 years, and was AGAINST NDS R4 cards!! And a very insulting one against the users. That editor always was a corrupted clown 
). That is a trend hard to change. Nintendo some times won there, but, Europe is a hard PS territory nonetheless. Also... is the less important in development companies, by far XD.
Meanwhile, Sony destroyed its PS reputation in Japan the last 20 years. This last Christmas season numbers were agonizing for PS5. And no "digital sells" excuse will save that: Japanese companies know which total numbers are they selling in every machine, and they still preffer Switch, cause it sells games.
The Xbox philosohy this generation was to offer good games to everyone, BUT, they do not spend a penny to buy the media. So, many media sites, as before the paper magazines, have a tendency to help PS trademark. But let me tell you one thing: the GamePass is by far better than AAAAALL the PS5 "exclusives" had so far. PS5 barely have "exclusive" interesting titles, and when they apper, they even sold bad, like FFVII trilogy.
What MS has to do, is continue with that idea, continue to offer good GamePass experiences, launch a new hardware soon, and force Sony to develop more game for other platforms because they won little money in its actual situation, as they already do, not only for PC, but for Xbox and Switch with "MLB The Show" every year, or even with their Horizon brand, using a "LEGO excuse" to sell brand new games, developed by PS Studios, to its rival platforms. .
Playstation can now, finally, sell a lot in western countries, after 5 years of mediocre exclusives at a big price. But the PS5 future depends on what MS will do now. If MS launch a new generation console before 2027, SIE is toasted and, i'm mostly sure, they will abandon the console-hardware business earlier than many expect. They will not launch another new expensive console for them, if they see the "Horizon" not that clear and "Forbidden" in cost
Last edited by JohnVG - on 16 January 2025
