i voted yes to see wht the results are and then i see this well put together post by LM and thats the question you haft to ask yourself.

I was talking about graphics really, it seems most developers still shoot for cost effectiveness in their design and Gears of War is the most cost effective current generation game.

Exclusives are needed because names of exclusives create an identity for a console and company. Nintendo has an Identity namely with Super Mario, but there of plenty of other characters like Kid Icarus, Donkey Kong and more. Sony was known for Crash Bandicoot, but is trying to find its way to a newer more mature identity. This gen without a shadow of a doubt Uncharted has become Sony's flagship title. Sony has established itself as a brand for 16-40 year old males. Usually the titles and peripherals that a console offers tells what demographic the company is after. Microsoft...isn't blazing any trail for themselves as far as a market is concerned. They are after both Nintendo and Sony's markets. They are a mix of both Sony and Nintendo in offerings now with Kinect and their core titles. The quality is always an debate and is left in the eye of the beholder.

If you're talking about cost effectiveness, engine, style and graphics, I would say the Unreal Engine holds the crown this gen. I agree with you from that stand point. A large quantity of the major and successful multiplat and upcoming titles are using the Unreal engine. Keep this in mind:

Bioshock franchise

Mortal Kombat (The new one)

Batman Arkham franchise

Mass Effect franchise

Lost Odyssey

Shadow Complex

Gears of War

Borderlands

DC Universe Online

Enslaved

etc

If we're talking about setting the bar here. I think Uncharted, Heavy Rain, Little Big Planet, Infamous and other Sony exclusives have set the bar not only for multiplatforms but for games on other consoles. If we're talking about platformers then Nintendo holds the crown there still with Mario Galaxy. It depends on the genre really.

I would say that the potential for a target audience to exist on one console and not the other is no longer true. The success of multiplats this gen and the relative poor showings of exclusives (outside of Halo) tend to prove this.

As for releasing FFXIII in Japan for 360. Why Not ? The game was written and the Japanese voice work done. There was very little downside.

No, just no.

Bioware studios is also responsible for setting the bar for the western rpg this gen where otherwise it was a dying style.

Im also talking about relevance. A multiplatform engine is the best benchmark for other multiplatform games especially as many also share a commonality with the same engine. An exclusive doesn't give you a good benchmark when you're trying to compare and contrast a game which potentially has an upper 10% budget in it's class with games which had a fraction of the attention and were developed for multiple consoles. Especially as these were not game designs massaged with a major purpose of pushing visuals unlike the major PS3 exclusives which are typically listed.

A good benchmark isn't, 'I out spent ya'll so you can suck it'. A benchmark is a reasonable standard to attain and meant to be exceeded.

If you're talking about relevance, Gears of War is burning itself out just like Halo is starting to do. Better a steady and solid title than a supernova ready to burn out based on a companys intentions.

I think every developer looks up to gen-defining games and try to follow on their footsteps somehow, wether it is from a technical standpoint, a creative style, gameplay design or just about all of that. In this case (PS3 exclusives) there's no doubt all developers look up to the Uncharted series. I'm sure there are others (PS3 exclusives) that many gather inspiration from, even if it's just from a small part or aspect of the games. It's the same with just about every (good) game developers play.