I would say the issues with pretty much all your examples save 1 or 2 is because the latest iterations are TERRIBLE compared to their prequels.

Developers have either gotten lazy or retarded and I think they fact that they changed their games so much from what their fanbase wanted is why most of the ones up there on your list show big declines.

The only other thing to consider is that used games might have been much more popular this generation with rising retail prices over last generation, as well as an increase in piracy over last generation perhaps? Or quite simply, fans of those older series grew out of gaming a bit? I mean seriously, but the time you get to over 3-4 games in a series, well over 10 years could have passed and peoples lives change a lot in 10 years.

In the last 2 years, I personally have seen a major decline in my gaming time. I began working a full time career after graduating college, I got engaged and soon to be married, I bought a house which involves more chores than an apartment (lawn care/landscaping especially), I took a greater interest in my physical fitness since my metabolism finally started to slow down a tad in my mid-twenties. Even just a year ago I was buying probably 1-2 games per month, where as now I am buying 1 game every 3-4 months.

Basically you're comparing games that either lost quality (Tekken, Crash Bandicoot, FFXIII, Dead or Alive 5, DMC4) or spin-offs (MGS Rising, Persona 4 Arena).

That those games used to be exclusives (even though many games in these franchises were not) is not the deciding factor. From the games you listed, most are Japanese and that is no surprise to me. It just shows that the PS2 was the dominant platform last gen and that PS3+360 is basically the same now as PS2 was back then in size and that big Japanese developers (some excluded) haven't really evolved.


btw. Dead or Alive 4 sold 1.01m copies before the European sales for early 360 games in Europe went missing.

Why should have been higher? Demon's/Dark Souls is a very demanding game; it's not for everyone's taste. I can bet that out of those 1.68 in Demon's Souls, there are plenty of people that didn't enjoy the ride. Even if we argue wether Demon or Dark is better, It's the natural progression of a saga; unless you reinvigorate and do something revolutionary (And this is largely relative, because sometimes it is odd what people demand of a new game - you add too much, people'll complain. You don't add anything at all, they complain too), the saga will keep selling less and less. By going multiplatform they sold more, that's a fact. There's no reason that, if having been exclusive, it would have sold more than the spiritual predecessor.

I did not know that about Mass Effect, though. I though that when 2 went gold, it had a multiplatform release.

Also the games you mentioned are not really Sony exclusive because they are third party and they can be published on any platform the developer chooses at any time they only reason they didn't go multi platform is because they sold enough on the PS2. But if they didn't sell enough most of these titles would have pulled a RE4.

Tomb raider was always on pc too...

You could make a case for almost all of those that there are other, more pressing circumstances than simply going multiplatform.

For example fighters have tapered off pretty big this gen compared to past gens. The Crash games not only went MP but also changed developers and the quality went way down. MGR is not a MGS game and features a main character many people cannot stand. etc etc

Without knowing the exact cost to make each game, it's hard to say whether they failed or not as a direct result of going MP.

Love the comparisons with games from PS2. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't PS2 basically the only console selling when those games came out? Competition happened and no longer do you have one dominant console.

2 was launched with pc and 360 and later announced ps3.

Thank you. :3 Everyday's school day!

What are examples of platform exclusive titles that do real well when they go multiplatform?  People keep calling out for everything to go multiplatform, but what evidence exists that there won't be a decline in sales?