I was thinking about it, and I don't know that I'd buy many non-Sony exclusives if I pick a PS4 or many non-Microsoft exclusives if I change my mind and go the other route. Perhaps I am just poisoned against third-parties by their abuse of Nintendo consumers, but bar for some oddities, like a good Final Fantasy or Sonic game, I can't imagine my self playing all that many non-exclusive games. Dragon Age 4 would be one of the few exceptions (which I'd get on PC).

Am I just a Nintendo gamer who will be carrying over defensive habits to their secondary console or are third-party offerings just that 'take it or leave it' to anyone else?

I would add that exclusives also tend towards being meant to move platforms so may be given more leeway in many cases, both in terms of profit and schedule.

I'm sorry but I think this is one of the cases where you shouldn't buy into the nonsense that people throw in your face. There are plenty of incredible third party games, if you're choosing to bypass them because of some mantra drilled into your head on message boards, you're missing out. 

In the day when Nintendo had good third party support, like the NES and SNES, many of the best games were third party. 

Even today, even though people crap on the Wii U versions of games, if you didn't have a PS3/360 and didn't sit there counting pixels or measuring frame rate between versions ... things like Assassin's Creed IV and COD: BLOPS2 and Batman Arkham and Need For Speed and Rayman are perfectly enjoyable games on the Wii U. Hell some of them use the tablet controller better than Nintendo's own games. 

The whole bickering about them is they don't have every little minor feature that maybe another version or has a frame rate hiccup now and again or isn't released and day and date with the other versions is just fan boy posturing. 

Have fun on console message boards, but don't take them too seriously, especially with the games you buy. There's a lot of stupidity and childish console politics (ie: how dare company X/Y/Z release this port 3 months late! Grrr ... now its unplayable to me!). Research games you think are interesting, try out a demo if you can, and jump in. It's just entertainment that's all. 

Games are made by development studios. First- or third-party, who really gives a damn? I play anything that interests me, without regard to publisher. The need some people have to love anything made by the studios owned by the console manufacturer they like most is puzzling to me.

Besides that, I find the generalization of 'third-party' into a single homogeneous group to be amusing. They are separate and diverse businesses with different goals, philosophies, and methods. I've come to hate the over-simplification of the term 'third-party' almost as much as I've come to hate the term 'indie'.

9 out of 10 games dont get released on Nintendo platforms. If that is fine with you, fine.

There's countless third party games on the PS4/X1 that are looking to be amazing, MGSV, MKX, Witcher 3, Batman Arkham Knight, FFXV, Mirrior's Edge 2, etc.  Tbh going back all the years if I didn't have third party games like FF, KH, GTA, MGS etc, I probably wouldn't be gaming anymore.  I don't really understand how someone can only game on Nintendo consoles they are missing out on so much, unless they don't have enough time to play all the other games.

I actually had a 360 and original Xbox... and Nintendo's back to the SNES... as well as a SEGA 'something'.

Honestly maybe its just my consumption habits, but now that you've made me think about it my preferred games on the Nontendo ones tended to be first party even back when I knew nothing of it, like with Alex Kid, and the first Fable. Not saying exceptions don't exist (recently got into classic Megaman and it is awesome) just asking if there is a reason beyond being a subconscious quirk why they tend to be the exception for me...

Are they really all that diverse? At least when it comes to high-profile releases? In terms of gameplay, certainly, but they've all been moving some sort of design singularity in terms of aesthetic, aside from niche JRPGs.

7 out 10 games underperform when released (downgrade, day one patch, microtransitons, etc...). If that is fine with you...

edit: 9 out 10 was too harsh

I don't think that's a fair criticism. One could say the same thing about Nintendo's games, 95% of them have a Disney-approved aesthetic. 

Third party stuff ranges from Minecraft (well basically a third party IP) to COD to Need For Speed to Skyrim to Destiny to LEGO to Far Cry to Final Fantasy to Street Fighter to NBA 2K to Resident Evil to Dragon Quest to Metal Gear Solid to Destiny and back again. I wouldn't confuse any one of these IP for each other.