So I'm reading the latest thread arguing that a particular game should be a Playstation exclusive and I'm trying to understand the logic behind it.  In many such threads the belief seems to be that being exclusive will shine a spotlight on the game and improve its sales (as if there are a significant amount of people that will completely ignore a game if it isn't exclusive). If that's the case then why do the top 10 game sales in the US (Source: NPD) for the past 2 years look like the following:

2013

• Grand Theft Auto V (360, PS3)** -- Take 2 Interactive
• Call Of Duty: Ghosts (360, PS3, XBO, PS4, PC, NWU)** -- Activision Blizzard
• Madden NFL 25 (360, PS3, PS4, XBO) -- Electronic Arts
• Battlefield 4 (360, PS3, XBO, PS4, PC) -- Electronic Arts
• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, NWU, PC)** -- Ubisoft
• NBA 2K14 (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, PC)** -- Take 2 Interactive
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II (360, PS3, NWU, PC)** -- Activision Blizzard
• Just Dance 2014 (WII, 360, NWU, XBO, PS3, PS4)** -- Ubisoft
• Minecraft (360) -- Microsoft
• Disney Infinity (360, WII, PS3, NWU, 3DS) -- Disney Interactive Studios

2014

• 1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (360, XBO, PS4, PS3, PC)
• 2. Madden NFL 15 (360, PS4, XBO, PS3)
• 3. Destiny (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3)
• 4. Grand Theft Auto V  (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3)
• 5. Minecraft (360, PS3, XBO, PS4)
• 6. Super Smash Bros. (3DS, NWU)
• 7. NBA 2K15 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)
• 8. Watch Dogs (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC, NWU)
• 9. FIFA 15 (360, PS4, XBO, PS3, Wii, 3DS, PSV)
• 10. Call of Duty: Ghosts (360, PS3, XBO, PS4, NWU, PC)

In that entire list the only game that some people might consider exclusive is Super Smash Bros. and even that isn't on one system.  So why aren't the exclusives completely dominating those two lists since they get more of a spotlight as some people claim?

Then the other argument is that making a game exclusive will keep costs down and make the games more profitable.  So if that's the case then the top third parties in terms of profit are going to be dominated by developers that make exclusive games right?  Well then why are the biggest and most profitable third parties all making multiplatform games?

EA and Activision for example dominate and I actually couldn't find a single third party that makes only exclusive games that could even compete with them.

So the next time you see a fanboy trying to convince people that a particular game (especially from a major series) should be exclusive ask then to show some numbers as to why that would make any sense.

Because lazy developer (most developer) will not optimize the game on every platform, each platform is different, and to porting to one another double and sometimes triple the cost of games development and also dividing the market. It's great for branding but bad for quality.

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User Requested removal

It's not that they sell more, it's that they're the tie breaker. So if 2 systems both have a ton of the same games that you like which one do you buy? Is it the one that has a couple MORE games the other doesn't that you like or the one that plays those games with better visuals or performance? Those are pretty much the 2 biggest tie breakers that companies can control (the biggest overall probably being what your friends are on with online networks 4th I think).

I don't think people who know what they are talking about claim that exclusives sell more. Most people I would assume know this. The reason people want such and such game to be exclusive is not sales of the software. They want the exclusivity to increase the sales of the hardware. Exclusivity also can be a benefit to the development costs even if they sell less they save money on porting or optimization. Release windows can also be more accurate and shorten total development time. In that same fashion, quality can also increase if a game is exclusive. Freeing up both time and money along with only needed to code for one device specifications allows for more optimization and less trade offs to establish parity.

Exclusives help sell consoles. By themselves they do not necessarily sell more (how could they?). But when figuring out which system to purchase you almost always look at those first. An Uncharted fan on limited income will not buy an XOne first, unless they are a bigger Halo fan...in which case it was still an exclusive that made the decision.

People seems to forget that the main point for exclusives is to boost hardware sales, not so much for software. For third parties there's usually some sort of contract involved like tomb raider or sonic games exclusively for Nintendo platforms.

In general they don't sell better. They sell a butt load more consoles though.

Of course going exclusive wouldn't help for games like Fifa, Cod and GTA. A smaller game can game can get more exposure from being exclusive though.