The Kojima deal and the Tomb Raider deal really are different, like it or not.

Kojima Productions is a new studio that needs funding. Game development, especially at Kojima's level, is inherently expensive. That requires investment. Forming a partnership is a good way to establish a budget and gain some security. It's how a lot of studios have worked their way to true independent status. Secure contracted work can allow for multi platform work down the line. That should be obvious.

Exclusives of this type are good for the industry, as it's basically console manufacturers putting money back into games. This is a positive cycle.

On the other hand, major publishers who can afford development on their own looking for an extra chunk of upfront money by selling timed exclusivity do not help the industry much at all, as least as far as I can see. It's just the publishers trying to squeeze out secured profit and spend less on advertising.

Hey remember when you blasted CD Project Red for not releasing the Witcher 1 on consoles? Or How about the Witcher 2 when it never came out for PS3? No? Well I guess that makes you a giant hypocrite then, doesn't it? I can list about 400 other examples if you like.

The writing was on the wall as soon as it was announced that Kojima was leaving. This was the obvious outcome. Have you considered that going console-exclusive with Sony could give Kojima the peace of mind to do what he does best?

Kojima has always had a close relationship with Sony, going back to making games for the MSX which was by and large developed and championed by Sony in Japan. Many of his games over the years have been playstation-exclusive or came out of playstation first and then ported to other systems after the fact. Have you considered that perhaps Kojima prefers to just develop for one console and not make multi-platform releases. There are certainly many benefits to doing so if your first priority isn't making more money. Have you considered that perhaps because he has a great relationship with Sony he can trust the people there to handle things like certification, distribution, etc. allowing him to not worry about such things while he just concentrates on making the best game possible? How do you know that Sony made Kojima an offer he couldn't refuse for exclusivity (like MS done for TR)? Perhaps this was Kojima's intent all along.

Is it bad for xbox fans? Perhaps, but frankly I couldn't care less if that means it allows Kojima to make the best games he can make. Then again, I'm the kind of fan that will buy whatever platform I need to play his games.

But at the end of the day there's a world of different throwing ridiculous amounts of money at an established multi-platform franchise just to get exclusivity, and reaching a publishing/funding agreement with a developer with who you've developed a great relationship with and decided to strike it out on his own. If Sony really wanted add the pressure, Kojima Productions would be a Sony First Party Studio.

No

Something I keep bringing up in exclusives threads. Everything is an exclusive to someone that owns just one console. But that's looking at it from a consumer perspective to which I would say; of you want to play games, invest in the platform that has as many games as you are interested in. Simple as that. If u can afford to invest in multiple platforms and can justify such an investment, then go right ahead.

Now let's look at the Pub/dev. Its not about who gets to who first, or even how much money is put on the table. Its all about who offers the best deal.

Let's dig in. MS has intimately more money than Sony. But unless MS plans on deliberately losing money, that doesn't mean shit in the gaming industry. Here's how it works. When courting an idnie developer, or any kinda exclusivity deal, both Sony and MS come in saying the exact same thing. We will bankroll the marketing/localization costs of your game (basically think of anything that's not developer related) and in addition to that we reduce how much u pay us for royalties on each game sold.

Pretty simple when u think of it. But here's where it gets interesting.

That same deal means so much more when factoring in the install base of each platform. When accepting such a deal from on platform holder, devs will factor in with the potentially stand to lose by the time their game is ready for launch. So basically, Sony can walk in an offer up $20M and a 50% reduction in royalties. And MS would do the same. But the dev will know that their game could sell 100% more on the PS4 which means more money for them overall. So for them to go with MS, MS would have to cough out more money up front. The more PS4s lead over them grows, the harder it would be to cough that money up.

Now the platform holders..... pls let's not be naive. These companies are in competition with each other. So its important that they add as much perceived value to their console as possible. Best way to do that is by securing exclusives. The more of those you secure, the more reasons you give people to pick you over them and the faster your install base grows. Which in turn means more money, and in turn means more exclusivity deals cause with a certain sized install base, those deals pretty much pay for themselves.

Out of all the Japanese publishers Kojima could have went to i strongly think Sony is the best choice. Sony is in a position that can give him the most creative freedom, funds and time. Sony also heavily respects Kojima and has a long history with him they are also known to give their partners/studios alot of creative freedom.

Companys like Sega, Bamco and Koei Tecmo are definitely not in a position to fund a AAA 50-100 mill game. Capcom probably isn't either as they haven't had a hit release in years. Sega is going down the shitter + they just spend 100m on Atlus.

Square Enix: I doubt they want or can sustain another massive project up and running along side FF7,FFXV,KH3,DQ11,Deus Ex and Hitman.

Microsoft: They aren't Japanese and seeing how Kojima wants to be based in Japan and is hiring his previous staff members, full partnership with MS wouldn't be ideal.

Nintendo could be a possibility but that would leave the same exclusive debacle we have now. (Same with MS)

Sony is the best choice, dealwithit. They are fully publishing the game and are no way in hell going to publish a game on xbox, people should be happy its even coming to PC.

Exclusives drive the industry not hinder it(exclusives such as sunset and bloodborne) not sure why people can't see that, also as others have said the deals are even close to being the same.

The entire thread just gives me the impression of personal motives and wishes rather then accepting the reality of this situation. Kojima need funding to expand, a exclusive deal will give him exactly that. He can't afford to publish his own game just yet and it's only a console-exclusive, so you can still get to play it.. Gamer's are really on welfare these days

Kojima doesn't have the resources to make a game with the size and scope he's used to. The game he's making would probably be an order of magnitude lower if he hadn't partnered with Sony.

Would you rather Kojima made a meh to dissapointing indie multiplat? This game would most likely not even exist in the sense that it will now without a deal with Sony, Kojima just doesn't have the resources to do that. He does now, with the Sony partnership.

While we're at it, why can't Nintendo publish Mario on PS4, PC and Xbox?

Kojima needs funds because he literally just started an independent studio. He does not have the funding to make a game by himself. An exclusive deal for his first new IP/game makes perfect sense to get everything started. MS could have approached Kojima themselves. The only reason why you're really complaining about exclusives is because sony is getting the bulk of them for the PS4 and not microsoft's xbox one.

In any situation where a studio does not have the funds to make a game by themselves goes to one of the big 3 to make a deal for funding it helps the industry as a whole. The only negative that exclusives have on the market is that it sometimes inflicts buyer's remorse or envy on the people who don't own the console it's exclusive to.

Oh, so nice to see someone concerned about people that will "miss out"... This is a competitive business, exclusives are what differentiate every console, deal with it.
Somehow I believe that you wouldn't make this thread if it was Microsoft who had a partnership with Kojima.

(look at my avatar before reading)

I don't want all these chinese games.