Xbox 360 Exclusives:
There really can't be much debate that the Xbox 360 has had a great 2008. Looking at our Top Games of 2008 list, seven of the ten games are available on Xbox 360. There is, however, another side to the console; a side where its performance isn't quite as strong, and that's in the area of exclusives. Now, don't get us wrong, the 360 had its share of strong exclusive titles, such as Fable II and Gears of War 2, but did it have enough to give it the edge over the PS3 and the Wii? Does it have the breadth of exclusives to make it appealing to a wide audience? Has Microsoft's efforts to secure more exclusive content that will appeal to Japan paid off? Will we stop asking questions? Yes.
Looking at the numbers, the Xbox 360 only had eight exclusive titles this year that scored over 7.5 on IGN. Not only that, but only one of those games cracked 9 out of 10, and that's Fable II at 9.2. Gears of War II was awarded 8.9, and from there the scores continue to slide down to 8.0. Of course, 8.0 isn't a bad score – anything scoring an 8.0 or above is certainly worth playing, but system exclusives are meant to be killer apps – the games that your friends with other consoles pretend they don't care they're missing out on, when they really do.
The good news for Xbox 360's exclusives is that while many of them would be regarded as relatively hardcore, that's not necessarily true. Sure, Gears of War 2 is a gory testosterone-packed shooter, but it has a pretty wide appeal. And although Fable II is an action RPG, it was designed to be as accessible as possible, and has been a huge sales success – this is a game that everyone wants to play. Naruto: Broken Bond is also a smart exclusive to nab (even though there are Naruto titles on every system), given how massive that series is. Then there's Rare. Both its titles in 2008 are a few lateral steps askew of normal genres, so there's a definite point of difference there.
The other exclusives on the list see Microsoft trying to make headway in Japan, with very J-centric titles (Lost Odyssey and Tales of Vesperia), while Ninja Gaiden II is a game designed to appeal to the gamers who have supported the Xbox name from day one.
The approach is right, but the system was let down by a few significant failures. Too Human finally came out, but only warranted a 6.5 from our very own Patch Kolan, while the US team felt pretty lukewarm about Microsoft's first Great Mainstream Hope of 2008, Lips, giving it 6.8, and the less said about MS's second Great Mainstream Hope of 2008, You're in the Movies, which scored 4.2, the better. Of course, it's not out yet in Australia, so it should probably be stricken from the record. The point is, of course, that Microsoft still struggles when it comes to delivering high quality breakthrough titles for the truly casual market.
Must-Buy Xbox 360 Exclusives of 2008:
Fable II
Gears 2
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PS3 Exclusives:
The PlayStation 3 has had a booming year of great exclusive games in 2008 - a strong showing for a console that was once truly on the back foot in the market and not particularly in the favour of many developers, thanks to the complex architecture. A lot of this recent success can be attributed to games that have either had extended periods in development (since early in the console's life) or are sequels to launch titles, created by teams who are now familiar with the cell processor architecture.
Of these, no other game managed to capture the imaginations of PlayStation 3 fans in 2008 like Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 4. MGS4 took the complex and often strange story of Solid Snake and closed it out beautifully, with incredible production values that are still mostly unrivalled. The game really displayed what the PS3 was capable of, and the clear storage benefits of Blu-ray that the 360 and Wii just couldn't match.
Insomniac really delivered some great content too – Resistance 2 was a tremendous sequel, off the back of the must-have game at the PS3's launch. Resistance 2 follows Nathan Hale on his missions through the ruined city streets of 1950s mid-western America. The game raises the bar in terms of multiplayer and co-operative content too – including an original campaign for eight players and a multiplayer mode that allows up to 60 gamers at one time to converge and wreak mayhem. Jolly good fun.
Media Molecule is another great example of a third party developer really coming to the table early – to reap great rewards. LittleBigPlanet ended up being the all-ages darling in the eye of Sony Computer Entertainment. This is a game developed from scratch to demonstrate the social as well as technological benefits of the system over that of its competitors. It had a style so striking and infectious that its influence could be felt in the products of competing game companies like Rare and even Nintendo.
Sony has certainly done well to retain many of its ties to third parties over the years – even if games like Final Fantasy have started to make their way onto Nintendo and Microsoft consoles. Even so, Sony itself is responsible for some mammoth first-party hit titles, so prevalent in the marketplace that their selling power cannot be ignored.
Of these, SingStar has proven to be the biggest and most consistent mainstream release, pitting players against each other in a classic sing-off to the beat of all kinds of genres of music. The Buzz! series has also been a big hit with younger players and families in the same kind of casual way that Nintendo has seen with Wii Sports and the Mario Party and Kart series.
Hardcore gamers have just as much reason to be happy in 2008, thanks to releases like Siren: Blood Curse and Valkyria Chronicles - two more exclusive and excellent mature games. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue caps off the list with a taste of what to expect when Polyphony Digital finally puts the finishing touches on the much anticipated racer.
All told, 2008 was Sony's year in terms of exclusives, and it bodes well for 2009 and beyond.
Must-Buy PS3 Exclusives of 2008:
Metal Gear Solid 4: Gun of the Patriots
LittleBigPlanet
Resistance 2
Valkyria Chronicles
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Let's compare systems shall we? The Wii had the most exclusives that scored over 7.5 this year, but once you get past Brawl and Zack & Wiki, the scores drop straight to the mid-8s and below. While games like No More Heroes, Skate It and de Blob are absolutely worth playing, they're not quite the triple A exclusives that every system looks for. That said, there's plenty of breadth in the Wii's exclusive lineup, and - finally - the third parties have delivered a number of great titles. The genre split for exclusives is pretty good: you've got music games, platformers, sports, racing and fighting, not to mention a simulation of exploring ocean depths and an action title where you're surviving volcanoes, fire storms and flash floods. That's great, but the other platforms have a lot more genres accounted for in non-exclusive titles, so it's really a necessity for Wii. In fact, the Wii really should have considerably more exclusives than it does if it wants to remain appealing to Nintendo's more passionate supporters. We all know how average ports to the Wii tend to be, while the system's SD hardware and motion controls make it a much tougher proposition to develop quality cross-platform titles for. Quality exclusives are imperative.
The Wii's exclusive line-up is a little bittersweet, too. Garnering a 7.9 may qualify Mario Kart Wii for the list, for instance, but really, that's a hugely disappointing score for such a quality franchise. And something like Castlevania Judgment - sure, it might be a solid enough fighting game, but really, who wouldn't prefer a 9/10 traditional Castlevania title?
The Xbox 360's list is similarly conflicted... and considerably smaller than the Wii's. While exclusives are less important on 360 than on Wii, when compared to the PS3's list of exclusives, it's clear that the 360's line-up could be a lot stronger. The breakdown of genres is pretty decent, with a number of core titles paired with slightly more left of field ones, but as mentioned before, the 360 didn't have many quality casual-orientated exclusives, whereas that's absolutely one of Sony's strengths.
Sony's list also makes it clear how effectively the company can leverage first party development and excellent second/third party relationships to put quality exclusives on the PS3. Not only does Sony have great first party studios in Europe and Japan, including SCE Studios Japan (Siren: Blood Curse), Polyphony Digital (Gran Turismo 5 Prologue) and SCE Studios London (Singstar), thus producing games from different cultural perspectives, but its tight relationships with development studios like Media Molecule (LittleBigPlanet), Insomniac (Resistance 2), Evolution Studios (MotorStorm: Pacific Rift) and Relentless Software (Buzz! Quiz TV) have stood it in good stead.
Looking at the breakdown of scores, it's clear that while the PlayStation 3 only has two more exclusives than the Xbox 360, it has quality on its side, with four games scoring 9 or higher, compared to only one on Xbox 360. The Wii, meanwhile, comes in with two. All three systems have exclusive strengths and weaknesses, but if we had to call a winner - and we do - we'd give it to the PlayStation 3: Sony's system has the highest standard of exclusives, paired with plenty of variety.
Overall Winner: PlayStation 3
