Two 360 Titles Lose Their Exclusivity

While for the most part we've been hearing about formerly PS3-exclusive games heading to Microsoft's console, as the PS3 begins to get some momentum up in the marketplace we'll start to see the opposite happening. The first converts are the titles Kane & Lynch (a stealth shooter), and Crossfire (a co-op military shooter). Both are now slated to launch on the PlayStation 3, as well as the Xbox 360. Opposable Thumbs reports: "'[SCi Entertainment's] Board believes that a release of these products simultaneously on all three platforms (PS3, Xbox 360 and PC) including the two next generation platforms will benefit the long term revenue potential for these two strong franchises rather than releasing different versions at different times.' It's hard to say that this move is all that surprising. We've said time and time again the high development costs of current generation software are going to lead to an increase in the number of cross-platform software, as extending the possible player-base for a title is crucial for profit. From the looks of these two games, this is a solid win for the PS3: two more quality games to add to the growing list of the PS3's star software."

Comments

Re:What can you say

[Kelbear]

I visit game news sites daily, and have never even heard of these two games.

Wow, what a sea change

[Control Group]

Let's see, the PS3 loses Assassin's Creed and Grand Theft Auto IV to multiplatform releases.

The 360 loses two games I've already forgotten the names of to multiplatform releases.

Yep, the tide is definitely turning.

Re:Wow, what a sea change

[badasscat]

Let's see, the PS3 loses Assassin's Creed and Grand Theft Auto IV to multiplatform releases.

GTA4 was never a PS3 exclusive. I'm not sure why the assumption would even be made, as GTA1, GTA2, GTA3, GTA:VC and GTA:SA were never exclusives either.

I think people need to make a distinction between "exclusive" and "coming out on one platform six months before being ported to another". They are not the same thing, and never have been. This notion of a "timed exclusive" is one of those either meaningless or wrongly-applied industry buzzwords that really needs to go. There is no such thing as a "timed exclusive" - a game is either exclusive or it isn't.

Assassin's Creed I don't know about, but GTA4 was always multi-platform. The only difference in GTA4's case is the simultaneous release. Losing six months of "exclusivity" isn't losing exclusivity, it's losing six months. Again, not the same.

Re:Wow, what a sea change

[(A)*(B)!0_-]

"I think people need to make a distinction between "exclusive" and "coming out on one platform six months before being ported to another". They are not the same thing, and never have been. This notion of a "timed exclusive" is one of those either meaningless or wrongly-applied industry buzzwords that really needs to go. There is no such thing as a "timed exclusive" - a game is either exclusive or it isn't."

There is a difference between "exclusive" and "timed exclusive" (for lack of a better term) but I think your disregard for the difference between a timed exclusive and a multi-platform release is overstated. When GTA 3 was out exclusively for the PS2, with no mention of it coming out on Xbox, that was clearly a feather in Sony's cap.

"The only difference in GTA4's case is the simultaneous release. Losing six months of "exclusivity" isn't losing exclusivity, it's losing six months. Again, not the same."

People are impatient. Six months can mean a real difference given the right game. I agree that it's not the same as real exclusivity but I do think those exclusive windows can have a real impact.

Re:Wow, what a sea change

[Babbster]

Here's the problem with your thesis that timed exclusives don't mean anything: If a company releases an exceedingly popular game for one console and refuses to (or contractually cannot) confirm development and eventual release for another console then the "timed exclusive" status can mean quite a lot. There were Xbox owners who bought PS2s in order to play GTA3 and Vice City because they couldn't be certain that an Xbox version was ever going to come (Rockstar and Sony repeatedly denied it would happen, right up until the moment that Rockstar announced the Xbox versions). On the flip side, Splinter Cell managed to sell Xboxes during its first holiday season at least in part because Ubisoft delayed announcement of PS2 and Gamecube ports until early the following year (again, Ubisoft repeatedly said Splinter Cell was an Xbox exclusive until they announced the ports were "coming soon").

So, "timed exclusivity" is a phrase that can indeed have meaning if properly used. All it takes is either obfuscation or outright lies to make gamers question whether or not a port will actually come. If it's announced well ahead of release then, yes, it becomes meaningless to most gamers - besides the ones who absolutely have to play on day one, of course.

Strong Franchise?

[hidannik]

It's not a franchise until two games in the series are released (i.e. there's at least one sequel).

It's not strong until it sells well.

Both of these titles are new properties, unreleased and without sequels. Therefore they are neither franchises nor strong. Calling them so is merely wishful marketing.

Hans

How about the Wii?

[HalAtWork]

The Wii is the system creaming the competition, how about offering this on the Wii? The article states: "...a release of these products simultaneously on all three platforms (PS3, Xbox 360 and PC) including the two next generation platforms..." -- That's a pretty curious omission of the Wii... It's definitely possible to scale down the graphics and offer the same exact game on the Wii, a system even more powerful than the original XBox, which could handle Half Life 2.

Re:How about the Wii?

[Dan Ost]

It's possible that the Wii's lack of processing power makes it unsuitable for these games.

As developers learn to take advantage of the 360 and the PS3(!), expect this to happen more and more often.

Re:How about the Wii?

[revlayle]

As much as i like the Wii.... i would have to completely agree with the above statement. Point: I want to get a 360 for games like Mass Effect or Bioshock. I just don't ever expect them to be ported to Wii... EVER. Wii is fun for other games, however.

Wait, people give a shit about this?

[RichPowers]

Let's say I own a 360. A videogame I really want will also be released for the PS3 and PC. So what? I still can purchase a 360 copy.

People who bought a console for just one game (ya, such people exist) might be upset if a title's exclusivity is lost. But why should anyone else care? These "OMG UR CONSOLE DOESNT HAVE EXCLUSIVES!1" pissing contests represent videogame geekery at its worst.

Would this even be a story if the headline read: "Videogame publishers increasing profits"? Because that's exactly what they're doing by releasing a game on multiple platforms.

And as far as I know, Kane & Lynch was never totally exclusive; a PC launch was planned from the beginning.

Good for everyone

[Perseid]

Exclusivity sucks. The more even the 3 systems are in sales the more even the game releases get. If we can all just buy one system and get all the games we want, even if one version is slightly better, this is good.

I expect to see more of this, too. It really has little to do with the success or failure of any one system. It has more to do with the insane development costs games are amassing. If you're spending $20mil on a game is it really that bad to spend another couple mil to port it?

Translation

[EveryNickIsTaken]

SCi Entertainment's Board believes that a release of these shitty products merely on the 360 would deprive PS3 and PC owners of the absolute crapfest that is to come. So, we're releasing them on all platforms with the hope against hopes that we'll be able to make our money back and won't be forced to file Chapter 11.

Bigger News - Beautiful Katamari 360

[Alzheimers]

From a recent NAMBCO/BANDAI press release:

"Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. announced that The King of All Cosmos, everyone's favorite pint-sized Prince, and the whole wacky and wild Katamari crew will be making their hilarious next generation debut in Beautiful Katamari for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft later this year."

Still no compelling reason to invest in a PS3 if you've already got the Wii60.

Re:What can you say

[suv4x4]

I visit game news sites daily, and have never even heard of these two games.

Now you know the reason this article exists. On the surface it's an article about XBOX360 games losing exclusivity. However, on second read:

"IO Interactive's Kane & Lynch is a strange and mysterious action game that focuses on the relationship between two men on opposite sides of a deal gone wrong. The developer is best known for the Hitman series, so stealth and careful gunplay are likely to be the order of the day. As for Crossfire, information is somewhat scarce, but the Pivotal Games-developed title is a two-player co-op FPS that revolves around two government agents on a mission behind enemy lines." ... "From the looks of these two games, this is a solid win for the PS3: two more quality games to add to the growing list of the PS3's star software."

What actually happened is you were introduced to two games you never heard of, and they were placed as "two quality games" to add to the "growing list of PS3's star software".

Ninja advertisement at its best.