Console exclusivity; to gain sole rights to that singular game with hopes for drawing in the crowds. Game and franchise exclusives have been part of the strategy to gain fan following since the first video game machines began competing. In the early days, consoles had pretty distinct catalogs. It was easy to determine what games would appear on what systems and pick where to spend your dollars. These days almost everything not developed by a first or second party is cross platform (for the moment, we will be ignoring the Wii which plays by its own rules). However, don't think for a moment that exclusivity is a thing of the past, it has merely evolved into a new, sinister form.
Made possible in an age of downloadable content; extra levels, costumes, and other goodies are becoming the new system exclusives. An example of this trend was pointed out in a blog post by Zachary Miller. People who bought Tomb Raider: Underworld for the Xbox 360 are getting all sorts of new content while gamers who bought it for the PS3 are getting the shaft. In my opinion, this is a terrible way to treat your fans.
When games are exclusive to a system, or even when different versions of a game with unique content are made console specific (see Soul Calibur II as an example), fans know up front what they are getting and can make choices on which system to buy for which game. Downloadable content, however, is something that tends to come down the pipes later on, long after the game itself has been purchased. If downloadable content becomes the new console exclusive, consumers can't make informed choices about what version of a game to buy because not all of the information is available up front. One group or the other is going to end up punished for buying the game for the “wrong” system, and that's really not cool.
Related Links:
Millions of Disappointing Tomb Raider Sales for Eidos
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