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Echodork · 11-10-2004, 12:20 AM

One thing to understand is that the console market is in a huge tug of war right now. Publishers (the companies who take the completed game, stamp it on a CD, and handle the distribution) are eager to cross-platform practically everything. You can see that everywhere this year, just think of all the big name titles produced for both the XBox and PS2 (Nintendo has a stricter corporate policy about Gamecube titles, so they sometimes intentionally opt out of cross-platforming)... All the EA/ESPN sports titles, Tony Hawk, Need for Speed, Lord of the Rings Third Age, Def Jam: Fight for NY, Mortal Kombat, and so on. There's a huge list of cross-platformed titles. Publishers make money based on number of copies sold, so of course it's in their interests to cross-platform as many games as possible.

The hardware companies themselves (Microsoft, Sony) have an interest in keeping as many titles exclusive to their system as possible. Why buy a PS2 if 90% of the good games are available for the XBox also? So developing companies often keep their very BEST titles exclusive, as a way to pull customers to their platform. Fable and Halo 2 round out Microsoft's lineup this fall, competing against Grand Theft Auto and Gran Turismo 4 on the PS2 (delayed until 1/03, btw), and Metroid Prime 2 and Paper Mario 2 on the Gamecube. Those are the very BIGGEST sellers of the year (ok, maybe Madden gets a spot in the Top Five), and they're all exclusive. There's your reason to buy a PS2.

So don't be surprised to hear that GTA isn't coming to the XBox any time soon. Sony did something very wise with Vice City. They milked the exclusive rights for all they were worth, THEN sold the rights to Microsoft, and announced San Andreas only weeks after GTA: Vice City appeared on the XBox. So Sony got to clean up on exclusive game sales during the first year of release, then pocketed a huge chunk of change in licensing fees... and then they pulled the rug out from under Microsoft by announcing San Andreas as an exclusive PS2 title, making gamers think twice about buying an XBox because of Vice City. MS did the same crap putting Halo on the PC, only they got their "second wind" from box sales and not information rights.

11-10-2004, 12:20 AM	#5 (permalink)
Echodork Tilted	One thing to understand is that the console market is in a huge tug of war right now. Publishers (the companies who take the completed game, stamp it on a CD, and handle the distribution) are eager to cross-platform practically everything. You can see that everywhere this year, just think of all the big name titles produced for both the XBox and PS2 (Nintendo has a stricter corporate policy about Gamecube titles, so they sometimes intentionally opt out of cross-platforming)... All the EA/ESPN sports titles, Tony Hawk, Need for Speed, Lord of the Rings Third Age, Def Jam: Fight for NY, Mortal Kombat, and so on. There's a huge list of cross-platformed titles. Publishers make money based on number of copies sold, so of course it's in their interests to cross-platform as many games as possible. The hardware companies themselves (Microsoft, Sony) have an interest in keeping as many titles exclusive to their system as possible. Why buy a PS2 if 90% of the good games are available for the XBox also? So developing companies often keep their very BEST titles exclusive, as a way to pull customers to their platform. Fable and Halo 2 round out Microsoft's lineup this fall, competing against Grand Theft Auto and Gran Turismo 4 on the PS2 (delayed until 1/03, btw), and Metroid Prime 2 and Paper Mario 2 on the Gamecube. Those are the very BIGGEST sellers of the year (ok, maybe Madden gets a spot in the Top Five), and they're all exclusive. There's your reason to buy a PS2. So don't be surprised to hear that GTA isn't coming to the XBox any time soon. Sony did something very wise with Vice City. They milked the exclusive rights for all they were worth, THEN sold the rights to Microsoft, and announced San Andreas only weeks after GTA: Vice City appeared on the XBox. So Sony got to clean up on exclusive game sales during the first year of release, then pocketed a huge chunk of change in licensing fees... and then they pulled the rug out from under Microsoft by announcing San Andreas as an exclusive PS2 title, making gamers think twice about buying an XBox because of Vice City. MS did the same crap putting Halo on the PC, only they got their "second wind" from box sales and not information rights.