With Metro: Exodus dividing the gaming community by exclusively selling its PC version on the brand new Epic Games Store, we’ve decided to turn our attention towards the larger topics of competition and monopoly in the video games industry… What DO we think of exclusive games and exclusive marketplaces? Is it a good thing, or a bad thing that some games are locked to one platform? Let’s discuss!
Javier
Exclusive games are the ultimate point of getting your fanboy back up. I personally think that when something is exclusive to Sony, such as Uncharted, I’m like ‘hehe I get to play this and no one else does’ BUT when something I love such as Ultimate Alliance 3 is exclusive to Switch, meaning I can’t play it I cry like a little bitch. I hate that I can’t play the sequel to 2 of my favourite games as a kid without buying a whole new console. I also wouldn’t really care if Sony exclusive weren’t exclusive, surely more consoles more money? I understand it can drive console sales up hugely but wouldn’t more game copies be sold if on all consoles, and everyone takes a cut? Who freaking knows gaming as an industry has become one of the most profitable business sectors in the world so it ain’t gonna change!
Mikey
To tell the truth this really isn’t something that has affected me yet so as things stand I am not that bothered by it. As I use a PS4 as my primary console the only store I am using is obviously the PSN Store and the exclusives on that seem to be limited to mostly indie titles and I don’t have a problem with that. If things were to change in the future though and some more of the big AAA games with big trade-in value started to appear as online store exclusives then I might change my mind on the issue but as things stand I am happy with the current landscape.
Salman
I think it’s just straight up inconvenient. Sure exclusivity gets sales but the inconvenience to the customer is what bothers me. And then there are titles that are completely locked behind online stores and some may never even see the light of day like the Scott Pilgrim game. But that’s a topic for another article.