Top 5: 'Exclusive' multiplatform games
The Big Guns Exclusive

E3 keynote presentations have become notorious for cringeworthy moments. The silence which greeted Kaz Hirai’s announcement of the Playstation 3’s price point was a memorable one. Anything Cammie Dunaway did at her E3 debut was another. But surely the most epic was at Microsoft’s 2006 press conference where Peter Moore showed us his guns that bore tattoos of Halo and GTA IV. 1% of twelve year old kids watching on live stream were desperate to know how they could get those sweet tattoos. Everyone else was too busy biting their bottom lip to stop themselves from crying with laughter. So what could cause a man to temporarily scar his body with a game logo? Had Microsoft spent the annual GDP of Luxembourg in order to acquire Rockstar’s most lucrative license? “This” said Peter, chomping on a cigar with his eyes bulging dramatically, “means we have a day one release of GTA IV on the 360!” Then he tore off his shirt, flung it into the audience and bellowed in triumph. This rampant display of machismo was in fact to celebrate the fact that the 360 version of Grand Theft Auto would launch on the same day as the Playstation 3.

The significance of this shouldn’t be understated as the franchise had until that point been intrinsically linked with the Playstation brand. Of more importance though were the two 360 exclusive DLC packs that cost Microsoft a cool 50 million. As a result of this, and a much larger user base, the 360 version sold far more its Playstation 3 counterpart. Will it remain exclusive? Observers remain divided on this subject but essentially it matters little now. With the release of The Ballad of Gay Tony the world has moved on from GTA IV. A 2010 release on the Playstation 3 wouldn’t have a great deal of impact. Still, when a man was willing to give us tickets to the gun show to relay the importance of an exclusive DLC pack, we realized that whilst huge 3rd party exclusives were becoming a thing of the past, DLC was the fanboy bragging rights of the future.
The Timed Exclusive
The one month exclusivity deal on Rockband 2 seems ludicrously petty in retrospect. Or even at the time. Whatever Microsoft paid Harmonix for their one month head start on the Playstation and Wii versions of the game was surely meaningless. It was just about the stupidest, crotch grabbing gesture in an industry which has become rather overwhelmed by them as of late. At least it would have been, if Sony and Atari hadn’t topped that feat.

“It doesn’t get and bigger and better than this blockbuster title.” What game could Sony’s European Product Marketing Director have possibly been referring to? Had Sony’s convinced Bungie to release Halo Reach on Playstation 3? Was Infinity Ward scrapping Modern Warfare 2 for 360? No. It was Ghostbusters. Sony secured Ghostbusters as a five month exclusive in Europe. Cue plenty of backslapping and self congratulation in Sony Europe, and bewilderment, confusion and pity from everyone else. The game had already been made; Sony had just thrown a bit of money at Atari in order to spite the few hardcore Ghostbusters fans in Europe who had been anticipating the game. In the pantheon of pointless dick moves, this one ranks pretty damn high. Glad to see those Sony Europe executives were earning their keep.
The 360 Exclusive.................................. that's also coming to PC

The PC is of course not dying, as 11 million World of Warcraft subscribers might be quick to remind you. So why should Microsoft, who has much to gain from the continued success of the platform, insist on treating it like an unwanted stepchild? If the PC market is mentioned it is done so briefly and with some distaste before they can then refocus the topic to its more beloved child, the 360. Take as an example Mass Effect.
"The thing we can tell you about the future of Mass Effect very simply is that there's going to be a trilogy; we've been on record in the past as saying we want that whole trilogy to be on the console", BioWare's Greg Zeschuk told GameDaily.
“Our focus is pure and simple; it's to deliver the best game possible for our fans with Mass Effect, and that's an Xbox 360 exclusive. Microsoft's a great partner...and they've really helped build the value of the product and we're proud to work with them."
After a long pause I imagine someone whispering in his ear before he turns back to the interviewer and blurts out, “Ohyeahandbythewayit’salsocomingoutonPC.”
The 'It's never coming to another conso... oh wait it just did' Exclusive

Bioshock was a 360 exclusive and there was no way in hell that it would ever see the light of day as a PS3 title. In fact as Ken Levine put it,
“I promise you, there is no secret plan about the PS3 that we’re keeping from people. There’s no PS3 development going on that we’re hiding. There’s lots of stuff that gets into game code, plans change over time and we got an exclusive deal with Microsoft … that’s not a Rosetta Stone discovery.”
He obviously had his fingers crossed at the time. One year later the game was released on the Playstation 3. I shouldn’t have been especially surprised about this, but I do feel a little deceived. I bought a 360 to sit alongside my PS3 in order to ensure that I could play this ground-breaking game. Whilst I don’t regret that purchase, there is still a lingering sense of bitterness over the concept of ‘exclusives' that stems from this game.
The Head Decapitation Exclusive

The jewel in the crown of the ‘exclusive’ multiplatform could never really be in doubt. I refer of course to the Gamecube classic, Resident Evil 4. The director Shinji Mikami was so certain that the game would remain a Gamecube exclusive that he said he would cut-off his own head if it were ever released on the Playstation 2. Just over nine months later the game was released on the Playstation 2, yet to this day Shinji Mikami’s head remains firmly upon his shoulders. At least the man has a sense of humor. In God Hand, another game he directed, one of the racing dogs was called ‘Shinji Mikami’s head’

E3 keynote presentations have become notorious for cringeworthy moments. The silence which greeted Kaz Hirai’s announcement of the Playstation 3’s price point was a memorable one. Anything Cammie Dunaway did at her E3 debut was another. But surely the most epic was at Microsoft’s 2006 press conference where Peter Moore showed us his guns that bore tattoos of Halo and GTA IV. 1% of twelve year old kids watching on live stream were desperate to know how they could get those sweet tattoos. Everyone else was too busy biting their bottom lip to stop themselves from crying with laughter. So what could cause a man to temporarily scar his body with a game logo? Had Microsoft spent the annual GDP of Luxembourg in order to acquire Rockstar’s most lucrative license? “This” said Peter, chomping on a cigar with his eyes bulging dramatically, “means we have a day one release of GTA IV on the 360!” Then he tore off his shirt, flung it into the audience and bellowed in triumph. This rampant display of machismo was in fact to celebrate the fact that the 360 version of Grand Theft Auto would launch on the same day as the Playstation 3.

The significance of this shouldn’t be understated as the franchise had until that point been intrinsically linked with the Playstation brand. Of more importance though were the two 360 exclusive DLC packs that cost Microsoft a cool 50 million. As a result of this, and a much larger user base, the 360 version sold far more its Playstation 3 counterpart. Will it remain exclusive? Observers remain divided on this subject but essentially it matters little now. With the release of The Ballad of Gay Tony the world has moved on from GTA IV. A 2010 release on the Playstation 3 wouldn’t have a great deal of impact. Still, when a man was willing to give us tickets to the gun show to relay the importance of an exclusive DLC pack, we realized that whilst huge 3rd party exclusives were becoming a thing of the past, DLC was the fanboy bragging rights of the future.
The Timed Exclusive
The one month exclusivity deal on Rockband 2 seems ludicrously petty in retrospect. Or even at the time. Whatever Microsoft paid Harmonix for their one month head start on the Playstation and Wii versions of the game was surely meaningless. It was just about the stupidest, crotch grabbing gesture in an industry which has become rather overwhelmed by them as of late. At least it would have been, if Sony and Atari hadn’t topped that feat.

“It doesn’t get and bigger and better than this blockbuster title.” What game could Sony’s European Product Marketing Director have possibly been referring to? Had Sony’s convinced Bungie to release Halo Reach on Playstation 3? Was Infinity Ward scrapping Modern Warfare 2 for 360? No. It was Ghostbusters. Sony secured Ghostbusters as a five month exclusive in Europe. Cue plenty of backslapping and self congratulation in Sony Europe, and bewilderment, confusion and pity from everyone else. The game had already been made; Sony had just thrown a bit of money at Atari in order to spite the few hardcore Ghostbusters fans in Europe who had been anticipating the game. In the pantheon of pointless dick moves, this one ranks pretty damn high. Glad to see those Sony Europe executives were earning their keep.
The 360 Exclusive.................................. that's also coming to PC

The PC is of course not dying, as 11 million World of Warcraft subscribers might be quick to remind you. So why should Microsoft, who has much to gain from the continued success of the platform, insist on treating it like an unwanted stepchild? If the PC market is mentioned it is done so briefly and with some distaste before they can then refocus the topic to its more beloved child, the 360. Take as an example Mass Effect.
"The thing we can tell you about the future of Mass Effect very simply is that there's going to be a trilogy; we've been on record in the past as saying we want that whole trilogy to be on the console", BioWare's Greg Zeschuk told GameDaily.
“Our focus is pure and simple; it's to deliver the best game possible for our fans with Mass Effect, and that's an Xbox 360 exclusive. Microsoft's a great partner...and they've really helped build the value of the product and we're proud to work with them."
After a long pause I imagine someone whispering in his ear before he turns back to the interviewer and blurts out, “Ohyeahandbythewayit’salsocomingoutonPC.”
The 'It's never coming to another conso... oh wait it just did' Exclusive

Bioshock was a 360 exclusive and there was no way in hell that it would ever see the light of day as a PS3 title. In fact as Ken Levine put it,
“I promise you, there is no secret plan about the PS3 that we’re keeping from people. There’s no PS3 development going on that we’re hiding. There’s lots of stuff that gets into game code, plans change over time and we got an exclusive deal with Microsoft … that’s not a Rosetta Stone discovery.”
He obviously had his fingers crossed at the time. One year later the game was released on the Playstation 3. I shouldn’t have been especially surprised about this, but I do feel a little deceived. I bought a 360 to sit alongside my PS3 in order to ensure that I could play this ground-breaking game. Whilst I don’t regret that purchase, there is still a lingering sense of bitterness over the concept of ‘exclusives' that stems from this game.
The Head Decapitation Exclusive

The jewel in the crown of the ‘exclusive’ multiplatform could never really be in doubt. I refer of course to the Gamecube classic, Resident Evil 4. The director Shinji Mikami was so certain that the game would remain a Gamecube exclusive that he said he would cut-off his own head if it were ever released on the Playstation 2. Just over nine months later the game was released on the Playstation 2, yet to this day Shinji Mikami’s head remains firmly upon his shoulders. At least the man has a sense of humor. In God Hand, another game he directed, one of the racing dogs was called ‘Shinji Mikami’s head’

















