We find ourselves in an unusual position when it comes to console exclusives these days.
Once upon a time, titles like Halo, Forza, Death Stranding, and God of War would have been playable only on hardware produced by their respective owners. However, today, Microsoft is releasing its games on PS5, while Sony is happy for its leading lights to hit PC.
Nintendo remains steadfast in its dedication to true exclusives, however, and ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden thinks that’s the right approach, despite the market seemingly heading in the other direction.
Speaking on the Pause for Thought podcast, Layden addressed the topic of platform exclusives and says he feels they’re still important (thanks, Genki):
“I don’t think every game has to be console exclusive. I don’t think every game should be console exclusive, but I do accept the fact that if you’re going to have platform companies like Sony and Nintendo largely. Microsoft is more of the Xbox everywhere, anywhere. There is a huge value to the brand of having strong exclusives.
If Mario starts to show up on PlayStation, that’s the apocalypse, right? Cats and dogs living together. And the same goes for Nathan Drake and Uncharted. I think they make the platform sing.”
Layden makes another good point in relation to exclusives – they push the host platform to its limit:
“And of course the other thing with multiplatform, that I’m sure most people realize, is that when you do code across multiple platforms you do have to code to the lowest common denominator. But if you do exclusives you can push every lever to 11 in that platform.”