Why are more and more former exclusives not exclusive anymore?

[Tenjen]

Stadia is talking about getting exclusivity deals to save its platform.

Since thats not going to actually work for obvious reasons, I wonder which game company would be suicidal enough to agree to that.



Unless Cyberpunk was delayed so it could become Stadia Exclusive. /S

[Rennadrel]

Because that's not today's reality. Consoles aren't selling as much as they used to.

It very much is. Look at the Epic Games Store. Mediocre product with no features, buys exclusive access to games on the PC to force people into their ecosystem.

[Vash The Stampede]

If you want to watch The Witcher you subscribe to netflix,

Or use a friends or families Netflix account like a lot of people do.

if you want to play Zelda you buy a nintendo system,

Maybe you buy a Nintendo system to play Zelda, but not I.

if you want IOS apps you buy an apple device.

Why would you buy an IOS device? Buying Apple products is a mistake.

nor are you entitled to get anything you want on a single platform.

Port your games or lose money, it's that easy. Don't port your games and hope that people have a good enough moral compass that they don't find elicit methods to get those games. Ask Nintendo how much money they're losing to emulators?

Most exclusives wouldn't exist if they weren't exclusives. Again, stop with the "anything I don't like is anti consumer" bs.

Most multi-plats wouldn't exist if they weren't multi-plats. What's your point?

If you honestly think BoTW sales on other platforms would make up for the money it made Nintendo in attracting people to buy a Switch well, I got some beach front property in Arizona with your name on it. But you know "economics 101".

Considering how many people have pirated BoTW on PC, Nintendo would only gain from porting it to PC. A Switch emulator already works as well. Porting their games to PC is "economics 101".

[Spiffums]

Man what I'd do for Zelda, Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank on PC.

PREACH IT! R&C is the only reason my PS3 is still hooked up.

[Loveliest]

Frankly, I hate exclusives. I bought 3 consoles up to now just for a game each (out of the same series, mind you) and I gave up after that with that series. These 'exclusives' exist for money, not because they offer 'the best experience like that'.
Not even sure why anyone would truly like exclusives - no matter how you look at it, it limits you. Wouldn't you rather have one device that you can play anything on or several that you have to take out when you feel like playing X game or Y game? They also take a buttload of space (one is OK, more is just... ugh, need to dust them all too).
And yes - just like movie platforms - would you rather have one that offers everything or 100 of them, each with their subscription plan, each with their exclusive movie list and so on. We're talking what would you want, not why it makes sense money-wise for the company. I'm thinking in the future they'll hopefully make one big platform and each get a share of the sub depending on how many of their stuff you watched. Who knows.

A console should be bought because it fits the customer's way of playing. For example, if you like to play with friends something like a sports game, it's best experienced like that. Or a game to play with your kid. You shouldn't have to buy a console because a game is exclusive to it. So yeah - what make it unique is not the set of games you can run on it, it's the experience and way of playing that are different from a PC.
Now if you're talking why Console X instead of Console Y - well, tough, it's like phones.

Also as answer to your question - I have options these days, loads of them. So I won't play it if it's not on PC anymore. You want my money, make it for me (even if it's like 3 years late, I just might buy it).

[Surfd]

If Horizon Zero Dawn's sequel was on the way, though, having the original remain an exclusive with PS5's backwards compatibility seems like it would be a benefit. That's the only aspect that makes a PC release now a bit of a surprise to me. Otherwise, I'm in agreement with everyone noting after 3 years it's served its purpose as a console exclusive.

Actually, that's backwards. If there is a Zero Dawn Sequel on the way, then opening it (the original) up to other platforms is about the smartest thing you could do. You already have your hook with the people who played it on PS4. Super high % chance that anyone who already owns a PS4 (or for that matter ANY Playstation console with the confirmation of complete backwards compatibility with the entire PS Library) is going to seriously consider buying a PS5 in the future. People who already played HZD are going to already be incentivized to grab the sequel when it comes out anyway, so no loss there. But opening HZD up to other platforms before the sequel seeds a larger playerbase who then might be tempted into grabbing a PS5 for the sequel when it does release, instead of waiting 3 more years in the hopes that it eventually comes to PC (since you can be guaranteed that it WILL be Exclusive for at least a year or two).

[endersblade]

I have never been a fan of exclusives to begin with. As an equal opportunity gamer, I want to play everything, and I don't want to be limited by which hardware I play it on. It was fine in the past, when I had a fat pay check and could just buy new consoles like some people buy socks, but I can't do that now, and so I miss out on a lot of games.

I am SO HAPPY that Horizon is getting ported to the PC...I've wanted to play that game since I first heard about it. That's a huge win for me. I really hope more and more game companies continue to do this in the future. I don't care if it's launched simultaneously across every platform or brought over to PC a year or more later, just so long as I get to play the game at some point, I'm happy with it.

[nexellent]

You have a funny definition of the term "forcing". No one is forcing you to do anything. If you want to watch The Witcher you subscribe to netflix, if you want to play Zelda you buy a nintendo system, if you want IOS apps you buy an apple device. No one is forcing you to do anything, nor are you entitled to get anything you want on a single platform.

Most exclusives wouldn't exist if they weren't exclusives. Again, stop with the "anything I don't like is anti consumer" bs.

aight bud, keep being a corporate apologist i guess

[Tech614]

aight bud, keep being a corporate apologist i guess

I'm a corporate apologist now because you can't grasp video games aren't a vital good like food and you're not entitled to being able to play them? Nor is anybody forcing you to buy something to play them. These are choices people make, and without them being viable choices most of the exclusives that do happen probably wouldn't even be games because they aren't "zomg infinite money MP GAAS".

The entitlement is strong in this one.