The Death of the Exclusive

The fight for console exclusives rages on
On Monday morning, Microsoft made the surprise announcement that "Final Fantasy XIII", formerly a Sony Playstation 3 exclusive, would be available day and date for Xbox 360 in North America and Europe.

It was possibly the biggest "surprise" announcement at the E3 Business & Media Summit in Los Angeles, but it also signifies another exclusive title shifting camps since the next generation of consoles were announced back in 2005.

"Assassin's Creed", "Grand Theft Auto IV", "Devil May Cry 4", "Ace Combat 6", "Virtua Fighter 4", "Resident Evil 5"* are all titles that Microsoft has secured over time, bringing once hyped "only-on-Playstation" franchises to their console.

Multi-platform development seems like the only answer large publishers can come up with now that budgets on their major titles are soaring to unbelieveable heights. Yet, as many were sure that Final Fantasy XIII would never jump ship and assume multi-platform status, the announcement shouldn't really surprise after the Game Developers Conference announcement that any game created using Crystal Tools could be ported easily to PC and 360.

To be fair, Sony has attempted to turn the tables and seek prior Microsoft exclusives but without the same impact. Timed exclusivity of Unreal Tournament 3 and Haze have not influenced hardware sales, instead being met with mixed reception by critics. Although "Bioshock" has recently been released from Microsoft exclusivity, it was no where to be seen during the Sony Press Conference. As last year's near unanimous Game of the Year, it would have been impressive to highlight some of the new features for the PS3 version, yet Sony didn't take the opportunity to do so.

The only major exclusive (by a third party publisher) left in the Sony bag belongs to Konami as "Metal Gear Solid 4" remains the tactical espionage action adventure of the year. But as the year continues to progress, and the final sales numbers of MGS 4 come out, we could only wonder if that exclusivity will continue.

Say It With the Power of Wind!

With Wii Ware finally launching in the US, it was only a matter of time before I sat down with one of my favorite games of this year's Game Developer's Conference: Lost Winds. To me it was the highlight of the Nintendo Wii presentation back at GDC and a reason to get excited about Wii Ware - the new risk averse way to digitally distribute games on Wii.

Not that Nintendo ever wants to excite me these days.

Nintendo has often worried me by overemphasizing on a different crowd of gamers - and I'm sick and tired of hearing the "Blue Ocean" analogy in every article I read these days (Oh, no! Wait!) At times it feels like nothing can be done to dissuade the once proud gaming giant from dumbing down another popular franchise for mainstream audiences. Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros Brawl have both been prime examples of this awkward shift, empowering a new batch of gamers and that's slowly beginning to bug me.

Luckily, I have Lost Winds can keep me busy a little longer before Nintendo's strategy makes my head implode.


It's not that Lost Winds is some epic hardcore game in disguise - it's not at all. In fact, Lost Winds feels more in line with the type of games I want to experience on the Wii - games that experiment with control and find creative ways to look fascinating despite being presented on aging hardware. Aesthetically, the game is rich and vibrant with lush, pastel colors that create a soft, yet serene atmosphere for little Toku to roam - and it terrific art design. And controlling Enril the wind spirit by holding the A button and drawing the direction of the gust feels accurate, without over complicating matters with rote design techniques.

I often wonder if this game could have been cooperative. It certainly makes sense as a core feature that follows Nintendo's social gaming credo these days - well that is except online. Co-op could bolster this Lost Wind's potential as a franchise, and help it grow significantly past this first game.


After i play a little more Lost Wnds, I think after this I'll start a Game Diary like Stephen Totillo over at MTV. I genuinely like the idea of writing about the games that I play daily (and then later sobbing slowly over the little time that I have to play games nowadays).

Yep, I'll start that diary tomorrow.