One of my editorials I wrote when I was writing for my own blog a while back.  Since it's interesting I thought I'd share it with you guys.

Written by Adam M. a.k.a Ziriux

Since the dawn of gaming we’ve enjoyed new intellectual properties, so much so that we want to see more of the same games we love, albeit with a new twist on the formula.  Since the original releases of Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy and Halo a lot of us have enjoyed these great games and want to see more from them.  I remember playing Metal Gear Solid for the original Playstation,  and being taken aback at how games have taken such a leap forward. The game ran longer than most games previous to it, and  offered a lot of new and innovative ways to play.  After completing the game, I just had to have more. The cliffhanger ending left me wanting, and I just had to find out more about the universe.

The same runs true for Final Fantasy, and especially with Halo.  I remember picking up my Xbox with a minimal choice of games. I was almost ready to put that big black brick away. That was, until I discovered Halo. Rushing to the store to pick it up, I started playing the game and was blown away by the sheer grandiosity of it. One of the signs of a great game is leaving you wanting more, and each of these titles are great games.

Each of the great games I enjoyed have spawned multiple sequels since release.  Metal Gear Sold 4 is the most recent iteration of the franchise, and supposedly the final chapter in the saga. The game expanded on the established canon and tied up every loose end dating back to the very beginning of the tale. It introduced and expanded upon several gameplay elements. In addition, it’s cinematic story was on a level unrivaled by other modern games.  The Metal Gear Solid has gotten better and better with each iteration, culminating in the masterpiece that was MGS4. Not to spoil anything, but the ending of MGS4 left enough questions to warrant a sequel.  How can Kojima Productions continue with the franchise?  Is there anything new the game can introduce?  These are the questions developers must think about before creating a sequel.

Many of us have been playing Call of Duty games since the series was first introduced on the PC.  Activision shares the franchise with two different developers, Infinity Ward and Treyarch, while the fanatics of each developer will argue over which is superior, the Infinty Ward developed games are held as superior by the majority. Whether it’s sales, reviews or gameplay, Infinity Ward knows how to make a game that puts money in activisions pocket and satisfies millions of gamers at the same time.  The majority of the series was set in World War 2 until Modern Warfare was released last year setting record sales numbers for the franchise. What does Treyarch do?  They go right back to WWII and borrow the same concept from Modern Warfare, which seems to be working.  Call of Duty is one franchise full of sequels, that never seems to get old. Hopefully Modern Warfare 2 continues this tradition when it’s released in November ‘09.

Every fan of First Person Shooter’s knows the name Halo.  Developer Bungie has released 3 Halo games that have innovated the genre in some way.  Halo: Combat Evolved saved the Xbox single handedly during its sales slump, the game sold over 3 million copies and brought the Xbox back into relevancy.  Soon after the release of the original Halo, Bungie went right to work and developed the highly anticipated Halo 2, which sold over 10 million copies to date.

The game offered people an unrivaled online experience on consoles, allowing game types beyond your generic deathmatches and its groundbreaking matchmaking system arguably put Bungie on the map.  The story wasn’t the best we’ve ever seen, but the multiplayer was the main attraction and was the real reason to stay. With the release of Halo 3 in September, 2007; we received updated graphics and an end to the story arguably “Finishing the Fight.”

Halo 3 brought multiplayer to a whole new level. The brand new Forge mode was a  basic yet versatile map editor. The game also offered a film saving feature that had you spending hours looking through and picking out your best clips and uploading them to a Bungie-run community website.  So what’s next for the franchise? An expansion to Halo 3, Halo: ODST is set to release sometime in 2009.  Also in the mill is a rumor that Halo 4 is in development by Gearbox, creators of the Brothers in Arms franchise. Where is the Halo series going? We don’t know exactly, but there is much in store for this series, even though the fight is finished…  Although it does leave us wondering, is Halo being stretched further than it can go?

As you can see sequels aren’t necessarily a bad thing, but they need to be done right if they want to succeed.  There are few titles that will always succeed, most Nintendo First-Party titles, Call of Duty and Final Fantasy are some that come to mind.  Most of us will buy a game on a yearly basis if we’re use to quality games from the developer such as Infinity Ward and the developer knows as long as the game is quality, gamers will buy their games knowing that they have a dedicated fan base.  There are bad examples of franchise sequels as well, Brothers in Arms, Need for Speed, NBA Live all have got low review scores and seen failure on the sales charts.

This leads to a few other questions.  Should game franchises be released on a yearly basis?  Can a developer really put out quality in the short amount of time?  These are questions that the developer needs to address in the decision they make about sequels.  Activision seems to be doing alright switching between Treyarch and Infinity Ward every year, but can other developers afford to do the same, or is the extra year or two worth the wait. We can only see as time goes on.

Your thoughts? Please comment.

Note: One of my editorials I wrote when I was writing for my own blog a while back.  Since it's interesting I thought I'd share it with you guys. (Some of the stuff is already known by many, the article is more towards people that don't know whats behind exclusives.)


Written by Adam M. a.k.a Ziriux

As you all may know, in the past two to three years, there have been a number of Playstation-exclusives which have made their way into the Xbox game library and likewise, a number of Xbox-exclusives which have made their way to into the Playstation game library. To a lot of us gamers this has been good news, as there is nothing better than getting a AAA title which, once only being available on one console, become available on the console of our choice. This has been evident with recent gaming titles such as Devil May Cry 4, Resident Evil 5 and the latest, Final Fantasy XIII.

One might wonder what persuades a developer to offer their games on numerous consoles (or restrict them to one)? Another might wonder why all developers do not follow suit? See, there are multiple answers for these questions, both technical and financial. Having been in the gaming industry for about three years, working most of my time for Real Time World, (the developers of Crackdown),  I have learned enough looking at both the technical and business side of this argument to understand why developers choose to have exclusives for particular franchises. Let’s take a closer look.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Patriots

Metal Gear Solid 4 as we all know, is a big game.  The game boasts quite a lengthy storyline, the gameplay is unlike anything else and the concept behind the franchise is one of the best we’ve seen in a video game. For some time now, we have heard rumours about the possibility of MGS4 being released on the Xbox 360 within the next year or so, and with each speculation sounding more and more believable, gamers are definitely thinking that this might actually happen.

We then cooled-off for a while, not even thinking about the game coming over to the Xbox 360 until Kojima Production’s official website had a teaser featuring what appeared to look like the Xbox 360 power button. Unfortunately though, a few weeks later, we learned that the symbol from the teaser was in fact for an iPod Touch game and the speculations arose again, wondering if there would ever be any truth to the move of Metal Gear Solid 4 to the Xbox 360.

All that said, here is my prediction on said topic. I do not think we will be seeing Metal Gear Solid 4 appearing on the Xbox 360.  Now,  many of you already may have already knew this … you know who I’m talking about … my dear Playstation loyalists. Here is my take on it. First of, everyone will agree with me in saying that technically speaking, MGS4 could not fit onto the storage space of one DVD disc, which is approximately 8Gb, especially considering that this game pretty much takes up the space of one Blu-Ray disc, which has a capacity of 50Gb. Yes, it would be possible to put the game on maybe three DVD discs, but such a move would require a great deal of change, particularly a whole new approach would have to be taken towards the development.

The thing is, developers are just not willing to invest the time and money into such a venture when they could be using at the same resources to work on an entirely new project. Now, the second reason (which also relates to the technical department) is the aspect of graphics, as to make everything render beautifully, run smoothly and look gorgeous, the game would have to demand a lot of processing power which the Xbox 360 is capable of providing but it is sure to struggle with larger games like Metal Gear Solid 4.

The PS3 chipset was designed specifically to handle such processes that MGS4 requires to render the game world. It would simply just not look and run as smoothly as it does on the Playstation 3 if it were to make a transition to the Xbox 360. Now, the final reason (looking at it on the business side of the argument) is sales. Konami admitted a year or so ago, that they were going to monitor how well things turned out financially before even considering taking Metal Gear Solid 4 to other consoles.

The game up until now has been a success on the PS3, surpassing a million copies sold and still going strong – this game shows no sign of weakness. To add to that, we have seen the price of the PS3 console drop continually and this has lead to an increase in sales mainly because of its gaming and Blu-Ray capabilities, often with the game Little Big Planet or Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Patriots being the game of choice along with it – furthermore securing this game’s success. Initially, the console might have had poor sales figures due to its ticket price, but it has been selling like hotcakes now with each price drop – I’m confident that it will duplicate the success of the PS2 as years pass. It is for these reasons I believe that MGS4 will remain an exclusive, something which Sony needs to make sure of no matter the cost because it is a money-making franchise that any console manufacturer would need and want on their side.

Killzone 2

Without going into specifics, many of you will understand why this franchise (or game) will never venture onto other consoles. With stunning graphics, superb gameplay and a fantastic concept behind it, a similar game could only be matched on a high-end PC. Comparisons have been made by numerous websites across the internet about the graphics of Killzone 2 against those of Crysis, to determine which game reigns supreme in this respect.

The only thing we must ask ourselves when looking at Killzone 2, is whether the game will succeed? Will this eye-candy hold up to the graphics and gameplay which the teasers suggest? Will it sell millions of copies to profit Sony? I predict so, but time will indicate this soon enough. No matter the outcome, this baby is siding with Sony for technical reasons alone. If needed due to financial reasons, this game could only end up for the PC, which Sony does not even compete with.

Halo Franchise

Before you sigh and close the window, you know I had to go here – hear me out. Halo after all, was Microsoft’s hit franchise that saved the Xbox brand from early failure. There is no doubting, that if it wasn’t for Halo, there would be no competition for a serious console in the ‘next-generation’ console line up. Halo, blatantly, is a franchise that will never see the likes of Playstation. It is a simple business decision for Microsoft, if they make one of their best selling series of all time available on a competitor console, there would be no reason to purchase the next Xbox. Halo 3 sold over eight million copies and brought back profits for Microsoft’s Gaming Division (known as ‘Microsoft Game Studios) – that’s not something you want competitors to have a hold on. Sure, they could make available the Halo franchise from now-on-in available for the Playstation in the attempt to increase sales, but it is far better to have your console (or brand for that matter) identifiable by a unique software or set of games that no-one else will be able to replicate.

Technically speaking, the only reason I could not see Halo becoming a PS3 title is due to its online service (or lack thereof). Bungie is able to make Halo’s multiplayer run smoothly over Xbox Live with beautiful infrastructure that not even a PC could match. Expect the words ‘Halo’ and ‘Playstation’ to never be coupled in the same sentence.

Gears of War Franchise

Oh Gears of War, the only console this game would not work well on would most likely be the Nintendo DS. The concept behind this game is simple. You have a group of buddies with you, they all tag along to save the world from the Locust and then you get into a very glitchy multiplayer experience, only to receive a patch soon after and then jump on Horde and play it like there is no tomorrow.

This franchise is another example of a smart business move by Microsoft, this time with developers Epic to keep the name and franchise an Xbox-exclusive. There is no denying, the Gears of War games could probably look and run greater on a Playstation console and would increase the amount of players online, but being such a success story and due to the sheer profit these two games have generated, it would be something Microsoft would never consider.

There have been rumours circulating on the internet about a possible deal between Epic and Sony but it does not seem like anything will come of in the short term. In the long run, it will only be a matter of time before Sony and Epic are working on an original title, that I do predict. I just hope the people at Sony do not ever have to hear Cliffy B repeat ‘Bigger, badder and more badass”.

Downloadable Content

A lot of hardcore gamers in the gaming community already understand why developers sometimes offer Downloadable Content for one console and not the other. This boils down to another business decision which is made between developers and console manufacturers. What these deals and DLC allow, is for manufacturers such as Microsoft, Sony and/or Nintendo to achieve exclusivity with the content in the game, rather than the whole game itself.

This way, consumers are encouraged to buy the game (and the console) from a particular company which will offer the greatest amount of post-sale content and support. That said, this method might not always work – it comes down to the game and the gamer. If you are a loyal fan of the Fallout series, you might purchase an Xbox 360 and Fallout 3 for it because of the DLC which it will offer an addition 4-5 hours of gameplay specifically for that console or, if you own the different from the get-go, or you will pick up the Xbox 360 version of the game on its own because of the planned DLC which will be released later on in the near future (if you already own the different consoles). While this might not be always be in the interest of the consumer, it does allow for greater sales of consoles by the manufacturer, and it provides additional revenue for the developers even after the game has been sold.

While gamers might blame the developer, it is unfortunately just how business is done in the industry and overall, consumers are not getting a different version of the game, it is just that some will be entitled to additional gameplay later on. This all comes down to the agreements made between developers and companies like Microsoft, and Grand Theft Auto IV is a perfect example of this. Microsoft spent $50 million to secure two planned expansion episodes for GTA IV over the lifetime of the game – exclusively for Xbox 360 gamers. Recently we have learned about some of the details about the first episode ‘The Lost and Damned’ which is set for release mid-February, and can be read about further here.

Being one of the most anticipated titles of 2008 (and even being listed as Game of The Year), GTA IV was able help increase sales of the Xbox 360 upon the game’s launch as Microsoft announced that they had secured the exclusive episode deal earlier in the year – which is surprising since Grand Theft Auto was once a Sony-exclusive! GTA IV and Fallout 3 are just a few examples of specific-consoles gaining the rights to exclusive DLC. Other examples include titles like Oblivion and Soul Calibur IV.

Big Name Publishers

There are also instances when large scale publishers such as Activision, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft acquire developers which create ground-breaking titles such as Bioshock, Mass Effect, Project Gotham Racing and many others. It is important to note, that while the producers do not own the developers, they do own the licensing and rights to the game and are able to hand over the rights to another developer upon their request.

In these types of situations, to avoid a lawsuit, the developer and the publisher of the game usually sign an exclusivity contract with the manufacturer such as to keep the game on the console as a trilogy (Halo 3). With some games it might not be such a great deal, but seeing as though Mass Effect and Project Gotham Racing are successful franchises on the Xbox only, it is important that they do not venture to competitors. This was seen in the case of PGR where, even though Activision bought out Bizarre Creations, Microsoft still held onto the rights of the franchise and passed the developing license to Turn10, a development studios under of Microsoft Game Studios.

Timed Exclusives

As implied, timed exclusives refers to an agreement between a developer and a console manufacturer to release a title on one console for a certain period of time before the game is released on others – ultimately to help sales of said console. The period between releases is negotiable. Bioshock is one great example. 2K (the developers behind Bioshock) released the game on the Xbox 360 first without any news of the game being made available on the PS3. From this, approximately 1200+ gamers went out and purchased an Xbox 360 in order to get their hands on this Xbox-exclusive which in turn, resulted in sales of other AAA titles in the Xbox 360 library.

A similar case happened with Unreal Tournament III which was released on the PS3 six months prior to the Xbox 360. In this case, I was one such person who purchased a PS3 console due to exclusivity. One reason for this decision revolved around purchasing MGS4 and also UT3, while the second was from the ability to make unique levels for Unreal Tournament III which would otherwise not be possible on the Xbox 360-version. We witnessed many cases of timed exclusives in 2008 but given the current economic condition, I am thinking that developers will try to play it safe and release their multi-console games at once than risk losing sales in one area only in the hope of gaining them in another. I hope by now you understand what ‘exclusive’ means when used in the context of the gaming industry, and how business and technical decisions impact everything pertaining to them.

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There is a few questions which I ask myself, and pose to all the gamers out there. Is exclusivity good for gamers? Is it simply just a business decision for the publisher/developer. Most importantly though, is it good for the gaming industry?

Today I joined GiantBomb.  The feeling was unlike anything I've ever experienced.  You know the first time you went out with Amy and she gave you your first kiss?  It was somewhat like that but with this was just a much better feeling.

I look forward to heavily contributing to GiantBomb.com and getting to know this great community.

See you all around.