"In an interview with French news site DNA, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe vice president says that Final Fantasy XIII's exclusivity to PlayStation 3 is under discussion"
Imagine a day when Sony didn't own the franchise rights to a powerful Final Fantasy title! This would be horrible for console sales performance given the number of gamers willing to "hold out" to buy a PlayStation 3 until Final Fantasy XIII arrives.
Besides Metal Gear Solid, what other exclusives can Sony claim to keep today? Many seem to turn towards the Xbox 360 console and their great list of 360 games. What incentive does a game developer have to keep with a single console in this competitive market?
At one point in time, holding exclusive rights meant you could capture gamers that may otherwise go to another console to play the game (like one they already own). Gamers were forced to buy all the consoles to play the widest variety of games. In todays market, these consoles cost a great deal of money and games do not seem to be getting cheaper.
Many gamers have to select a system and stick with it. There are still plenty of hardcore gamers that will buy the console based on a specific title: Metal Gear Solid, Zelda, Final Fantasy, GTA, Halo, etc.
By losing this exclusive it would leave Sony with few options to draw gamers towards the PlayStation 3 product. The PS3 already sits on store shelves while the Nintendo Wii cruises to homes as fast as it arrives. Now, after the post-launch craziness gamers look towards the next best thing: hot game titles.
What hot titles will draw the gamer? Final Fantasy has always been one of those titles. If you are able to get Final Fantasy XIII on both powerhouse consoles that leaves gamers the ability to buy the cheaper of the two consoles to get the game they want. Or, in some cases, gamers have had a year or more to buy up the Xbox 360 and now only have to pay the cost of the game.
GTA was pulled from Sony and now this might be too? Imagine what Sony must pay to hold exclusive rights to Final Fantasy XIII when the developers clearly see the $$$ in unit sales - and Xbox 360 has "10-million units" in the market? What would you do?
It's all about the money, you break your exclusivity and go where that money takes you: Microsoft.
Derrick
source: blog.wired.com
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