DMC4 4 360?! OH NOES!

In a press release yesterday, Capcom announced that the next installment of their popular Devil May Cry series will not be exclusive to the PS3, as many people had speculated, but will instead be released simultaneously on the PS3, XBox 360, and PC.

After my surprise wore off, I channeled Martha Stewart and decided this is "a good thing."

A million years ago, I commented on this same phenomenon when someone reported that MGS4 would see an XBox 360 port. As far as I know, MGS4 on the 360 remains unconfirmed, but that could change at any time and I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Remember that MGS2 came to the XBox and the PC in addition to the PS2. The MGS4 "news" was hot on the heels of the announcement that Assassin's Creed, once touted as a PS3 exclusive, would be shared with the 360.

Those items weren't too alarming, though; MGS4 360 was an unconfirmed rumor, and Assassin's Creed, though a hot topic, is an untried original IP. It could turn out to be terrible for all we know (for the record, it won't; it's going to be OMG teh awesome). The PS3's sterling lineup of third-party exclusives was dwindling from the original robust list, but it still had Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII; Metal Gear Solid 4; and . . . Devil May Cry 4.

Let's assume we've reached an age in which the third-party exclusive is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Why is this bad? I still get to play DMC4, MGS4, Assassin's Creed, and every other game that has been announced for PS3 so far. Nothing has been taken away from the PS3; they've just been added to the 360 as well. I haven't lost anything, and I'm not meanspirited enough to begrudge anyone else these great games. And conversely, I'm looking forward to XBox 360's Enchanted Arms and Oblivion porting to the PS3 so that I can play them, and hoping that Eternal Sonata and Dead Rising will follow suit.

More titles on more platforms is good for consumers. Every dollar that Sony spends paying a developer to keep a title exclusive to the PS3 is a dollar Sony isn't spending elsewhere---like on its first-party titles, its Playstation Home network, or on a much-needed new PR campaign. When developers sell more copies of their games, they get a return of more dollars to spend on making more games. If there are 2 million PS3s out there worldwide and 11 million 360s (I made up those numbers), it doesn't make sense for any third-party developer to keep a game exclusive to one console or the other unless they have a good reason to do so---a good reason might be, for instance, that the requirements of the game don't mesh with the capabilities of one system (a game that needs rumble is going to the 360; a game that needs motion controls is going to go to the PS3 or Wii). If going multiplatform gives you at least 2 million more potential customers, why not?

It is possible to access the total sales figures for 360 and PS3 consoles, but we don't really know how many 360s are out there due to well-documented hardware defects, and we don't know how many homes that have PS3s also have 360s. Those data would be helpful in figuring out how much of a market is out there for 360 exclusives, PS3 exclusives, and multiplatform titles.

There has been speculation that FFXIII will go the way of DMC4 and jump ship as well. All things are possible, but I don't think FFXIII is going anywhere. People have been pointing to SquareEnix's recent licensing of Unreal Engine 3, an engine known for its crossplatform portability. However, SquareEnix has confirmed that their proprietary White Engine is being used for FFXIII, and that they will continue to use the White Engine for SE games that are going to remain exclusive to the Sony console. I imagine that it's a bit too late for them now to scrap the White Engine build and move to Unreal Engine for this title (though I could be wrong). FFXIV may turn up on multiple platforms, but I think FFXIII is likely to stay put.

If we as console owners need to feel elite, there are still the first-party titles to consider. I will feel a twinge of pity for 360-instead-of-PS3 owners who won't get to experience Heavenly Sword, Lair, Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet, KillZone, and White Knight Story---all first party titles being published by and for Sony and only Sony. I'm sure the 360 owners feel that same twinge of pity for those of us who will never get to play Blue Dragon, Crackdown, Halo, and Gears of War---some of Microsoft's AAA first-party exclusives.

This situation is not going to sink the PS3; it's going to push Sony to develop more and better first-party titles so that they can sell more PS3s and secure more third-party exclusives. Microsoft, in turn, will push their first-party properties to the limits for the same reason. Then everybody wins.

Not With a Bang. . . .

But with a knife, silently, from behind.

Everything I hear lately about Sony is discouraging. The latest: Noooz is reporting that Metal Gear Solid 4, long anticipated to be a PS3 exclusive, is going to port to the X-Box 360. Neither Konami, nor MicroSoft, nor Sony is confirming this yet. It'll be a shame if it turns out to be true.

I'm still rooting for Sony, and I'm planning to buy a PS3 early in 2007---as soon as there is a worthwhile game to play on it (don't say "REEEEEEEEEEEJ Racer").

Part of the reason is that I don't want the only high-end gaming experience in town to be the X-Box. I already shelled out a pile of money on a MicroSoft-powered machine to play games on. It is my PC. (X-Box, go home.)

Aside/ This is not to say that we don't have an X-Box. We do. It's broken and collecting dust in the attic. Speaking of broken consoles, another point in Sony's favor is that my PS2 is the only of my last-gen consoles to still be in working order these many years later. The X-Box and the GameCube are both teh br0ken. /Aside

Also, I feel that Sony is committed to putting out high-quality merchandise. I don't always buy Sony, but I think Samsung (for example) is better for having to compete with Sony. That is to say, I think Sony keeps the industry standard high. I really want Sony to succeed. For the good of the industry, you see.

But a few months back, PS3 lost Assassin's Creed as an exclusive---they have to share with the 360. That was a blow . . . a highly anticipated PS3 title jumping ship. Then there were a plethora of blu-ray diode production problems. Then, last week, SquareEnix announces that DQIX will be exclusive to the DS . . . a major blow for Sony in the Japanese market. Et tu, Konami? Et tu, MGS4?

Hoping it's not true. . . .

Sony PR BBQ OMFG >.<

Keep it fake, yo. (The scoop, if you hadn't heard.)