Ben-DutkaThere are reasons why some games stay exclusive to one platform while others release on all major platforms. And if you're wondering why a game like Rockstar's Agent is exclusive to the PlayStation 3, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has the answer…and he wonders why Insomniac hasn't gone multiplatform yet.
The info comes courtesy of a recent Eurogamer interview , where Pachter spoke about the cause behind the developer's decision to keep Agent restricted to Sony's console. First and foremost, he believes exclusives will soon become a thing of the past, but he's hardly the only analyst to give voice to that theory. Secondly, Pachter's "inside information" concerning the behind-the-scenes story for Agent is as follows:
"When Microsoft paid Take-Two to make GTA IV non-exclusive… In other words, GTA IV was going to be a PS3 exclusive, but Microsoft paid Rockstar and Take-Two to make it a non-exclusive, and they paid them a lot. The number I’ve heard, and I’m sure this is right, is $75m, and that probably includes the funding for the first DLC packs too. It’s more than the $50m that people talk about.
And Sony – I’m not sure if they had a firm agreement but they may have had a handshake – said to Take-Two, 'You’ve got to give us something else.' And the 'something else' was a zombie game that Rockstar wanted to work on. But while Rockstar was in the planning phase, Dead Rising came out and Left 4 Dead was announced. Rockstar realised they were up against a saturated market and Valve, and, 'What can we possibly do that will be any better than what Valve’s done?' They started again and that’s when they came up with the idea of The Agent, which nobody actually knows what it is. That is the back story."
Well, thanks for that. We had an inkling that the game in question was sort of like a consolation prize to Sony after GTAIV was confirmed to hit the PS3 and Xbox 360 at the same time (you may recall that past GTAs debuted with timed exclusivity on the PS2 and only later arrived on the Xbox). But right now, Pachter says it's just plain "foolish to sign an exclusive deal" and he has "repeatedly told" Insomniac that they should go multiplatform:
"As if those guys couldn’t create something – of course they could. It’s not like Sony came up with the art and graphics on Ratchet & Clank. The Insomniac guys are nuts not to do multi-platform. But they like their deal with Sony, so they’ll keep doing exclusives. LittleBigPlanet guys, Media Molecule, I feel the same way. What were they thinking selling to Sony? They must be Liberal Democrats!"
Well, now you've done it, Pachter. PS3 fans aren't gonna take too kindly to that, especially when most of them believe many developers choose the PS3 because it's the only console that has the raw processing power to bring their vision to life. How many times has a designer specifically said this very thing? How many times have we been told that games like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves , God of War III , and Heavy Rain needed the PS3's power? And why do we get the feeling that Media Molecule would say very much the same thing in relation to LittleBigPlanet 2 ?
Well, that's not really Pachter's forte, of course; it's numbers and business predictions. And it's tough to argue against the common-sense claim that multiplatform games obviously have the opportunity to sell a lot more copies. But Pachter, developers aren't necessarily stupid…they might just be sticking solely with the PS3 for a reason outside of the money realm.
Related Game(s): Agent
LOL @ "sceptical" for "spectacle"
That's a nice Freudian slip.
p.s. I agree with everything TheHighlander said.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 5/22/2010 4:59:36 PM
Someone slap this man across the face, for he has lost all forms of common sense…
I predict for Pachter to keep not making any sense, I actually am turned off by anything Eurogamer, they gave GOW3 an 8, and Red Dead an 8 so I just cannot take them seriously anymore. Well I never really did, but LBP was pure innovation, how could anyone with the right mind even state that Media Molecule was crazy for choosing Sony. They would have been crazy for choosing anyone else, I seriously doubt MM would have been granted such liberties if they worked with M$. I hear that working with M$ Studios is like slave labor, plus it would have given the Xbot chumps a huge reason to rub it in our faces.
The one thing I really cannot agree with is that exclusives will be a thing of the past. Consoles need exclusives, Playstation needs exclusives to show the industry how pure creative genius, practically unmatched technical achievements, and critically respected games are more so important to the company. If consoles didn't have exclusives where could they branch out to out shine the generally mediocre and stale Multi-platform franchises?
Last edited by BeezleDrop on 5/17/2010 8:45:54 PM
This actually made sense people stop being more stupid and comment like a you would not like 5 years old.
<<<<stop being more stupid and comment like a you would not like 5 years old>>>>>.
Is it my imagination, or did you just hold your own post up to a mirror, before writing that precious little nugget of acknowledgment????
Is everyone on this site in denial? Seriously if you think that Sony's bottom line isn't money. You are in denial. Or purely ignorant because you're blinded by your love for the console. Insomniac in the same breath cares about money as well. I'm also pretty sure Rockstar does as well. As does any indie game company that makes games and tries to put them on console. Don't take me wrong either I'm not saying they don't care about the artistic value of their game, but it's purely inane to state that a game developer makes games purely for their pride. I do believe in the statement Quality over quantity, but that doesn't play well when you're trying to keep a job. Little Big Planet sold well. If it didn't you can bet that Sony would have dropped it. Ratchet and Clank and Resistance from Insomniac. Had they not sold well Sony would not have ordered sequels. Same goes for Metal Gear. Kojima finally realized that it would be more beneficial to branch out. You can say the same for indie games like Flower. It was successful and got press. Naughty Dog and Uncharted. Had they not been received well it would've been trashed. You cannot tell anyone that Sony's bottom line isn't profit. They wouldn't be the company they are and wouldn't have been around as long as they have without their bottom line being money. Sony has long made quality products and so does every other company as long as they wish to stay around, but they also care about making profit because that's what keeps them afloat. It's the way of the world in our society.
On a note of exclusives. I'll say it again all modern consoles have great exclusives because of the competition. Without Gears and Halo there wouldn't be an Uncharted. (All boiled down there still just shooters) I don't really factor in Nintendo to the equation because they're on another planet except for the Motion Controls. Nintendo introduced motion controls and now MS and Sony are following suit. They have to do so because they are behind in the competition and don't want to be left in the dust. Yet I don't think there going to catch Nintendo this generation. I will also reiterate this and go ahead and give me a thumbs down because I can be mature. If you have hate towards a video game console that's simply pathetic. Play games and enjoy games. They make them for us. They spend the time to make them great for us. Enjoy it. Stop your bickering about which one is better because all of them are great. While your pissing your knickers over which is better people who aren't blind console lovers will be enjoying all the greatness that developers create for us.
Last edited by NeotericDope on 5/18/2010 2:24:59 AM
Most people here think Sony isn't after money because they stupid.Yeah there's money love every where also there's loyalties like the one that Insomniac Games has for Sony and many others also have for them.
Naughty Dog was going to make UNCHARTED with or without Gears of War or Halo WTF are you talking about that's the stupidest thing wrote LMFAO can't believe you wrote that idiotic comment. No Sony won't catch Nintendo they will jsy get very close hopefully I'm wrong they pass them and become #1 for this generation for 3rd term.
You are delusional if you believe the stupid things that you wrote about UNCHARTED and Nintendo… LMFAO
Oh, I'm sure that Insomniac are in it for the money, but there's no reason to assume that is their sole motivation. Just because people don't agree with your view, doesn't make them 100% wrong, just as your view is not 100% correct. That's the same trap that Pachter falls into with this kind of thing. You can't assume that Insomniac is only in it for the money, or that anyone else is either. Nor can you assume that just because they *might* make more money going multi-platform, a developer would never willingly stay exclusive. If they are financially comfortable and making enough money to satisfy themselves, then maybe it is a viable choice to stick to one platform instead of complicating your situation by trying to work on two at the same time.
Frankly smaller, non-public companies which have no share holders to drive their plan don't always follow a merciless chase after maximized profits.
NeotericDope,
Well, I have to differ a bit with you on the point that every developer goes for money over artistic.
Of course most do, but not all of them and you can look at the developer, "Quantic Dream" as a perfect prime example for taking more pride in their craft & their art than over monies
In David Cage's own words, both, Heavy Rain was his artistic dream that he always wanted to make, and that he hoped that once he made it, that the game could also do well enough to keep going.
And it definitely shows, that's why they've been rewarded so well by gamers.
If you build it, they will come"……
Heavy Rain has sold over 1 million copies worldwide, surpassing the developer's initial pre-release estimates of 200,000 — 300,000.
David Cage now expects the game to sell an additional 500,000 copies by the end of 2010
And Cage explained his "artistry over money" right here, on this video from April 9-2010)
http://au.gamespot.com/news/6257359.html
"Most people here think Sony isn't after money because they stupid."
Me no tak gud but me calls uther peplez stoopid.
(Don't know if you caught this in my earlier post)
To Pachter:
"It's not like Microsoft came up with the art and graphics of Halo. The Bungie guys are nuts not to do it multiplatform. But they like their deal with Microsoft, so they'll keep doing exclusives. Gears of War guys, Epic Games, I feel the same way. What were they thinking selling to Microsoft? They must be Liberal Democrats."
@Highlander and Biker
Did you not read the whole comment? I understand that just as well as anyone if not better because of my profession. I truly believe in quality over quantity, but when your trying to make a living that doesn't always work out. Look at how many game developers have shut down. Either because of poorly made games or good games that sold poorly. It's just from most of the comments people were saying that Insomniac makes games only for their pride and not profit. They stay on the PS3 because it's a console deity etc. That's where my problem lies. It's as if people think that Microsoft is the only one shelling out heavy cash for exclusives. Do you think that Sony isn't paying heavily to keep Insomniac around, Media Molecule, Guerilla Games? As Microsfot was paying Bungie. But Bungie really wanted to expand their user base so they're going multi-plat. On Heavy Rain sure that was his artistic dream, but in no way, shape, or form can you tell me that David Cage didn't want Heavy Rain to do well for the artistic side and the profit side. And you can bet Sony wanted it to sell well. I buy plenty of 'art house' 'independent games', but the point I was trying to make is that this is capitalism. Sony is out for money and so is everyone else. And that's not a bad thing.
@Dance
If you were speaking to me I did catch that.
FWIW Microsoft owned Bungie and Bungie decided to buy back their independence not because they wanted more sales (which would be highly unlikely given the phenomenal sales of Halo), but because they didn't want to be stuck making Halo games for the rest of eternity.