Editorial: The Exclusive is dead... Long live the exclusive!

Back in August, I composed my eulogy for first-party exclusive content (I also wanted your thoughts on it... *crickets*)--the upcoming multiplatform efforts from Bungie, Epic and Insomniac are just another sign that the days of single-console development are waning. The Exclusive, as we knew it, is dead.

It is my pleasure to report, however, that the Third-Party Exclusive is alive, kicking, and ready to reignite the Console Wars.

There can only be one...

While the Wii is the undisputed king of console sales this generation, the one-year head start afforded by the Xbox 360's release in holiday 2005 has pushed many of the major third-party developers--Ubisoft, Rare, Valve, et. al.--to develop primarily for the 360. Even traditional PlayStation stalwarts like Square Enix, RockStar, and Konami saw that the early install base of the Xbox 360, especially in the United States, would benefit their bottom line.

From the PlayStation 3's release in 2006 through 2009, Xbox versions of multiplatform releases vastly outperformed and outsold PS3 copies. The Grand Theft Auto series, a franchise that practically won the console race for Sony during the PlayStation 2, sold nearly double on the 360 as compared to the PS3. (RockStar even rewarded Xbox owners for those figures by releasing the game's only DLC content exclusively for the 360 for a year before it was ported to PS3.) Other classic PlayStation franchises such as Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid have seen or will be seeing Xbox titles on store shelves (note: Final Fantasy XIII released in America on both consoles, and the PS3 version did dramatically outperform the 360 port, while in Japan, FFXIII remains a PS3-exclusive; Metal Gear Solid: Rising is currently looking at a 2012 release on both consoles).

Lightning plays for both teams

Looking at this year's major releases, gaming sites like GameTrailers, IGN, Game Informer and GameSpot have posted comparison after comparison showing the graphical disparity between 360 and PS3 games, with the 360 coming out on top in games like Red Dead Redemption, Mafia II, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Bayonetta and more. Developers have, and are still, developing for the 360 and then porting over to PS3, with an often noticeable drop in quality (and not just graphically).

And yet, both consoles are putting effort in to providing their user base with significant third-party exclusive content. Notably, Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops is following in its' Modern Warfare predecessors' footsteps and releasing multiplayer DLC packs to Xbox Live Gold members first. Dead Rising 2, a sequel to a game that was an Xbox exclusive but was produced for both major HD consoles this go-round, released a prologue and epilogue only available to 360 gamers.

 Oh, you'd like a Prequel on PS3?

Not to be outdone, Sony has been moving in on timed-exclusives and third-party exclusives in a major way this year (and into next year). Assassin's Creed Brotherhood on PS3 has exclusive single-player downloadable content; those gamers not scared off by controversy were rewarded for their purchase of Medal of Honor with the well-reviewed Medal of Honor: Frontline included on the blu-ray game; Mafia II's early DLC packs were PS3-exclusive; and next year, EA's Dead Space II will give PS3 owners a reason to smile as they receive the previously Wii-exclusive Dead Space: Extraction as a pack-in (also available to download on the PlayStation Network for those not interested in Dead Space II).

Exclusive content will always drive the video game industry. Without exclusive content, we'd have a one-console market--there would be no need to innovate or to excel or to expand. And that's what is needed in any industry that wishes to thrive and grow, and why fanboys get in ridiculous arguments about which system is better. The Exclusive may be dead, but exclusive content will never die.

As always, please sound off in the comments below. Agree? Disagree? Have a fanboy favorite? Discuss!