Wed, Feb 17, 2010 | 15:52 GMT
SCEA: Exclusives aren’t as commonplace as the PS2 days
SCEA VP of public relations, Rob Dyer, has said that he sees the console exclusivity trend disappearing in the future, citing that “exclusives just aren’t as commonplace as they were during the PS2″ era.
However, he does see advertisements being the way forward in getting consumers to purchase one console version over the other, and exemplifies this by bringing up the Batman: Arkham Asylum and Madden ad campaigns.
“I point to a couple big examples. One is Batman: Arkham Asylum, with what the guys at Eidos and Rocksteady did, and I point to Madden and the unique campaign EA put behind it with us, showing promotions that were very PS3 focused. And that really drove sales,” Dryer explained to IndustryGamers.
“Look, we’re not going to get the exclusive games. The Mass Effects, Gears of Wars and Left 4 Deads aren’t going to happen nearly as often. But we have our own first-party development and exclusives like Final Fantasy XIV and Agent. Exclusives just aren’t as commonplace as they were during the PS2 days.
“What is going to be the driving force is either exclusive ad campaigns, like the Madden campaign, or exclusive content like we had with Batman. The PS3 version outsold the 360 version, and what we’ve said to [developers] is ‘If you take advantage of what the PS3 can deliver – more content on the Blu-ray disc, better graphics, being able to get more of what the player wants onto the disc – you’re going to see those sales translate.’
“[EA Sports and Eidos] would both tell you that by focusing on PS3 and its virtues and what it provides, it translated into much bigger sales and bang for the buck.
“So what we’ve been doing is going to publishers and using that as our basic story, and going after exclusive content. You’re going to see a lot of that, and for example, you’re seeing it now with Dante’s Inferno. EA had the collector’s edition only on PS3. They filled up that Blu-ray disc and were able to do a lot more that they couldn’t with 360.
“The consumer is starting to understand that – there’s a lot of cross-ownership between PS3 and 360, and so we’re now trying to differentiate that and give that consumer a reason to buy the PS3 version instead of the 360 version.”
During the same interview, Dyer mentioned how many first-party studios Sony has compared with its biggest rival Microsoft.
He even went so far to say that the Seattle giant would rather throw money at publishers for exclusivity rights instead of focusing on wholly owned studios.
More through the links.
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Posted in: Development, Hot, PS3, Sony
Tags: console exclusivity, rob dryer, scea
8 comments
#1
Robo_1
17/02/10, 4:01 pm
Errr, deja vu http://www.vg247.com/2010/02/17/sony-ps3-has-360-beat-on-first-party-titles-catching-up-rapidly-on-third-parties/
#2
Hunam
17/02/10, 4:02 pm
If exclusives are going the way of the dodo, why the fuck would I want there to be two consoles doing the same thing? Seems like next generation, it’ll be the Wii 2 and either PS or Xbox, I doubt both would survive if they peddle the same wares.
#3
Blerk
17/02/10, 4:15 pm
Heh. FFXIV possibly not the best example to use for an ‘exclusive’, and Dante’s Inferno’s extra content is getting released on 360 as well as DLC so it can’t have been that big.
But he’s basically right – with no clear winner among the hi-defs there are very few real exclusives these days. Which is a good thing, right? Share the love.
#4
Stephany Nunneley
17/02/10, 4:15 pm
@1 – Nope. No quotes are the same, and I even linked to the original post. We post news on the same interview loads of times throughout so as to make things less “long” otherwise no one would read them – which if I want to give you Hell over this – in fun of course – I would note that you didn’t read it anyway otherwise you would not have put that link in there that is clearly in my post :p
#5
Eregol
17/02/10, 4:18 pm
@Hunam
Of course there will still be exclusives.
First party titles, hello!!
#6
Blerk
17/02/10, 4:28 pm
Aaaand they’re off!
/brews tea
#7
Robo_1
17/02/10, 4:28 pm
Oh Steph you can be brutal
I thought it was a genuine mistake so just posted quickly. I’ve been following various threads on the interview during the day, so it’s all blended into one news story in that dusty thing my brain resides in.
#8
The Hindle
17/02/10, 4:34 pm
He means 3rd party exclusives which he has a point they will be extinct eventually.