When you own all of the latest consoles, there is nothing more beautiful than hearing that a new, jaw-dropping title is on its way – exclusive to just one console – and not having to worry about missing out on it. At the same time, owning all of the latest consoles and even having a decent PC can be a curse. Exclusive titles are what drives console competition forward, and the more that Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft compete for our favor, the better off we all are.

Although I’m a little reluctant to admit it, I know it’s true - there was a time when I thought nothing could ever compete with Sony’s dominance of the industry. There was simply no way, I thought, but then two things happened. The first was my coverage of E3 2003, where my eyes were opened to a whole other world outside of Sony. The second was getting a job at a game retail store. Yeah, that means that I had a lot less time to play games, but it sure as hell didn’t mean I had to stop buying them. Now I can call myself the proud owner of all the next generation hardware and since the lucid revelations of this year’s E3, I have a greatly broadened view of the gaming landscape.

I haven’t stopped loving Sony of course, remembering now all the wonderful years I survived on the Playstation hardware alone. I still reserve an extra special place on the shelf for the PS2. It just troubles me that lately that spot has been collecting a lot of dust.

The console wars are not fought by user-base, as some would have you believe. Numbers are not all that important. No matter how crappy a console is there will always be a lot of consumers that want to buy it (call it faith or call it simple stupidity, but it has happened). Instead, the real weapons in the console wars are the exclusive titles. Why else would system-launch software and “killer-apps” be so important to a console’s success? Simply put, the reason that the PS2 collects dust while the Xbox and the Gamecube steal center-stage is the quantity and quality of their exclusive titles.

Let’s brainstorm for a moment shall we? While I write this, I can think of some very good exclusive titles that have released on the Gamecube over the past few months. Starting all the way back with Zelda: The Wind Waker (which was a damn good game) up through Sonic Adventure DX, F-Zero GX, and beyond. I still haven’t gotten around to playing the finished version of P.N.03. Considering that cube-exclusive title, and also that the Megaman franchise has been exclusive to the Gamecube for a long time running (until X7 hits on PS2), I think it’s pretty safe to say that Capcom is in a snuggly business relationship with Nintendo.

If these past exclusive titles don’t convince ye wary few, just think about what Capcom is going to be releasing soon. Viewtiful Joe. Killer 7. What can be said about these games that everyone hasn’t already thought of? They have cinematic flair all their own, unique gameplay styles, and more. Capcom seems to be taking the science of cel-shading further with these two games than anyone has ever before. And they are only for the Gamecube.

But I haven’t forgotten my big, green, lovely gaming machine just yet. I had been pressured for months to buy an Xbox – back in the days when I still clung desperately to the idea of staying true to one console. And then Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was released, and I was swept down by a tidal wave of pure gaming enjoyment. Now the box has exclusive titles like D&D Heroes and Otogi to keep it going. And, oh my lord, did I hear something about both ground-breaking GTA titles coming to the Xbox? Or perhaps a remake of one of the greatest games of all time, Ninja Gaiden? Yes. Yes, I did.

But that isn’t all the attraction it has. Microsoft’s most secret and powerful weapons in this war are the non-exclusive games. Basically, if you’re going to buy games like True Crime or Prince of Persia – games that are being released simultaneously on all consoles, you’re going to want to get it on the Xbox, hands down. Ah, but this is the reason I said owning all the next generation hardware could be a curse. It’s the guilt for not using my other consoles, and then wondering why I bought them in the first place? (I was actually pretty upset when I found out that Legacy of Kain: Defiance, the latest game in one of my favorite series’ of all time, was coming out for Xbox. Wait a second… That’s actually good news!)

Now sometimes I ask myself that very question - why the hell did I buy the PS2? I don’t use it anymore, anyway! Well, come the end of this year, I will be using it again, quite a bit (so long as none of the following games are CD’s, my damn laser-eye won’t read anymore! Curse you, Sony!). Sony had exclusive games like Silent Hill 3, Chaos Legion, and Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits to carry it through the summer, and things just get better from here on in. First and foremost, Jak II is set to rock the next couple of weeks. If that game alone isn’t enough reason to revive the dual-shock-days-of-old, games like Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, and Manhunt will be up to the task. (I’ve said before, in my E3 report, that Final Fantasy X2 does not interest me one bit. But, in all fairness, that is a Sony-exclusive title that ought to revive the system as well for a lot of gamers).

I’m suddenly feeling that with such an awesome line-up of exclusive titles, Sony has to be revived to its former glory. I said it before; it’s the curse of the non-exclusive titles that kill the Playstation. Having been around for so long, Sony has a gi-normous user-base for its system. But, unfortunately, as time goes on, gamers will always flock to newer, more powerful systems like Xbox and Gamecube. And unless they’re desperate for the last copy in the store, a rational gamer will get a non-exclusive game on something else before the PS2. Want more reasons? XIII (uh, “thirteen”). Max Payne 2. Starcraft: Ghost.

Luckily, for all of us, the rules of exclusive releases are changing. Very soon we will witness the impossible: a Metal Gear game on a non-Sony console. (Actually, it’s a homecoming almost 20 years in the making if you think about it.) MGS: The Twin Snakes, a renovated Gamecube version of MGS for the PSX, is looking excellent. Hopefully, if all goes well, I can forget that MGS2 ever existed.

Obviously, there is a lot for game players with multiple consoles to be excited about. But there’s no way that players faithful to one company will be left out at all, either. So many unbelievably good games are due out by the end of 2003, and more even beyond that (let’s not even discuss Fable). I’m almost frightened to see what happens next, since so much of my money has been sunk right back into the same store. I don’t know how the hell I’m gonna pay for all this!

Posted: October 11, 2003