Nintendo 64: The Golden Age Of Console

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Once upon a time gamers would pick their console based on the number of exclusive titles available while the technical hardware was only an after thought. Having clear visuals is nice but that hardware is useless when all the console has is shovelware while everyone else is enjoying 007 Goldeneye or Metal Gear Solid.

Looking back, one could say the Fifth Generation era was the Golden Age of console exclusive. Gamers who owned a Nintendo 64 had an impressive collection that consisted of classics like 007 GoldenEye, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Smash Bros. and Star Fox 64. PlayStation gamer also had an impressive console exclusive collection that included Metal Gear Solid, the Syphon Filter trilogy, Crash Bandicoot, Driver 2, …show more content…

PlayStation 2 gamers were the real winners with titles like Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts, Devil May Cry and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Meanwhile, PlayStation gamers got first dibs on titles like Medal of Honor: Frontline, Metal Gear Solid 2, Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City. Nintendo gamers got the Resident Evil remake along with Super Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi’s Mansion, and Rouge Squadron II.

By the time gaming entered the Seventh Generation era, not much changed in terms of console exclusive titles during the early years. Everything changed when the world was hit with by the 2008 Financial Crash, which forced publishers to make cuts while trying to generate as much revenue as possible. At the same time, the gaming market has grown and publishers needed to tap into this new market. That means having to make their games available for all major …show more content…

Very few developers and publishers are whiling to release a title that is exclusive to one console. The few are No Man’s Sky and BroForce for the PS4 with Death Standing is a few years away while Xbox gamers are awaiting the release of We Happy Few.

From a financial standpoint, releasing a console exclusive title makes no sense in today’s market. With AAA titles requiring a massive budget, publishers need to make their money back. To make their title exclusive for one console would cut any profit they could have made. Hence, releasing a game on one console is the economical equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot.

The best Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft can now do is offer their audience first dibs on a highly anticipated title. This gives them an advantage over the competition while studios are not forced to limit there target audience to one console. Xbox gamers got first dibs on Rise of the Tomb Raiders before it was released on PlayStation 4 and PC. Meanwhile PlayStation gamers are going to experience the nightmare of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard in VR before

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