In the age of exclusive games, DLC, base-game content, and pre-order rewards, both Microsoft and Sony need to define what the term ‘exclusive’ really means. This comes in light of Double Fine announcing Grim Fandango‘s HD remake for PC, Mac, and Linux – not just PlayStation 4 and Vita.
At Sony’s 2014 E3 conference, they specifically announced that Grim Fandango will “be coming exclusively to both PS4 and PS Vita, thanks to the relationship with our good friends at Disney.” On the 10th of July – not 12 hours ago, at time of writing – developer Double Fine announced via Twitter that Grim Fandango will release on PC, Mac, and Linux. This announcement comes exactly 30 days after Sony’s announcement at E3, which leads some (such as Kotaku) to ponder whether this represents the end of their ‘exclusive announcement window’.
Reap your heart out! We're pleased to announce Grim Fandango will also be available on PC, Mac, and Linux alongside PlayStation 4 and Vita!
— Double Fine (@DoubleFine) July 9, 2014
Sony isn’t alone in this practice – Titanfall released to heavy marketing for the Xbox One version, with many believing that it was an exclusive for the platform. The case is that it is a Microsoft exclusive, available on Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC. Microsoft’s wrongdoing was hyping Titanfall as only possible on Xbox One while it’s available for two other systems.
Taking these two – by no means isolated – incidents into account, it stands that Sony and Microsoft need to stop, take one step back, and reassess what an exclusive is. If plans are in place for a version on other platforms, have someone say so after the initial announcement. If the game is available on multiple platforms, just say all the platforms. Microsoft’s tactic of “play it first on Xbox One” is only slightly more forgivable, because it gives the air of timed exclusivity. Even then, the phrase – and others such as “console exclusive debut” (a la Sony’s No Man’s Sky announcement) – is heavily slanted to give appearance of exclusivity, whilst maintaining plausible deniability.
It’s understandable that both companies need to push sales towards their respective consoles, but in a world that appreciates honesty more than corporate need – especially when honesty will often fuel more sales anyway – it’s far more important to tell the truth.
There may be times where this is impossible, but it serves the best interests of the consumers and the companies if they tell us if a game is exclusive, tell us if it is not exclusive, or tell us if it is a timed exclusive.
