• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

Why do people get upset over Timed Exclusivity Deals but not so much when Console Manufacturers buy Game Studios?

Status
Not open for further replies.
bob100

bob100

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,726
Thread making privileges removed: History of creating threads based on console wars and concern trolling
So with Microsoft buying Bethesda / Sony buying Insomniac (most recent examples) i've read a lot of comments with a positive spin and excitement as to how good it is even though this will most likely lead to games not being on other platforms such as Nintendo or Sony owned.

However for time exclusivity and characters being exclusive on certain platforms there appears to be more of an uproar over the years on Era. For example Spiderman being available only on PS4 for Marvel avengers / Call of duty having 30 days timed exclusivity / Tomb Raider being timed exclusive on Xbox (at start of current gen)

Surely timed exclusivity is the lesser of 2 evils as eventually you will be able to play the games on the platform of your choice rather than being forced to buy into another ecosystem?

Why not the same uproar for when console manufacturers buy studios?
 
Last edited:
Rosebud

Rosebud

Two Pieces
Member
Apr 16, 2018
43,597
People only get mad when it's the "enemy" making timed deals tbh. Same with studios.
 
RPGam3r

RPGam3r

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,519
Because it's not on their side.

I don't mind timed-exclusives or acquisitions. Both make sense.
 
Jiraiya

Jiraiya

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,292
No one is forcing you into an ecosystem.
You've never been able to play every game one system...stop pretending it should happen now because Xbox.
 
gothi

gothi

Prophet of Truth
Member
Jun 23, 2020
4,433
Here's some thoughts:

Timed exclusives are basically one company paying a publisher to withhold something from another console, this has negative customer impact and without this deal the game would have still been developed and released on multiple consoles. (there's a couple of exceptions to this but it's generally true)

The Microsoft deal with Bethesda has left all Dev studios developing games. If it hadn't happened there have been hints we would have seen layoffs (Bethesda's had a bad run recently and been up for sale for several years).
Whilst this negatively impacts PS5 owners it means that people in the studios are kept in work and games that possibly wouldn't have been made will now continue to be made. That's a net positive in general despite the negative impact to a select audience. Without the deal theres a good chance they wouldn't have got the games anyway so it's more "forgivable"
 
Lemony1984

Lemony1984

Member
Jul 7, 2020
6,720
Well stuff like the Destiny and Avengers deals make the games worse for all players. Outside of that I don't really mind, but also I buy all consoles do the impact to me is minimal.
 
dude

dude

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,639
Tel Aviv
I get mad when both happens. Exclusivity is bullshit, and the industry consolidating into a few small mega-publishers is also bullshit.
I don't know if I agree with you on what is the "lesser evil" here, you can argue timed exclusivity or other types of exclusive content deals are pure marketing bullshit that makes the experience artificially worse for other platforms while buying a studio is long-term investment in it. But, buying studios also means more consolidation and has much bigger ramifications. IDK, they're bullshit and it's hard to decide which one is worse.
 
Rotobit

Rotobit

Editor at Nintendo Wire
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
10,196
I think most people who are upset at one are upset at the other (assuming it's not console warring nonsense)

But I do think there's a bit of a difference - a timed exclusive is just actively taking something away from other consoles for short-term profits, buying studios outright is actively funding the games that are made. There are exceptions for both, and you could argue the "moneyhat" helps fund development, but yeah.
 
Alvis

Alvis

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,231
Spain
Rosebud said:
People only get mad when it's the "enemy" making timed deals tbh. Same with studios.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Nah. I mean sure some people, but I'm a PC player, I hate EGS exclusives, and I really, really dislike that Microsoft bought Bethesda, despite the fact that the games will continue to release on Steam as always.

More independent companies is better for us, the players.
 
Alienhated

Alienhated

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,549
People here will try their hardest to rationalize and explain why one thing is worse than the other, in the end it's always about wether their plaftorm of choice ends up getting the exclusive or not.
 

Deleted member 10726

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,674
ResetERA
I tolerate both, tho to say that much, a company giving a studio company to keep the game off other platforms definitely seems like a tougher pill to swallow than funding the development or buying the studio and thus funding all of their development.

Tho I admit, I can't really say much about Bethesda's acquisition on that note. It's a big damn acquisition and even now I still don't know how I feel about it.
 
Niosai

Niosai

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,925
First post absolutely got it. People only hate on these things when they think it will affect them in some way.
 
TechnicPuppet

TechnicPuppet

Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,834
Companies buying companies is just what happens in every industry. It's normal business practice since the dawn of time.

Paying one company not to sell through another company is not.
 
GeoGonzo

GeoGonzo

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,329
Madrid, Spain
Its not quite the same, even if they are similar and both are bad for consumers but usually good for the developers. Buying a studio shows an interest in funding a game while it is being developed, it is more of a gamble since you may end up buying a studio that churns out bad games. That risk isn't there if you are just buying exclusivity for a game that is almost done.

Still, I could easily understand if some people consider both practices way too similar.
 
Ales34

Ales34

Member
Apr 15, 2018
6,455
Rosebud said:
People only get mad when it's the "enemy" making timed deals tbh. Same with studios.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Of course you're right. But game availability matters too. Sony locking a game to their console affects more people negatively than Microsoft making a game available on Xbox, PC, and Android phones. It's not as "anti-consumer," because everyone has a phone these days and you can get that game without a steep entry price of a console.
 
MattHeus

MattHeus

Member
Mar 2, 2019
449
Lets be real Playstation already got timed Final Fantasy, Deathloop, Ghostwire plus according to rumours they were negotiating Startfield and in talks with every studio under the sun.

Sony will keep doing this and even though pepple keep saying "it is just timed, it is better"... Those things add up.

If Microsoft didn't flex their wallet Xbox would be completely and utterly fucked. The console known for getting everything one year later.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
bob100

bob100

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,726
Jiraiya said:
There is nothing about a war in that comment. Exclusives have always been a driving force behind consoles.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Your comment said " You've never been able to play every game one system...stop pretending it should happen now because Xbox. "

You are implying that I have created the OP just because i don't agree with Xbox buying Bethesda...where have i said that?

I am asking why the general consensus is timed exclusivity is seen as worse than buying studios
 

idioteque

Member
Nov 8, 2017
613
bob100 said:
However for time exclusivity and characters being exclusive on certain platforms
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I don't care for games being exclusive on either platform. That's business. In an ideal world all games would be available to everyone regardless of what hardware you use but the industry doesn't seem to work that way.

I do dislike the bit in bold though. This leads to some people paying the same price of a game which contains less content. Which feels very wrong to me.
 
Wereroku

Wereroku

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,247
TechnicPuppet said:
Companies buying companies is just what happens in every industry. It's normal business practice since the dawn of time.

Paying one company not to sell through another company is not.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Bullshit. Verizon buys timed phone exclusivity all the time and has been doing it for decades. Companies in all industries do this.
 
Eila

Eila

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,942
Timed exclusivity is just bullshit. The game would have been made regardless, all it does is delay the release of one version.
If a console manufacturer buys a studio, they are funding the development of the entire game.
 
Jiraiya

Jiraiya

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,292
bob100 said:
Your comment said " You've never been able to play every game one system...stop pretending it should happen now because Xbox. "

You are implying that I have created the OP just because i don't agree with Xbox buying Bethesda...where have i said that?

I am asking why the general consensus is timed exclusivity is seen as worse than buying studios
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I'm not implying anything. Exclusives being bad has not been this big of a topic until Microsoft made that purchase. Before then...exclusives were held as THE thing that made your platform worthwhile to the masses.
 
Typhoon20

Typhoon20

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,568
Nurturing the studios you own isn't quite the same as bribing a studio you do not own to not release a game on other platforms.
 
NightShift

NightShift

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,026
Australia
What are we supposed to complain about when there's an acquisition? At least with timed and content exclusives there's a slight chance people can make publishers less willing to go through with it due to all the negative PR. There's too much money involved in acquisitions, the payoff is too great and the damage is already done.
 
RPGam3r

RPGam3r

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,519
bob100 said:
Your comment said " You've never been able to play every game one system...stop pretending it should happen now because Xbox. "

You are implying that I have created the OP just because i don't agree with Xbox buying Bethesda...where have i said that?

I am asking why the general consensus is timed exclusivity is seen as worse than buying studios
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I mean the timing of this thread and your very first sentence says Microsoft buying Bethesda as an example. Not sure why their comment was any more or less console warring than the thread context.
 
Budi

Budi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,883
Finland
I don't think it's that simple really. Studio acquisition that locks future games on one platform, is whole lotta different than studio acquisition that allows future games on multiple platforms. Mostly those who are left out get pissed, when less people are left out, we get less pissed off people. Also with full acquisition there's a promise of full future support to the studio, it's a commitment. Timed exclusivity is only a hindrance.
 
deathkiller

deathkiller

Member
Apr 11, 2018
923
I have never seen anyone mad at a console manufacturer revealing a new game published by them made by an independent studio. Though exclusive sequels of previously multiplatform IPs are always problematic.

Purchasing studios is more like that than timed exclusives so I don't see them that similar.
 
OutofMana

OutofMana

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,081
California
Timed exclusives are bad but apparently the consolidation of the industry by one game company is good! More! More! More! As long as it's the place where I play it's fine!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.