So like, the whole internet’s buzzing about the PlayStation exclusives again. Not only for the PS5, but now they are bringing the PS6 into the conversation? Yes, the people are already looking way ahead! That train of thought just spewed from a tweet made by NikTekOfficial, who basically wondered about the amount of exclusives a PS6 will be able to grab in the first place. And man, the replies have been a crazy spill of educated opinion, guesses, and just plain console-war crimes.
The tweet itself was pretty simple: just a thought thrown out there with a chart pasted onto it showing the number of exclusives every single PlayStation console, from PS1 to PS5, ever had. And the numbers plummet after the PS2 era itself, which is something mind-boggling. For the PS2 to have over 1,000 exclusives? Well, that’s nuts. And then it just downhill after that.
Exclusives. Why does everybody seem to care about them so much? Well, that used to be the main reason to buy one console over the other. Want to play Mario? Go for a Nintendo. Want to play Halo? Go for an Xbox. Now exclusives meant you were choosing between a bunch of JRPGs and some weird experimental stuff on PlayStation. That was the original trade-off. But right now? Hazy.
So, in the replies, there were many people who stated that that Sony simply does not need to rely on exclusives like it used to. SilentWraith87 said it best: “All that really proves given their position in the market is that they don’t need to rely on exclusives to be successful.” And he is right: the brand is so strong now that it no longer needs the exclusives. But then you’ve got the other side to this argument. Games from that side are super weak to go against the trend. User CasshernVIII counter-argues with a solid reasoning to buy: “Because how do you justify dropping $650 on a PS5 when you can play the same games elsewhere for cheaper. Exclusives used to mean making a choice between PS1 or N64, PS3 or 360 or Wii.” That’s the naked truth right there. If everything is everywhere, what does it even really matter what sits under your TV?
The lines got messier when someone pulled out the recent release of Helldivers 2. illmoney789 adds: “The console wars ended with Helldivers 2 and Gears of War release. We’ll sort of ended.” Wait, Gears of War? Hell, I mean you get my point. The lines are getting obfuscated. Super-large PlayStation caliber games just started releasing on PC day one now. What a new situation.
Now, the Canadian article remains as the other side of the coin. Everybody brings up Nintendo. User imdimran0011 summarized the prevailing opinion for many players: “Nintendo is the clear winner… PC + Nintendo combo gamers are the real winners.” That appears to be the broad consensus now. Get a Switch for Nintendo’s must-play exclusives and a PC or another console for everything else. PS6 is going to have to have an answer for that mindset.
A couple of outright funny ones came through, too. User ZeroDjinn94 predicted, “60%of em will have ‘the last of us’ as part of the name.” LOL, not even wrong. How many incarnations of that game have we gotten up to now? And PetiePal doubled down with the ultimate troll: “PS6: 1 Exclusive and everything else available on XBox Game Pass 😁.” Nightmares for Sony Fans if that becomes reality.
This is where quality comes in. User DoomyRei added: “It doesn’t matter i like high quality graphics and not super Nintendo looking ass games,” and he really wouldn’t listen to anyone. Yeah. Fair enough. PlayStation has always been about that power, about the cinematic experience. But is that enough for people to buy a console if the majority of its biggest games are also on their wicked-fast PCs? That’s the million-dollar question Sony is going to have to answer now with PS6.
There were also tons of trash talk about the current gen, with user CrapCody describing it as “the most dogshit console generation by far.” Ouch. Harsh. But it’s an oft-heard sentiment. The whole COVID-delay thing, mixed with the weird cross-gen situation, makes it not much of a far leap for a lot of people. The massive next-gen experience will have to be what regards the PS6, whether it has exclusives or not.
So where does that leave us? Predicting the lineup of exclusives for the PS6 is a totally guessing affair. Maybe Sony doubles down and buys loads more studios to keep content down on lock while placing bigger swooshes on everything onto PC for now seems more cashed. Those are really complicated business moves, but gamers think it’s simple: just let us play the good stuff anywhere.
That whole conversation and discussion is proof that the players are now seriously thinking of what the future of gaming platforms will hold. It’s no more about hardware specs. It’s about the games, about the value, about the ecosystem. The PS6 might not need a thousand exclusives of a PS2 magnitude to be successful, but it sure as hell will need a really good incentive for people to get behind. Whether that’s a handful of really great, have-to-play titles, or an entirely new dimension of something else, is yet to be seen. The debate is really alive.
