And that has to be a good thing.
And they have had a hand in deciding which console won each generation.
Ironically, it’s possible for you to now buyarcade machines designed for your home.
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Nintendo and Mario were well-established, but then Sega and Sonic entered the scene.
And if you wanted to play the Sonic games, you needed to own a Sega system.
And millions duly bought Sega’s consoles as a result.
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Once we entered the PlayStation/Xbox era, platform exclusivity became an even bigger part of the story.
And that battle of the exclusives (of all kinds) has persisted ever since.
How Platform Exclusives Are Coming to an End
Thankfully, things are starting to change.
The industry is clearly changing, and Microsoft’s gaming executives are adapting.
It isn’t just Microsoft and Xbox either.
Essentially, the hardware you use to play games is becoming a secondary concern over the games themselves.
Why Platform Exclusives Are Going Away
So, why are platform exclusives coming to an end?
The obvious answer is that they’re no longer the best option available to the companies responsible.
As outlined above, Phil Spencer, someone who should know, said as much.
For Microsoft, the logic is clear to see.
Inthe battle between PS5 and Xbox Series X, the PS5 is winning.
The Switch has also outsold the Xbox Series X|S to date, with no hint of that changing.
Especially when games hardware is usually sold at a loss.
As is the popularity of Steam and PC gaming.
These essentially mean that you don’t need to own a games console anymore.
This is especially true for Microsoft, as Game Pass Ultimate includesXbox Cloud Gaming.
This includes phones, tablets, PCs, smart TVs, and VR headsets.
And that meant missing out on certain games that were only available on specific platforms.
This led me personally to choose PlayStation over Xbox, as Sony’s exclusives always suited my tastes better.
And this could start by switching to platform agnosticism.
