Console Exclusives Aren’t a Thing Anymore

Back in 2017, I kept seeing a trend on social media of people adding the Persona 5 battle menu to different photos. It was to the point where someone went to a convention dressed as the UI. This piqued my curiosity about the game itself, and I ended up watching a YouTube playthrough from Persona YouTuber JohneAwesome. Especially in the days before P5R was ported to Switch and PC, it was a running joke in the community that the majority of Persona 5 fans had experienced the game through his playthrough rather than playing it themselves; most likely due to the fact that Persona 5 was originally a PlayStation exclusive.

It was Johne’s playthrough and passion for the game that motivated me to get my first job in order to buy Persona 5 and a PlayStation 4 for myself. I’m sure I’m not the only one who did this, and there will be plenty more people who have stories of saving for a console in order to play a game exclusive to it.

Back in the day, Persona 5 convinced me to save my money for a PS4. With the lack of console exclusives, will today’s teens be doing the same? Source: ATLUS

These days, outside of Nintendo’s IPs, console exclusives are few and far between. PlayStation and Xbox only have a handful of true exclusives each, and many of these games are eventually announced for PC after a period of time. With more and more people turning to PC gaming due to its customisation and potential for higher stats, I feel that console exclusive games are going to need to make a comeback in order for console gaming to maintain the popularity its enjoyed for many years. Of course, consoles aren’t entirely reliant on exclusive games for sales; the convenience and price of consoles make them a great option for many people, but exclusive games definitely entice more people to give the console a go. Just look at the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2; many people are willing to pay high prices for the console for its exclusive IPs like Mario, Zelda and Pokémon.

Even in the last 10 years, the lack of console exclusives has demonstrated a shift in how we like to play games today. There’s been a definite push towards using machines that have the highest performance possible, most likely because many games require incredibly strong hardware in order to run well. Now, a £400 console is “affordable” when compared to a £1000+ PC build. With the lack of console exclusive games and games continuing to become more complex, PC gaming looks like it’s going to continue to rise.