For all those arguing as to whether it is software, hardware or anything else than wins a console war, and or have argued that software or hardware did not win game console war X or Y:
No, hardware does not win a console war. No, software does not win a console war. No, fashion and popular opinion do not win a console war. No, marketing does not win a console war. The truth is that all of these factors, fashion and popular opinion, marketing, software and hardware, as well as many others on top, are what win console wars. And for any who will say "ultimately its software", you have not figured into your argument the effects of hardware etc. on influencing developers to create software. We can all take a pseudo-philosophical stance and say "without software the console would be a brick", but all of the factors I mentioned, and many others are important ("without the hardware, the software wouldn't exist"), but are not strictly equal, nor equal in their relative importance within each console war. One console ware may be won predominantly by hardware, where another is won predominantly by software, but there is always a biplay of many factors, and the latter two tend to be the most important. The PS3 will appeal to a certain number of people for its hardware, but for the majority that will only be one factor, and second to software, which is generally the most important factor (though again, the biplay of a console's software and the other factors is always important).
On the main subject:
The loss of exclusives is naturally disheartening, though many Sony fanboys (and I use the term loosely, for any lack of definition as to what constitutes such a person, or willingness to name any) have taken the route of pretending all the games they once held in high esteem, and enshrined on their PS3 exclusivity lists, which have subsequently gone multiplatform, are forgettable, or just as well on every console. I agree that from a developers perspective, more money and a larger fanbase for their handcrafted worlds is a good thing, so is allowing a greater number of people to enjoy the games, but it is disheartening nonetheless. Exclusives are a good thing because they give a reason for people to choose one console over another, particularly when the majority agree that software is more important than hardware in their choice. It is also a matter of pride and character, exclusives become iconic of their console, and gamers come to identify with them. Multiplatform games, on the other hand, are (or were, as there are now so many) generally of a greater significance to casual gamers, ensuring each console had a suitably robust library, a minimum number of relatively soulless and characterless, but functional games, and a greater appeal to the mainstream - resulting in increased sales for the console. Essentially, exclusives and multiplatform games are both good for gaming, but the majority of the more serious gamers tend to identify a console by its exclusives, take pride in them, and because of it, enjoy them (albeit unconsciously) that much more, for their exclusivity.
The loss of an exclusive game is not always a band thing for gamers, and for the developers it is a good thing in terms of profit, but it also weakens the fanbase, who - in being more general and less proud of the game - tend also to prefer it less, and be less dedicated. Each gamer then has to decide for themselves whether each exclusive game going multiplatform is a good thing in their eyes, but for the console manufacturers it is always a bad thing. In the case of Devil May Cry 4, I think it is a bad thing, because previous Xbox owners are less likely to have enjoyed the three prequals, and the fanbase, as has been seen today, will be diluted and weakened. The pride people take in the game will decrease, and unless it is more than just marginally better than its prequal (relative to what we expect of a next-gen sequel), the review scores it gets in gaming magazines are also likely to decrease somewhat, as the press also take less pride in the game, and identify with it less. I would also say that the PS3s loss of exclusives in general has been a bad, but not a terrible thing, because Virtua Fighter 5 is a timed exclusive, Assassin's Creed was unlikely to be another Halo, Mario or Resident Evil, and so long as Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy remain on the PS3, it's most iconic and proud exclusives will be intact. It is perhaps the loss of Resident Evil, which has never appeared on a Microsoft Console, which hurts the most, but even that is a blow which has been softened by the Gamecube's turn as the series' host.
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