When it comes to consoles, one often asks – is it the hardware that moves the software, or the other way round? I strongly believe that one must have a pretty broad install base before more and more developers pick up the courage to create a commercially viable game, but on the other hand it could just take a single exclusive that everybody wants to play, and what better way than to snag that exclusive to your console and not your competitors’? Just take a look at how Pokemon single-handedly revived the Game Boy back in the late 90s, and Metal Gear Solid really sealed it for the PlayStation line of consoles (up to the second iteration as of date anyways). Phil Harrison of Sony has issued a statement that he thinks the PS3 won’t have the necessary install base to support Rockstar’s immense investment on GTA IV on its own.

Will fans of GTA hold out until a clearer direction is revealed? After all, many in the last generation actually picked up a PS2 just because they wanted to play GTA and nothing else. With the Xbox 360 having such a huge lead in terms of hardware sales currently, selling enough hardware to secure more exclusives for the PS3 doesn’t look like a sound marketing decision. Shouldn’t it be the other way around instead – securing the exclusives and letting such news generate enough hardware sales to make everybody a winner?

I’m no economics guru, but those are just my personal thoughts. Would you like to see GTA IV be an exclusive title, or do you prefer to pick it up no matter what console you own?

Source: Kotaku

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