Special: I got your MEGATON right here
Editor's Note: We have updated the exclusives list since this article was first written. The latest update can be found here.
The blogs and boards were abuzz yesterday about
Siliconera's Battle of the console exclusives. The article was a list (and comparison) of the exclusives that were being planned for the next-gen consoles because the thinking goes, with graphics being what they are, the system with the most exclusives could be considered the УwinnerФ.
In theory, this is not a bad way to measure the consoles against each other in the coming console war. But this being the Internet, I found Siliconera's list a tad incomplete and the rules for an "exclusive" were a little hit or miss. So I made my own list.
The rules are simple:
1. These are "console exclusives". So if a game appears on the PC and only one console, it is exclusive to that console. Also, because of the limitations of the DS, PSP and GBA, any game that appears on only one console and a handheld will be considered exclusive to that console.
2. Downloadable games and content packs will not be included. Downloadable games may be added in the future, but considering the number of "exclusive" content pack deals flying around (i.e. Grand Theft Auto IV), the word doesn't end up meaning anything.
3. "Next-Gen exclusives" will not be counted. So we won't be counting games that appear on only one next-gen console but also on the PS2, Xbox or GC. So The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Burnout: Revenge and others are all out.
4. No "fantasy games". That means that these lists will only include games that have been formally announced by a publisher and have at least a working title. So that means games like "Unannounced LucasArts/Day 1 Next-Gen Project" and "Untitled Namco RPG" won't be included.
So with the rules established, here's what the current totals look like. And like any good Cold War, they are in bar graph form for that whole "I have more missiles than you and it's the end of the world as we know it" feel:
While it appears the Xbox 360 has a commanding lead in the exclusive battle, raw numbers are never as much fun as real bragging rights, so here are the current exclusive titles for each console. While I make no claims to the completeness of these lists, I think they're pretty close.
Xbox 360 (75)
Released (25)
Amped 3
Bomberman: Act Zero
Call of Duty 2
Chromehounds
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Dead or Alive 4
Dead Rising
Full Auto
Import Tuner Challenge
Kameo: Elements of Power
MotoGP 06
Ninety-Nine Nights
Over G Fighters
Perfect Dark Zero
Prey
Project Gotham Racing 3
Quake 4
Ridge Racer 6
Rumble Roses XX
Saint's Row
Table Tennis
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle-earth II
The Outfit
Top Spin 2
Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Volume 1
Unreleased (43)
Alan Wake
All Points Bulletin
Banjo-Kazooie
Battlestations: Midway
BioShock
Blue Dragon
Bullet Witch
Castle Wolfenstein
Crackdown
Crossfire
Culdcept Saga
Dance Dance Revolution Universe
Dead or Alive Code: Cronus
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
Eternal Sonata
Fable 2
Forza Motorsport 2
Fuzion Frenzy 2
Gears of War
GTR
Halo 3
Halo Wars
Huxley
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom
Lost Odyssey
Lost Planet
Marvel Universe Online
Mass Effect
Mobile Ops: The One Year War
Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia
Naruto
Overlord
Postal III
Project Gotham Racing 4
Project Progressive
Project Sylpheed
Shadowrun
Star Trek: Legacy
TimeShift
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 5
Too Human
Viva Piёata
Non-US (7)
Cry On (Japan)
Elveon (UK)
Every Party (Japan)
Infinite Undiscovery (Japan)
Tenchu (Japan)
Tetris: The Grandmaster Ace (Japan)
Zegapain XOR (Japan)