Special: Reggie Claus is making a list and he's checkin' it twice.
Editor's Note: We have updated the exclusives list since this article was first written. The latest update can be found here.
With all of the announcements and unveilings of E3 2007 a growing memory, the aftermath of the video game industry's biggest showcase has made the Exclusive Arms Race enter a brave new world.
The king is dead! Long live the Wii!
Yes, the Xbox 360 is no longer the leader in exclusive titles for the first time since we began tracking them in October of 2006. Nintendo's little white behemoth has pulled ahead after a stellar E3 where nearly every major (and minor) publisher pledged plenty of support for the system. So what does the current exclusive landscape look like? First, we will go over the rules for those that have yet to read an Exclusive Arms Race article and then we will dissect the list, which includes a whopping 37 new titles for the Wii.
The rules of The Exclusive Arms Race are very simple:
Eligibility Rules
1. These are Уconsole exclusivesФ. 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 УexclusiveФ content pack deals flying around (i.e. Grand Theft Auto IV), the word doesn't end up meaning anything.
3. УNext-Gen exclusivesФ 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 Уfantasy gamesФ. 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 УUnannounced LucasArts/Day 1 Next-Gen ProjectФ and УUntitled Namco RPGФ won't be included.
5. The list will focus mainly on games scheduled to release in North America. Import titles (including games released exclusively for one console only in Japan or Europe) will not be counted. Unreleased titles that are likely to come to America will be counted, but will be dropped from the list if a North American release date is not announced after the game is released in its home region.
Other Rules
1. While the list is still made up of "console exclusives", games that have been starred with an asterick (*) are titles that will also available on the PC. These games are then totaled up and displayed next to the total along with the percentage of the total these games take up.
2. We have also attempted to rank the exclusives by highlighting games in green that have earned an aggreagate score of 75 or better on MetaCritic. Again, the number and percentage of released games with a score of 75 or better is included next to the total.
3. We have also attempted to predict the future and all unreleased games that come from a "proven franchise" will also be highlighted in green and counted. A game is considered part of a proven franchise if the most recently released game in the series scored a 75 or better at MetaCritic.
3a. We will attempt to differentiate between main series games and spinoffs so for example, Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be judged by Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and Halo Wars will be considered a new part of the Halo franchise and will not be marked as "green". |
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 УI have more missiles than you and it's the end of the world as we know itФ feel:
For those that wish to track the changes from our previous lists, they can be found here:
October 2006
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
With all that out of the way, here is the full list of exclusives for each console. While it may not be a complete list, the lists are accurate as of the day this article was published.
Xbox 360 (96 [+5])
*Also On PC (38 [39%])
"Green" MetaScore + Proven Franchises (36 [38%])
Released (47)
"Green" MetaScore (20 [43%])
Title | Publisher | Metascore |
Amped 3 | 2K Games | 72 |
Battlestations: Midway* | Eidos | 73 |
Bomberman: Act Zero | Konami | 34 |
Bullet Witch | Atari | 55 |
Call of Duty 2* | Activision | 90 |
Call of Juarez* | Ubisoft | 72 |
Chromehounds | Sega | 70 |
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars* | EA | 82 |
Condemned: Criminal Origins* | Sega | 81 |
Crackdown | Microsoft | 83 |
Dance Dance Revolution Universe | Konami | 75 |
Dead or Alive 4 | Tecmo | 85 |
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 | Tecmo | 54 |
Dead Rising | Capcom | 85 |
Earth Defense Force 2017 | D3 | 69 |
Forza Motorsport 2 | Microsoft | 90 |
Full Auto | Sega | 70 |
Fuzion Frenzy 2 | Microsoft | 48 |
Gears of War* | Microsoft | 94 |
Hour of Victory* | Midway | 40 |
Import Tuner Challenge | Ubisoft | 53 |
Kameo: Elements of Power | Microsoft | 79 |
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition* | Capcom | 79 |
MotoGP 06* | THQ | 80 |
Ninety-Nine Nights | Microsoft | 61 |
Over G Fighters | Ubisoft | 49 |
Overlord* | Codemasters | 74 |
Perfect Dark Zero | Microsoft | 81 |
Prey* | 2K Games | 79 |
Project Gotham Racing 3 | Microsoft | 88 |
Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception | Microsoft | 69 |
Quake 4* | Activision | 74 |
Ridge Racer 6 | Namco Bandai | 74 |
Rumble Roses XX | Konami | 62 |
Saints Row | THQ | 81 |
Shadowrun* | Microsoft | 67 |
Star Trek: Legacy* | Bethesda | 64 |
Tenchu Z | Microsoft | 56 |
Tetris Evolution | THQ | 53 |
The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles* | Bethesda | 86 |
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle-earth II* | EA | 79 |
The Outfit | THQ | 70 |
Top Spin 2* | 2K Games | 75 |
Vampire Rain | Microsoft | 47 |
Viva Piёata* | Microsoft | 84 |
WarTech: Senko No Ronde | Ubisoft | 58 |
Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Volume 1 | Microsoft | NA |
Unreleased (49)
Proven Franchises (16 [33%])
Title | Publisher | Release Date |
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation | Namco Bandai | 2007 |
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures* | TBA | 2008 |
Alan Wake* | Microsoft | 2008 |
All Points Bulletin* | Webzen | 2008 |
America's Army: True Soldiers | Ubisoft | 9/2007 |
Banjo-Kazooie 3 | Microsoft | 2007 |
Beautiful Katamari *NEW* | Namco Bandai | 2007 |
BioShock* | 2K Games | 8/2007 |
Blue Dragon | Microsoft | 8/2007 |
Castle Wolfenstein* | Activision | 2008 |
Cry On | TBA | TBA |
Culdcept Saga | Namco Bandai | 2008 |
Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2 *NEW* | Konami | TBA |
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements* *NEW* | Ubisoft | TBA |
Dead or Alive Code: Cronus | Tecmo | TBA |
Dungeon Hero* | Gamecock | 2009 |
Elveon* | TBA | 2007 |
Eternal Sonata | Namco Bandai | 2007 |
F.E.A.R. Files* *NEW* | Sierra | 2007 |
Fable 2 | Microsoft | 2008 |
Far East of Eden Ziria | TBA | TBA |
FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage | TBA | 2007 |
GTR* | TBA | TBA |
Halo 3 | Microsoft | 9/2007 |
Halo Wars | Microsoft | 2008 |
Huxley* | Webzen | TBA |
Infinite Undiscovery | TBA | TBA |
Kengo: Legend of the 9 | Majesco | Q4 2007 |
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom | Microsoft | 2007 |
Left 4 Dead* | Valve | 11/2007 |
Lost Odyssey | Microsoft | 2008 |
Marvel Universe Online* | Microsoft | TBA |
Mass Effect | Microsoft | TBA |
Mobile Ops: The One Year War | Namco Bandai | 2007 |
MotoGP 07* | THQ | 8/2007 |
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja | Ubisoft | 2007 |
Postal III* | TBA | 2008 |
Project Gotham Racing 4 | Microsoft | 2008 |
Project Progressive | Tecmo | TBA |
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel* | TBA | TBA |
Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action *NEW* | Microsoft | 2007 |
The Secret World* | TBA | TBA |
Theseis* | TBA | 2007 |
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction* | Ubisoft | Q4 2007 |
Too Human | Microsoft | 2008 |
Two Worlds* | Southpeak | 8/2007 |
Universe At War: Earth Assault* | Sega | 2008 |
Viva Piёata: Party Animals *NEW* | Microsoft | 2007 |
World in Conflict* *NEW* | Sierra | 9/2007 |
Timed Exclusives (5)
Title | Publisher | Release Dates |
DIRT* | Codemasters | 360: Released PS3: 9/2007 |
Fatal Intertia | Koei | 360: 9/2007 PS3: 2008 |
Medal of Honor: Airborne* | EA | 360: 8/2007 PS3: 10/2007 |
Monster Madness: Battle For Suburbia* | Southpeak | 360: Released PS3: TBA |
Table Tennis | Rockstar | 360: Released Wii: 2007 |
The PlayStation 3 list, the Wii list and some final analysis can be found on the next page.