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So why is Splinter Cell: Conviction a 360 exclusive?

The only reason this game is even a timed exclusive is that it's a leftover from three years ago when it was still actually cost-effective to buy exclusivity on major titles like this. I don't see any particular reason to believe it won't eventually hit PS3 or that the next SC game won't be multiplat on release.
 
Jtyettis said:
2-3 months later? I can almost guarantee you not. This deal is likely almost as old as the Bioshock deal so I doubt it. Nothing has changed in that regard. I remember the PR guys from 2k saying they could not even acknowledge a port when they started on it a few months after the game had shipped on 360/PC.
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The only way Ubisoft would sit on a blockbuster like this for a year is if they were paid a significant amount of money to offset the revenues they're expecting from the PS3 sales. They've sold enough multi-platform games to know what numbers each platform will approximately sell and unless they're compensated accordingly I can't see Ubisoft shelving it for a year. Ubisoft is going to blow their marketing wad during their prolonged launch of the game and it's opportune to release the PS3 version during this window. If the game is released a year later, after the majority of the marketing dollars have been spent, then it's going to tank just as every other game before it has.
 
Chris Remo said:
Darkpen probably isn't a prospective PC buyer for this game anyway, but it is frustrating that Microsoft again and again puts so much effort into implicitly concealing that big games are coming to one of their own platforms. It just leads to a general lack of awareness.
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I don't know if I would really consider PC a "Microsoft" platform anymore. I kind of get the impression that with the 360 taking off they kind of consider PC gaming a liability (or, at least, a market that they can neither control nor take a cut of) and would kind of rather it died off.
 
TheOddOne said:
:lol

the see me rollin', i'm trollin'.
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Looking around, I take back the Assassin's Creed II comment. I can't find anything via google on what their lead sku is, so I probably mistook someone saying something during an E3 podcast. Other than that, how am I trolling? Its my honest concern as someone who wants Conviction, but doesn't own a 360.
 
Agent Ironside said:
PS3 is not capable of using the lighting engine used in SCC.
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huh?



DMeisterJ said:
Was, and still am 100% baffled it's not on the 360. Guess Kojima did not lie.
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It would be a fairly significant undertaking. A lot of rework would be necessary to fit it on DVD. Would be a pretty costly dev cycle.
 
Darkpen said:
Looking around, I take back the Assassin's Creed II comment. I can't find anything via google on what their lead sku is, so I probably mistook someone saying something during an E3 podcast. Other than that, how am I trolling? Its my honest concern as someone who wants Conviction, but doesn't own a 360.
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Like alot of people already said it's moneyhats. Just wait 6-12 months after the 360 release and you can play it. Maybe even with some bonus content, they like to throw that in after the long wait.
 
Truespeed said:
The only way Ubisoft would sit on a blockbuster like this for a year is if they were paid a significant amount of money to offset the revenues they're expecting from the PS3 sales. They've sold enough multi-platform games to know what numbers each platform will approximately sell and unless they're compensated accordingly I can't see Ubisoft shelving it for a year. Ubisoft is going to blow their marketing wad during their prolonged launch of the game and it's opportune to release the PS3 version during this window. If the game is released a year later, after the majority of the marketing dollars have been spent, then it's going to tank just as every other game before it has.
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This is very old deal signed probably like 2-3 yrs back. Nobody knew how will be market share back then. I'm guessing at least 6 months exclusivity.
 
Xater said:
Like alot of people already said it's moneyhats. Just wait 6-12 months after the 360 release and you can play it. Maybe even with some bonus content, they like to throw that in after the long wait.
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i'm guessing if it will come to the ps3 after the other versions, it will have extra content. it's a part of sony's rules, or am i wrong?
 
Darkpen said:
Looking around, I take back the Assassin's Creed II comment. I can't find anything via google on what their lead sku is, so I probably mistook someone saying something during an E3 podcast. Other than that, how am I trolling? Its my honest concern as someone who wants Conviction, but doesn't own a 360.
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At this point I don't think there is a "lead SKU" for an accomplished developer. Criterion Games mentioned that they have no lead SKU and that the majority of their game code base is actually common among all 3 platforms (PS3, PC and 360). The only difference is a small portion of high level management code, that's specific to each architecture, that controls the game code. So, for Criterion Games, developing a multi-platform game is pretty much a non issue because the choices they've made with their engine and architecture guarantee that every game is a multi-platform game. It would not be out of the realm to also infer that Ubisoft have also made similar design decisions in their new engine and development process.
 
Just as Ubisoft called the very first Splinter Cell an XBox exclusive, I'm sure Conviction will likewise make it to the PlayStation.
 
Truespeed said:
The only way Ubisoft would sit on a blockbuster like this for a year is if they were paid a significant amount of money to offset the revenues they're expecting from the PS3 sales.
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They'll have to abide by their original contract. Fact is this deal was cut years ago and if it didn't get stuck in development hell it would have been releasing to a much smaller PS3 userbase. Yeah, things have changed, but that's tough for Ubi. Lots of people expected a Mass Effect 1 port by now, saying that EA wouldn't pass on that money. Well, EA has to live by any contracts they inherited and Ubi has to live by any contracts they signed when the market was very different.

It's really easy to assume that a later port will be a blockbuster, but the reality is that hype fades and it's really hard to recapture it whenever you feel like it.
 
So using the logic in this thread, Rockstar's Agent will undoubtedly be making it's way to the 360 soon after release, amirite?
 
beermonkey@tehbias said:
They'll have to abide by their original contract. Fact is this deal was cut years ago and if it didn't get stuck in development hell it would have been releasing to a much smaller PS3 userbase. Yeah, things have changed, but that's tough for Ubi. Lots of people expected a Mass Effect 1 port by now, saying that EA wouldn't pass on that money. Well, EA has to live by any contracts they inherited and Ubi has to live by any contracts they signed when the market was very different.

It's really easy to assume that a later port will be a blockbuster, but the reality is that hype fades and it's really hard to recapture it whenever you feel like it.
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Honestly, I think sales resulting from Microsoft marketing support will more than make up for any possible losses from exclusivity. Splinter Cell is tightly connected to the Xbox brand.
 
AltogetherAndrews said:
Honestly, I think sales resulting from Microsoft marketing support will more than make up for any possible losses from exclusivity. Splinter Cell is tightly connected to the Xbox brand.
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Yeah, I almost mentioned the enormous co-marketing dollars this thing is going to get. If there's a late port it will have the usual weaksauce advertising budget that late ports get (Ubi will be paying it alone).
 
Majora said:
So using the logic in this thread, Rockstar's Agent will undoubtedly be making it's way to the 360 soon after release, amirite?
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2-3 months it's ridiculous, but yeah, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if agent came out on pc and 360 also.
 
Gully State said:
It's not exclusive. It's coming to PC also.
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Technically, it's still a Microsoft exclusive since you literally cannot play the game without running Microsoft software.

Chris Remo said:
See, this is why I get so irritated when Microsoft makes such a big deal about their "Xbox 360 exclusives."

Darkpen probably isn't a prospective PC buyer for this game anyway, but it is frustrating that Microsoft again and again puts so much effort into implicitly concealing that big games are coming to one of their own platforms. It just leads to a general lack of awareness.
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Yeah, they need to change the wording from "360 Exclusive" to "Microsoft Exclusive" to avoid confusion.
 
Majora said:
So using the logic in this thread, Rockstar's Agent will undoubtedly be making it's way to the 360 soon after release, amirite?
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same with versus ffxiii

nomura's vision will be comprised because of squareenix's greediness :'(
 
Truespeed said:
The only way Ubisoft would sit on a blockbuster like this for a year is if they were paid a significant amount of money to offset the revenues they're expecting from the PS3 sales. They've sold enough multi-platform games to know what numbers each platform will approximately sell and unless they're compensated accordingly I can't see Ubisoft shelving it for a year. Ubisoft is going to blow their marketing wad during their prolonged launch of the game and it's opportune to release the PS3 version during this window. If the game is released a year later, after the majority of the marketing dollars have been spent, then it's going to tank just as every other game before it has.
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they have NOW. we have no idea when this deal was signed, and what kind of clauses are in there. one thing that is absolutely certain is that PS3 multiplatform games are selling a lot more on average now than they were when the game was first expected to come out.

but yes. a publisher will only go exclusive if the compensation they get from the platform owner is more than they think they stand to lose in sales on other platforms.

that's pretty much a no brainer.
 
OldJadedGamer said:
Technically, it's still a Microsoft exclusive since you literally cannot play the game without running Microsoft software.

Yeah, they need to change the wording from "360 Exclusive" to "Microsoft Exclusive" to avoid confusion.
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Technically, they should say "360 console exclusive" or "360/PC exclusive". Both are grammatically accurate (yes, even the second one; check your dictionaries).
 
Reading this thread made me play Chaos Theory again on my 60GB. What's the problem again? I'll live w.o Conviction, but I guess It'll be fun for a while until it turns from awesome sleekness in the beginning to same ole gadget filled Sam who's working for another agency who's supplying him with it besides Third Echelon.
 
WickedLaharl said:
same with versus ffxiii

nomura's vision will be comprised because of squareenix's greediness :'(
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cry me a river.

who knows, maybe if it had remained PS3 exclusive the motorbikes could have been made from four or five interlocking robot lady things rather than just two!
 
beermonkey@tehbias said:
They'll have to abide by their original contract. Fact is this deal was cut years ago and if it didn't get stuck in development hell it would have been releasing to a much smaller PS3 userbase. Yeah, things have changed, but that's tough for Ubi. Lots of people expected a Mass Effect 1 port by now, saying that EA wouldn't pass on that money. Well, EA has to live by any contracts they inherited and Ubi has to live by any contracts they signed when the market was very different.

It's really easy to assume that a later port will be a blockbuster, but the reality is that hype fades and it's really hard to recapture it whenever you feel like it.
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Since you've seen the contract and were present during the negotiations, would you mind sharing the exclusivity time frame? Kidding aside, you have a valid point considering the resets this game has been through. Perhaps Ubisoft are locked in, but they're French (Canadian) so never underestimate the possibility of a loop hole or back door - just sayin :)

As for the Mass Effect port, this also falls into the Bioshock category of releasing a game well after its prime. I don't think the effort involved would justify the development and marketing costs. EA would never be so silly as to release it as a full price game so why waste your resources on a sure loss. I do think Mass Effect 2 is coming to the PS3, though.
 
It's a matter of when, not if. There are too few exceptions to "no such thing as exclusive" anymore to expect different.
 
What a bunch of BS that PS3 couldn't handle the lighting in SCC. Uncharted 2 and KZ2's lighting are a shitload better looking than SCC.

Sorry Agent Ironside but that's cooky talk.
 
Raide said:
Splinter Cell: Conviction was always planned to be a 360 exclusive and the delay did not change that. Splinter Cell has always been seen as a Xbox series and MGS was the PS2 series. Its coming to 360 and PC only.
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Sums it up quite nicely.
 
Surely most people can play the game on pc by now? You could probably buy a pc for £150 that could play it...

Ironside was taking the piss by the way

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised though...look how much AC sold...much more than the previous SC games I think. Its already Ubi's biggest game
 
beermonkey@tehbias said:
Technically, they should say "360 console exclusive" or "360/PC exclusive". Both are grammatically accurate (yes, even the second one; check your dictionaries).
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Well, but using "exclusive" that literally would make the term completely useless. Every game excludes some platform or the other. Even a PS2/DS/Wii/PS3/PC game would be an exclusive (no PSP version).

It's stupid. More than one platform = multiplat.

Don't buy into the corporate bullshit people, think for yourselves!
 
plagiarize said:
they have NOW. we have no idea when this deal was signed, and what kind of clauses are in there. one thing that is absolutely certain is that PS3 multiplatform games are selling a lot more on average now than they were when the game was first expected to come out.

but yes. a publisher will only go exclusive if the compensation they get from the platform owner is more than they think they stand to lose in sales on other platforms.

that's pretty much a no brainer.
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You're right, we have absolutely no idea what kind of clauses or outs are in the contract. For all we know Ubisoft could be locked down for this game considering the 'climate' it was first introduced into and the number of resets it's been through. But, I also think it's a no brainer that Ubisoft forecasted accordingly and signed a deal that was more beneficial to them then Microsoft.
 
Haunted said:
Well, but using "exclusive" that literally would make the term completely useless. Every game excludes some platform or the other. Even a PS2/PS3/DS/Wii/PS3/PC game would be an exclusive (no PSP version).

It's stupid. More than one platform = multiplat.

Don't buy into the corporate bullshit people, think for yourselves!
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Yeah, exclusives like these should just have the stamp, "Can't Play On PS3" on the cover.
 
Jason's Ultimatum said:
What a bunch of BS that PS3 couldn't handle the lighting in SCC. Uncharted 2 and KZ2's lighting are a shitload better looking than SCC.

Sorry Agent Ironside but that's cooky talk.
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We need screen shots to prove your point.
 
I think RE5 shows that Exclusivity is a dumbshit move. Every developer should go platform agnostic.


I can just hear the gasps from both sides of the camp going right up
 
It could be because Splinter Cell was always an "Xbox" franchise like Assasin's Creed was planned to be a "Playstation" franchise (until it was clear they wouldn't make any money as an exclusive). Maybe UBI has confidence that it'll sell enough only on Xbox to not need porting.

It could be because the devs want to concentrate on innovating specifically for Xbox Live.

Could be a co-marketing deal or as some call it "moneyhats".

Any/All the above. The rest is just noise.
 
Truespeed said:
You're right, we have absolutely no idea what kind of clauses or outs are in the contract. For all we know Ubisoft could be locked down for this game considering the 'climate' it was first introduced into and the number of resets it's been through. But, I also think it's a no brainer that Ubisoft forecasted accordingly and signed a deal that was more beneficial to them then Microsoft.
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The exclusivity was announced in 2006, at the exact same time Bioshock exclusivity was announced. Logic would dictate that the contracts were signed around the same time.

What makes you think Microsoft would have different contract terms for Splinter Cell than for Bioshock?

These contracts are from a different era as far as the console cycle goes. Did Lost Planet come out for PS3 in two or three months? Did Bioshock? Did Dead Rising come out for Wii in two or three months?

What contracted exclusives get ports released in two or three months? That's really rare. If a port comes out in two or three months it is almost always because of development issues. Name the contracted exclusives that get ported in a year or more, and that's a big list, because it is the norm.

You think Ubi is too smart to sign an exclusive for a year. Well, Microsoft isn't dumb enough to sign a major tentpole exclusive that they hype at their own event (X06) if it's going to be for two or three fucking months.

As for the Mass Effect port, this also falls into the Bioshock category of releasing a game well after its prime.
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EA bought Bioware before Mass Effect even shipped, so we had no shortage of members predicting Mass Effect to hit PS3 within a few months. Presumably the contracts didn't work out that way.
 
Ubisoft exclusives sometimes happen. They axed Haze on 360 and PC because Sony paid them... Not the greatest decision on Sony's part.:lol
 
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