I’ve wrapped up the (hopefully) final release of Exclusives Watch 2009 feature. Not much to say with this wrap up. WiiWare releases were very dominant for this update. Unsurprisingly, there weren’t many reviews for these releases.

Like I’ve said previously, this will be my last Exclusives Watch feature.

Welcome to the QSF5.com ‘Exclusives Watch 2009′ Revision 1.0!

Here it is: the final update of 2009 and probably the final Exclusives Watch for me.

As always this feature will answer these two questions:

Who has the most exclusives?
Who has the most quality exclusives?

With the new year, I’ve made a few predictions:

1. The number of third party disc based retail exclusives will dwindle between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
2. The number of third party Wii exclusives will drop a bit, but the quality will improve overall.
3. Sony’s PlayStation 3 will continue maintain the quality over quantity mantra for its exclusives.
4. Number of downloadable exclusive titles will rise for all platforms.

Let’s see how I did.

1. Fewer and fewer exclusives from third parties. The most notable exclusive comes from an exclusive deal forged back in the early days of this console generation with the GTAIV expansions episodes.
2. I was wrong about this one. So many more third party exclusives were delivered this year.
3. I was right with the PlayStation 3 quality of exclusives.
4. I was right about this, but only for Nintendo’s WiiWare.

With that, I hope you find this article to be both useful and enlightening. If you notice any missing/incorrect info, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

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I was reminded of the Xbox 360’s four year anniversary the other day and that got me thinking.

“What are the Xbox 360’s graphical showcases?”

I can list the PlayStation 3 and Wii efforts as they’re clearly a step above the competition on the platform or otherwise, but not with the Xbox 360; it’s tougher. There is Gears of War and its sequel, but that’s Unreal Engine 3.0 and I’ve seen good looking Unreal Engine 3.0 games on the PS3 before. Where are the true Microsoft exclusives which are putting that Xenos GPU to work?

I don’t think there is one. (Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) It’s a bit of a surprise considering how powerful the Xenos GPU is. Instead, I see Microsoft is pushing their console’s limits in other ways.  Specifically, with community and networking.

Halo 3 is still unrivaled in the field for community features. Recorded videos, online stats, flexible co-op and party options — the list goes on and on. Then there is 1 vs 100 on Xbox Live! which is an online game show with a live host.

So am I right or am I wrong?

I’ve updated Exclusive Watch 2009 with Q3 2009 releases.

This may very well be the last year I do this feature. I’ve outgrown it from both a content and technological perspective. I initially created this feature out genuine interest for the number of exclusives each the major console platforms had and it quickly became a project of learning as well. The latter was what kept me going with it.

I learned much about Microsoft Excel and its use of formulas and macros. I’ve also learned a lot about tables, data and ways to present them via the web and Wordpress. Best of all, all these skills translated into my personal career which was a surprising turn of events. I’m sure I can learn new ways to manipulate and present this data, but it would be incremental improvements. Having just finished the 0.6 revision of this feature, I can safely say that I have this down to an efficient routine and there’s not much intellectual stimulation anymore.

Content wise, it’s a safe bet to say that if it’s a third party release, it will end up on the other platforms in due time. There are obvious exceptions to the rule, but it’s a safe bet considering development costs nowadays.

So if you wish to see this continue, leave a comment. Otherwise, this will be the last time you’ll see this feature.

Two respective console exclusives bound for October have gone gold today. One is a simulation racer and the other is an action packed adventure. Both will eventually enter the household.

While Sony simply announced Uncharted 2’s gold status and cinema plans, fans of Forza 3 will be pleased to know that a demo will be hitting Xbox Live! on September 24. They’ve also announced a few details concerning the demo including the featured cars:

• 2007 Porsche #80 Flying Lizard 911 GT3-RSR
• 2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro
• 2009 Ferrari California
• 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR
• 2009 Mini John Cooper Works

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves hits store shelfs October 13, 2009 exclusively for the PlayStation 3. While Forza MotorSport 3 debuts a couple of weeks later on October 27, 2009 exclusively for Xbox 360.

If I see any deals for either of these, I’ll post them up on the GameDealsCanada feed.

It’s been a work in progress for a few weeks now, but the new revamped and restyled Exclusives Watch 2009 is now up!

It now has his own dedicated page, prettier and hopefully easier to read. As always, if you have any comments or suggestions please don’t hesitate to post!

Update: Added some Xbox Live! related items

Instead of breaking down the Microsoft E3 2009 press conference and include both multiplatform and exclusive content, I’m going to focus on the stuff you can find “exclusively on Xbox 360” — or as exclusive to the Xbox 360 as it can get.

A shit-ton of Microsoft announcements await you below. For everything else, check here.

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