Exclusives can make or break a console. Games are the heart & soul of any system and ultimately what a console is remembered for. For this reason, exclusives are one of the most important factors to a console’s success. If Microsoft’s original Xbox never featured Halo or Fable, or the NES never had Zelda or Super Mario Bros, the companies probably wouldn’t be making consoles today.
Most of the games featured are launch titles, as they were key decision-makers when consumers were weighing which console to buy. Great exclusives like The Last of Us and Halo 2 consequently don’t make it onto this list, as they were released late in a consoles cycle when gamers were planning on buying the next generation of console. While great exclusives can sell millions of consoles, others can destroy their reputation.
10 Worst: Knack (PS4)
Knack was a PS4 launch title at a time when Xbox and PlayStation were at their closest in terms of sales. After the PS2 dominated the original Xbox in sales, many thought that the same would happen again with the PS3. However, the console’s constant delays and huge initial price tag mean that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was able to swoop in a sell far more units than was originally expected.
This led to huge competition between the brands with the Ps4 and Xbox One. Especially as both companies released their consoles in the same month. The PS4 went on to outsell the Xbox One, but Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Knack is certainly not to thank for that.
9 Best: Wii Sports (Wii)
When the Wii was announced, many were skeptical of the motion controls. The trailers looked impressive, but skeptics were concerned that the console would just be a glorified version of PlayStation’s EyeToy, which failed to impress. The Wii silenced doubters and has gone on to become one of gaming’s most beloved & best-selling consoles of all time. Wii Sport‘s fun-for-all family games like Bowling and Tennis were the perfect introduction to the console & motion controls.
8 Worst: Haze (PS3)
Haze was one of many marketing mistakes made by Sony during the PS3’s era. The game was marketed as Sony’s answer to Xbox’s iconic Halo series, so when Haze was released to a lackluster reception, Sony was left red-faced as it gave Microsoft’s Xbox 360 another boost in reputation. Similar to Knack, Haze isn’t an awful game. But it was set up as being a big console-seller yet fell flat on its face with its sub-par gameplay and poor sales.
7 Best: Super Mario World (SNES)
Nintendo revitalized the home console industry with the NES shortly after Atari nearly eradicated it (more on that later). It was only a matter of time before Nintendo released a follow-up console to the NES, after its great sales and new competition from Sega. Two years after the Sega Genesis initially hit shelves in Japan, Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Super Mario World ensured that there was no doubt what the superior console was, as the launch title solidified Nintendo’s dominance over Sega.
6 Worst: Kinect Sports (Xbox 360)
The success of the Nintendo Wii inspired other companies to implement motion controls into their consoles. Microsoft’s Kinect was launched with many compatible games, one of which was Kinect Sports. The game was clearly trying to emulate the success of Wii Sports but fell short in almost every way.
Kinect Sports was one of the reasons why the Kinect proved to be less like the Nintendo Wii and more like the PlayStation’s EyeToy.
5 Best: Gears of War (Xbox 360)
As previously mentioned, Sony had a nightmare with the PS3’s launch. The console’s false start handed Microsoft a gaming audience on a plate, and they were already enjoying games like Oblivion and Perfect Dark Zero before the PS3 was even released.
Microsoft dealt another blow to Sony just before the release of their PlayStation 3. Third-person shooter Gears of War released only a few days prior to the PS3 and revolutionized the third-person genre with its cover mechanics. Gears of War was met with widespread praise from both fans and critics upon release and went on to win multiple Game of the Year awards.
4 Worst: Superman 64 (N64)
The Nintendo 64 had one of the best line-ups of exclusive games in history. One exclusive that Nintendo will want people to forget, however, is Superman 64.
Indicative of featuring one of the most recognizable characters in the history of media, Superman 64 sold very well. The consumers probably would have regretted their purchase sooner rather than later though. Superman 64 did the N64 no favors with its janky controls, an awkward camera that made the game unintentionally difficult, and poor graphics with a comical amount of distance fog.
3 Best: Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox)
The success of Sony’s PlayStation inspired Microsoft to release a console of their own in 2001. Microsoft had tried and failed to replicate many products before, but they hit the ground running with the original Xbox though, predominantly due to its legendary launch title Halo: Combat Evolved.
Halo: Combat Evolved immediately put the Xbox on the \ map and it is still considered to be one of the best first-person shooters ever.
2 Worst: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Atari 2600)
Movie tie-in games aren’t as popular as they used to be. A large reason for this is that consumers began to realize that tie-ins were often under-development and rushed to ensure that they coincided with their corresponding film. One of the many examples of this was the Atari 2600’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The game had huge hype behind it with Christmas just around the corner. Subsequently, the game’s creator Howard Scott Warshaw was given under six weeks to make the game.
Unsurprisingly, the game was awful. It was so bad, in fact, that it nearly ended the home console industry along with the Atari 2600’s other disaster Pac-Man. Atari’s iteration of Pac-Man was far-removed from the classic arcade game, and along with E.T. made players think that home consoles were simply inferior to arcades. A rumor began circulating that the many unsold copies were buried in a landfill. Surprisingly, this myth was proven to be true in 2014.
1 Best: Super Mario 64 (N64)
Super Mario 64 revolutionized the gaming industry with its incredibly designed 3D levels that immediately made the N64 a must-have console. The 3D gameplay was so revolutionary that Super Mario 64 probably would have sold tons of copies and N64 consoles even if it were just an average game. For the development team to create one of the best platformers ever with the first 3D Mario is an incredible achievement.
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