Gear toward Uniform Platforms

With the recent conversion of Resident Evil 4 and Halo 2 to the PC, while Lost Planet, and Dirt once slated for consoles also pushed out on PC, I really have to wonder if the exclusive game titles are going the way of the dinosaurs. In fact, just announced at E3, Gears of War will be out for the PC by the the end of 2007.

This really doesn't mean that game developers are feeling the need to push toward the PC, but rather push their titles to all platforms. The reason should be quite simple, though no one wants to admit it. Aside from the Wii, the next generation consoles just aren't selling. Generally publishers and developers get cut a nice deal for releasing a title exclusively for a platform. But, if no one is buying the game, because ownership is so low, while options for entertainment are so vast, then these deals just don't cut it. Hence the need for multi platform release to make up lost costs. But if there are 7 platforms to publish on (yes, the PS2 just released a new redeveloped box), this practice doesn't seem sustainable.

So, is multi-platform release the future, or is it the 80's console crash all over again? Time will tell, but just for the record, it was computer gaming that survived the last crash and it will survive again.