Quote:
Originally Posted by Xoanon
You are talking about third-party game publishers. Amazon is more like a hardware manufacturer such as Microsoft or Nintendo that not only makes the consoles but also own a number of first-party publishers that release games exclusively on their system.
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And to good effect, usually.
NINTENDO makes virtually all the money they need from their own titles. Their attitude is very Apple-like: if you want to make money off *their* customers they won't get in the way but they will charge a toll.
SONY likewise depends primarily on their First Party exclusives. Especially in the current generation where they don't get any "default exclusives" from independent publishers as with the PS2 generation.
MICROSOFT is the one that most relies on third-part multiplatform content but their strategy is stronger on time-limited exclusives for DLC and other special promos. Plus, given their larger install base, superior online support, and easier-to-develop-for system, the XBOX tends to be the lead platform for most high profile third-party games, anyway. For them it is more about being "second-to-none" than tallying up exclusives at all costs. So they don't *have* to own as many captive studios as SONY (for one) has. They also make more money off hardware and services than either of their competitors so they can afford to get by with a handful of high-prestige first party titles to steer buyers to XBOX over the other systems.
The consensus appears to be that if you run a walled garden content system you need at least *some* compelling exclusives but not enough to annoy the third-party vendors too much. In gaming, Activision and EA, among others, regularly whine that a single universal development platform would be best. For them. Of course, they would rather somebody else bear the expense of developing, deploying, and subsidizing the first 5 million units or so of said universal platform.
So far they've found no takers so the walled gardens endure.
When it comes to the ebook walled gardens all four players are already playing the exclusivity game so don't expect Amazon or Apple or B&N or Kobo stop trying to sign up as many exclusives as they can get their hands on. So don't expect anybody to stop signing up as many as they can, especially backlist titles. There's gold in those backlists! (Less risk, lower cost, only slightly lower retail price, when done right.)
From what I've seen the AVALON deal is a win-win-win-win all the way around for Amazon, the old Avalon owners, the *authors* and the readers; 3000 well-regarded books are going to be readily available in ebook editions and actively promoted.