Anyone who plays games (even casually) has seen that PS3 exclusives have steadily and miraculously shown-up on XB360. It started with highly-anticipated titles like Armored Core 4, Resident Evil 5, and Devil May Cry 4, and has grown steadily to include Virtua Fighter 5, Dynasty Warriors 6, Gundam Warriors, Ace Combat 6, Soul Calibur IV, and the immensely popular Grand Theft Auto IV and Final Fantasy VIII. And to everyone's surprise, they even lost Monster Hunter 3 to the Wii! One thing ties all of these big names together, and that thing is Sony. In the past, their makers have been devoted to releasing their games on Sony hardware, but things are changing. Whether this is due to rumored development issues with the PS3, or all the greenbacks behind the XB360, from here it seems that there is no end in sight. More and more developers have gone multi-platform, making Sony's exclusives fewer in the process.

In their defense Sony fans can say that XB360 exclusives like the surprisingly successful Lost Planet have made it to the PS3, as well, and that recent Capcom titles like Super Puzzle Fighter II - Turbo: HD Remix, Rocketmen, Commando 3, and Super Street Fighter II - Turbo: HD Remix weren't announced as exclusives for Xbox Live. But Sony has lost much more to Microsoft than Microsoft has to Sony, and Dead Rising, Lost Planet - Colonies, and Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting are a testament to this. Sure, they may be "just a few titles," but they are titles that have sold well, and have been selling points for the XB360. I bought an XB360 for those games, and I continue to recommend the XB360 over the PS3 based solely on the fact that they have not appeared on the PS3. I am not console biased, it's just that the XB360 has Capcom games that the PS3 doesn't. We can say that it's due to the XB360's head-start (while others say that it has more to do with development ease).

Capcom has always been a multi-platform developer (both arcade and consumer), but Squeenix's move was a surprising one. Just as their "loyalty" to Nintendo back in the day, Square's loyalty to Sony seemed as if it could not be broken...but it looks like they got cold feet again. With the XB360 stalling in Japan (for a plethora of reasons), it's hard to believe that Microsoft's big bank account wasn't a factor in their sudden leap of faith to true multi-platform development. Big bank, talented salesmen, or whatever the case may be, the fact is that Microsoft broke Square; one of Sony's biggest exclusive providers. With longtime Sony-exclusive franchises like Armored Core, Devil May Cry, and Final Fantasy secured, they have one last hurdle to overcome...

Tekken 6.

Whether you like it or not, and whether there are other, better fighters out there or not, it cannot be denied that Namco's flagship brawler sells well. It has been since its (terrible) debut on the original PlayStation, and has continued to recently on the PlayStation Portable. In the past, Tekken has only showed up on non-Sony hardware only twice; it seems that Sony has been able to secure it well. Namco announced Tekken 6 for PS3 a long time ago, which is expected (since the arcade version was developed on PS3-based arcade hardware). The game is nearing release, leaving only one question to be answered:

Will Tekken 6 be on the XB360?

Was Sony able to secure it, or did they lose it like Soul Calibur IV? Namco's been quiet as we wait patiently amidst rumors. Rumors that say it is coming to the XB360 in the same manner as VF5 did; as a timed exclusive. One thing is for certain; Soul Calibur IV has done well on the XB360 so far. If it did well-enough to convince Namco that they could make more off of making it multi-platform than taking Sony's money, then it just might compliment SCIV on the XB360.

One topic that has still went unaddressed is Metal Gear Solid 4. "Master" Kojima has insisted that it was developed on and will be only on the PS3 hardware. Now, this wouldn't be open to skepticism, but when back when Metal Gear Solid 2 came out, Konami stated that it was not planned for any other consumer hardware, and that it would only be available for PS2. But, after over a year of "Metal Gear X" rumors, Metal Gear Solid 2 suddenly showed-up on the Xbox. History often repeats itself, so will we see MGS4 for the XB360 some time in the near future? Looking at how many people are asking for it on the XB360, and how the XB360 already runs PS3 games fine (even "better" than the PS3 itself depending on who you ask), a "port" seems very likely. Don't get me wrong, Kojima has accomplished a lot with the series, and I've been a fan since I was young, but Konami seriously needs to tell him to pipe-down and realize who his superiors are. Just as I said on the petition I signed, it really isn't his choice to make. There is no reason why he should be making choices that people in higher positions are appointed to make. Since its release, the question that has been on the minds of Xbox 360 owners worldwide:

Will Metal Gear Solid 4 be on the XB360, too?

It's probably safe to say that should Sony lose both T6 and MGS4 to multi-platform development, PS3 sales won't really do any better. To put it in black and white, if Sony's losing the very titles that people were buying their hardware to play, people won't have a reason to buy their hardware. Why would someone buy a PS3 to play games that have been carbon-copied to the XB360 and PC? With their other exclusives gone, T6 and MGS4 are really all Sony has to hold on to. Even if they ramp-up first-party support with quality titles, it probably won't be enough to go up against Mario or Halo, or to make up for what they once made from exclusives. Sony's power has always come from netting third-party support, but they have consistently lost that support in the HD-generation. I'm not really console-biased, but why should I go out and get a PS3 if all of the good stuff on it is also on hardware I already own (XB360)? As of now, XB360 has the best of both worlds...