28 December 2008
Ferry

2008 console exclusives overview: Wii vs. Xbox 360 vs. PS3

This is an overview of new, original (no ports or remakes included), console-exclusive games released on the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 throughout 2008.

To get the below results we looked at those exclusives that ranked around/higher than an 8/10 average on collective ranking sites like Gamerankings and Metacritic plus what we consider to be great games. The biggest surprise you’ll notice is an even spread of the exclusives and a well-balanced mix between both core and some casual games. On average about 30% of each console’s best exclusive games are downloadable titles nowadays, showing how online connectivity is a must for gamers looking for a high quality experience that’s less expensive to boot.

Great Wii exclusives (18):
* Animal Crossing: City Folk
* Bomberman Blast (download-only)
* Boom Blox
* de Blob
* Endless Ocean
* Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon
* LostWinds (download-only)
* Mario Kart Wii
* No More Heroes
* Sam & Max: Season One
* Skate It
* Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People Episodes (download-only)
* Super Smash Bros. Brawl
* Tetris Party (download-only)
* Wario Land: Shake It!
* Wii Fit
* World of Goo (download-only)
* Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure

Great Xbox 360 exclusives (16):
* A Kingdom for Keflings (download-only)
* Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
* Braid (download-only)
* Castle Crashers (download-only)
* Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
* Fable II
* Gears of War 2
* Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (download-only)
* Last Remnant
* Left 4 Dead
* Lost Odyssey
* N+ (download-only)
* Naruto: The Broken Bond
* Ninja Gaiden II
* Tales of Vesperia
* Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise

Great PS3 exclusives (17):
* Buzz! Quiz TV
* Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice
* echochrome (download-only)
* Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
* Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
* LittleBigPlanet
* Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
* MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
* Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
* PixelJunk Eden (download-only)
* PixelJunk Monsters (download-only)
* Resistance 2
* SingStar: Vol. 2
* SIREN: Blood Curse (download-only)
* The Last Guy (download-only)
* Valkyria Chronicles
* Wipeout HD (download-only)

Your definition of a great exclusive may vary. So when you pit them all together, what are your favorites?