Take-Two On Agent: "Exclusivity Does Work" News

Take-Two's Director and CEO, Ben Feder, has spoken candidly about the publisher's exclusive deal with Sony on Agent for the PS3, stating that "exclusivity can really help you launch the franchise".

Speaking with Gamespot, Feder suggested that Take-Two is looking for the same kind of support from Sony that it received on the development and marketing of its GTA games for the PS2.

"The trade-offs a publisher will typically make is, if you're platform-agnostic, you get a larger installed base," Feder explained. "You're platform exclusive when you get the right kind of support from first parties."

"At this phase in the cycle, when you're trying to launch a new franchise, exclusivity can really help you launch the franchise," he continued. "It can give you the kind of platform that you need to start exclusive, start in the right kind of way with the right kind of partner. Exclusivity does work."

Despite the fact that Sony's PS3 is lagging behind in the current-gen console war with approximately 23 million unit sales (compared to 30 and 50 million plus for the Xbox 360 and Wii respectively), Feder was positive about the PS3's future.

"I have a lot of confidence in Sony," he stated. "I have a lot of confidence in their ability to lead the market, as they always have. Their console is a terrific platform to be developing for, and Agent is a great testament as to our belief in what that platform can do, and what they can do with us as part of a partnership."

The Take-Two supremo also re-iterated a widely held belief in the game industry that the current-gen lifecycle will be much longer than those of previous generations.

"I think this console cycle is going to be a lot longer than people think. I think it's still very early - we're definitely not in a five-year cycle, and this is going to go on for a long time."