Exclusives for ‘Watch_Dogs’ and ‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ Tied to Sony for 6 Months

Although many times the value in choosing one version over another is lost on the consumer, for the console maker exclusivity, especially in pre-order bonuses, can mean a significant advantage. So much so that publishers will pay top dollar for the right to special content, be it additional missions, new multiplayer maps, or special characters.

However, exclusivity in many cases is just a temporary thing, lasting only long enough for one console to get a head start. Case in point: the PS3 and PS4 exclusive content for Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and Watch_Dogs.

In a new trailer for the PS4 (seen above), a footnote reveals that the pre-order bonus contet for these highly anticipated games – which is said to total up to 60 minutes of additional gameplay – will only remain exclusive to the PS3 and PS4 consoles for 6 months. After that, the content might become available on those title’s other platforms, namely the PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and the Wii U.

Assassin’s Creed 4‘s Sony-exclusive content, as some know, features Assassin’s Creed: Liberation‘s Aveline – the first female assassin to headline a game. The 60 minutes worth of content is said to continue Aveline’s story from Liberation, which concluded with the female assassin asserting her dominance in 18th Century New Orleans.

In Watch_Dogs, the additional content will consist of four extra missions in which hero Aiden Pearce fights alongside one of the game’s many factions. And after completing the side content, players will unlock a new suit for Pearce.

Side Note: Ubisoft delayed Watch_Dogs into Spring 2014, which leaves plenty of time for gamers to switch their pre-order.

So, those gamers who have already pre-ordered copies of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and Watch_Dogs on non-Sony platforms have hope that they will be able to purchase the exclusive DLC at a later date. There’s no guarantee Ubisoft will do so from the fine-print in the trailer, but not porting the DLC to Microsoft and Nintendo’s platforms seems like a missed opportunity for additional revenue.

At the same time, Ubisoft chose not to port the PS3-exclusive Assassin’s Creed 3 missions to any other platforms, so there is precedent. But that was not in the middle of a console war – one that Ubisoft hopes to profit greatly from.

Console exclusives like these become a sticky situation for publishers, as they sign deals with console makers to push sales in a specific direction but don’t want to lose out on any potential sales if possible. We’ll see how Ubisoft plays this one in about six months.

Did you pre-order Assassin’s Creed 4 or Watch_Dogs for the exclusive content? Do you think Ubisoft should keep that content exclusive to the consoles?

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag releases October 29, 2013 for the PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360; November 15th for the PS4; November 19th for the PC; and November 22nd for the Xbox One.