Titanfall PS4: The Xbox One Exclusive Isn’t The Only Reason A PlayStation 4 Port Is Unlikely

A Titanfall PS4 port is a wish for many PlayStation 4 fans, but there’s several reasons besides the Xbox One exclusive status that makes it unlikely.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, Respawn has confirmed Titanfall DLC and a season pass to access the new content. We also suggest checking out our Titanfall release date guide for the Xbox One, PC, and Xbox 360.

The last time I wrote about a potential Titanfall PS4 port the focus was on how Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter claimed the Titanfall Xbox One exclusivity deal between Electronic Arts and Microsoft was signed because EA assumed the PlayStation 4 would fail. Obviously, this prediction was the actual epic fail and Pachter also was the analyst who believed the $100 price difference is the reason why gamers are choosing the PS4 over the Xbone.

Like many of our readers, I disagreed with Pachter on his second statement. Instead, I believe the combination of Microsoft marketing mishaps over DRM and performance differences are the real culprit, although there is the fact that the Xbox One is currently sold in fewer countries. But The Inquisitr typically reports the news, and not our opinion, unless that’s clearly stated. That means this entire article is my opinion and doesn’t reflect any official statement from either EA, Respawn, or any other analyst.

So let’s start with the facts. Electronic Arts CFO Blake Jorgensen once said, “[Titanfall is] exclusive only, for the life of the title, on Xbox One, and Xbox 360, and PC.” Vince Zampella of Respawn also said they’d make future games like Titanfall 2 for the PS4, “just not the first Titanfall.” He also said they never initially planned on making their game an exclusive, which was proven true by those who found references to a Titanfall PS4 version in the files of the PC port. They also won’t even consider a franchise, a sequel, or other ports until the success of the first is proven.

In response, some articles online have pointed out how these statements were made before the consoles even launched. Others compare a potential Titanfall PS4 port to how Mass Effect 1 was first published by Microsoft then eventually was ported to the PS3 years down the road.

There’s several issues with this wishful thinking. The only reason ME1 ended up on the PS3 was because Microsoft specifically sold the rights. So some have speculated that EA may have a loophole in their contract with some sort of escape clause in order to ensure they make as much money as possible. Specifically, I usually see articles mentioning the possibility of six months to a year at the minimum, which seems way too soon for an exclusive.

Let’s assume such a contractual loophole exists even though official statements make this doubtful. Since Titanfall 1 took about 2.5 years to develop we might expect Titanfall 2 to have a reduced development cycle in comparison. That means if a Titanfall PS4 version does come out then Titanfall 2 would likely be less than a year away. If a port did happen it’d likely be farmed out to the same guys who did the Xbox 360 port so Respawn could focus on new content. But, all in all, EA would have to be certain the cost of a second launch would recoup their costs, and these odds would likely be hampered by the impending release of the sequel.

Titanfall Better On The PlayStation 4?

There’s also been a lot of people saying a Titan PlayStation 4 port would have better features. For examples, Forbes writer Erik Kain wrote that a PS4 version would have live streaming and higher resolution textures. Microsoft has already taken care of that complaint with the Xbox One update for March 11, which happens to be the Titanfall release date. While the Xbone controller doesn’t have a streaming button, Twitch will still provide similar functionality. Any features that may be missing in comparison to the PS4 streaming options is just a software issue and be fixed with a Xbox One update.

The texture complaint was a bit off since both systems have a 8 GB memory pool, although the Kinect 2.0 probably reduces the amount of RAM reserved for the GPU in comparison to the PS4. Even if a Titanfall PS4 version had been created I doubt the graphics would have been substantially different other than 1080p and 60 FPS. The game was designed to function even on the Xbox 360 as a baseline, never mind the Xbox One, so it’s unlikely a port would have pushed the limits.

Do you think a Titanfall PlayStation 4 port would have been substantially better than the Xbox One release?