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In the last game console generation, emphasis was placed heavily on establishing platform exclusivity for a number of high-profile third party titles (e.g., Grand Theft Auto). But how important will exclusive titles be for this generation fought among the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii? We asked Ed Barton of Screen Digest, Ben Bajarin of Creative Strategies and Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities:

How important are exclusive titles for this new generation of the console war? (It looks like exclusivity may not be as strong for this generation as last, or would you refute this?)

For this generation, is it a detriment or still advantageous (or necessary) for a third party developer to be tied to developing exclusive titles?

What are the key exclusives which you are keeping an eye on to move sales for a specific console this year?