Quite a lot of the exclusive rants are fanboyish pleas.

HOWEVER, do note that owning a video game console (or gaming PC) is an investment. Therefore, chances are, exclusives are a big deal when thinking of a gaming console to purchase.

For instance, if both PS3 and 360 are getting most of the games a person wants, the choice then comes down to say...MGS4, which is PS3 exclusive. So the person buys a PS3.

Much later on, MGS4 comes out, and a few months later, MGS4 also comes out for the 360. This might not seem like such a big deal, but after such a time has passed, say the person now wants more games on 360. Like Gears of War 2, for instance.

See the picture? The person will now perceive himself to have "wasted" money in buying a PS3 because they couldn't foretell the future (who could?) and have technically, with the announcement of X game being released on X console, made the wrong choice in purchasing a console, on top of any other factors that may have influenced the decision (other games, lower RROD perhaps, or maybe free online, etc).