Killzone 3, Resistance 3, Ratchet & Clank All 4 One, Uncharted 3, LittleBigPlanet 2. Few would contend that 2011 was a year of blockbusting exclusives for Sony and PS3. But while there's a slew of multi-platform big-hitters on the 2012 horizon, from Rockstar's GTA V to BioWare's Mass Effect 3, purebred Sony titles are few and far between.
Does this mean PS3 is entering its twilight months, fed on a diet of third-party blockbusters and PSN titles? Is Sony clearing the decks for the PS Vita launch on Feb 22? Are exclusives being saved for a shock PS4 announcement at E3? And with Sony's broader focus on creating an online entertainment network of movies, music and games - what are their long-term plans for our living rooms, PS3 and beyond?
This feature is taken from issue 147 of PSM3, which also features reviews of Skyrim, Modern Warfare 3 and Assassin's Creed: Revelations. Order it here and have it delivered straight to your door
Likewise, Bethesda's Todd Howard, game director of the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, told us that we should not expect follow-ups to PS3 and Xbox 360 until 2014, at the very earliest.
If these assertions are correct then there exists a considerable stretch of time left for Sony to fill with PS3 releases. While the current trend for reissues, remakes and HD re-releases of classic PlayStation titles such as the recent Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus, God Of War and the forthcoming Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is a welcome one for gamers who want to revisit firm favourites from yesteryear, surely past glories alone cannot keep the wolves from the door till 2014?
WAITING GAME
So what next? Insomniac creative director Marcus Smith admitted that, despite the strong critical reaction to Resistance 3, there are currently no plans to make Resistance 4, saying: "We've done Resistance 3 and we're really proud of it, but we're not currently slated to do a Resistance 4." However, earlier this year the writer of the God Of War licensed novel inadvertently revealed to PSM3 that the fourth game in the series was in production (co-inciding with his next book), implying the game's 2012 release.
We're not currently slated to do a Resistance 4InsomniacMeanwhile, in a lecture last month at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, Konami's Hideo Kojima presented the company's stunning new multiplatform graphical Fox Engine. While Kojima was eager to point out that the Metal Gear-esque footage shown at the event was not taken from a game currently in development, rumours abound that the studio will reveal a new, triple-A title in the next few months.
Team Ico's stunning The Last Guardian is the only first-party Sony exclusive on the horizon (and it has only moved into 2012 due to slippage, rather than scheduling). Ueda's past titles have found critical acclaim and a dedicated audience, but their whimsical, artistic approach could hardly be described as mainstream. But there's still a slew of interesting third-party multiplatform titles aimed squarely at the mainstream gamer for next year. Rockstar's Max Payne 3 will release ahead of the recently announced Grand Theft Auto V.
Capcom's Dragon's Dogma looks set to build on the huge success of Namco Bandai's hard-as-nails fantasy title Dark Souls, while Soul Calibur V and Street Fighter vs. Tekken will keep the fighting community in cuts and bruises till the announcement of a fifth title in the core Street Fighter. Also from Japan, Final Fantasy XIII-2 hopes to do away with the issues in the 13th game in Square-Enix's long-running series, with a new emphasis on exploration that aims to please those disenfranchised by the most recent game.
From Western studios, meanwhile, The Darkness 2 had a strong showing at Gamescom in the summer, as did Borderlands 2. Mass Effect 3 and Aliens: Colonial Marines will take us into space, while Prototype 2, Amazing Spider Man and GTA V hope to re-invigorate the free-roaming genre.
Comments
22 comments so far...
gearyboy on 7 Dec '11 said:
Hmm, this story and the one just posted before it are not natural bedfellows. This one is bigging up TLG, the one before it is suggesting that the game may become MIA for a while.
Please CVG. less of the stuff lifted straight from your sister magazines and more comment on the here and now.
On the topic of exclusives, are they really the console sellers everyone would have us believe? From the list mentioned at the start of this article, you could argue only UC3 really sold in substantial numbers and the few xbox exclusives this year sold ok but didn't start a stampede to the shops to buy a 360.
The multiplat games still seem to make the most noise and have the most time and energies spent on them as they are the ones that accrue the most money for the developer and publisher.
Dred0 on 7 Dec '11 said:
Blockbusters? Come. On. I see one candidate in the whole lot: Uncharted.
theaface on 7 Dec '11 said:
I would.
JBoo on 7 Dec '11 said:
You got more gaming choices if you buy a PS3 than an Xbox 360 & just because a game don't sell 10 billion day 1 it don't mean it isn't good. KZ3 + LBP2 + Infamous 2 etc etc are brilliant games:P All SONY need to do next year is 2 more price drops mainly in the US i.e PS3 = $199(middle of next year)then PS3 = $149 at christmas 2012:P
RavenxPrime on 7 Dec '11 said:
Agree 100%, unfortunately a lot of folk believe the term PS3 Exclusive = AAA Best Game Ever.
When in reality beside the original LBP, Uncharted 2,3 and out of personal preference Infamous, the vast majority of them have failed to match the hype.
This has happened with Playstation since the very beginning tho, Gran Turismo was hyped in the mags for almost a year, rented it day of release, spent a couple of hours p**sed at it because I had to pass tests before I could race (In a racing game!!) returned it the following day.
This was not uncommon for PS1 exclusives back in the day.
TheLastDodo on 7 Dec '11 said:
You forgot Motorstorm Apocalypse and Infamous 2. Both far more deserving of the term 'blockbuster' than Killzone 3.
Anyway............more than enough games to keep me happy next year.
Starhawk, Twisted Metal, Journey, Sly Cooper, The Last Guardian (hopefully). Dust 514, Agent (who knows), Inversion, Bioshock Infinite, Colonial Marines, Amy, Borderlands 2, Metro Last Light, Binary Domain, GTA V (hopefully), Tomb Raider, SSX, Prey 2, I Am Alive, Joe Danger The Movie.
And thats just the games I've heard of
You can stick ur PS4 for now.
Rockstarboy on 7 Dec '11 said:
Has anyone here actually played Killzone 3? The story is great and so is online, there's no lag, kids or crying over headsets. The maps aren't as good as Killzone 2 but they are still good. The graphics are amazing and are probably the best on PS3. It might not get as much recognition as CoD but it deserves it because it's a better game.
Dalaeck on 7 Dec '11 said:
I still utterly fail to see any need to buy a PS3. I have a PC and these "exclusives" are about as inspiring as moldy bread.
I hear they're canning the only game with any sort of real flair to it, "the last guardian", well I guess they know their target market.
Flamestrike on 7 Dec '11 said:
ANOTHER negative PS3 article designed to encourage flamewars and Sony console bashing courtesy of CVG!! Who'd have thunk it!
laslowoodbine on 7 Dec '11 said:
As mentioned above the amount of sales for games like Resistance 3, Warhawk, Heavy Rain, Motorstorm, GT5, Infamous, LBP,Wipeout, MGS4 and other doesn't detract from owning a PS3, they may not be the best games ever but knowing that Sony is willing to help bring these games to your platform means I feel as though I have benefited being a Playstation fan. Goes hand in hand with that saying 'greater than the sum of parts'.
almanac2015 on 7 Dec '11 said:
On an only slightly related note...
I find I care less for The Last Guardian now than I used to. I understand that developers need time to make games well. I love Ico and Shadow of the Colossus also.
But I've now been waiting too long. Whether thats because it was announced so long ago or merely the development time...I've just lost the excitement.
For next year, I look forward to Starhawk.
I understand Ratchet and Clank All 4 One not being a blockbuster but arguably all the others are. I'm not the biggest fan of Resistance and the Killzone series has pretty mixed reactions but there's enough there to call them blockbusters.
LittleBigPlanet 2 definitely was.
middle finger on 7 Dec '11 said:
Nothing, because the world will end.
CrazyPeter on 7 Dec '11 said:
Yep, every one of those a AAA blockbuster title, You can add GT5, Infamous 2, Heavy Rain, Metal Gear Solid 4, God of War III, Flower, ICO/SCL to that list too.
There are far too many people here that havn't played these games to their full (or at all), and are just convincing themselves they aren't missing out. THEY ARE>...
What's even sadder, are the morons that write this tripe. They don't even try and disguise their PS3 hatred anymore. Microsoft made it fashionable to support the underdog, hate the top-dog, and these idiots have jumped right on that bandwagon.
I mean what other explanation could there be? Microsoft rushes some half-baked unreliable crap onto the market with hardware thats run out of steam within 5 years, a split HDD/non-HDD userbase, a charable P2P gaming network and they get all the love, Sony release a fully spec'd system when it was finished, equiped to last the 10 year generation, with free online gaming, features to die for, hardware that's still bang upto date 5 years on, and all they get is a hard time....
Go figure...
vitorfernandes83 on 7 Dec '11 said:
Both killzones where my favoutire shooters this generation, with gears of war very close. I loved GT5, it's a great game, people only complain because of the big delay, fortunatly I didn't buy a ps3 until after the launch of GT5, I loved forza but I prefer GT5, you can almost feel the cars, my favourite racing game this generation. The uncharted series are my favourite adventure games this generation, metal gear 4 is my favourite action/stealth game this generation as well and heavy rain is one of a kind. I just fail to see what's the fuss with god of war, but for all the rest I thank sony for giving me some of the best games this generation. Please sony just continue what you're doing, please killzone 4. metal gear 5, that's all I ask.
360_Fan on 8 Dec '11 said:
Same could be said for the 360 next year, and I thought the same this time last year. Thought there would be nothing interesting coming out, but look at the year we have had.
I would say that sony are taking a page out of M$'s book and keeping their cards close to their chests. Unless they are putting everything behind the vita. That would be a shame, but this gen has been getting better each year, and I think we are in for a good couple of years yet.
I say it every year, but wait for E3.
Diomedes1977 on 8 Dec '11 said:
Very bad article, as usual.
Lets see.....this year the PS3, aside of the shared games of the 360 (all the 360 library excepting Forza 4, Gears 3 and the poor Halo 1 remake) has had Infamous 2, DC Universe Online, Yakuza 4, Atelier Totori, Air Tonelico 3, Killzone 3, Little Big Planet 2, Motorstorm Apocalypse, White Knight Chronicles 2, SOCOM 4, Resistence 3, Uncharted 3, Ratchet and Clank All 4 One, Team ICO COllection, Dead Space Extraction, House of the Dead Overkill, No More Heroes Paradise, Move Fitness, Carnival Island, Dancestar and a slew of other Move games, Free Realms......plus it got some of the last year exclusive 360 games as Mass Effect 2 and Limbo.
It has absolutely DESTROYED the 360 software-wise. I just cant understand how the 360 users can be happy with their third party stuff and a couple exclusives in the year, and even less how they have the guts to post in some forum that the "Ps3 hasnt delivered" just because Gears sold more than some of those games.
And worlwide it has sold more hardware that both the 360 and the Wii.
As for next year, look:
The Last of Us
Twisted Metal
The Last Guardian
Starhawk
Journey
Dust 241
Sly Racoon 4: Thieves in Time
Sony Smash Bros (possibly)
Final Fantasy XIII Versus
Maybe Final Fantasy XIV at last
Plus the Quantic Dream game yet to announce.
Against what, Halo again??
This is turning ridiculous, the PS3 has been destroying the 360 software-wise since 2008 at least and 2012 will be the fourth year in a row. Now you can say "yeah but Halo XX sold more than any of those" but its pointless, you play with games and the number and variety of those the plattform offers, not with stupid sales numbers.
TheLastDodo on 8 Dec '11 said:
Wii games.
PC game.
I'm going to guess that most 360 owners would prefer to play third party titles like Arkham City, Portal 2, Rage, Skyrim, Deus Ex, Battlefield 3, MW3 etc than exclusive shovelware drivel like
Now jog on because posts like yours reflect negatively on those of us that are perfectly happy with our console(s) of choice.
Flamestrike on 8 Dec '11 said:
Xbox fans are just a little blinkered. The 360 had a good run but as time has gone by it has become a less and less desirable console to own for core gamers. The fact that fans are desperate enough to use the sales of a run of the mill game such as Gears 3 as some sort of bragging right says it all.
Channel4 on 8 Dec '11 said:
Did people actually read the article? It's more about PS3 development slowing down to focus on next gen than it is about actual PS3 exclusives. It was an interesting article. People moan when tabloid s**t is posted on this website and then don't even read when proper articles are posted.....
Ch1nMu51c on 8 Dec '11 said:
God of War 4 and The Last Guardian are all I need to inspire me to power up the PS3 again. Nothing 360-exclusive is particularly exciting me - though I'm open to suggestions. Otherwise, PC all the way for me.
FlimFlam on 8 Dec '11 said:
Glad someone said that. More amusing is the dismissal of Xbox owners being 'blinkered' for apparently claiming PS3 games don't live up to the hype, presuming they haven't played them. People can own more than one console, they can have preferences, they can have opinions. It isn't black or white. I prefer my Xbox, and by and large, Uncharted excepted, I don't have a terrific amount of love for most PS3 exclusives.
This however, is irrelevant. The article was purely pointing out that after a year full of exclusive titles, the future is looking a bit bare. Same thing happened with Microsofts console a little while back. Personally I think this could indicate a shift toward next gen development, with all of the big three now channelling their energies into the big hitting, platform exclusive games that will be lining up to sell the next gen of consoles. E3 2012 is going to be huge I feel.
strickers on 8 Dec '11 said:
There are people that don't like ps3 exclusives and people that do.Thing is the ones that do normally have played them and the ones that don't haven't.Apart from Gears/L4D the 360 is dead.